EO Browser joins Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem — meet the Copernicus Browser
Written by Grega Milcinski and Megha Devaraju
The Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, introduced in our previous blog post, will act as the main distribution platform for data from the EU Copernicus missions (service will be fully operational in July 2023). The underlying infrastructure that offers instant access to full and always up-to-date Earth observation data archives is supported by a new, more intuitive browser interface, which is based on Sentinel Hub’s EO Browser open-source code.
A Short History Of Nearly Everything
The EO Browser was launched in January 2017 and it has changed the world of Earth Observation (EO). We might be a biased in saying this, but we think this is almost certainly the case. It was the first easy-to-use free browser-based tool that offered insight into tens of petabytes of Earth observation data, acquired as far back as 1970s and as recently as a few hours ago. With its immediate response, powered by Sentinel Hub, and ability to tweak processing of EO data to suit one’s requirements, almost anyone could become a remote sensing expert, or at least an explorer.
People from various fields embraced it. From scientists searching for penguins in Antarctica (as seen here), to investigators using it as one of the common OSINT tools, and map enthusiast possibly saving a lost hiker’s life by geolocating a blurry photo of their surroundings (attend the webinar on this topic on February 27th).
As much as we are proud of it, we must admit that EO Browser was not really our idea. It was conceived by kind people from ESA EO after they had seen our Sentinel Playground a few months earlier. They approached us and said something along the lines of “This is cool, but you know what would be even cooler? If one could do this and that, not just with Sentinel-2 data, but with EVERYTHING!” They even put in some small budget to make it happen. You do not say “No” to ESA, and things started rolling.
EO Browser became one of the main tools for people to explore the satellite data. For our company, it was a great demonstration of Sentinel Hub’s capabilities, so we kept improving it. The app now hosts more than 150,000 visitors every month, who process about 60 million requests a month!
ESA and EU’s Copernicus office noticed this as well and when they published a call for renewal of the Copernicus distribution system, it became clear they wanted to make some capabilities of EO Browser available as a public service.
Introducing The Copernicus Browser
Earth Observation is becoming more and more popular every day with endless possibilities and solutions being developed using the data and technology available through satellites. From monitoring crops throughout the growing season, to monitoring climate change with multi-year time series, both academia and industry are heavily invested in this field. But for a novice, factors like choosing a platform to begin analysis, finding the right resources, and getting support from the community made navigating this space difficult. Now, with the introduction of Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, Earth Observation is taking a new turn.
The Copernicus programme provides data with the help of the Sentinel satellite family, as well as other commercial and public satellites contributing to data collection, including in-situ data. This aids in monitoring the atmosphere, marine environment, land, climate, security and emergency management.
Until now, if one wanted to download Sentinel products they went to Copernicus Open Access Hub and if they wanted to process it, the official options were the DIAS-es (MUNDI, ONDA, CREODIAS, SOBLOO, WEKEO). With the Copernicus Browser, it will be possible to have access to the up-to-date and complete archive of data, as well as perform quite a bit of processing in one place. Blending the ease of use, visualization, and on-the-fly processing capabilities of EO Browser with download of full products, makes this new platform a very powerful tool for both remote sensing enthusiasts and an experts.
Features
The Copernicus Browser comes with a lot of features (and even more planned for the upcoming months). As soon as you register for the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem and login into the browser, you can visualize an area of interest with just a few clicks.
Product search
In the product search, various criteria enable users to filter for/select their required/desired products. First, the users can select the desired collection from Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, Sentinel-3, Sentinel-5P and the Copernicus Contributing missions. The data is being ingested into the archive regularly and is expected to represent a complete archive by July 2023. Each Collection also allows for more specific filtering with respect to sensors, processing levels, cloud coverage and/or any other details available in the metadata.
The next criterion for search is the Area of Interest (AOI). The users can choose the bounding box or polygon by drawing with tools available in the browser or upload files with vector geometry to create an AOI.
Users can also specify the time period they are interested in. They can select a single date or a time interval such as a month or year of imagery. This saves a lot of time in finding the exact data needed for their application.
Visualization
Making sure the data fits the users’ use-case is critical. One way of checking this is by visualizing the data. The Browser offers a quick and easy way to visualize the presented results directly from search. With this platform, the users do not need to always download all the data to analyze it further. They can visualize the predefined layers or create custom layers with on-the-fly processing.
The fastest way to visualize a scene is to zoom in sufficiently and click on “Show latest date”. Further search can be performed by finding products for the geographical area that can be seen in the browser. Alternatively, users can find the products and choose to visualize a tile from the results of the search.
Download
The Browser has multiple options for download. Like previously, the products (granules) can be directly downloaded from CloudFerro’s OData API, which provides access to original files, or the cloud optimized formats for specific areas of interest from view extent or geometries. Then, there is a simple image download to quickly save the current visualization, different bands or custom layers which were created by the users. This way, users can download only the pixels they need, rather than the full granule.
Timelapse
The Timelapse tool of the Browser enables users to choose an AOI and create a nice sequence of images showing changes happening in the location over time. Users can filter by their time interval of interest, the maximum cloud coverage, and the minimum tile coverage to find sufficient data and create the timelapse. The frequency of the images and the type of transition can all be changed according to preference and the final video can be downloaded as a GIF.
3D Visualization
With the 3D visualisation tool, users can also visualise the terrain. The viewing angle can be adjusted by scaling vertically and panning in all directions. Users can further explore the conditions in the area by adjusting the sun projected shadows and the shading parameters of the scene in the settings. This 3D view can also be downloaded as a PNG or JPEG file.
Additional tools
In addition to the above-mentioned features, the Browser also comes with several tools to make the analysis easier, for example, users can measure the distance or area of the selected geometry, compare different images or save the location as a pin for reference.
The Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem creates opportunities for upscaling workflows with cloud infrastructure. In the proper context of “ecosystem”, users can also team up with the industry partners (T-systems, CloudFerro, Sinergise, VITO, DLR, ACRI-ST and RHEA) and integrate the workflow on their own platform. More on the usage of this platform and features can be found in the documentation. Do also check the Copernicus Browser’s user guide.
The future of EO Browser and Copernicus Browser
This is the very beginning of the new Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem. We literally started a (very ambitious!) project a few weeks ago. The Ecosystem is growing every day with new data and features. The platform will be continuously upgraded and will be completely operational by July 2023 (but far from fully developed — we plan to continue improving it over the next several years). To get a detailed insight into what to expect next, and when, do check our Roadmap. As for the Copernicus Browser, we have tons of / a ton of ideas, which we will be working on to ensure the application to be the best option out there for accessing Copernicus EO data.
And what is to become of the EO Browser? With ESA and European Commission trusting us with the opportunity to make the best EO platform out there, we believe there might no longer be the need for another application with the similar set of features. Therefore, we plan to merge these two applications into one over the next couple of years, ensuring dedicated upgrades in the future.
Views and opinion expressed are however those of the author(s) only and the European Commission and/or ESA cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
