Developments in sensor design, electronics, computer technology and networking have converged to provide new ways of collecting environmental data at rates hitherto impossible to achieve. To translate this ‘data deluge' into scientific knowledge requires comparable advances in our ability to integrate, process and analyze massive data sets. We review the experience of one large project in ingesting and analyzing sensor data from global lakes and provide a synopsis of innovative approaches being used to confront the information management and analytical challenges posed by massive volumes of data.