Watch the planet morph before your eyes with Google's mesmerizing timelapse feature

Since I discovered Google's Earth Engine timelapse tool (thanks, reddit!), I've been playing with it all morning. (The feature debuted in 2013.)

Google has a dozen locations highlighted to show how they've changed from 1984 until 2012, using satellite images.

You can plug any location into the search bar at the top, too. It only works on desktop, but I've put together some GIFs here so you can watch some of the most interesting changes on any device.

These timelapse images are incredible to watch. But they're also a visceral way of capturing the sweeping impact that human beings have on this planet.

See for yourself:

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Cape Cod's shoreline morphs over time.

The Aral Sea in between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan dries up.

Saudi Arabia builds massive cities in the sand.