Informatics Breakout Group

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Informatics Breakout Group
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Informatics Breakout topics discussed

• How will 1G integrate with topographic data?
• Centralized, distributed, or hybrid model?
• How will authorship be communicated?
• Will we use GeoSciML for WFS schematic
  interoperability?
• Linguistic base of 1G project?
• 6) A detailed timetable. What precisely is the
  next step for surveys?

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1. How will 1G integrate with topographic data

• Recommendations
• When we serve the web maps (OGC WMS,WFS), WGS 84
  (lat/long) is the default projection and the
  software offers other options as well e.g. the
  national projection
• That by default a topographic layer can be
  accessed from the GlobalMap 11M or the SRTM base
  in real time as a web service but a nation can
  serve its geology with integral topography if it
  wants to
• For bathymetry we can use GEBCO derivatives
• For Antarctica we have been offered SCAR

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2) Centralised or distributed model?

• Recommendations
• A hybrid whereby those that can make their data
  accessible from their website as a web service do
  so, and then we have regional data centres that
  host the web services for for those agencies that
  do to have the technical capability
• OneGeology can be accessed through the OneGeology
  portal which will lead people to the OneGeology
  services
• The portal will also provide, registry, technical
  reference and conformance tests and management
  services which will (only) need to be resourced
  sustainably
• By having a registry, OneGeology services can be
  accessed through other portals/web clients

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3. How will authorship of data be communicated

• Recommendations
• You can have the logo of each organisation that
  is serving the data within their piece of the
  jigsaw
• The One Geology specification will require that
  the web services returning the data will include
  reference to the data provider and a link back to
  their home website to allow viewing of other data
  offerings

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4. Do we use GeoSciML?

• Recommendations
• Yes, it is already endorsed in Australia, Canada,
  US and proposed to be used in INSPIRE and AEGOS.
  It will be an IUGS endorsed Conceptual model of
  GeoScience that we can all use to exchange
  geoscience data
• Note the WMS (Raster) level service does not
  require a Markup Language like GeoSciML
• Must have GeoSciML to fully exploit vector data
  and to exchange feature data within OneGeology

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5. Linguistic base of OneGeology project

• Recommendations
• The legend available with each web map service
  may by default, be in the nations home language,
  but each nation aims to provide an English (and
  or other) alternative legend in parallel when it
  can
• Full Multilingual capability (e.g. where returned
  feature attributes are linked to multilingual
  concept definitions) is part of semantic
  interoperability, and therefore part of future
  goals
• Need multilingual initiatives to come together
  under CGI and to combine with the GeoSciML
  Concept Definitions Working Group

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6. Prerequisites for OneGeology Involvement (1)

• To provide a WMS you only require georeferenced
  scanned paper map or raster digital GIS data
• To provide feature and complex data queries via
  GeoSciML based WFS you
• Need to map from your GIS server (ARCINFO, Map
  Info,ORACLE etc ) data store to WFS server
  configuration (Geoserver or Mapserver/arcims/Cocoo
  n)
• Need a (trained) person week, but includes
  getting WFS going with open source software (IT
  issues)
• Note that the mapping process will be simple
  (small part of GeoSciML) if the themes chosen by
  the geological specification group are simple
  e.g. simple polygons with few attributes such as
  bedrock, lithology and age

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6. Prerequisites for OneGeology Involvement (2)

• Support services required
• A OneGeology specific branded cookbook (No 1) on
  How to setup a WMS (raster) service (with no
  GIS/GeoSciML)
• A cookbook (No 2) that explains how we map from
  the backend data base to the GeoSciML WFS service
  and these could be developed in multi-lingual
  versions
• A cookbook (No 3) How to set up a WMS and/or WFS
  web service on your web server using Opensource
  software
• A support team or available (email?) expert team
  and it has to be funded
• A series of Regional Workshops to build
  technology capability within staff
• Base work on Open Source technologies so software
  free
• Use a collaborative Website (TWIKI) (as with
  GeoSciML)

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7. Detailed Timetable

• Recommendation
• Need a specification that shows what OneGeology
  is about
• Need a draft which is developed in a short time
  so that it is available for comment could be
  achieved within three months of staff funding
  being obtained.
• Specification would include
• Project outline and Roadmap
• Diagrams on how it will work
• Reference to cookbooks and support to be used

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Conclusions

• Positive atmosphere
• People wanted to move forward aggressively to
  adopt advanced solutions
• However, we need to recognise and respect the
  varying technical capabilities that the
  individual agencies have
• We also need to respect their own business
  drivers