Federal Geographic Data Committee

Department of Agriculture ! Department of Commerce ! Department of Defense ! Department of

Energy

Department of Housing and Urban Development ! Department of the Interior ! Department of State

Department of Transportation ! Environmental Protection Agency

Federal Emergency Management Agency ! Library of Congress

National Aeronautics and Space Administration ! National Archives and Records Administration

Tennessee Valley Authority

FGDC-STD-001-1998

Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata

Metadata Ad Hoc Working Group

Federal Geographic Data Committee
Federal Geographic Data Committee

Department of Agriculture ! Department of Commerce ! Department of Defense ! Department of

Energy

Department of Housing and Urban Development ! Department of the Interior ! Department of State

Department of Transportation ! Environmental Protection Agency

Federal Emergency Management Agency ! Library of Congress

National Aeronautics and Space Administration ! National Archives and Records Administration

Tennessee Valley Authority

Federal Geographic Data Committee

Established by Office of Management and Budget Circular A-16, the Federal Geographic Data Committee

(FGDC) promotes the coordinated development, use, sharing, and dissemination of geographic data.

The FGDC is composed of representatives from the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense,

Energy, Housing and Urban Development, the Interior, State, and Transportation; the Environmental

Protection Agency; the Federal Emergency Management Agency; the Library of Congress; the National

Aeronautics and Space Administration; the National Archives and Records Administration; and the

Tennessee Valley Authority. Additional Federal agencies participate on FGDC subcommittees and

working groups. The Department of the Interior chairs the committee.

FGDC subcommittees work on issues related to data categories coordinated under the circular. 

Subcommittees establish and implement standards for data content, quality, and transfer; encourage the

exchange of information and the transfer of data; and organize the collection of geographic data to reduce

duplication of effort. Working groups are established for issues that transcend data categories.

For more information about the committee, or to be added to the committee's newsletter mailing list,

please contact:

Federal Geographic Data Committee Secretariat

c/o U.S. Geological Survey

590 National Center

Reston, Virginia 20192

Telephone: (703) 648-5514

Facsimile: (703) 648-5755

Internet (electronic mail): gdc@usgs.gov

Anonymous FTP: fgdc.er.usgs.gov

WWW Home Page: http://www.fgdc.gov

The following is the recommended bibliographic citation for this publication: 

Federal Geographic Data Committee. FGDC-STD-001-1998. Content standard for digital geospatial

metadata (revised June 1998). Federal Geographic Data Committee. Washington, D.C.
Federal Geographic Data Committee FGDC-STD-001-1998

Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata

iii

 CONTENTS

Introduction ...................................................................... iv

Organization of the Standard ........................................................ vii

Metadata ........................................................................ 1

Identification Information ........................................................... 2

Data Quality Information ........................................................... 10

Spatial Data Organization Information ................................................ 16

Spatial Reference Information ....................................................... 19

Entity and Attribute Information ..................................................... 37

Distribution Information ........................................................... 42

Metadata Reference Information ..................................................... 50

Citation Information .............................................................. 53

Time Period Information ........................................................... 56

Contact Information .............................................................. 58

Appendix A

Glossary .................................................................. 61

Appendix B

Alphabetical List of Compound Elements and Data Elements .......................... 68

Appendix C

References ................................................................. 72

Appendix D

Guidelines for Creating Extended Elements in the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata

......................................................................... 74

Appendix E

Guidelines for Creating a Profile for the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata ... 77
Federal Geographic Data Committee FGDC-STD-001-1998

Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata

 The variety of means of organizing data in a computer, the differences among data providers to describe 1

their data holdings because of varying institutional and technical capabilities, the rapid evolution of means

to provide information through the Internet for different purposes, and the need to accommodate existing

standards have guided the evolution of this decision. The FGDC is pursuing several implementation methods.

iv

Introduction

1. Objectives. The objectives of the standard are to provide a common set of terminology and definitions

for the documentation of digital geospatial data. The standard establishes the names of data elements and

compound elements (groups of data elements) to be used for these purposes, the definitions of these

compound elements and data elements, and information about the values that are to be provided for the

data elements.

The major uses of metadata are:

C to maintain an organization's internal investment in geospatial data, 

C to provide information about an organization's data holdings to data catalogues, clearinghouses,

and brokerages, and

C to provide information needed to process and interpret data to be received through a transfer from

an external source.

The information included in the standard was selected based on four roles that metadata play:

C availability -- data needed to determine the sets of data that exist for a geographic location.

C fitness for use -- data needed to determine if a set of data meets a specific need.

C access -- data needed to acquire an identified set of data.

C transfer -- data needed to process and use a set of data.

These roles form a continuum in which a user cascades through a pyramid of choices to determine what

data are available, to evaluate the fitness of the data for use, to access the data, and to transfer and process

the data. The exact order in which data elements are evaluated, and the relative importance of data

elements, will not be the same for all users.

2. Scope.

This standard is intended to support the collection and processing of geospatial metadata. It is intended to

be useable by all levels of government and the private sector. The standard is not intended to reflect an

implementation design. An implementation design requires adapting the structure and form of the

standard to meet application requirements.

