Positional accuracy of the Google Earth terrain model derived from stratigraphic unconformities in the Big Bend region, Texas, USA

The Google Earth terrain model could prove beneficial for extraction of positional data in the future. At present, only an aging independent benchmark study (Potere, D., 2008. Horizontal position accuracy of Google Earth's high-resolution imagery archive. Sensors, 8, 7973–7981) provides constraints on positional accuracy for Google Earth imagery. In this investigation, we compared virtually traced positions against high-precision (<1 m) field measurements along three stratigraphic unconformity sub-sections in the Big Bend region to determine current positional accuracy for the Google Earth terrain model. A horizontal position accuracy of 2.64 m RMSEr was determined for the Google Earth terrain model with mean offset distance being 6.95 m. A vertical position accuracy of 1.63 m RMSEz with mean offset distance of 2.66 m was also calculated for the terrain model. Results suggest data extracted from the Google Earth terrain model could plausibly be used in future studies. However, we urge caution in using Google Earth data due to limited information disclosures by developers.