A semantic standard developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, AgMES enables description, resource discovery, interoperability and data exchange of different types of information resources in all areas relevant to food production, nutrition and rural development.
The standard is maintained by AIMS (Agricultural Information Management Standards), and while it has been used in various application profiles, it is now deprecated for new uses and will no longer be updated.
The AVM scheme supports the cross-searching of collections of print-ready and screen-ready astronomical imagery rendered from telescopic observations (also known as ‘pretty pictures’). The scheme is compatible with the Adobe XMP specification, so the metadata can be embedded within common image formats such as JPEG, TIFF and PNG.
Such images can combine data acquired at different wavebands and from different observatories. While the primary intent is to cover data-derived astronomical images, there are broader uses as well. Specifically, the most general subset of this schema is also appropriate for describing artwork and illustrations of astronomical subject matter.
AVM is a proposed recommendation of the International Virtual Observatory Alliance and was last updated in 2011.
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.
A well-established standard file structure for the archiving and distribution of crystallographic information, CIF is in regular use for reporting crystal structure determinations to Acta Crystallographica and other journals.
Sponsored by the International Union of Crystallography, the current standard dates from 1997. As of July 2011, a new version of the CIF standard is under consideration.
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.
A study-data oriented model, primarily in support of the ICAT data managment infrastructure software. The CSMD is designed to support data collected within a large-scale facility’s scientific workflow; however the model is also designed to be generic across scientific disciplines.
Sponsored by the Science and Technologies Facilities Council, the latest full specification available is v 4.0, from 2013.
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.
FITS is an image data file format for encoding astronomical data. The WCS (World Coordinate System) conventions map elements in data arrays to standard physical coordinates in the sky. FITS has provisions for image metadata encoded in an ASCII header at the beginning of files.
The technical specifications defined by the IVOA (International Virtual Observatory Alliance) enable interoperability between and the integration of astronomical archives across the world into an international virtual observatory. They include several data models that act as metadata schemas for particular data types: for example, photometry data, simulation data, space-time coordinates, spectral lines data, spectral data, observational data, and the physical parameter space of astronomical datasets.
These data models are under active development by the IVOA Data Modelling Working Group.
Additional recommendations have been made for metadata concepts and terms necessary for the discovery and the use of astronomical data collections and services.
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).
NeXus is an international standard for the storage and exchange of neutron, x-ray, and muon experiment data. The structure of NeXus files is extremely flexible, allowing the storage of both simple data sets, such as a single data array and its axes, and highly complex data and their associated metadata, such as measurements on a multi-component instrument or numerical simulations. NeXus is built on top of the container format HDF5, and adds domain-specific rules for organizing data within HDF5 files in addition to a dictionary of well-defined domain-specific field names.
This encoding is an essential dependency for the OGC Sensor Observation Service (SOS) Interface Standard. More specifically, this standard defines XML schemas for observations, and for features involved in sampling when making observations. These provide document models for the exchange of information describing observation acts and their results, both within and between different scientific and technical communities.
OpenPMD provides naming and attribute conventions that allow the exchange of particle and mesh based data from scientific simulations and experiments. The primary goal is to define a minimal set/kernel of meta information that enables the sharing and exchange of data to achieve
OpenPMD suits any kind of hierarchical, self-describing data format, such as, but not limited to ADIOS1 (BP3), ADIOS2 (BP4), HDF5, JSON, and XML.
Protein Data Bank archive (PDB) is the single worldwide archival repository of information about the 3D structures of proteins, nucleic acids, and complex assemblies, managed by the Worldwide PDB (wwPDB). The PDB Exchange Dictionary (PDBx) is used by the wwPDB to define data content for deposition, annotation and archiving of PDB entries. PDBx incorporates the community standard metadata representation, the Macromolecular Crystallographic Information Framework (mmCIF), orginally developed under the auspices of the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr). PDBx has been extended by the wwPDB to include descriptions of other experimental methods that produce 3D macromolecular structure models such as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, 3D Electron Microscopy and Tomography.
Some repositories have decided that current standards do not fit their metadata needs, and so have created their own requirements.
The Standard for Documentation of Astronomical Catalogues is a set of conventions for archiving astronomical data. As well as path, filename and data format conventions, it also specifies how to construct a plain text description file for documenting the data files. It was developed as an alternative to FITS that would be more suited to archives, permit human inspection, and allow manipulation via standard Unix command-line tools.