The standard was developed from the perspective of defining the information required by a prospective

user to determine the availability of a set of geospatial data; to determine the fitness and the set of

geospatial data for an intended use; to determine the means of accessing the set of geospatial data; and to

successfully transfer the set of geospatial data. As such, the standard establishes the names of data

elements and compound elements to be used for these purposes, definitions of these data elements and

compound elements, and information about the values that are to be provided for the data elements. The

standard does not specify the means by which this information is organized in a computer system or in a

data transfer, nor the means by which this information is transmitted, communicated, or presented to the

user.1
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3. Applicability

This standard is for the documentation of geospatial data. Executive Order 12906, "Coordinating

Geographic Data Acquisition and Access: The National Spatial Data Infrastructure," was signed on April

11, 1994, by President William J. Clinton. Section 3, Development of a National Geospatial Data

Clearinghouse, paragraph (b) states: "Standardized Documentation of Data. Beginning nine months

from the date of this order, each agency shall document all new geospatial data it collects or produces,

either directly or indirectly, using the standard under development by the FGDC, and make that

standardized documentation electronically accessible to the Clearinghouse network. Within one year of

the date of this order, agencies shall adopt a schedule, developed in consultation with the FGDC, for

documenting, to the extent practicable, geospatial data previously collected or produced, either directly or

indirectly, and making that data documentation electronically accessible to the Clearinghouse network." 

This standard is the data documentation standard referenced in the executive order.

The FGDC invites and encourages organizations and persons from State, local, and tribal governments,

the private sector, and non-profit organizations to use the standard to document their geospatial data. A

major difficulty in the geospatial data community is the lack of information that helps prospective users to

determine what data exist, the fitness of existing data for planned applications, and the conditions for

accessing existing data, and to transfer data to a user's system. This standard, developed with aid of broad

public participation, will help to ease these problems and to develop the National Spatial Data

Infrastructure.

4. Related Standards

The Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS) was developed to allow the transfer of digital spatial data sets

between spatial data software. The Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata was developed to

identify and define the metadata elements used to document digital geospatial data sets for many purposes. 

These include metadata to: 1) preserve the meaning and value of a data set; 2) contribute to a catalog or

clearinghouse and; 3) aid in data transfer. Since the SDTS is a standard for data transfer, its primary

metadata content is used to determine the fitness of the data set for the user's purpose. There is a close

relationship between the Metadata Standard and the SDTS metadata elements contained in the Data

Quality module, and in other locations inside of the SDTS transfer set. Since the Metadata Standard

contains metadata used to search for digital spatial data sets through a clearinghouse (metadata for

locating, describing access, use, and distribution), these elements may not be contained in the SDTS

transfer set.

The Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata uses to the maximum extent possible, existing

International or National Standards, as documented in Office of Management and Budget Circular A-119

“Federal Participation in the Development and Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards and in Conformity

assessment Activities.” American National Standards referenced in the Content Standard for Digital

Geospatial Metadata include the American National Standards Institute, 1975, Representations of

universal time, local time differentials, and United States time zone reference for information interchange

(ANSI X3.51-1975): New York, American National Standards Institute; American National Standards

Institute, 1986, Representation for calendar date and ordinal date for information interchange (ANSI

X3.30-1985): New York, American National Standards Institute; American National Standards Institute,

1986, Representations of local time of day for information interchange (ANSI X3.43-1986): New York,

American National Standards Institute.

The June 8, 1994 FGDC Metadata Standard was used as the base document for International Organization

for Standardization (ISO) 15046 Part 15. The draft ISO Metadata Standard 15046 Part 15 has had a

number of changes made to it. At this time this revision was prepared, the ISO Metadata Standard was
Federal Geographic Data Committee FGDC-STD-001-1998

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 formally the American Society for Testing and Materials 2

vi

still in Committee Draft form and subject to significant change before final approval, therefore, is not

identical to the current ISO draft but is thought to be consistent with it.

5. Standards Development Process

The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) initiated work on the first version of the standard in

June, 1992, through a forum on geospatial metadata. At the forum, the participants agreed on the need

for a standard on the information content of metadata about geospatial data. The committee accepted the

offer of ASTM Section D18.01.05 to develop a draft information content standard. The draft was slightly 2

revised, and offered for public review from October 1992 to April 1993. Extensive comments were

received from the public. The FGDC Standards Working Group revised the draft. The revised draft was

provided for further review and testing in July 1993. Refined drafts were offered for review and testing in

January and March 1994. The first version was approved June 8, 1994.

Since the FGDC Metadata Standard was adopted, it has been implemented by numerous Federal, state,

and local agencies, companies, and groups. It has also been used by other nations as they develop their

own national metadata standards. Proposed changes to the Metadata Standard have been suggested

during the time since it was issued. Further, an implementor’s workshop was held specifically to discuss

strengths, weaknesses, and proposed improvements. Drawing on this body of knowledge, the FGDC

proposed to modify the current Metadata Standard.

 

The June 1998 version is fully backward compatible with and supersedes the June 8, 1994 version. The

June 1998 version provides for the definition of Profiles (Appendix E) and extensibility through User

Defined Metadata Extensions (Appendix D). The June 1998 version also modifies some production rules

to ease implementation. 

6. Maintenance Authority. The current maintenance authority for the standard is the FGDC Secretariat.

The Federal Geographic Data Committee is the approving authority for the standard. Questions

concerning the standard are to be addressed to the FGDC Secretariat, in care of the U.S. Geological

Survey, 590 National Center, Reston, Virginia 20192. Copies of this publication are available from the

Federal Geographic Data Committee. Secretariat, in care of the U.S. Geological Survey, 590 National

Center, Reston, Virginia 20192; telephone (703) 648-5514; facsimile (703) 648-5755; Internet (electronic

mail) gdc@usgs.gov. The text also is available from anonymous File Transfer Protocol (anonymous ftp)

server fgdc.er.usgs.gov and at the FGDC web site http://www.fgdc.gov/metadata.
Federal Geographic Data Committee FGDC-STD-001-1998

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Organization of the Standard

Numbered Sections

The standard is organized in a hierarchy of data elements and compound elements that define the

information content for metadata to document a set of digital geospatial data. The starting point is

"metadata" (section 0). The compound element "metadata" is composed of other compound elements

representing different concepts about the data set. Each of these compound elements has a numbered

section in the standard. In each numbered section, these compound elements are defined by other

compound elements and data elements. The section "contact information" is a special section that

specifies the data elements for contacting individuals and organizations. This section is used by other

sections, and is defined once for convenience.

