Population Maps for Google Earth

The Encyclopedia of Earth has an article with information about scientific research on anthropogenic biomes which are defined as:

Anthropogenic biomes describe globally-significant ecological patterns within the terrestrial biosphere caused by sustained direct human interaction with ecosystems, including agriculture, urbanization, forestry and other land uses. …humans have fundamentally altered global patterns of ecosystem form, process, and biodiversity, anthropogenic biomes provide a contemporary view of the terrestrial biosphere in its human-altered form.

More importantly, the article shares a anthropogenic biomes world map showing the interaction of human population with the natural systems around them. The map is best viewed in Google Earh here . It uses super overlays so you can see more detail as you zoom in closer (down to about 600 miles). The map is colored by biome types explained in the legend. The map is also available in Google Maps and Virtual Earth. This is a really interesting map! Thanks to GEB reader Salinga, who forwarded this map and a link to an article about it at Spiegel online (German).

Another interesting population density map overlay was created and posted at the GEC by Gerardo64 two years ago.

Both of these maps are excellent ways to get a better understanding of how humans are spread around the planet. I’ve seen the numbers for India and China, but these maps really illustrate just how far population growth there has gone.

(Via Google Earth Blog.)