The CF standard was originally framed as a standard for data written in netCDF format, with model-generated climate forecast data particularly in mind. However, it is equally applicable to observational datasets, and can be used to describe other formats. It is a standard for “use metadata” that aims both to distinguish quantities (such as physical description, units, and prior processing) and to locate the data in space–time.
Sponsored by the NetCDF Climate and Forecast Metadata Convention, the current version dates from December 2011.
The Common Information Model (CIM) describes climate data, the models and software from which they derive, the geographic grids used to calculate and project them, and the experimental processes (typically simulations) that produced them.
The CIM was originally developed by the EU-funded Metafor Project. It is now maintained and developed by Earth Science Documentation (ES-DOC). The latest release dates from 2012.
An early metadata initiative from the Earth sciences community, intended for the description of scientific data sets. It inlcudes elements focusing on instruments that capture data, temporal and spatial characteristics of the data, and projects with which the dataset is associated. It is defined as a W3C XML Schema.
Sponsored by the Global Change Master Directory, the DIF Writer's Guide Version 6 is from November 2010.
A widely-used, but no longer current standard defining the information content for a set of digital geospatial data required by the US Federal Government.
CSDGM was sponsored by the US Federal Geographic Data Committee. However, in September 2010 the FGDC endorsed ISO 19115 and began encouraging federal agencies to transition to ISO metadata.
An internationally-adopted schema for describing geographic information and services. It provides information about the identification, the extent, the quality, the spatial and temporal schema, spatial reference, and distribution of digital geographic data.
Sponsored by the International Standards Organisation, the first edition of ISO 19115 was published in 2003. It has since been split into parts: ISO 19115-1:2014 contains the fundamentals of the standard; ISO 19115-2:2009 contains extensions for imagery and gridded data; and ISO/TS 19115-3:2016 provides an XML schema implementation for the fundamental concepts compatible with ISO/TS 19138:2007 (Geographic Metadata XML, or GMD).
A metadata standard for describing environmental monitoring activities, programmes, networks and facilities published by the UK Environmental Observation Framework (UKEOF).
Developed by the Cooperative Ocean-Atmosphere Research Data Service (COARDS), these conventions constitute a standard set of metadata to include in netCDF files, allowing them to be shared and interchanged.
The COARDS Conventions are generalized and extended by the CF (Climate and Forecast) Metadata Conventions.
The National Oceanographic Data Centre's required format for reporting on cruises or field experiments at sea, formulated using tags from the ISO19115 metadata standard.
An extension to the FGDC/CSDGM metadata standard providing a common terminology and set of definitions for documenting geospatial data obtained by remote sensing.
The European Directory of Marine Environmental Datasets metadata scheme, which is a profile of ISO 19115.
A profile of ISO 19115:2003, adopted in 2007 as the common metadata standard for the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE). The other profiles of ISO 19115 in use in European Member States have been made compliant with INSPIRE.
An extension of ISO 19115 defining the schema required for describing imagery and gridded data.
A profile developed in accordance with ISO 19115 rules by the Australian Ocean Data Centre that supports the documentation and discovery of marine spatial datasets.
A GeoNetwork web application for metadata management and searching, with profiles available for two extensions of ISO 19115: ANZLIC and the Marine Community Profile.
A utility that checks netCDF files for CF-compliance.
The CIM Comparator is a web-based tool for comparing and contrasting CIM metadata records currently stored in the CIM archive. It allows users to compare scientific properties across models and their components. Currently the Comparator is limited to the comparison of CMIP5 metadata. The results of the comparison are available in HTML or exportable CSV.
The CIM Questionnaire generates a customizable web-based questionnaire based on the CIM schema.
The CIM Viewer is a light-weight JavaScript platform independent API that other software stacks can use to display CIM metadata.
A set of C-based functions, with bindings to both Python and FORTRAN 90, that can be used to produce CF-compliant netCDF files.
The FGDC website's list of tools to implement the CSDGM standard.
