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Geospatial Repositories & Data Sources
Geospatial research benefits from a wealth of open data sources — from global satellite archives to national mapping agencies. This page lists the most important repositories and data portals.
Satellite Data Archives
| Repository | Description | Data Types | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copernicus Data Space | ESA's access point for Sentinel satellite data (Sentinel-1 to -6) | Radar, multispectral, atmospheric, ocean | dataspace.copernicus.eu |
| USGS EarthExplorer | US Geological Survey archive for Landsat, MODIS, and other satellite imagery | Multispectral, thermal, elevation | earthexplorer.usgs.gov |
| NASA Earthdata | NASA's central portal for Earth science data across multiple missions | Multi-sensor, atmosphere, ocean, land | earthdata.nasa.gov |
| Google Earth Engine Data Catalog | Cloud-hosted analysis-ready satellite and geospatial datasets | Preprocessed raster time series | developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets |
| AWS Open Data (Earth) | Cloud-hosted geospatial datasets on Amazon Web Services | Sentinel, Landsat, NAIP, terrain | registry.opendata.aws |
| Microsoft Planetary Computer | Cloud platform with global environmental datasets | Satellite imagery, climate, biodiversity | planetarycomputer.microsoft.com |
Elevation and Terrain Data
| Repository | Description | Resolution | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copernicus DEM | Global digital elevation model from TanDEM-X | 30 m / 90 m | Copernicus DEM |
| SRTM | Shuttle Radar Topography Mission global elevation data | 30 m / 90 m | USGS SRTM |
| OpenTopography | High-resolution LiDAR point clouds and DEMs | Variable (sub-meter) | opentopography.org |
Vector and Administrative Data
| Repository | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|
| OpenStreetMap (OSM) | Community-maintained global map with roads, buildings, land use | openstreetmap.org |
| Natural Earth | Public domain map data at 1:10m, 1:50m, and 1:110m scales | naturalearthdata.com |
| GADM | Global administrative boundaries (countries, regions, districts) | gadm.org |
| Geoportal.de | German national spatial data infrastructure portal | geoportal.de |
Climate and Weather Data
| Repository | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Copernicus Climate Data Store (CDS) | ERA5 reanalysis, climate projections, seasonal forecasts | cds.climate.copernicus.eu |
| NOAA Climate Data Online | US and global historical weather and climate observations | ncdc.noaa.gov |
| DWD Open Data | German Weather Service open data (observations, forecasts, climate) | opendata.dwd.de |
| CMIP6 | Coupled Model Intercomparison Project climate model outputs | esgf-node.llnl.gov |
Data Discovery Tools
| Tool | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|
| STAC Browser | Search and browse STAC-compliant satellite data catalogs | radiantearth.github.io/stac-browser |
| GEO Discovery and Access Broker (DAB) | GEOSS portal for discovering Earth observation data globally | geoss.org |