“A planetary-scale platform for environmental data & analysis”

Google Earth Engine is an “interactive time-lapse experience.” The platform uses satellite imagery to explore global growth and destruction. The Landsat Annual Timelapse sites feature area transformations from 1984 to 2012. Watch the growth of Las Vegas, the Columbia Glacier retreat, and the deforestation of the Amazon.

When Google launched the site earlier this year they stated:

We believe this is the most comprehensive picture of our changing planet ever made available to the public.

Additional applications include: classifying land cover, detecting deforestation, estimating forest biomass and carbon, and mapping the planet’s roadless areas.