We live in a time with an overflow of geospatial data sources. Where to find data and how to learn the different ways of accessing the data? Let’s dig in to how you better can browse and get these datasets.

STAC stands for Spatiotemporal Asset Catalog and is a practical tool for GIS users, simplifying the search and access to satellite imagery and geospatial data. It organizes Earth observation data in a structured manner, allowing users to efficiently discover relevant datasets. With STAC, you can access imagery from a variety of satellites like Sentinel and Landsat. It enables tasks such as urban planning, environmental monitoring, and agricultural analysis. STAC streamlines the process of finding and utilizing satellite data, making it a valuable resource for GIS professionals.

So, how can you start using it in QGIS?

• First off you have to download some plug ins, STAC plugins.

• Then you can start using it, click on Plugins -> STAC API Browser Plugin -> Open STAC API Browser.

• To be able to search through lots of data, choose “Microsoft Planetary Computer STAC API”. Then you can just   specify what dataset you are interested in and filter by that and choose your location.

• Now you can browse through the satellite images. If you click on “View assets” you can also download the data.

Enjoy the data!