User:Smallchief/google earth

I've had occasional trouble with people objecting to my use of elevation and location data derived from Google Earth. However, the important point is that for many places, Google Earth is the only and the best source for this information. Both the MLA and the APA offer guidance on citing Google Earth as a source. Here's the MLA's guidance: https://style.mla.org/citing-a-google-earth-location/#:~:text=To%20cite%20a%20Google%20Earth,the%20URL%20as%20the%20location.

There are innumerable scholarly papers about the accuracy of Google Earth. The general conclusion is that you wouldn't use Google Earth for brain surgery, but Google Earth differs from official sources (which may not be all that accurate either) within about 4 meters on average. That discrepancy is not important for most non-coastal areas of the world.

The important point is that you use the best source that you have -- and for many remote areas of the world Google Earth is the best or only source. Regarding, for example, Lauricocha Lake in Peru, a casual web search will reveal half a dozen different elevation estimates with discrepancies of tens or even hundreds of feet. Google Earth gives us a non-biased, scientifically-derived source for the location and elevation of any point on the globe.

Thus, if anybody cares to comment, I propose that Google Earth be permitted as a source for coordinates and elevations if not official data for the site is available.

Sources:

• SAE International "Validating Google Earth Pro as a Scientific Utility for use in Accident Reconstruction" (2017), [1]

• NASA/ADS, "The Precision of Google Earth Map Analysis with the Coordinates of IGS Stations" (2020),

• International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, "Horizontal Accuracy Assessment of Google Earth Data over Typical Regions of Australia" (2021), [2]