WCS GALEON
Web Coverage Server
Geo-interface for Atmosphere, Land, Earth, Ocean NetCDF

There are two main components of this initiative:

• A Formal OGC Interoperability Experiment. The objective is to ascertain the suitability of the WCS interface specification for serving datasets that are typical of those stored in netCDF. This will be done in the context of a formal OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium) Interoperability Experiment (IE).
  
• A WCS Gateway Implementation. The second is to develop WCS client and server softare implementations that will enable the WCS clients to access data via a WCS gatewa to existing distributed servers that already serve data in netCDF. This will be done by the netCDF, THREDDS, OPeNDAP, LAS, GDS, etc. community members who are interested in providing access to their datasets via a standard WCS interface.

Presumably the implementation team will have members who are not part of the formal OGC IE. Likewise there are aspects of the formal IE that are not part of the WCS gateway to existing servers. For example, one of the IE use cases will serve netCDF data stored in a relational database management system.

Supporting Documents and Facilities

When GALEON becomes a formal Interoperability Experiment of the OGC, it will be supported by web pages and an email list for interactions relating to the WCS interface specification. Those facilities will be accessible only to OGC members.

Implementation and gateway email list

Unidata has set up an email list (galeon@unidata.ucar.edu) and web area for documents relating to the actual implementation work -- especially the WCS gateway to data served on exisiting netCDF, OPeNDAP, THREDDS servers. To prevent spam, only list members can post to galeon@unidata.ucar.edu.

At present, the galeon list is open to anyone interested, but you have to send mail to me (ben@unidata.ucar.edu) to subscribe to and unsubscribe from the galeon list, but we'll provide a web page sign up area for that in the future.

Web documents

Space on the Unidata web site has been allocated for:

• An archive of interactions on the GALEON email list
  http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/support/help/MailArchives/galeon/maillist.html
   
• The Current GALEON IE Activity Plan
  http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/projects/THREDDS/GALEON/GALEON-Activity-Plan.htm
   
• A Description of the proposed WCS THREDDS Gateway implementation
  http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/projects/THREDDS/OGC/WCS-THREDDS Gateway.htm
   
• A more detailed Description of ncML and ncML-GML
  http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/publications/ComputersAndGeosciences2004/nativicompsandgeo04.pdf
   

More documents will be created as the experiment progresses and the need arises.