Next-generation Digital Earth

A speech of then-Vice President Al Gore in 1998 created a vision for a Digital Earth, and played a role in stimulating the development of a first generation of virtual globes, typified by Google Earth, that achieved many but not all the elements of this vision. The technical achievements of Google E...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2012-07, Vol.109 (28), p.11088-11094
Main Authors: Goodchild, Michael F, Guo, Huadong, Annoni, Alessandro, Bian, Ling, de Bie, Kees, Campbell, Frederick, Craglia, Max, Ehlers, Manfred, van Genderen, John, Jackson, Davina, Lewis, Anthony J, Pesaresi, Martino, Remetey-Fülöpp, Gábor, Simpson, Richard, Skidmore, Andrew, Wang, Changlin, Woodgate, Peter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access to Information
Algorithms
Communication
Computer software
Computers
digital images
Earth
Earth (Planet)
Earth surface
Earth system science
Geodetic position
Geography
Geography - methods
Global positioning systems
Internet
PERSPECTIVE
public relations
Search engines
Sensors
Software
Spatial data
Technological change
Technology
Virtual reality
world
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Summary:A speech of then-Vice President Al Gore in 1998 created a vision for a Digital Earth, and played a role in stimulating the development of a first generation of virtual globes, typified by Google Earth, that achieved many but not all the elements of this vision. The technical achievements of Google Earth, and the functionality of this first generation of virtual globes, are reviewed against the Gore vision. Meanwhile, developments in technology continue, the era of “big data” has arrived, the general public is more and more engaged with technology through citizen science and crowd-sourcing, and advances have been made in our scientific understanding of the Earth system. However, although Google Earth stimulated progress in communicating the results of science, there continue to be substantial barriers in the public’s access to science. All these factors prompt a reexamination of the initial vision of Digital Earth, and a discussion of the major elements that should be part of a next generation.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1202383109