Ecosystems. Animal Camouflage Pictures -- National Geographic Kids. Sea Turtles Micro Documentary. How Humans Are Changing the Planet—in 7 Dramatic GIFs - Rebecca J. Rosen. Watch as Las Vegas booms, the Amazon disappears, and Dubai grows out into the sea. Google today released an "interactive timelapse experience" that allows users to explore millions of satellite images captured over the last quarter-century -- 25 years of immense growth and destruction.
"We believe this is the most comprehensive picture of our changing planet ever made available to the public," Google said in a statement. The project was built in conjunction with the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA, and TIME. "Much like the iconic image of Earth from the Apollo 17 mission--which had a profound effect on many of us--this time-lapse map is not only fascinating to explore," Google Earth's Rebecca Moore writes, "but we also hope it can inform the global community's thinking about how we live on our planet and the policies that will guide us in the future.
" Here are seven of the most dramatic changes, presented in GIF form. Melting Glaciers, Sprawling Cities: the Google Project. Explore Five of the World's Main Biomes. Bill Nye the Science Guy - "We're All Connected" Biodiversity - from "The Wild Classroom" CLIMATE REEL.