DIAS platforms

The technological evolution, especially in terms of availability and accessibility, has made Copernicus the largest space data provider in the world, currently producing 12 Terabytes (TB) per day. As a result, the user base is rapidly growing and reaches new stakeholders, such as businesses, entrepreneurs, and citizens worldwide. The mass Copernicus data usage and sharing initially comprised a series of heterogeneous platforms, while the user had to download, process, and store the data. To facilitate and standardise data access and handling, the European Commission is funding the deployment of five cloud-based platforms providing centralised access to Copernicus data and information, as well as to various processing tools. These platforms are known as the DIAS, or Data and Information Access Services.

The five DIAS online platforms allow users to discover, analyse, process, and download Copernicus data. Each platform provides access to the full Copernicus datasets, as well as the ability to process and combine these with data from other sources. Their cloud-based systems architecture performs the heavy processing on the back end, so that users get coherent and analysis-ready data on the front end. Because the DIAS platforms are providing mass data storage and handling, users can access all data from a single entry point.

All DIAS platforms provide access to Copernicus Sentinel data, as well as to the value-added information products from Copernicus’ six operational services, together with cloud-based tools. Each of the five platforms additionally provides access to commercial satellite or non-space datasets. Thanks to a single access point for the entire Copernicus data, DIAS allows users to develop and host new applications in the cloud, while removing the need to download large data amounts from several access points and process them locally.

Figure 1: The DIAS architecture, interfacing, and end user groups.

The DIAS architecture, as presented in Figure 1, enables further value extraction from Copernicus data and increases the ease with which it is handled. While boosting opportunities for start-ups and developers, the DIAS platforms complements existing data access portals that will continue to operate. Eventually, DIAS serves public authorities, industry, data users, and the general public.

The five DIAS platforms and their URLs are shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: The five DIAS platforms and their ULRs.