Each section begins with the name and definition of the compound element that defines the section. The

name and definition are followed by production rules (see below) that define this compound element in

terms of data elements, either directly or by the use of intermediate compound elements. When

intermediate compound elements are used, the production rules for these elements also are provided in

this part of the section.

Additional information about the organization of the Standard follows:

C The production rules are followed by a list of names and definitions of compound elements and data

elements used in the section.

C Section and element numbers are provided for user navigation of the standard. They are neither

authoritative nor intended for use in implementation and are subject to change in future revisions of

the standard.

Compound Elements

A compound element is a group of data elements and other compound elements. All compound elements

are described by data elements, either directly or through intermediate compound elements. Compound

elements represent higher-level concepts that cannot be represented by individual data elements. The

form for the definition of compound elements is:

Compound element name -- definition.

Type: compound

Short Name: 

The type of "compound" uniquely identifies the compound elements in the lists of terms and definitions.

Short names consisting of eight alphabetic characters or less are included to assist in implementation of

the standard.

Data Elements

A data element is a logically primitive item of data. The entry for a data element includes the name of the

data element, the definition of the data element, a description of the values that can be assigned to the data

element, and a short name for the data element. The form for the definition of the data elements is:
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Data element name -- definition.

Type:

Domain:

Short Name:

The information about the values for the data elements include a description of the type of the value, and a

description of the domain of the valid values. The type of the data element describes the kind of value to

be provided. The choices are "integer" for integer numbers, "real" for real numbers, "text" for ASCII

characters, "date" for day of the year, and "time" for time of the day.

The domain describes valid values that can be assigned to the data element. The domain may specify a

list of valid values, references to lists of valid values, or restrictions on the range of values that can be

assigned to a data element. 

The domain also may note that the domain is free from restrictions, and any values that can be

represented by the "type" of the data element can be assigned. These unrestricted domains are represented

by the use of the word "free" followed by the type of the data element (that is, free text, free date, free real,

free time, free integer). Some domains can be partly, but not completely, specified. For example, there

are several widely used data transfer formats, but there may be many more that are less well known. To

allow a producer to describe its data in these circumstances, the convention of providing a list of values

followed by the designation of a "free" domain was used. In these cases, assignments of values shall be

made from the provided domain when possible. When not possible, providers may create and assign their

own value. A created value shall not redefine a value provided by the standard.

Short names consisting of eight alphabetic characters or less are included to assist in user implementation

of the standard.

Another issue is the representation of null values (representing such concepts as "unknown") in the

domain. While this is relatively simple for textual entries (one would enter the text "Unknown"), it is not

as simple for the integer, real, date, and time types. (For example, which integer value means

"unknown"?). Because conventions for providing this information vary among implementations, the

standard specifies what concepts shall be represented, but does not mandate a means for representing

them.

In addition to the values to be represented, the form of representation also is important, especially to

applications that will manipulate the data elements. The following conventions for forms of values for

data elements shall be used:

Calendar Dates (Years, Months, and Days)

C A.D. Era to December 31, 9999 A.D. -- Values for day and month of year, and for years, shall

follow the calendar date convention (general forms of YYYY for years; YYYYMM for month of a

year (with month being expressed as an integer), and YYYYMMDD for a day of the year) specified

in American National Standards Institute, 1986, Representation for calendar date and ordinal date

for information interchange (ANSI X3.30-1985): New York, American National Standards

Institute (adopted as Federal Information Processing Standard 4-1).

C B.C. Era to 9999 B.C. -- Values for day and month of year, and for years, shall follow the calendar
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date convention, preceded by the lower case letters "bc" (general forms of bcYYYY for years;

bcYYYYMM for month of a year (with month being expressed as an integer), and

bcYYYYMMDD for a day of the year).

C B.C. Era before 9999 B.C. -- Values for the year shall consist of as many numeric characters as

needed to represent the number of the year B.C., preceded by lower case letters "cc" (general form

of ccYYYYYYY...).

C A.D. Era after 9999 A.D. -- Values for the year shall consist of as many numeric characters as

needed to represent number of the year A.D., preceded by the lower case letters "cd" (general form

of cdYYYYYYY...).

Time of Day (Hours, Minutes, and Seconds)

C Because some geospatial data and related applications are sensitive to time of day information,

three conventions are permitted. Only one convention shall be used for metadata for a data set. 

The conventions are:

- Local Time. For producers who wish to record time in local time, values shall follow the 24-

hour timekeeping system for local time of day in the hours, minutes, seconds, and decimal

fractions of a second (to the precision desired) without separators convention (general form

of HHMMSSSS) specified in American National Standards Institute, 1986, Representations

of local time of day for information interchange (ANSI X3.43-1986): New York, American

National Standards Institute.

- Local Time with Time Differential Factor. For producers who wish to record time in local

time and the relationship to Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time), values shall follow the

24-hour timekeeping system for local time of day in hours, minutes, seconds, and decimal

fractions of a second (to the resolution desired) without separators convention. This value

shall be followed, without separators, by the time differential factor. The time differential

factor expresses the difference in hours and minutes between local time and Universal Time. 

It is represented by a four-digit number preceded by a plus sign (+) or minus sign (-),

indicating hours and minutes local time is ahead of or behind Universal Time, respectively. 

