GEOSCIML TESTBED 2: DEMONSTRATING THE EXCHANGE OF GEOLOGIC MAP INFORMATION USING A COMMON DATA TRANSFER SCHEMA AND OPEN GEOSPATIAL CONSORTIUM TECHNOLOGIES

GeoSciML is a standard data schema for exchanging geological features using Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) web service technologies and standards. It is being developed via open participation in the international community by the Interoperability Working Group of the Commission for the Management and Application of Geoscience Information (CGI), a commission of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). GeoSciML 1.0 is an application of GML (Geography Markup Language) and is derived primarily from the North American Digital Geologic Map Data Model (NADM, www.namd-geo.org) and the eXploration and Mining Markup Language (XMML, http://xmml.arrc.csiro.au/). It is being considered as the exchange format for OneGeology, a collaborative project to deliver, via the web, geologic maps for the World at scales of about 1:1M.

GeoSciML 1.0 has recently been evaluated in a 2nd international testbed. Data providers from eight agencies in six countries (Canada, USA, UK, France, Sweden, Australia) participated in this testbed. Geologic map information was served by each agency in GeoSciML 1.0 format, using OGC Web Mapping Service (WMS) and Web Feature Service (WFS) standards. For the testbed, multiple web clients carried out three pre-defined use-cases: (1) viewing geologic maps from several data providers and downloading geologic data as GeoSciML for a user-selected feature; (2) querying multiple maps and downloading geologic data as GeoSciML for multiple features; (3) reclassifying multiple geologic maps using a common classification for each of the GeoSciML attributes of geologic age and rock type, and displaying the result as a derivative map.

A live demonstration of the testbed will use both web-based and desktop clients and present the three use-cases from multiple data sources. In addition to illustrating the benefits of a standard data transfer schema, the demonstration will also highlight the need to develop semantic approaches to reconcile heterogeneous data content.