rasdaman newsletter 09/2026
OGC Invites Comments on New Datacube Standard
The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) invites comments on the proposed OGC Coverage Implementation Schema (CIS) 1.2 Standard, the basis for geo datacubes. CIS 1.2, which is already adopted by ISO, specifies an implementable, conformance-testable coverage structure based on the concepts and terminology of ISO 19123-1. The comment period ends on September 12, 2026.
Based on the concepts defined in OGC Abstract Topic 6.1, which is identical to ISO 19123-1, coverages serve as digital representations of space-time varying phenomena, corresponding to the notion of a "field" in physics. Specifically, regular and irregular grid coverages represent datacubes. Common examples include 1-D time series, 2-D imagery, 3-D x/y/t image time series and x/y/z geophysical voxel models, as well as 4-D x/y/z/t atmospheric and ocean data. Coverages are independent from service definitions and, therefore, can be accessed through a variety of web-based service types, such as the OGC Web Coverage Service (WCS) API and the WCPS geo datacube query language.
CIS 1.2 integrates several standards into a single, homogenized specification, namely CIS 1.0, CIS 1.1, and the Referenceable Grid Coverage Extension. As such, CIS 1.2 is backwards compatible - it does not introduce any incompatible change. As an addition over the earlier standards, a JSON encoding is provided which relies on modern JSON Schema for a concise definition. Further, terminology and structure has been finetuned to exactly match with the terminology of ISO 19123-1 / OGC AT6.1.
"With CIS 1.2, OGC will offer a handy coverage specification which will make it easier for adopters to implement coverage data and services", explains the document editor, Peter Baumann.
The proposed OGC Coverage Implementation Schema (CIS) 1.2 is available for review and comment for a period of 30 days. Comments are due by 12 September, 2026.
See all about Coverage and Datacube Standards for the candidate standard.
contact: Prof. Dr. Peter Baumann