Cool Tools for Google Earth

Google Earth by itself can be a useful tool for the field paleontologist, as outlined in my previous post. Yet, some aspects of paleontological field mapping aren't supported "out of the box" within this software. For instance, many field localities are in the "Township and Range" format of the Public Land Survey System. That's the "NW1/4 of the SW 1/4, Sec. 21, T14N, R21E" style of plotting things - pretty much anyone who's done paleontology in the United States knows what I'm talking about (and how miserable it can be as a method of mapping and relocating things, versus a high-precision GPS coordinate!). Unfortunately, the default settings in Google Earth can't do anything to help on this. One or two handy plug-ins can save the day, though!

Township and Range Coverage
The Earth Point website has a KML file that provides township and range data for most of the western United States, and a handful of more easterly states. To access this, click here. For the field areas I've frequented, I've found the data to be quite accurate and easy to use. As you progressively zoom in, you can get right down to the section (and then click to get the full legal description). This is an extremely handy tool, and I strongly recommend it for any paleontologist utilizing Google Earth! Another must-have is the Township and Range Decoder. Enter a legal land description, and get it converted into Lat-Long format - or the reverse! So, so, so much easier than trying to fudge something on a topo map.

Topographic Map Coverage
I haven't used this feature as much, but did uncover two potentially handy tools. Map Finder allows you to quickly and easily find 24K topo maps within the U.S.A. - and download them for free as a TIFF file. The whole setup seemed to work pretty well for me. The Google Earth Blog details another cool plug-in, which is supposed to put the map right into Google Earth. I haven't tried it yet, but certainly will at the soonest opportunity (after I get back from the field!).

Conclusions
Even if it ain't open source, Google Earth has become a standard tool in my digital paleontology arsenal. It has saved me oodles of time and money, both in the field and back at the lab. If you're a field paleontologist - check it out!

Digital Prospecting With Google Earth

For those who do paleontological prospecting in new field areas, I probably don't have to spend too much time singing the virtues of good satellite imagery. Perhaps the single best thing about it is that it can allow you to quickly evaluate where the worthwhile exposures are, and where the low-relief, grassy pastures are covering up perfectly good fossiliferous rocks. Used in concert with a geological map, this "digital prospecting" can save a lot of time and annoyance out in the field.

There are two ways to go about this. . .one is by old fashioned aerial photographs and a geology map. The other is by using Geographical Information System (GIS) software. Because I've barely touched GIS since I took a course as an undergraduate (and I am lucky enough to have a skilled friend who volunteers for the occasional map-making project; one of these days I'll get around to learning GRASS), in this post I'll focus on the "lazy researcher's GIS" -- Google Earth.

Now in version 4.3, this digital globe runs smartly in Windows, Linux, and presumably the Mac OS (although I've never tried the latter). Find a prospective field area, and do a virtual fly-over to locate promising outcrop. Mark prospective points, and transfer the coordinates to your GPS unit. It's that simple!

So what are the upsides of using Google Earth?
- It's free!
- Pretty much global coverage.
- The user interface is intuitive, without a lot of annoying extras.
- High resolution (in many areas)

And the downsides?
- An internet connection is pretty much required, if you want to go someplace that isn't already in the cache. So, don't plan on being able to use it that well in the field.
- The DEMs (digital elevation models) are pretty crude in most areas, and don't necessarily show detailed topography all that well, if you want to pan around an actual landscape.
- It's tough to import GIS data, if you want to add geological data or something (although it can be done - to be addressed in the next post). Furthermore, basic GIS functions, such as intersections of layers, just can't be done easily within the program itself (as far as I know).
- Resolution varies across the maps. Sometimes the remotest areas have crisp, true-color resolution - and the field area just around the corner is a fuzzy, false color mess.
- Township and range aren't supported by default (but see an upcoming post for a solution!).

Is Google Earth useful for paleontologists?
If you're in the early stages of a field project, or are trying to evaluate outcrop potential in a far-away locale, Google Earth is perfect. But, be aware that this program is not a complete substitute for a good GIS package (and a person to run it!) for many tasks, and satellite coverage limitations may cause problems in some regions. For the most part, though, Google Earth is a quick, cheap tool for planning out a field season (and one that I use quite frequently!).

Coming up. . .Handy tips and tricks to make the paleontologist's use of Google Earth easier.