SDAC was developed by CDS (Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg). Version 2.0 is the most recent; it was released in February 2000.
An information model for describing the elements of the heliophysics data environment, and a set of resource types which can be used to describe data along with its scientific context, source, provenance, content and location. It is designed to support a federated data system where data may reside at different locations and may be seperated from the metadata which describes it. The preferred expression form is XML.
The Space Physics Archive Search and Extract (SPASE) effort is implemented by the SPASE Consortium which is composed of representatives of the international Heliophysics data community. The Current Release of the data model (2.2.2) was updated in October 2012.
A metadata standard for describing environmental monitoring activities, programmes, networks and facilities published by the UK Environmental Observation Framework (UKEOF).
An extension of the ABCD standard for Geosciences data.
A metadata standard drawing on Dublin Core and AgMES created specifically to enhance the description, exchange and subsequent retrieval of agricultural Document-Like Information Objects.
A profile of ISO 19115, also mapping to the AGLS profile of Dublin Core, designed to facilitate efficient access to descriptions of information resources, particularly geographic or spatial data.
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.
A protocol-independent XML schema for a geospatial extension to the Darwin Core.
A Dublin Core Metadata Application Profile created for the eBank UK project, which provides access to the detailed results of scientific experiments in crystallography.
The European Directory of Marine Environmental Datasets metadata scheme, which is a profile of ISO 19115.
An extension of FITS that enables data to be defined to specify physical, or world coordinates within each pixel in an image. The conventions were orignally proposed in 2002 then incorporated into the 3.0 release of the FITS standard.
A simulation extention to the SPASE data model.
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 common profile of ISO19115:2003 between the United States and Canada, designed to enhance interoperability of geographic information metadata in North America.
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.
Defines metadata terms and concepts necessary for discovery and use of astronomical data collections and services.
The extension is based on Dublin Core, but with astronomy-specific extensions. Resource Metadata are collected in resource "registries" that are populated and synchronized using the OAI-PMH (Protocol for Metadata Handling). Version 1.12, March 2007. Developed and maintained by IVOA Resource Registry Working Group and NVO Metadata Working Group
Providing the format and content for describing data sets related to shoreline and other coastal data sets, this profile complies with the FGDC/CSDGM standard.
A profile of the CSMD model for Australian crystallographic data.
A profile of ISO 19115 designed to support the documentation and discovery of spatial datasets, dataset series and geo services within Higher and Further Education.
A specification for a set of metadata elements describing geospatial data resources for discovery purposes, based on ISO 19115.
The World Meteorological Organisation, WMO, has defined a restrictive subset of ISO19115 appropriate for global meteorogical use.
A service to facilitate the publication of metadata in the AGRIS Repository; it conforms to the the AGRIS Application Profile, which draws from the Dublin Core and AgMES standards.
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 set of metadata panels that can be added to Adobe Creative Suite 4 applications to allow AVM-compliant metadata to be entered directly into images.
A web-based tool for assembling an AVM-compliant XMP packet for insertion into an image file.
A utility that checks netCDF files for CF-compliance.
A tool to generate the geometrical setup for various electronic structure codes from a CIF file.
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.
The software that underlies the German Astrophysical Virtual Observatory (GAVO), packaged so that it can be used to set up other Virtual Observatory-compliant data centres.
The Geodoc metadata editor tool allows users to create, validate, edit and export geospatial metadata records. It also supports the creation and export of metadata records as XML output files compliant with a number of standards, including UK AGMAP 2.1, ISO 19115, FGDC, DDI, and Dublin Core.
A metadata storage service that implements CSMD Version 2.5 to record information about physical science experiments.
A sister project of ICAT, consisting of a suite of CSMD-based software tools designed to support derived data management in the scientific research process.
A tool used to check the integrity and cosistency of crystal structure encodings in CIF format.
A tool for the creation and cataloguing of geospatial metadata, including CSDGM and ISO 19115.
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 tool for publishing astronomical data files as online databases suitable for integration into the international Virtual Observatory.
A set of four tools for working with SDAC-compliant archives: acut can be used to edit text files in a columnar fashion; trcol removes or transforms columns from a text file; anafile verifies that data files conform to their description; tofits converts SDAC tables to FITS tables.
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.
The International Union of Crystallography's list of programs and libraries available for use with CIF files.
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.
A web-based editor for generating SPASE descriptions.
The SPASE website's list of tools for working with SPASE metadata and the SPASE framework.