The general form is HHMMSSSSshhmm, where HHMMSSSS is the local time using 24-

hour timekeeping (expressed to the precision desired), 's' is the plus or minus sign for the

time differential factor, and hhmm is the time differential factor. (This option allows

producers to record local time and time zone information. For example, Eastern Standard

Time has a time differential factor of -0500, Central Standard Time has a time differential

factor of -0600, Eastern Daylight Time has a time differential factor of -0400, and Central

Daylight Time has a time differential factor of -0500.) This option is specified in American

National Standards Institute, 1975, Representations of universal time, local time

differentials, and United States time zone reference for information interchange (ANSI

X3.51-1975): New York, American National Standards Institute.

- Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time). For producers who wish to record time in

Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time), values shall follow the 24-hour timekeeping

system for Universal Time of day in hours, minutes, seconds, and decimal fractions of a

second (expressed to the precision desired) without separators convention, with the upper

case letter "Z" directly following the low-order (or extreme right hand) time element of the

24-hour clock time expression. The general form is HHMMSSSSZ, where HHMMSSSS is
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Universal Time using 24-hour timekeeping, and Z is the letter "Z". This option is specified

in American National Standards Institute, 1975, Representations of universal time, local

time differentials, and United States time zone reference for information interchange (ANSI

X3.51-1975): New York, American National Standards Institute.

Latitude and Longitude

C Values for latitude and longitude shall be expressed as decimal fractions of degrees. Whole degrees

of latitude shall be represented by a two-digit decimal number ranging from 0 through 90. Whole

degrees of longitude shall be represented by a three-digit decimal number ranging from 0 through

180. When a decimal fraction of a degree is specified, it shall be separated from the whole number

of degrees by a decimal point. Decimal fractions of a degree may be expressed to the precision

desired.

- Latitudes north of the equator shall be specified by a plus sign (+), or by the absence of a

minus sign (-), preceding the two digits designating degrees. Latitudes south of the Equator

shall be designated by a minus sign (-) preceding the two digits designating degrees. A point

on the Equator shall be assigned to the Northern Hemisphere.

- Longitudes east of the prime meridian shall be specified by a plus sign (+), or by the absence

of a minus sign (-), preceding the three digits designating degrees of longitude. Longitudes

west of the meridian shall be designated by minus sign (-) preceding the three digits

designating degrees. A point on the prime meridian shall be assigned to the Eastern

Hemisphere. A point on the 180th meridian shall be assigned to the Western Hemisphere. 

One exception to this last convention is permitted. For the special condition of describing a

band of latitude around the earth, the East Bounding Coordinate data element shall be

assigned the value +180 (180) degrees.

- Any spatial address with a latitude of +90 (90) or -90 degrees will specify the position at the

North or South Pole, respectively. The component for longitude may have any legal value.

With the exception of the special condition described above, this form is specified in American

National Standards Institute, 1986, Representations of Geographic Point Locations for Information

Interchange (ANSI X3.61-1986): New York, American National Standards Institute.

Network Addresses and File Names

Values for file names, network addresses for computer systems, and related services should follow the

Uniform Resource Locator convention of the Internet when possible. See

http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/demoweb/url-primer.html for additional details about the Uniform Resource

Locator.

Optionality

The standard categorizes elements as being mandatory, mandatory-if-applicable, or optional as follows:

C Mandatory elements must be provided.

C Mandatory-if-applicable elements must be provided if the data set exhibits the defined

characteristic.

C Optional elements are provided at the discretion of the metadata producer.
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The optionality of a section or compound element always takes precedence over the elements that it

contains. Once a section or compound element is recognized by the data set producer as applicable, then

the optionality of its subordinate elements is to be interpreted. See Production Rules section for additional

interpretive guidance.

Mandatory sections in the standard have some elements that are always required for all types of geospatial

data sets. For comparison with other metadata standards, these elements are referred to as “core”

elements.

Production Rules

A production rule specifies the relationship between a compound element, and data elements and other

(lower-level) compound elements. Each production rule has a left side (identifier) and a right side

(expression) connected by the symbol "=", meaning that the term on the left side is replaced by or

produces the term on the right side. Terms on the right side are either other compound elements or

individual data elements. By making substitutions using matching terms in the production rules, one can

explain higher-level concepts using data elements. The symbols used in the production rules have the

following meaning:

Symbol Meaning

= is replaced by, produces, consists of

+ and

[|] selection - select one term from the list of enclosed terms (exclusive or).

 Terms are separated by "|"

m{}n iteration - the term(s) enclosed is(are) repeated from "m" to "n" times

() optional - the term(s) enclosed is(are) optional

Examples:

a = b + c "a consists of b and c"

a = [b | c "a consists of one of b or c"

a = 4{b}6 "a consists of four to six occurrences of b"

a = b + (c) "a consists of b and optionally c"

Interpreting the production rules:

The terms bounded by parentheses, "(" and ")", are optional and are provided at the

discretion of the data producer. If a producer chooses to provide information enclosed by

parentheses, the producer shall follow the production rules for the enclosed information. For

example, if the producer decides to provide the optional information described in the term:

(a + b + c)

the producer shall provide a and b and c.

Only for terms bounded by parentheses does the producer have the discretion of deciding
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whether or not to provide the information.

