RealEarth: Access to Real-time and Archive Satellite Data through a Web Map Service

The complex mix of real-time and archive geophysical data and products continues to expand. Demand for easy access to an ever-increasing assortment of data sources and formats is a constant challenge. The University of Wisconsin-Madison Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) hosts real-time and archive geophysical data (satellite images and products, radar, etc.) through its RealEarth Web Map Service (WMS). Individuals ranging from research scientists to grade school students can access a variety of geo-physical datasets using native and web-based applications. RealEarth can deliver any combination of products to standard Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) compliant viewers currently available on a full spectrum of platforms (workstations, laptop, smartphone, etc.). Users can manipulate product display through a set of standard features allowing them to control layering, transparency, animation and zoom on a global scale.