Context
The WEkEO platform offers a wide range of environmental data, cloud computing resources, and user services, ranging from raw satellite and model observations to interactive processing environments and educational materials. In this article, designed for both beginner users and advanced Earth observation experts, you will discover all the tools, resources, and sections available across the WEkEO website.
WEkEO is one of the five Copernicus Data and Information Access Services (DIAS) co-founded by the European Commission, in 2018.
Jointly developed by EUMETSAT, ECMWF, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and Mercator Ocean International, WEkEO is built around the idea of federation across three foundational pillars:
Data federation: direct access to original, up-to-date datasets hosted at partner facilities, with additional data providers able to join the platform
Infrastructure federation: distributed cloud and computing resources contributed by institutional partners and industrial contractors, avoiding data duplication and saving energy
Dedicated user support: responsive technical assistance to help you leverage WEkEO’s APIs, viewers, and computing resources effectively.
WEkEO purpose is to provide a single federated access point to Copernicus open data from all partners organisations and services, along with cloud-based processing resources and tools.
Because "a picture is worth a thousand words", you can watch this 1-minute introductory video presenting the WEkEO platform, its data, its tools, and its user support:
Why choose WEkEO
The WEkEO DIAS addresses a wide range of users from all domains, including institutions, private sector, entrepreneurs, scientists and members of civil society. Through a single, federated interface, it gives them access to Copernicus data and services provided by partner organisations, enabling them to visualize and analyze data.
WEkEO also provides Big Data analysis tools to support the development of applications and value-added services tailored to their specific needs.
Built on an innovative distributed architecture, WEkEO avoids duplication of infrastructures and data, saves energy, and ensures users always have access to the most up-to-date datasets.
Earth observation data
Data Catalogue
The WEkEO Data Catalogue is an open and free catalogue where you can browse, filter, preview, and download more than 600 datasets from Sentinel satellite missions and Copernicus environmental services:
Through a single federated interface, the catalogue gathers multi-domain datasets from:
Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS): global and regional atmospheric composition, air quality, aerosols, and greenhouse gases
Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS): physical and biogeochemical ocean parameters, sea ice, waves, and marine safety indicators
Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS): land cover, land use, vegetation state, water cycle, and cryosphere variables
Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S): climate reanalysis (such as ERA5), seasonal forecasts, and climate indicators
Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) and Copernicus Security Service: natural disaster monitoring, flood and fire danger, and crisis prevention data
Copernicus Space Segment (Sentinel missions): satellite observations distributed by EUMETSAT and the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem (CDSE), including Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, Sentinel-3, Sentinel-5P, and Sentinel-6
🔍 If you want to learn more about the datasets distributed on the platform, feel free to consult the following articles:
Data in a Nutshell infographic
To quickly see which Copernicus services and parameters are available on WEkEO, the Data in a Nutshell infographic below maps all environmental variables across the five Earth spheres (Cryosphere, Atmosphere, Biosphere, Hydrosphere, and Geosphere):
You can also explore these parameters interactively on the WEkEO Data Catalogue overview page (where the infographic is available in .pdf format), using the services table that matches each variable with the corresponding Copernicus services (Marine, Land, Atmosphere, Climate Change, and Emergency):
Data visualization
WEkEO offers two web-based visualization interfaces that allow users of all levels to explore Earth observation data directly in a browser without requiring an account:
Light Data Viewer: an intuitive interface designed for beginners and curious users to explore key environmental variables around the globe in a few clicks
Expert Data Viewer: an advanced geospatial viewer allowing you to browse the entire WEkEO catalogue, overlay multiple dataset layers on an interactive map, adjust depth or pressure levels, switch map projections, and define areas of interest
The image below illustrates the Expert Data Viewer interface displaying an environmental layer on the interactive map:
🔍 To learn how to navigate the viewers and visualize layers, check out the dedicated articles:
Data download and plugins
Graphical and programmatic data download
Whether you prefer a visual interface or automated scripts, WEkEO provides several free methods to subset and download data (only a free WEkEO account is required):
Expert Data Viewer GUI: define your bounding box, date range, and variables visually on the map to download subsets directly from your browser
Harmonized Data Access (HDA) API: a unified REST API that allows you to query and download any dataset from the federated catalogue using a single syntax, available via the Python
hdapackage, the Rhdarpackage, or standard cURL requests
🔍 To start downloading data through WEkEO, consult the following guides:
WEkEO plugins and open-source ecosystem
WEkEO integrates with external geospatial software and open-source libraries to simplify your workflows:
Copernicus Connect (QGIS plugin): search, subset, download, and visualize WEkEO datasets directly inside QGIS
Earthkit: an open-source Python library developed by ECMWF for domain-agnostic Earth science data exploration and visualization
xcube: an open-source software package and viewer to generate, manipulate, and analyze Earth observation data cubes
EOCanvas: a tool to trigger serverless functions for Copernicus data processing (such as SNAP and GrassGIS workflows)
🔍 Learn how to use these plugins and tools in our dedicated article:
What's next?
Additional resources can be found in our Help Center. Should you require further assistance or wish to provide feedback, feel free to contact us through a chat session available in the bottom right corner of the page.