The variation among the ways in which geospatial data are produced and distributed, the fact

that all geospatial data does not have the same characteristics, and the issue that all details of

data sets that are in work or are planned may not be decided, caused the need to express the

concept of "mandatory if applicable." This concept means that if the data set exhibits (or, for

data sets that are in work or planned, it is known that the data set will exhibit) a defined

characteristic, then the producer shall provide the information needed to describe that

characteristic. This concept is described by the production rule:

0{ term }1

Extensibility

Extended elements may be defined by a data set producer or a user community. Extended elements

are elements outside the standard, but needed by the data set producer. If extended elements are

created, they must follow the guidelines in Appendix D, Guidelines for creating extended elements

to the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata.
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Metadata

0 Metadata -- data about the content, quality, condition, and other characteristics of data.

Type: compound

Short Name: metadata

Metadata = 

Identification_Information +

0{Data_Quality_Information}1 +

0{Spatial_Data_Organization_Information}1 +

0{Spatial_Reference_Information}1 +

0{Entity_and_Attribute_Information}1 +

0{Distribution_Information}n +

Metadata_Reference_Information

(Sections 1 through 7 define the terms on the right side of the production rule.)
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Identification Information

1 Identification Information -- basic information about the data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: idinfo

Identification_Information = 

Citation +

Description +

Time_Period_of_Content +

Status +

Spatial_Domain +

Keywords +

Access_Constraints +

Use_Constraints +

(Point_of_Contact) +

(1{Browse_Graphic}n) +

(Data_Set_Credit) +

(Security_Information) +

(Native_Data_Set_Environment) +

(1{Cross_Reference}n)

Citation =

Citation_Information (see section 8 for production rules)

Description =

Abstract +

Purpose +

(Supplemental_Information)

Time_Period_of_Content =

Time_Period_Information (see section 9 for production rules) +

Currentness_Reference

Status = 

Progress +

Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency

Spatial_Domain =

Bounding_Coordinates +

(1{Data_Set_G-Polygon}n)

Bounding_Coordinates = 

West_Bounding_Coordinate +

East_Bounding_Coordinate +

North_Bounding_Coordinate +

South_Bounding_Coordinate

Data_Set_G-Polygon = 

Data_Set_G-Polygon_Outer_G-Ring +
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0{Data_Set_G-Polygon_Exclusion_G-Ring}n

Data_Set_G-Polygon_Outer_G-Ring =

[4{G-Ring_Point}n | G-Ring]

Data_Set_G-Polygon_Exclusion_G-Ring =

[4{G-Ring_Point}n | G-Ring]

G-Ring_Point =

G-Ring_Latitude +

G-Ring_Longitude

Keywords =

1{Theme}n +

0{Place}n +

0{Stratum}n +

0{Temporal}n

Theme =

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus +

 1{Theme_Keyword}n

Place =

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus +

1{Place_Keyword}n

Stratum =

Stratum_Keyword_Thesaurus +

1{Stratum_Keyword}n

Temporal =

Temporal_Keyword_Thesaurus +

1{Temporal_Keyword}n

Point_of_Contact =

Contact_Information (see section 10 for production rules)

Browse_Graphic = 

Browse_Graphic_File_Name +

Browse_Graphic_File_Description +

Browse_Graphic_File_Type

Security_Information =

Security_Classification_System +

Security_Classification +

Security_Handling_Description

Cross_Reference =

Citation_Information (see section 8 for production rules)
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1.1 Citation -- information to be used to reference the data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: citation

 1.2 Description -- a characterization of the data set, including its intended use and limitations.

Type: compound

Short Name: descript

1.2.1 Abstract -- a brief narrative summary of the data set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: abstract

1.2.2 Purpose -- a summary of the intentions with which the data set was developed.

Type: text

Domain: free text 

Short Name: purpose

1.2.3 Supplemental Information -- other descriptive information about the data set.

Type: text

Domain: free text 

Short Name: supplinf

1.3 Time Period of Content -- time period(s) for which the data set corresponds to the currentness

reference.

Type: compound

Short Name: timeperd

1.3.1 Currentness Reference -- the basis on which the time period of content information is

determined.

Type: text

Domain: "ground condition" "publication date" free text

Short Name: current

1.4 Status -- the state of and maintenance information for the data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: status

1.4.1 Progress -- the state of the data set.

Type: text

Domain: "Complete" "In work" "Planned" 

Short Name: progress

1.4.2 Maintenance and Update Frequency -- the frequency with which changes and additions are

made to the data set after the initial data set is completed.

Type: text

Domain: "Continually" "Daily" "Weekly" "Monthly" "Annually" "Unknown" "As

needed" "Irregular" "None planned" free text

Short Name: update
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1.5 Spatial Domain - the geographic areal domain of the data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: spdom

1.5.1 Bounding Coordinates - the limits of coverage of a data set expressed by latitude and

longitude values in the order western-most, eastern-most, northern-most, and southern-most. 

For data sets that include a complete band of latitude around the earth, the West Bounding

Coordinate shall be assigned the value -180.0, and the East Bounding Coordinate shall be

assigned the value 180.0

Type: compound

Short Name: bounding

1.5.1.1 West Bounding Coordinate -- western-most coordinate of the limit of coverage

expressed in longitude.

Type: real

Domain: -180.0 <= West Bounding Coordinate < 180.0

Short Name: westbc

1.5.1.2 East Bounding Coordinate -- eastern-most coordinate of the limit of coverage

expressed in longitude.

Type: real

Domain: -180.0 <= East Bounding Coordinate <= 180.0

Short Name: eastbc

1.5.1.3 North Bounding Coordinate -- northern-most coordinate of the limit of coverage

expressed in latitude.

Type: real

Domain: -90.0 <= North Bounding Coordinate <= 90.0;

North Bounding Coordinate >= South Bounding Coordinate

Short Name: northbc

1.5.1.4 South Bounding Coordinate -- southern-most coordinate of the limit of coverage

expressed in latitude.

Type: real

Domain: -90.0 <= South Bounding Coordinate <= 90.0;

South Bounding Coordinate <= North Bounding Coordinate

Short Name: southbc

1.5.2 Data Set G-Polygon -- coordinates defining the outline of an area covered by a data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: dsgpoly

1.5.2.1 Data Set G-Polygon Outer G-Ring -- the closed nonintersecting boundary of an

interior area.

