Web Coverage Service (WCS)
Overview
Web Coverage Service (WCS) is an Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standard that provides access to geospatial raster data, called “coverages.” Unlike Web Map Service (WMS) which returns rendered images, WCS returns the actual data values, enabling analysis and processing on the client side.
Key Concepts
| Concept | Description |
|---|---|
| Coverage | Multi-dimensional raster data (e.g., elevation, temperature, satellite imagery) |
| GetCapabilities | Returns service metadata and available coverages |
| DescribeCoverage | Returns detailed metadata about a specific coverage |
| GetCoverage | Returns the actual raster data in requested format |
Operations
GetCapabilities
Returns XML describing the service and available coverages.
GET /wcs?service=WCS&version=2.0.1&request=GetCapabilities
DescribeCoverage
Returns detailed metadata for a specific coverage.
GET /wcs?service=WCS&version=2.0.1&request=DescribeCoverage&CoverageId=DEM
GetCoverage
Returns the actual raster data.
GET /wcs?service=WCS&version=2.0.1&request=GetCoverage&CoverageId=DEM&format=image/tiff
Versions
| Version | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| WCS 1.0 | Legacy | Original specification |
| WCS 1.1 | Legacy | Added GML encoding |
| WCS 2.0 | Current | Modular, modern architecture |
| WCS 2.1 | Current | Extended interpolation support |
Use Cases
- Downloading elevation data (DEMs)
- Accessing satellite imagery data values
- Retrieving climate model outputs
- Environmental data analysis
Related Standards
- Web Map Service (WMS) - Returns rendered images
- Web Feature Service (WFS) - Returns vector features
- OGC API - Coverages - Modern REST API replacement
See Also
Appendix
Created: 2024-12-22 | Modified: 2024-12-22