There’s a staggering amount of optical satellite data from the European Copernicus program. A large proportion of this data is not usable due to the intense cloud coverage many regions face during different periods of the year. Detecting clouds from optical satellite data is a crucial step for analysing the data. This presentation dives into the technical challenges and decisions we met during the design and implementation of a fully automated data pipeline for the United Nations Peace Operations to generate timely updated, cloud-free satellite imagery from high-resolution open data. Most peace operations are in tropical regions and prone to persistent cloud coverage throughout the year.

Open Data Cube (ODC) was utilised as the data platform of choice for harnessing the satellite data. ODC is an Open Source Geospatial Data Management and Analysis Software project that enables the use of satellite data in its broadest sense. ODC is a server-side software capable of processing and sharing immense amounts of satellite data.

The project was implemented as part of the United Nation’s Open GIS initiative (UN Open GIS).