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Geospatial metadata

Aaron D Borden edited this page Jan 28, 2021 · 3 revisions

Geospatial metadata is a type of metadata for geographic data and information. In the US, it is largely defined by ISO 19115-1:2014. Geospatial metadata does not need to be digital and 19115 includes non-digital definitions. FGDC provides a useful ISO metadata overview.

Things to keep in mind:

  • ISO 19139 defines the XML schema representation of ISO 19115.
  • ISO standards are revised every few years so ISO 19115-2:2014 has replaced ISO 19115-2:2009

Digital metadata standards

Name Title a.k.a. Endorsed by FGDC? CKAN support? Comments
CSDGM Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata Published in 1998, is considered a legacy format. FGDC encourages using ISO standards instead.
ISO 19139-1 Geographic information — XML schema implementation ISO 19115-1
ISO 191139-2 Geographic information — Metadata — XML schema implementation — Part 2: Extensions for imagery and gridded data 19115-2
ISO 19115-3 Geographic information — Metadata — Part 3: XML schema implementation for fundamental concepts Support for CKAN requires support from OWSLib and ckanext-spatial GSA/data.gov#764. Replaces 19139-1 and 19139-2.

Other standards

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