AppEEARS: Simple and Intuitive Access to Analysis Ready Data

Abstract:

Many search and discovery tools for satellite land remote sensing data archives are often catalog-based and can only be queried at a granule level requiring remote sensing data users to download and process entire data files before science questions can be addressed. Methods for accessing remote sensing data archives must become more precise in order to allow users to concisely extract study relevant information from rapidly expanding archives.

To address the need, NASA’s Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) is developing AppEEARS (Application for Extracting and Exploring Analysis Ready Samples). Built on top of middleware services, the AppEEARS user interface facilitates input of precise sample locations, such as field study sites or flux towers, to extract analysis-ready data from land MODIS products held by NASA’s LP DAAC. AppEEARS provides simple and intuitive access to LP DAAC’s land MODIS products.

For a given set of sample locations, AppEEARS returns pixel values that intersect with the provided locations through the requested date range. Additionally, the AppEEARS user interface provides exploratory data analysis services (e.g. time series and scatter plots) allowing users to interact and explore the requested data and its associated quality information before downloading. AppEEARS delivers study relevant data sets requiring little more processing allowing users to spend less time performing data preparation routines and more time answer questions.