Type: compound

Short Name: dsgpolyo

1.5.2.1.1 G-Ring Point -- a single geographic location.

Type: compound

Short Name: grngpoin
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1.5.2.1.1.1 G-Ring Latitude -- the latitude of a point of the g-ring.

Type: real

Domain: -90.0 <= G-Ring Latitude <= 90.0

Short Name: gringlat

1.5.2.1.1.2 G-Ring Longitude -- the longitude of a point of the g-ring.

Type: real

Domain: -180.0 <= G-Ring Longitude < 180.0

Short Name: gringlon

1.5.2.1.2 G-Ring -- a set of ordered pairs of floating-point numbers, separated by

commas, in which the first number in each pair is the longitude of a point and

the second is the latitude of the point. Longitude and latitude are specified in

decimal degrees with north latitudes positive and south negative, east longitude

positive and west negative

Type: text

Domain: -90<= Latitude_elements <= 90,

-180 <= Longitude_Elements = 180

Short Name: gring

1.5.2.2 Data Set G-Polygon Exclusion G-Ring -- the closed nonintersecting boundary of a

void area (or “hole” in an interior area).

Type: compound

Short Name: dsgpolyx

1.6 Keywords -- words or phrases summarizing an aspect of the data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: keywords

1.6.1 Theme -- subjects covered by the data set (for a list of some commonly-used thesauri, see

Part IV: Subject/index term sources in Network Development and MARC Standards Office,

1988, USMARC code list for relators, sources, and description conventions: Washington,

Library of Congress).

Type: compound

Short Name: theme

1.6.1.1 Theme Keyword Thesaurus -- reference to a formally registered thesaurus or a similar

authoritative source of theme keywords.

Type: text

Domain: "None" free text

Short Name: themekt

1.6.1.2 Theme Keyword -- common-use word or phrase used to describe the subject of the

data set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: themekey

1.6.2 Place -- geographic locations characterized by the data set.

Type: compound
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Short Name: place

1.6.2.1 Place Keyword Thesaurus -- reference to a formally registered thesaurus or a similar

authoritative source of place keywords.

Type: text

Domain: "None" "Geographic Names Information System" free text

Short Name: placekt

1.6.2.2 Place Keyword -- the geographic name of a location covered by a data set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: placekey

1.6.3 Stratum -- layered, vertical locations characterized by the data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: stratum

1.6.3.1 Stratum Keyword Thesaurus -- reference to a formally registered thesaurus or a

similar authoritative source of stratum keywords.

Type: text

Domain: "None" free text

Short Name: stratkt

1.6.3.2 Stratum Keyword -- the name of a vertical location used to describe the locations

covered by a data set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: stratkey

1.6.4 Temporal -- time period(s) characterized by the data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: temporal

1.6.4.1 Temporal Keyword Thesaurus -- reference to a formally registered thesaurus or a

similar authoritative source of temporal keywords.

Type: text

Domain: "None" free text

Short Name: tempkt

1.6.4.2 Temporal Keyword -- the name of a time period covered by a data set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: tempkey

1.7 Access Constraints -- restrictions and legal prerequisites for accessing the data set. These include

any access constraints applied to assure the protection of privacy or intellectual property, and any

special restrictions or limitations on obtaining the data set.

Type: text

Domain: "None" free text

Short Name: accconst
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1.8 Use Constraints -- restrictions and legal prerequisites for using the data set after access is granted. 

These include any use constraints applied to assure the protection of privacy or intellectual

property, and any special restrictions or limitations on using the data set.

Type: text

Domain: "None" free text

Short Name: useconst

1.9 Point of Contact -- contact information for an individual or organization that is knowledgeable

about the data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: ptcontac

1.10 Browse Graphic -- a graphic that provides an illustration of the data set. The graphic should

include a legend for interpreting the graphic.

Type: compound

Short Name: browse

1.10.1 Browse Graphic File Name -- name of a related graphic file that provides an illustration of

the data set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: browsen

1.10.2 Browse Graphic File Description -- a text description of the illustration.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: browsed

1.10.3 Browse Graphic File Type -- graphic file type of a related graphic file.

Type: text

Domain: domain values in the table below; free text

Short Name: browset

Domain

Value Definition

"CGM" Computer Graphics Metafile

"EPS" Encapsulated Postscript format

“EMF” Enhanced Metafile

"GIF" Graphic Interchange Format

"JPEG" Joint Photographic Experts Group format

"PBM" Portable Bit Map format

 "PS" Postscript format

"TIFF" Tagged Image File Format

“WMF” Windows metafile

"XWD" X-Windows Dump

1.11 Data Set Credit -- recognition of those who contributed to the data set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: datacred
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1.12 Security Information -- handling restrictions imposed on the data set because of national security,

privacy, or other concerns.

Type: compound

Short Name: secinfo

1.12.1 Security Classification System -- name of the classification system.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: secsys

1.12.2 Security Classification -- name of the handling restrictions on the data set.

Type: text

Domain: "Top secret" "Secret" "Confidential" "Restricted" "Unclassified" "Sensitive"

free text

Short Name: secclass

1.12.3 Security Handling Description -- additional information about the restrictions on handling

the data set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: sechandl

1.13 Native Data Set Environment -- a description of the data set in the producer's processing

environment, including items such as the name of the software (including version), the

computer operating system, file name (including host-, path-, and filenames), and the data set size.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: native

1.14 Cross Reference -- information about other, related data sets that are likely to be of interest.

Type: compound

Short Name: crossref
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Data Quality Information

2 Data Quality Information -- a general assessment of the quality of the data set. (Recommendations

on information to be reported and tests to be performed are found in "Spatial Data Quality," which

is chapter 3 of part 1 in Department of Commerce, 1992, Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS)

(Federal Information Processing Standard 173): Washington, Department of Commerce, National

Institute of Standards and Technology.)

