With notable developments in platform administration, cloud integration, and core functionality, 2024 has been a historic year for Google Earth Engine. Google Cloud users now have access to powerful new processes and use cases with the enhanced compatibility between Earth Engine and Google Cloud tools and services. The top Earth Engine launches of the year are compiled here, many of which were featured at Geo for Good 2024 event.
Management: Simplifying Processes
You can now administer Earth Engine from the same console that you use to manage and keep an eye on other Cloud services with the new Earth Engine Overview page it introduced earlier this year in the Cloud Console.
They have included a new Tasks tab to this interface, which lets you view and track Earth Engine import and export tasks in addition to payment and use management. For every task, the Tasks page offers a helpful set of information, such as priority, runtime, and state. This new interface makes it easier than ever to cancel tasks, either individually or in bulk.
It will be adding more data and controls to the Cloud Console as it expand Earth Engine’s compatibility with Google Cloud, allowing you to further centralize and other service management.
Integrations: deepening cloud interoperability
To allow sophisticated solutions using specialised machine learning and strong data analytics, Earth Engine users can interact with a variety of cloud services and tools. The introduced a set of capabilities this year that enhanced the interoperability that already existed, making it simpler to deploy and enable these solutions.
Vertex AI integration
Use cases like crop classification that call for deep learning are made possible by integrating Earth Engine with Vertex AI. Vertex AI allows you to host a model and receive predictions using the Earth Engine Code Editor. Its revealed a significant performance enhancement for Vertex Preview connector this year, which will provide you with increased throughput and dependability over the existing Vertex connector.
Earth Engine access
Google Cloud also moved all Earth Engine users to Cloud projects so that everyone may benefit from these new integration enhancements and management tools. With this modification, all Earth Engine users can now take advantage of the strength and adaptability of Google Cloud‘s infrastructure, security, and expanding toolkit to advance the operational decision-making, research, and science needed to improve the globe.
Security: strengthening authority
Earth Engine support for VPC Service Controls, a crucial security feature that enables businesses to establish a security perimeter around their Google Cloud resources, was introduced this year. Customers with professional and premium plans may now access this new integration, which offers better control over data and aids in preventing data exfiltration and unwanted access. Customers can now monitor and audit data flows, limit data access to authorised networks and users, and create granular access controls with VPC-SC, all of which help to ensure compliance with external regulations and internal security standards.
Platform: improving performance
Zonal Statistics
One of fundamental functions is the computation of statistics on areas of an image. Recently, introduced a major speed enhancement for Earth Engine‘s batch zonal statistics exports. The method parallelize zonal statistics exports such as exports that produce statistics for every region in a sizable collection has been optimised. This indicates that using ReduceRegions() will result in significantly higher concurrent computing power per batch task.
With this launch, Earth Engine can now perform even larger analyses than before and large-scale zonal statistics exports are operating several times faster than they did at this time last year. This means you receive your results more quickly. The average tree canopy coverage of each census tract in the continental United States, for instance, can now be determined in seven hours at a scale of one metre.
Python version 1
Google Cloud have spent the past year concentrating on Earth Engine Python’s usability, dependability, and transparency. They can now instantly sync changes to GitHub as the client library has moved to an open-source repository at Google, keeping you informed of changes between releases. In order to allow you to view and work with Python library candidate releases prior to their release, they are also offering pre-releases. Its have a static loaded client library, which improves testing and error messages and facilitates building on Python library. Additionally, it keeps up efforts to enhance geemap and connectors like xee.
They are happy to declare that the Python Client library is now “v1,” signifying the maturity of Earth Engine Python, in light of all these changes.
COG-backed asset improvements
Cloud Geotiff Backed Earth Engine Assets makes it simple to use data saved in Google Cloud Storage (GCS) in Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFF (COG) format. This improves on the previous experience of using a single GeoTIFF file with the same projection and type for all bands.
You can now create an Earth Engine asset supported by numerous GeoTiffs, each of which may have a different band type, resolution, or projection. Earth Engine will handle all of these details for you. Significant performance enhancements have also been made to the prior feature: The performance of assets backed by Cloud GeoTiff is now comparable to that of native Earth Engine assets. Additionally, the data is saved once and may be used smoothly between products if you wish to use your GCS COGs elsewhere, such as in open source pipelines or other applications.
Looking forward to 2025
Earth Engine customers enhance sustainability and climate resilience by utilising more sophisticated tools, enhanced security, and smooth interconnections. Anticipate further expanding cloud interoperability in the upcoming year, which will facilitate the development of actionable insights and help use geospatial data to improve sustainability decision-making.
