Cloud-based climate monitor helps scientists track forests

Cloud computing has been adopted by several businesses to help save money and manage data more efficiently. Thanks to a new cloud app, it might now be used to help protect the environment.

Google recently unveiled is Earth Engine at the International Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico. The engine aims to help scientists track how forests change over time, potentially allowing them to prevent deforestation. It contains a database of trillions of images from U.S. and French satellites that span 25 years.

Earth Engine uses parallel cloud servers to store these huge amounts of information.

In addition to the launch of the Earth Engine, the company will also donate 10 million CPU hours a year for two years to help governments track the state of their forests.

"Why is this important? The images of our planet from space contain a wealth of information, ready to be extracted and applied to many societal challenges," said Rebecca Moore, engineering manager of the Earth Engine. “Scientific analysis can transform these images from a mere set of pixels into useful information.”

The app would not be the first environmentally friendly cloud computing development. According to a study, large corporations can cut carbon emissions as much as 30 percent by switching to cloud computing.