  Environmental science is often fragmented: data is collected using mismatched
formats and conventions, and models are misaligned and run in isolation. Cloud
computing offers a lot of potential in the way of resolving such issues by
supporting data from different sources and at various scales, by facilitating
the integration of models to create more sophisticated software services, and
by providing a sustainable source of suitable computational and storage
resources. In this paper, we highlight some of our experiences in building the
Environmental Virtual Observatory pilot (EVOp), a tailored cloud-based
infrastructure and associated web-based tools designed to enable users from
different backgrounds to access data concerning different environmental issues.
We review our architecture design, the current deployment and prototypes. We
also reflect on lessons learned. We believe that such experiences are of
benefit to other scientific communities looking to assemble virtual
observatories or similar virtual research environments.
