On the 10th of June, I joined my colleagues on an excursion to the Earth Observation Data Centre (EODC) and the Austrian Environmental Agency (Umweltbundesamt Österreich) in Vienna to complete the course on Copernicus Hubs and Institutions by having an on-site experience at these host institutions. The event started at 11am with the visit to EODC, we had lunch and continued to the environmental agency later in the afternoon.
First Stop: The Earth Observation Data Centre (EODC)
The EODC is an IT infrastructure firm that provides expertise in earth observation data provisioning, distribution, management, and processing. They operates a petabyte-scale data repository for the European Union (EU) Copernicus programme. With their aim to facilitate the collaboration between public and private sectors, they setup and operate joint infrastructure thereby providing the linkage between science and applications. They have benefited from several funding rounds for joint research and development in conjunction with other institutions to carry out specific projects including FAIR2Earth, Interface, EO4Vegetation Drought and TOPO4GEO to mention a few.
They also provide access to many data discovery and access tools such as Copernicus Global Land, Copernicus Climate Change Service, and CEM: Global Flood Monitoring Service to mention a few. Through these tools, the EODC grants access to Copernicus analysis ready datasets including historical ERA-5 mission datasets. During the visit to EODC I learnt about how EODC is providing a variety of compute options and purpose-built storage systems for mission-critical and science-friendly needs of several public and private organizations including universities, government agencies, and companies. I also learned about MUSICA, a distributed high-performance computer cluster with locations in Vienna, Linz, and Innsbruck, according to the name, it is believed that the distributed clusters at different locations are connected together to deliver supercomputing services forming a kind of orchestra.
VSC4 Motherboard
The highlight of the visit for me was the showcase of their data centers, I saw what is called the “Most powerful Supercomputer in Austria” – the Vienna Scientific Cluster 4 (VSC-4) which unfortunately is being retired gradually. I also saw the replacement VSC5 and the differences and upgrades were obvious. The VSC4 used Intel processors while VSC5 uses AMD processors and GPUs. The enclosure of the VSC5 is more compact and less noisy. The VSC5 also generates less heat compared to the VSC4. Both systems use hot water cooling – a very strange cooling technology where an hydronic systems circulate heated water through a network of pipes to regulate temperature within the server racks.
Hot water cooling system
Prior to the visit, I was expecting a very big data centre, I was disappointed by the compactness and size of the data center, I think for VSC4 and VSC5, they should just be called server rooms. The MUSICA cluster was the third visit and the room was larger, and less noisy. My disappointment on the scale of the infrastructure was as a result of my previous experience in Nigeria, where I was part of a team that setup the Geospatial Intelligence Fusion and Data Center which serves similar purpose for the DELTA satellite constellation operated by the Nigeria Defence Space Administration.
VSC4 Cross section
Lastly I saw the tape storage system, where tapes were stored in an enclosure and there is a robot in the enclosure that process read and write requests. The tape storage system is best for storing information that are not frequently accessed due to the low speed of reading and writing data on the tapes. The tapes vary in sizes from 4 terabytes to about 8 terabytes, and old but sophisticated technology which I thought has been replaced by modern storage devices like the Solid State Drives but was still serving purpose at the EODC to my surprise. And finally, a fun fact I learnt was that the supercomputers consume electricity that could power a city.
Afternoon at the Austrian Environmental Agency
The Austrian Environmental agency is the agency responsible for the environment in Austria. They are Austria’s leading environmental expert organization, providing essential services in environmental monitoring, data analysis, and sustainability consulting. The agency was founded in 1985 and restructured as a government-owned company since 1999. The agency supports national and international efforts to address climate change, protect biodiversity, advance the circular economy, and manage pollutants.
They work closely with government bodies, businesses, and research institutions, offering independent, science-based guidance to promote sustainable development and environmental protection. We visited the Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis team of the agency, the team is responsible for anything that has to do with geoinformatics at the agency. I learnt about their approach to mapping land cover and soil sealing, biodiversity & water, and climate. I learnt about their participation in INSPIRE standards development and how they represent knowledge in a knowledge graph system where they can semantically query the lineage of a particular land information to see how it has changed over time. They presented all the key environmental areas and the role of the Environmental agency in all of the areas.
Particularly, I found their participation in standards development an exciting one. I learnt about the Inspire directive in a course on Spatial Data Infrastructures during my bachelors studies in Nigeria, I didn’t understand fully then what the Inspire directive was all about. This visit was what I needed to make sense of what I learnt about 10 years ago. I was able to understand there is more to the standards and how the Environmental agency have built solutions around the standards was fascinating. I find the REST API, URL rewriter, and knowledge graph visualization using NEO4J absolutely sophisticated.
Final Thoughts
The visit to the Earth Observation Data Centre (EODC) and the Austrian Environmental Agency provided an invaluable on-site learning experience that deepened my understanding of the operational and technological backbone supporting Copernicus Hubs and environmental monitoring in Europe. At EODC, I gained insights into their pivotal role in earth observation data management, high-performance computing with systems like MUSICA and VSC5, and the use of the ironic hot water cooling systems.
The visit to the Austrian Environmental Agency further enriched my knowledge, especially in the application of geoinformatics, environmental monitoring, and the practical implementation of INSPIRE standards which bridged my knowledge gap significantly on standards implementation. This exposure not only connected me with the real-world infrastructure and standards shaping European environmental data systems but also significantly clarified and expanded my previous understanding. It was especially rewarding to see how everything I have studied, from spatial data infrastructures to environmental policies, connects in real life to support sustainable decision making at both national and international levels.
Author
Bamidele Clement Oke
Esri Certified GIS Analyst/Developer
Esri Certified GIS Analyst with extensive experience in both government and private sectors, providing innovative geospatial solutions. Currently, I'm pursuing a double master's degree with a focus on Geovisualization and Geocommunication. When I'm not making maps, I'm either designing apps and sites like this one, playing with my son, doing some DIY stuff, or eating something made with beans. Need geospatial insights or just want to chat about GIS? I'm your map whisperer!
Join the discussion
You may sign in to comment.
Maybe You are Interested in
Comments (2)
Insightful
Replies (1)
Glad you found some insights!
How big was the data center at the Defense Space Administration then?
Replies (1)
Okay, not an Amazon scale but kind of doubled the size of MUSICA!