What is a Coverage Service?
For a quick overview of WCS see
http://www.ogcnetwork.net/wcs .
What use can WCS have in Meteorology?
Meteorology routinely uses large grids of data, in 2, 3,4 or more dimensions. Even when the data had been encoded and formatted into, for example, separate 2D fields, the underlying data is still has inherently 3 or more dimensions, or may be a vector or tensor quantity rather than a scalar.
Because of volumes, meteorology has used binary data formats, sometimes using application level setting of precision and compression. There is no single recognised way of using these data in XML based systems.
Also, there is no single way of mapping such 'data cubes' into the inherently 2D geographical maps. Consequently, we need to start looking at the issues relating to the effective use of large binary gridded data sets via Web Coverage Services and Web Coverage Processing Services as well as ensuring consistency across the range of OGC web services.
What are the challenges of using WCS in Meteorology?
- Definition of dimension, especially time (see WMS)
- Support for Meteorology specific formats
Where can I find some servers?
Which (meteorological) tools already can handle WCS?
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StephanSiemen - 20 Nov 2010