Bulging dam just a quirk of Google Earth

Editor's note: Citing Google Earth's high precision map of the largest dam in the world as evidence, some people claim that the Three Gorges Dam in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is already seriously deformed, and is thus on the brink of breaking. Mao Xiaoping, a researcher in energy science at the China University of Geosciences, counters the claims in an article published by Beijing News on Thursday:

Using Google Earth and the naked eye to analyze a large-scale structure's possible deformation is nothing but using a rough guess to solve complicated civil engineering problems.

True, the resolution of Google Earth's map can reach 0.5 meters, which means a human's shadow on the ground can be distinguished on the map. But the map is based on a digital elevation model so that its map has a pleasant strong three-dimensional visual effect, which appeals to viewers.