It is an XML schema for data exchange over the Internet that incorporates the ability to represent geographic data relevant to territorial features such as geometry (e.g. polygons, lines and points) using the OGC's GML specification. The range of features being offered for exchange are defined by the domain or subject area of Earth Sciences or the geological sciences.

 

 GeoSciML accommodates the short-term goal of representing geoscience information associated with geological maps and observations, as well as being extended in the long-term to other data. It draws from many geoscience data model efforts, and from these establishes a common suite of feature types based on geological criteria (units, structures, fossils) or artifacts of geological investigations (specimens, sections, measurements). Supporting objects are also considered (timescale, lexicons, etc), so that they can be used as classifiers for the primary objects.

GeoSciML is based on W3C, OGC and ultimately ISO international standards for data exchange over the Internet and is being designed by the IUGS-CGI Interoperability Working Group, an international consortium of geological surveys around the world.

For further detailed information on the development of GeoSciML, see here.

 

List of publications released: