Watch 32 years of Sudbury re-greening from space with Google Timelapse

Thanks to Google and Carnegie Mellon University, 32 years worth of satellite imagery has been layered together to create elaborate timelapse stories of the world.

And in places like northern Ontario, where swatches of green can quickly give way to patches of grey, urban development, the results can be startling.

The Sudbury slag heaps in 1984 were a grey, shapeless mass. Fast forward to the 2000s, where the heaps have become rolling green hills.

And Sudbury's south end goes through a dramatic change as well- not only with its rapid buildup of houses, but of the sharp appearance of the Hwy. 17 bypass.

Less encouraging are the chunks of vegetation that appear to suddenly disappear northwest of the city.

Follow the link to find out more about the Google Earth Engine project.