Easy access to Copernicus large data volumes
EO satellites generate vast amounts of observational data that are not easily integrated into data processing chains outside the ground segments of space agencies. This is particularly true for the Sentinel constellation, developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) for the European Copernicus programme. The SENSYF (Sentinels synergy framework) initiative went beyond the state of the art by automating data collection, cataloguing and processing to reduce the time-to-market of Copernicus services. For the first time, scientific and commercial partners have access to distributed computational and storage resources, dedicated to each Sentinel mission. Each Sentinel mission consists of two satellites providing data for the operational needs of Copernicus services, designed to monitor and protect the environment and natural resources. The SENSYF platform enables all interested users including small businesses to deploy their services in a collaborative environment where they can tap cloud computing and storage power. It is essentially an extension of ESA's Grid Processing On Demand (G-POD) environment. The new hybrid cloud infrastructure allows EO value added services to be deployed on public and commercial clouds. With the end of development and test phases of SENSYF, the first version of the new cloud platform was released. In the meantime, seven different services were defined for concept validation and a pre-operations phase was initiated. These include tools to provide near-real-time information on water quality through the combined use of Sentinel-2 and -3 data. Furthermore, demonstration activities were carried out to inform potential service providers on how they could integrate applications on the SENSYF framework. The new Sentinel data products were presented at international conferences where other projects and individuals showed great interest in having access to infrastructure and tools provided. To date, the project website explains the concepts behind the dynamic parallel processing platform and demonstrates its strengths. Potential Copernicus service providers can also make a request online to integrate and test their data-intensive applications as well as tap into SENSYF cloud resources when ready to enter the exploitation phase.
Keywords
Copernicus, parallel processing, Earth observation, Sentinel, SENSYF, cloud infrastructure