Type: compound

Short Name: dataqual

Data_Quality_Information = 

0{Attribute_Accuracy}1 +

Logical_Consistency_Report +

Completeness_Report +

0{Positional_Accuracy}1 +

Lineage +

(Cloud_Cover)

Attribute_Accuracy =

Attribute_Accuracy_Report +

(1{Quantitative_Attribute_Accuracy_Assessment}n)

Quantitative_Attribute_Accuracy_Assessment =

Attribute_Accuracy_Value + 

Attribute_Accuracy_Explanation

Positional_Accuracy =

0{Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy}1 +

0{Vertical_Positional_Accuracy}1

Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy = 

Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report +

(1{Quantitative_Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Assessment}n)

Quantitative_Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Assessment =

Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Value +

Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Explanation

Vertical_Positional_Accuracy =

Vertical_Positional_Accuracy_Report +

(1{Quantitative_Vertical_Positional_Accuracy_Assessment}n)

Quantitative_Vertical_Positional_Accuracy_Assessment =

Vertical_Positional_Accuracy_Value +

Vertical_Positional_Accuracy_Explanation

Lineage =

0{Source_Information}n +

1{Process_Step}n

Source_Information = 
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Source_Citation +

0{Source_Scale_Denominator}1 +

Type_of_Source_Media +

Source_Time_Period_of_Content +

Source_Citation_Abbreviation +

Source_Contribution

Source_Citation =

Citation_Information (see section 8 for production rules)

Source_Time_Period_of_Content =

Time_Period_Information (see section 9 for production rules) +

Source_Currentness_Reference

Process_Step = 

Process_Description +

0{Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation}n +

Process_Date +

(Process_Time) +

0{Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation}n +

(Process_Contact)

Process_Contact =

Contact_Information (see section 10 for production rules)

2.1 Attribute Accuracy -- an assessment of the accuracy of the identification of entities and assignment

of attribute values in the data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: attracc

2.1.1 Attribute Accuracy Report -- an explanation of the accuracy of the identification of the

entities and assignments of values in the data set and a description of the tests used.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: attraccr

2.1.2 Quantitative Attribute Accuracy Assessment -- a value assigned to summarize the accuracy

of the identification of the entities and assignments of values in the data set and the

identification of the test that yielded the value.

Type: compound

Short Name: qattracc

2.1.2.1 Attribute Accuracy Value -- an estimate of the accuracy of the identification of the

entities and assignments of attribute values in the data set.

Type: text

Domain: "Unknown" free text

Short Name: attraccv

2.1.2.2 Attribute Accuracy Explanation -- the identification of the test that yielded the

Attribute Accuracy Value.
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Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: attracce

2.2 Logical Consistency Report -- an explanation of the fidelity of relationships in the data set and tests

used.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: logic

2.3 Completeness Report -- information about omissions, selection criteria, generalization, definitions

used, and other rules used to derive the data set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: complete

2.4 Positional Accuracy -- an assessment of the accuracy of the positions of spatial objects.

Type: compound

Short Name: posacc

2.4.1 Horizontal Positional Accuracy -- an estimate of accuracy of the horizontal positions of the

spatial objects.

Type: compound

Short Name: horizpa

2.4.1.1 Horizontal Positional Accuracy Report -- an explanation of the accuracy of the

horizontal coordinate measurements and a description of the tests used.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: horizpar

2.4.1.2 Quantitative Horizontal Positional Accuracy Assessment -- numeric value assigned to

summarize the accuracy of the horizontal coordinate measurements and the

identification of the test that yielded the value.

Type: compound

Short Name: qhorizpa

2.4.1.2.1 Horizontal Positional Accuracy Value -- an estimate of the accuracy of the

horizontal coordinate measurements in the data set expressed in (ground)

meters.

Type: real

Domain: free real

Short Name: horizpav

2.4.1.2.2 Horizontal Positional Accuracy Explanation -- the identification of the test that

yielded the Horizontal Positional Accuracy Value.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: horizpae
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2.4.2 Vertical Positional Accuracy -- an estimate of accuracy of the vertical positions in the data

set.

Type: compound

Short Name: vertacc

2.4.2.1 Vertical Positional Accuracy Report -- an explanation of the accuracy of the vertical

coordinate measurements and a description of the tests used.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: vertaccr

2.4.2.2 Quantitative Vertical Positional Accuracy Assessment -- numeric value assigned to

summarize the accuracy of vertical coordinate measurements and the identification of

the test that yielded the value.

Type: compound

Short Name: qvertpa

2.4.2.2.1 Vertical Positional Accuracy Value -- an estimate of the accuracy of the vertical

coordinate measurements in the data set expressed in (ground) meters.

Type: real

Domain: free real

Short Name: vertaccv

2.4.2.2.2 Vertical Positional Accuracy Explanation -- the identification of the test that

yielded the Vertical Positional Accuracy Value.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: vertacce

2.5 Lineage -- information about the events, parameters, and source data which constructed the data

set, and information about the responsible parties.

Type: compound

Short Name: lineage

2.5.1 Source Information -- list of sources and a short discussion of the information contributed by

each.

Type: compound

Short Name: srcinfo

2.5.1.1 Source Citation -- reference for a source data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: srccite

2.5.1.2 Source Scale Denominator -- the denominator of the representative fraction on a map

(for example, on a 1:24,000-scale map, the Source Scale Denominator is 24000).

