ODP STAC API Skill

Use this skill when the user wants to search for ocean data, marine datasets, or geospatial collections from Hub Ocean / Ocean Data Platform (ODP).

Overview

The ODP STAC API provides access to ocean and marine datasets following the SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog (STAC) specification. It allows searching for data collections and individual dataset items with spatial and temporal filters.

Base URL: https://api.hubocean.earth/api/stac

Key Concepts: Collections vs Items

Quick Reference

• Want to browse available datasets? → List Collections
• Want to find specific data points/observations? → Search Items within a Collection

Endpoints

1. Root Catalog

curl -X GET "https://api.hubocean.earth/api/stac"

2. List All Collections

curl -X GET "https://api.hubocean.earth/api/stac/collections"

With pagination:

curl -X GET "https://api.hubocean.earth/api/stac/collections?offset=0&limit=10"

3. Get Single Collection

curl -X GET "https://api.hubocean.earth/api/stac/collections/{collection-id}"

4. Search Items

curl -X POST "https://api.hubocean.earth/api/stac/search" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "collections": ["collection-uuid"],
    "bbox": [minLon, minLat, maxLon, maxLat],
    "datetime": "start/end",
    "limit": 10
  }'

Search Parameters

Example Queries

List All Available Collections

curl -s "https://api.hubocean.earth/api/stac/collections" | jq '.collections[] | {id, title, description}'

Search for Items in Norwegian Waters (2023)

curl -X POST "https://api.hubocean.earth/api/stac/search" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "bbox": [3, 57, 31, 71],
    "datetime": "2023-01-01T00:00:00Z/2023-12-31T23:59:59Z",
    "limit": 50
  }'

Search Echosounder Data in Southern Ocean

curl -X POST "https://api.hubocean.earth/api/stac/search" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "collections": ["7c61c869-a7c1-4f1c-900e-34636ee3392a"],
    "bbox": [-180, -90, 180, -60],
    "limit": 100
  }'

Get Items Near Oslo Fjord

curl -X POST "https://api.hubocean.earth/api/stac/search" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "intersects": {
      "type": "Polygon",
      "coordinates": [[[10.2, 59.0], [10.9, 59.0], [10.9, 59.5], [10.2, 59.5], [10.2, 59.0]]]
    },
    "limit": 50
  }'

Known Collections

Note: Collections may be added or removed. Always query /stac/collections for the current list (49 collections as of Oct 2026).

Known Datasets (Items)

Verified via STAC in Oct 2026. Web link for any item: https://app.hubocean.earth/catalog/dataset/<item-id>.

Limitations and Gotchas (verified)

• No free-text search. q is silently ignored — the response is just unfiltered results, which can look like a match. filter/CQL2, sortby and fields aren't documented either. To search by keyword: dump /collections?limit=500 plus each relevant collection's /collections/{id}/items?limit=100, then match titles, descriptions and keywords locally.
• STAC is the public catalog, not the whole catalog. A dataset missing from STAC may still exist on ODP as public draft, private, or even public and published (full OBIS is public and published but not in STAC). Never report "not available" from STAC alone. With a key, search the catalog list (GET /api/catalog/v2/datasets); without one, look up by ID or ask the user to find it in https://app.hubocean.earth/catalog (see odp-data-consume).
• Public data on ODP doesn't need a key. Public tables (schema, stats, aggregate) can be read anonymously through the SDK. A key is needed for private datasets and for catalog records (see "What needs a key" in odp-data-consume).
• Global-extent items match every bbox. A bbox search over a small region can return ~120 items, almost all global. Filter on each item's own bbox to find genuinely regional data.
• Item assets are empty. Data is reached through the SDK by item ID, not via asset hrefs. Use the alternate link (or the URL pattern above) for the web page.
• Dates are local midnight in UTC. E.g. 2023-12-31T23:00:00Z means 2024-01-01 at UTC+1. An end of 2024-11-30T23:00:00Z could mean "through November" or "December month-start". Check the actual data before claiming a month is covered.
• Pagination: use offset/limit, or follow the next/prev links in responses.
• No auth needed for the public STAC endpoints.

Response Structure

Collection Response

{
  "id": "uuid",
  "title": "Dataset Name",
  "description": "What this dataset contains",
  "license": "ODC-BY-1.0",
  "extent": {
    "spatial": {"bbox": [[-180, -90, 180, 90]]},
    "temporal": {"interval": [["2021-01-01T00:00:00Z", null]]}
  },
  "keywords": ["oceanography", "marine", ...],
  "links": [...]
}

Item Response (from search)

{
  "type": "FeatureCollection",
  "features": [
    {
      "type": "Feature",
      "id": "item-uuid",
      "geometry": {"type": "Point", "coordinates": [10.7, 59.9]},
      "properties": {
        "datetime": "2023-06-15T12:00:00Z",
        ...
      },
      "links": [...],
      "assets": {...}
    }
  ]
}

Common Bounding Boxes

Tips for Claude Desktop Usage

1. First, list collections to see what data is available
2. Note collection IDs - you need these UUIDs to search for items
3. Use bbox for regional searches - faster than global queries
4. Add datetime filters to narrow results to relevant time periods
5. Check the links array for the alternate web-catalog link; data itself is accessed via the SDK by item ID

Related Resources

• STAC Specification: https://stacspec.org/
• Hub Ocean Data Catalog UI: https://app.hubocean.earth/catalog
• API Documentation: https://docs.hubocean.earth/reference/stac-api/