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 Wisconsin Land INformation Clearinghouse review of metadata tools used for documenting geospatial data and serving geospatial metadata. It includes tools for CSDGM, ISO 19115, Dublin Core, and DIF.
A global public domain database using the AgMES standard to describe structured bibliographical records on agricultural science and technology.
A CIF crystal structure database that includes every structure published in the American Mineralogist, The Canadian Mineralogist, European Journal of Mineralogy and Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, as well as selected datasets from other journals.
An initiative to provide a distributed, uniform interface to the data archives of Australia's major astronomical observatories, and to archives of astrophysical simulations, as part of the international Virtual Observatory.
This portal is the primary access point for search, discovery, access and download of data collected by the Australian marine community. Uses the Marine Community Profile extension of ISO 19115
The Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) Designated Data Centre for the Atmospheric Sciences. It uses the CF-Compliant NetCDF format for its datasets.
The world's oldest national geological survey and the United Kingdom's premier centre for earth science information and expertise, with information access via an ISO 19115-compliant discovery metadata database.
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.
A repository of small molecule crystal structures, many with accompanying CIF files.
CDS (Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg/Strasbourg astronomical Data Centre) is a member of the ICSU World Data System, specializing in astronomical data and related information. Its VizieR catalogue system uses SDAC to organize data and metadata holdings.
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.
An open-access collection of crystal structures of organic, inorganic, metal-organic compounds and minerals, many of which are in CIF form.
A desk study of CSMD implementation in two facilities: the UK National Crystallography Service and the ISIS Neutron Source.
A geospatial data network requiring that metadata for datasets, data series and online services are published to the UK Gemini v2.1 metadata standard, itself an extension of ISO 19115.
A gateway providing a discovery service for climate data held at repositories across the globe. It supports use of the Metafor CIM.
An archive for crystal structures generated by the Southampton Chemical Crystallography Group and the EPSRC UK National Crystallography Service; its metadata conforms to the eBank UK Dublin Core Profile.
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.
ESA is an international organisation with 20 Member States that coordinates the financial and intellectual resources of it's members to facilitate space related programmes and activities. Image data is released using FITS for many missions.
A project to integrate and enable data analysis techniques over the astronomical archives of Europe, as part of the international Virtual Observatory.
The GeoCASe Network provides access to a transnational network of palaeontological, mineralogical, and geological data; providers are required to use ABCDEFG, an extention of ABCD, in their configuration files.
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.
The GoGeo Portal enables users to discover geospatial information and services for education and research. It uses UK Agmap, a profile based on ISO 19115, for its metadata records.
GRIIDC supports the ISO 19115-2 [properly labeled as ISO 19115-2:2009] and published a simplified and easy to use ISO 19115-2.
The High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC) is the primary archive for NASA's (and other space agencies') missions dealing with electromagnetic radiation from extremely energetic phenomena ranging from black holes to the Big Bang.
The ICAT website's list of the facilities and organisations usingthe CSMD-based ICAT software.
The International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) is an organisation that debates and agrees to technical standards that are needed to make the Virtual Observatory possible. FITS is one of those standards.
Japan's independent administrative institution that handles research and development in space and aviation areas.
KOMFOR provides access to data in the earth and environmental sciences with special emphasis on geological disciplines The minimum set of metadata elements in KomFor is determined by the DataCite metadata schema.
An online portal providing access to a number of NSF-supported marine geoscience projects, which has developed its own metadata requirements.
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.
An online portal for education and research on learning in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, using a profile of the Dublin Core Metadata Elements for resource and collections 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.
The National Space Science Data Center's registry of SPASE-described space science mission data.
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 SPASE website's list of systems that use SPASE compliant metadata to enable search services.
The image gallery for the Spitzer Space Telescope employs AVM within its content management system, and all the images have AVM tags embedded within them.
An organisation coordinating the management of data collected by UK-funded scientists in the polar regions, using an application profile that is harmonious with both ISO 19115 and DIF.
The 2011 Unidata NetCDF Workshop's list of projects and groups adopting or encouraging the CF-Conventions as a standard.
An initiative to integrate astronomical archives and provide associated research capabilities in the United States as part of the international Virtual Observatory.
Protein Data Bank archive (PDB) is the single worldwide archival repository of information about the 3D structures of proteins, nucleic acids, and complex assemblies. The Worldwide PDB (wwPDB) organization manages the PDB archive and ensures that the PDB is freely and publicly available to the global community.