Type: integer

Domain: Source Scale Denominator > 1

Short Name: srcscale

2.5.1.3 Type of Source Media -- the medium of the source data set.
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Type: text

Domain: "paper" "stable-base material" "microfiche" "microfilm"

"audiocassette" "chart" "filmstrip" "transparency" "videocassette" "videodisc"

"videotape" "physical model" "computer program" "disc" "cartridge tape" 

"magnetic tape" "online" "CD-ROM" "electronic bulletin board" "electronic

mail system" free text

Short Name: typesrc

2.5.1.4 Source Time Period of Content -- time period(s) for which the source data set

corresponds to the ground.

Type: compound

Short Name: srctime

2.5.1.4.1 Source Currentness Reference -- the basis on which the source time period of

content information of the source data set is determined.

Type: text

Domain: "ground condition" "publication date" free text

Short Name: srccurr

2.5.1.5 Source Citation Abbreviation -- short-form alias for the source citation.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: srccitea

2.5.1.6 Source Contribution -- brief statement identifying the information contributed by the

source to the data set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: srccontr

2.5.2 Process Step -- information about a single event.

Type: compound

Short Name: procstep

2.5.2.1 Process Description -- an explanation of the event and related parameters or

tolerances.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: procdesc

2.5.2.2 Source Used Citation Abbreviation -- the Source Citation Abbreviation of a data set

used in the processing step.

Type: text

Domain: Source Citation Abbreviations from the Source Information entries

for the data set.

Short Name: srcused

2.5.2.3 Process Date -- the date when the event was completed.

Type: date

Domain: "Unknown" "Not complete" free date
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Short Name: procdate

2.5.2.4 Process Time -- the time when the event was completed.

Type: time

Domain: free time

Short Name: proctime

2.5.2.5 Source Produced Citation Abbreviation -- the Source Citation Abbreviation of an

intermediate data set that (1) is significant in the opinion of the data producer, (2) is

generated in the processing step, and (3) is used in later processing steps.

Type: text

Domain: Source Citation Abbreviations from the Source Information entries

for the data set.

Short Name: srcprod

2.5.2.6 Process Contact -- the party responsible for the processing step information.

Type: compound

Short Name: proccont

2.6 Cloud Cover -- area of a data set obstructed by clouds, expressed as a percentage of the spatial

extent.

Type: integer

Domain: 0 <= Cloud Cover <= 100 "Unknown"

Short Name: cloud
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Spatial Data Organization Information

3 Spatial Data Organization Information -- the mechanism used to represent spatial information in

the data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: spdoinfo

Spatial_Data_Organization_Information = 

0{Indirect_Spatial_Reference}1 +

0{Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method +

( [Point_and_Vector_Object_Information |

Raster_Object_Information] )}1

Point_and_Vector_Object_Information =

[1{SDTS_Terms_Description}n |

VPF_Terms_Description]

SDTS_Terms_Description =

SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type +

(Point_and_Vector_Object_Count)

VPF_Terms_Description =

VPF_Topology_Level +

1{VPF_Point_and_Vector_Object_Information}n

VPF_Point_and_Vector_Object_Information =

VPF_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type +

(Point_and_Vector_Object_Count)

Raster_Object_Information = 

Raster_Object_Type +

(Row_Count +

Column_Count +

0{Vertical_Count}1 )

3.1 Indirect Spatial Reference -- name of types of geographic features, addressing schemes, or other

means through which locations are referenced in the data set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: indspref

3.2 Direct Spatial Reference Method -- the system of objects used to represent space in the data set.

Type: text

Domain: "Point" "Vector" "Raster"

Short Name: direct

3.3 Point and Vector Object Information -- the types and numbers of vector or nongridded point spatial

objects in the data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: ptvctinf
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3.3.1 SDTS Terms Description -- point and vector object information using the terminology and

concepts from "Spatial Data Concepts," which is Chapter 2 of Part 1 in Department of

Commerce, 1992, Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS) (Federal Information Processing

Standard 173): Washington, Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and

Technology. (Note that this reference to the SDTS is used ONLY to provide a set of

terminology for the point and vector objects.)

Type: compound

Short Name: sdtsterm

3.3.1.1 SDTS Point and Vector Object Type -- name of point and vector spatial objects used

to locate zero-, one-, and two-dimensional spatial locations in the data set.

Type: text

Domain: (The domain is from "Spatial Data Concepts," which is Chapter 2 of

Part 1 in Department of Commerce, 1992, Spatial Data Transfer Standard

(SDTS) (Federal Information Processing Standard 173): Washington,

Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology):

"Point" "Entity point" "Label point" "Area point" "Node, planar graph"

"Node, network" "String" "Link" "Complete chain" "Area chain"

"Network chain, planar graph" "Network chain, nonplanar graph"

"Circular arc, three point center" "Elliptical arc" "Uniform B-spline"

"Piecewise Bezier" "Ring with mixed composition"

"Ring composed of strings" "Ring composed of chains"

"Ring composed of arcs" "G-polygon" "GT-polygon composed of rings"

"GT-polygon composed of chains"

"Universe polygon composed of rings"

"Universe polygon composed of chains"

"Void polygon composed of rings" "Void polygon composed of chains"

Short Name: sdtstype

3.3.1.2 Point and Vector Object Count -- the total number of the point or vector object type

occurring in the data set.

Type: integer

Domain: Point and Vector Object Count > 0

Short Name: ptvctcnt

3.3.2 VPF Terms Description -- point and vector object information using the terminology and

concepts from Department of Defense, 1992, Vector Product Format (MIL-STD-600006): 

Philadelphia, Department of Defense, Defense Printing Service Detachment Office. (Note

that this reference to the VPF is used ONLY to provide a set of terminology for the point and

vector objects.)

Type: compound

Short Name: vpfterm

3.3.2.1 VPF Topology Level -- the completeness of the topology carried by the data set. The

levels of completeness are defined in Department of Defense, 1992, Vector Product

Format (MIL-STD-600006): Philadelphia, Department of Defense, