ARCO (Analysis-Ready, Cloud-Optimized)

Data that has been pre-processed and re-formatted so you can stream and analyze it directly from cloud storage — no downloading, no reformatting, no fixing projections first. In practice that means Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFFs for imagery and Zarr for big multidimensional arrays.

Why it matters

The old workflow — download files, convert formats, mosaic, re-project — could take longer than the science. ARCO data flips it: open a dataset by URL and slice exactly the region, time, and variable you need, reading only those bytes. It’s why a notebook can analyze decades of data it could never fit on a laptop.

Where you’ll meet it

• VEDA pulls from public ARCO stores and serves analysis-ready data to its hub.
• ARCO-ERA5 (ECMWF climate reanalysis as Zarr on cloud storage) lets you xr.open_zarr(...) 80+ years of weather without a download.
• NASA’s cloud DAACs increasingly publish COG/Zarr ARCO versions alongside the original files.
• “Analysis-ready” also implies cleaned and standardized — consistent grids, units, and quality flags.

In plain terms

Pre-washed, pre-chopped vegetables versus a muddy crate from the field — same produce, but ready to cook the instant you open the bag.