A package of tools that facilitates the generation of ISO 19115-2 metadata from NetCDF data sources.
A set of software libraries and self-describing, machine-independent data formats that conform to the CF metadata conventions. They support the creation, access, and sharing of array-oriented scientific data.
OWSLib is a Python package for client programming with Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) web service (hence OWS) interface standards, and their related content models
A methodology and toolset for documenting climatology simulation experiments using the Metafor CIM.
pycsw is an OGC CSW server implementation written in Python. Started in 2010 (more formally announced in 2011), pycsw allows for the publishing and discovery of geospatial metadata via numerous APIs (CSW 2/CSW 3, OpenSearch, OAI-PMH, SRU), providing a standards-based metadata and catalogue component of spatial data infrastructures. pycsw is Open Source, released under an MIT license, and runs on all major platforms (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X)
pygeometa is a Python package to generate metadata for geospatial datasets
A suite of tools designed by SeaDataNet to facilitate the creation, editing, and conversion of ocean and marine data and metadata. Particular tools are available for preparing ISO 19115-conformant XML metadata files for the SeaDataNet directories.
This tool uses the Observations and Measurements standard to define a Web service interface which allows querying observations, sensor metadata, as well as representations of observed features.
The UKEOF Catalogue contains over 2000 metadata records of environmental observations undertaken and funded by public and third sector organisations.
The Catalogue provides a unique management tool to underpin the activities and requirements of the environmental observation community. It provides a strong basis for strategic planning, giving a holistic overview of environmental observations as well as a place to discover who is doing what, where, why and when.
The Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) Designated Data Centre for the Atmospheric Sciences. It uses the CF-Compliant NetCDF format for its datasets.
This national facility for looking after and distributing data concerning the marine environment requires that data sets use a well-documented format such as CF-compliant NetCDF and be accompanied by a Dublin Core record as well as discovery metadata in a recognised standard such as DIF or FGDC/CDGM.
An international effort headed by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites developed to assist users in locating Earth science data sets, data services, and visualizations using DIF metadata.
The tool allows one to associate issues and reports of information with a remote resource. Issues are things that are wrong with the remote resource, or which need looking into, and reports are comments on the consistency of the remote resource with various measures.
The CIM Portal enables users to discover information and services about Earth and climate systems.
A service for submitting CMIP5 climate data to the Earth Science Grid in a form compliant with the Metafor CIM.
A web service allowing users to access the availability and geographical spreading of marine data sets managed by the SeaDataNet data centres, using metadata based on the ISO 19115 content model.
A gateway providing a discovery service for climate data held at repositories across the globe. It supports use of the Metafor CIM.
The Environmental Information Data Centre (EIDC) is a Natural Environment Research Council Data Centre hosted by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH). It manages nationally-important datasets concerned with the terrestrial and freshwater sciences.
A case study describing DIF metadata use in the German Research Center for Geoscience.
The GCMD uses DIF metadata to promote the discovery, access, and use of Earth science data and data-related services worldwide, parcitularly focusing on NASA data.
A number of projects at the Hadley Center require CF-Compliant NetCDF files, including HadAT and Transpose AMIP.
EOSDIS provides online FTP access to thousands of Earth system science data products described with DIF metadata.
The NCAR Research Data Archive uses CF-Compliant NetCDF files.
The world's largest climate data archive, providing climatological services and data worldwide. It currently promotes the FGDC/CSDGM metadata standard for its datasets.
Ocean Networks Canada operates the world-leading NEPTUNE and VENUS cabled ocean observatories that collect data on physical, chemical, biological, and geological aspects of the ocean over long time periods, supporting research on complex Earth processes. The CF standard is used within netCDF data products delivered through the Oceans 2.0 interface and via OPeNDAP webservices.
The CF Metadata Website's list of projects and groups adopting or encouraging the CF-Conventions as a standard.
The 2011 Unidata NetCDF Workshop's list of projects and groups adopting or encouraging the CF-Conventions as a standard.