Remote Sensing

Abstract

In this chapter we present the concepts of remote sensing and Earth Observation and, explain why several of their characteristics (volume, variety and velocity) make us consider Earth Observation as Big Data. Thereafter, we discuss the most commonly open data formats used to store and share the data. The main sources of Earth Observation data are also described, with particular focus on the constellation of Sentinel satellites, Copernicus Hub and its six thematic services, as well as other private initiatives like the five Copernicus-related Data and Information Access Services and  Sentinel Hub. Next, we present an overview of representative software technologies for efficiently describing, storing, querying and accessing Earth Observation datasets. The chapter concludes with a summary of the Earth Observation datasets used in each DataBio pilot.