logo IPSES

Help on how to add data from OGC service URLs

One of the cornerstones of Open Science and the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) is interoperability. For this reason, IPSES does not merely display the data in our catalogues, but allows you to enhance your workspace by integrating external geographic layers from other research institutions, universities or government agencies.

This guide will explain how to use the ‘Add OGC Web Service’ function to load and overlay external services on the map that are based on the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) open standards, specifically WMS and WFS.

What are WMS and WFS services?

Before we begin, here is a brief distinction between the two supported standard formats:

  • WMS (Web Map Service): Provides georeferenced maps rendered as images (e.g. PNG, JPEG). It is ideal for visualising complex data, raster models, or base maps without having to download the raw data.
  • WFS (Web Feature Service): Provides the actual vector data (points, lines, polygons) along with their attributes. It is ideal if you need to query individual features, filter them or perform spatial analysis on them.

How to add an OGC service in IPSES

The procedure for adding an external service is simple and takes place entirely within the platform’s main interface (VRE – Virtual Research Environment).

Step 1: Go to the ‘My Web Services’ section

  1. In the left-hand panel, make sure you are on the Catalogue tab.
  2. Click on the sub-tab labelled ‘My Web Services’.

In this section, you will find a list of the services you have imported in the current session. If this is your first time logging in, this area will be empty.

Step 2: Enter the service URL

  1. Click on the orange ‘Add OGC Web Service’ button.
  2. A modal window (pop-up) will open in the centre of the screen.
  3. In the Web Service URL field, paste the address (Endpoint) of the WMS or WFS service you wish to integrate.
  4. Click on the Submit button.

Step 3: Display on the Map

If the URL is valid and the remote server responds correctly, IPSES will query the service (via a standard GetCapabilities request). The layers made available by the remote service will appear in your panel and you can activate them to view them directly on the central IPSES map, overlaying them onto the existing seismological, volcanological or geodetic data.

Please note: it may take some time for the uploaded data to appear on the map. The speed at which the data appears depends on various factors: the speed of your internet connection, the complexity and volume of the uploaded data, the speed of the remote web service publishing the data, and the performance of your browser. Furthermore, the speed also depends on the type of service being loaded: the performance of a WMS service is largely linked to the speed of the data provider’s web service (which must generate the map image on its own server), whilst the performance of a WFS service is fundamentally linked to the speed and resources of your local browser (which must process and render the vector geometries on screen).

How should the URL be formatted?

To ensure that IPSES can read the service, the URL must point to the main endpoint of the OGC service.

Examples of valid URLs:

  • https://example.com/geoserver/wms?service=wms&request=GetCapabilities
  • http://example.com/geoserver/wfs?service=wfs&request=GetCapabilities
  • https://example.com/geoserver/ows?service=wms&request=GetCapabilities
  • https://example.com/geoserver/ows?service=wfs&request=GetCapabilities

Troubleshooting common issues

  • Connection error or timeout: The remote server hosting the OGC service may be temporarily offline or unreachable. Try opening the URL in a new browser tab to check its status.
  • CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) issues: As IPSES is a web application, remote servers must explicitly allow their data to be shared with other domains. If the OGC service provider has not enabled CORS policies on their server, your browser will block the loading for security reasons, returning an error. In this case, the problem does not lie with IPSES, but with the data provider’s settings.
  • Unsupported format: Ensure that the URL actually points to a WMS or WFS service and not to a normal web page (HTML) or a static file (e.g. a ZIP or PDF).