GeoSciML a geoscience specific GML application to support interchange of geoscience information

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GeoSciML- a geoscience specific GML application
to support interchange of geoscience information

• CGI Interoperability Working Group
• Presented by Stephen Richard
• Arizona Geological Survey/U.S. Geological Survey

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Objectives of presentation

• What is GeoSciML?
• How was it developed?
• What does it look like?
• How do I use it?

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What is GeoSciML

• GeoSciML is an XML-based Geography Markup
  Language (GML) application
• Based on Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC)
  standards
• Framework for application-neutral encoding of
  geoscience thematic data and related spatial
  data.

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History

• Meeting in Edinburgh, Nov. 2003 to discuss
  problem
• Requirement to provide and exchange data in
  electronic format
• Data from each source in a different format so
  difficult to integrate
• Representatives of geological surveys from
• UK, Canada, US, France, Germany, Netherlands,
  Australia (CSIRO), Sweden, Japan, Czech Republic,
  Poland, Ireland, Finland
• Set up Interoperability Working Group under
  auspices of new IUGS CGI to address problem

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Objectives for working group

• Develop a conceptual geoscience data model
• Map this to an interchange format
• Develop a testbed to prove / demonstrate use of
  the interchange format
• Assess vocabulary requirements

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Approach

• Draw on previous work
• Existing geoscience data models
• Existing markup language specs
• Face-to-face meetings and Twiki
• Start with main components of geological map and
  borehole data (geological unit, Earth material,
  faults, contacts, and their defining concepts)
• Expand later to other geoscience domains (extend
  model or import namespaces?)

No funding, piggyback on ongoing activities
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Participants

• GeoSciML development team
• Eric Boisvert (GSC)
• Boyan Brodaric (GSC)
• Tim Duffy (BGS)
• Simon Cox (CSIRO)
• Bruce Johnson (USGS)
• John Laxton (BGS)
• Steve Richard (AZGS-USGS)
• Jean-Jacques Serrano (BRGM)
• Bruce Simons (GSV)
• Lars Stolen (SGU)
• Leslie Wyborn (GA)

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Process

• Review existing models
• Develop a conceptual data model and from this
  derive logical data model in UML
• Map this to XML for interchange using OGC GML
  standard (UML2GML profile)
• Use web services for delivery

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NADM C1 North American Geologic Map Data Model

• ConceptualUML diagrams and text implementation
  not specified
• Scope
• Materialsrock, mineral, sediment
• Bodies of material (geologic units)
• Structures
• Processes, Events
• Relationships

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XMML?Observation and Measurement

• OGC draft standard (OGC 05-087r4)
• Scope
• Site (includes boreholes)
• Sample
• Observation
• Measurement
• Basis for documenting provenance of data

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Interoperability via web service
Communication between service providers and
clients
takes place using XML mark up.
Use of standard markup language means schema
mapping only needs to be done once
Web service only implement interface for standard
markup input and output
Web service can focus on semantic mediation and
application logic.
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Data Interchange
Extract
Load
Interchange
schema
GeoSciML
GeoSciML
GSC
GSC
U
SGS
U
SGS
NGMDB
GSC
wrapper
wrapper
Data Interchange
Each data provider and consumer implements a
wrapper that maps
xml to and from local schema to interchange
schema
Use of standard means this schema mapping
only needs to be done once.
Users must still resolve semantic
(terminological) differences in
datasets that do not use a common vocabulary.
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Schematic and semantic interoperability
Ontology (data contentshared concepts)
GeoSciML (data structure)
Geoscience
OpenGIS
GML, XML (data language)
WFS, WMS, WCS (communication protocols)
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Semantic interoperability
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Activities Testbed 2

• Use cases
• display map, query one feature, return attributes
  in GeoSciML
• query several map features, return GeoSciML file
  for download
• reclassify map features based on GeoSciML
  GeologicAge or Lithology

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Results

• Use-case 1 query feature
• Query one map feature (e.g. a geologic unit) and
  return GeoSciML

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Current activities

• Concept definition task group mission
• Specify concept space for GeoSciML attributes
• Define categories that cover each space and
  assign language independent identifiers to each
  category
• Model v2 development, Tucson, May 2007
  Melbourne, Australia Sept. 2007
• Learn more, get involved
• https//www.seegrid.csiro.au/twiki/bin/view/CGIMod
  el/GeoSciML
• or Google GeoSciML Twiki

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In Closing

• Will GeoSciML suffice for some initial
  prototyping efforts
• Are there alternatives?
• Significant challenges
• Service definitions
• Development of wrappers for mapping to/from
  interchange format(s)
• Semantic interoperability-- shared
  vocabulary/ontology or software semantic mediation

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The End
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Requirements to set up service

• Data in vector digital form
• Web server connected to the internet
• Internet map server that can access data.
• Software to process OGC Web Map Service (WMS) and
  Web Feature Service (WFS) requests
• Software to convert hosted data into GeoSciML
  based on service requests.