S15E5: STAC – A common language for finding geospatial data

In this episode of Scene from Above, Julia Wagemann speaks with Matthias Mohr, independent software developer and one of the key contributors to the STAC (SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog) and STAC API specifications.

 

STAC has become foundational to how Earth observation data is discovered and accessed across cloud platforms. But its origins lie in a fragmented landscape of portals, inconsistent metadata, and incompatible APIs.

Matthias shares how STAC emerged from practical needs within the community and how it evolved into a widely adopted standard for geospatial data discovery.

 

Together, Julia and Matthias unpack:

• Why STAC was created and what problem it solved
  
  
• The difference between static STAC catalogues and STAC APIs
  
  
• How organisations struggle when adopting STAC internally
  
  
• The role of extensions and interoperability
  
  
• Where cloud-native geospatial infrastructure may head next

 

A thoughtful conversation for anyone working with large-scale Earth observation data, from analysts querying data, to engineers publishing catalogues, to decision-makers shaping data infrastructure.

 

Host: Julia Wagemann

Guest: Matthias Mohr