A four-dimensional visualization approach, featuring three dimensions in space and one dimension in time, is proposed to study local electrode degradation effects during voltage cycling in fuel cells. Noninvasive in situ micro X-ray computed tomography (XCT) with a custom fuel cell fixture is utilized to track the same cathode catalyst layer domain throughout various degradation times from beginning-of-life (BOL) to end-of-life (EOL). With this unique approach, new information regarding damage features and trends are revealed, including crack propagation and catalyst layer thinning being quantified by means of image processing and analysis methods. Degradation heterogeneities as a result of local environmental variations under land and channel are also explored, with a higher structural degradation rate under channels being observed. Density and compositional changes resulting from carbon corrosion and catalyst layer collapse and thinning are observed by changes in relative X-ray attenuation from BOL to EOL, which also indicate possible vulnerable regions where crack initiation and propagation may occur. Electrochemical diagnostics and morphological features observed by micro-XCT are correlated by additionally collecting effective catalyst surface area, double layer capacitance, and polarization curves prior to imaging at various stages of degradation. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.