All I can say is that it's definitely a bug in the Google app. It must leave a process running in the background, causing this problem.
No, it's just what iOS displays when the super low power location mode described below is enbled by an app or apps.
If I have the Google app completely closed, why would it be still tracking me (a purple arrow in Location Services). Suppose it found me at a particular location, how or why would it notify me of anything if the app is closed? Is there any utility to it tracking you when it can't possibly give you location based feedback (or can it)?
Sure, a large enough location change could trigger it.
Here, I just posted this on another forum. It explains everything.
Starting the Significant-Change Location Service
In iOS 4.0 and later, you can use the significant-change location service to receive location events. This service offers a significant power savings and provides accuracy that is good enough for most apps. It uses the device’s cellular radio to determine the user’s location and report changes in that location, allowing the system to manage power usage much more aggressively than it could otherwise. This service is also capable of waking up an app that is currently suspended or not running in order to deliver new location data.
- Location Awareness Programming - Apple iOS SDK
Basically, the OS itself watches for a cell id change, which takes almost no extra power to do.