Reimagining the Community Catalog
The Awesome GEE Community Catalog just underwent a major update with exciting new features, improved navigation, and overall enhancements. Join me as we dive into the latest additions and updates.
The Community Catalog has been a cornerstone of our community for almost four years, providing a treasure trove of valuable geospatial datasets. But as we all know, things evolve, and the catalog needed a refresh to keep up with the growing needs of our amazing community. 🌱 This blog delves in depth into some of the key points discussed in a recent video comparing the old and new versions of the Community Catalog, highlighting the significant updates and improvements.
At the time of publishing this post the beta changes have been merged to the main catalog.
What's New in Town?
For almost four years, the Community Catalog has been a cornerstone of our community, providing an incredible treasure trove of valuable geospatial datasets that have been made available by the Google Earth Engine (GEE) community. The catalog lives alongside the Google Earth Engine data catalog and houses datasets that are often requested by the community under a variety of open licenses. Just as shared norms within a physical commons benefit everyone, fostering a similar collaborative environment within the digital realm was our goal. But as our needs and expectations grew, so did the need for a refresh. The new version brings significant updates and improvements that will improve your experience! 🌱
These changes are more than just superficial - they bring substantial benefits to the users. With streamlined navigation and download options, accessing and using data has never been more efficient.
Additionally, by highlighting community contributions and providing detailed statistics, the new version fosters a stronger sense of community and encourages more participation. This is in line with the catalog's mission to create a collection of datasets that are freely available for anyone to use. By making these datasets accessible, we aim to promote research, education, and innovation, and we're excited to see what our community will achieve with this new version!
A New Look and Feel
The latest update introduces a sleek and intuitive tabbed navigation system, replacing the long scrolling list on the left-hand side. Users can effortlessly explore sections like "Getting Started", "Tutorials," and "Changelog" with a simple click. These enhancements are not just superficial; they significantly improve the user experience by streamlining the process of accessing and using data. The new navigation and download options boost efficiency, making it easier for users to find and utilize the resources they need.
Major updates also include direct download options, eliminating previous navigation challenges. The new tabbed system allows for quicker and more efficient access to different sections of the catalog, ensuring a seamless user experience. Users can now download the Earth Engine Examples repository as a zip file directly, saving time and effort. The highlighted sections for the JSON and CSV assets master list further simplify the process, making data retrieval more straightforward and user-friendly.
Earn your name in the Catalog Citation
There are two easy ways to get your name added to the catalog citation. You can either contribute a tutorial or you can create a pull request and improve on the catalog itself anything from a spelling mistake to updating citation information for a dataset. We work together as a community and you deserve the credit wherever possible.
You can always find the latest DOI and Citation here
Samapriya Roy, Muhammed Abdelaal, Ujaval Gandhi, & Swetnam, T. (2024). samapriya/awesome-gee-community-datasets: Community Catalog (2.7.0).
Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12057445Key Features to Explore
The new version comes packed with features that users should explore to make the most of the available data. The updated interface is not just about aesthetics; it’s designed to enhance usability and accessibility.
Tutorials Section: A dedicated "Tutorials" section is a game-changer. 🤓 Ujjwal from Spatial Thoughts has been instrumental in creating comprehensive, step-by-step guides.! 📚These tutorials cover a wide range of topics, from data manipulation to visualization, providing invaluable resources for anyone looking to learn and explore.
Data Themes: Explore datasets organized by theme, making it easier to find what you need! 🔍
Community Contributions Section: The heart of the catalog remains the same: a wealth of open geospatial data contributed by and for the community. 🌎
Users can easily find datasets they need and see the contributions of their peers, fostering a sense of community and collaboration.
Connect with other users, ask questions, and share knowledge on our community forum! 💬
Get Involved: Community Contribution Section
What’s Next
Whether you are a researcher, developer, or geospatial enthusiast, the new features and functionalities of the catalog are designed to meet your needs and help you make the most of the available data. Reach out on Linkedin and Github to share dataset ideas, provide feedback, and join the conversation as you explore all of these datasets now part of the community catalog.
So, what are you waiting for? 🔥 Head over to the Community Catalog, explore the new features, and let me know what you think! 😊 We're all in this together, and I can't wait to see what incredible things we achieve as a community. 🚀🌍✨
Amazing work, Sam