OGC API Coverages for Open Data Cube
Obstacle
Once an Open Data Cube (ODC) implementation is set up on a computer, accessing the data typically requires running Python or R scripts on that same machine. This can suppose a challenge for users who either lack the technical skills to write such scripts or do not have direct access to the server where the ODC instance is hosted. It can also create some vulnerability to the ODC host server.
Solution
In the AD4GD project, a front-end implementation of the OGC API – Coverages has been developed in Python, tailored for the integration with Open Data Cube. This interface acts as a translator between OGC API requests and the underlying Python code, which is executed on the server to retrieve and return the requested data in a standardized way. The developement started as a WCS and WMS implementation, a simplified version of GetMap and GetCoverage operations, but evolved to support OGC APIs.
Usage in the project
AD4GD managed two different types of data: feature-based data stored in RDF data model, and multidimensional data stored within the Open Data Cube. This approach is particularly relevant in the biodiversity pilot case.
Foreseen applications
The developed Python script is compatible with any Open Data Cube setup, meaning that anyone running an Open Data Cube instance can use this front-end to make their multidimensional data accessible through the OGC API – Coverages.
What is a coverage?
Acording to the W3C/OGC Spatial Data on the Web Best Practice, a coverage is a function that describe characteristics of real-world phenomena that vary over space and/or time. Typical examples are temperature, elevation and precipitation. A coverage is typically represented as a data structure containing a set of such values, each associated with one of the positions in a spatial, temporal or spatiotemporal domain.
What is an Open Data Cube?
The Open Data Cube is a piece of software designed to store multidimensional data, meaning it can hold values across multiple spatial dimensions, as well as temporal, elevation, temperature, or other related properties simultaneously.
What is the OGC API - Coverages?
OGC API – Coverages is an specification that defines the fundamental API building blocks for interacting with coverages.
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Copyright (c) 2023 Joan Masó
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