Satellite Image Catalog Browser (ERIC)


As part of the Distributed GIS project, we are investigating mechanisms for searching and browsing catalogues of online satellite data, and enabling server-side processing of the data, using Web browser interfaces.

The ERIC system provides user and applications access to an on-line repository of satellite image data. The present prototype (Mk 1) version provides a simple Web-based interface to an archive of data from the GMS-5 geostationary meteorological satellite, which produces a full hemisphere multichannel data set every hour, requiring approximately 200 MBytes storage capacity per day, or 75 GBytes per year. The data is stored on a RAID array and a tape silo.

ERIC provides the capability to:

ERIC Mk 1 is constructed as a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) program, invoked through a Web server. A number of UNIX utility programs are used to make the necessary data conversions and to manipulate the temporary files needed. In the Mk 1 series a single Perl CGI script provides this interface, and supports a series of automatically generated HTML forms that provide the user with the necessary options to select a particular delivered product.

We are currently working on ERIC Mk 2, which will feature a Java applet client and access the geospatial imagery archive server through a standardised interface.


Demonstrations

Currently the ERIC system has restricted access, due to issues with the public release of data and also the amount of computational resources used by some of its services.


Technical Reports

  1. DHPC-008: Eric: A User and Applications Interface to a Distributed Satellite Data Repository, H.A. James and K.A. Hawick, June 1997.
  2. DHPC-018: A Web-based Interface for On-Demand Processing of Satellite Imagery Archives, H.A. James and K.A. Hawick, Proc. of the Australian Computer Science Conference (ACSC) '98, February 1998.


For more information, contact Ken Hawick.


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On-Line Data Archives Program
Advanced Computational Systems Cooperative Research Centre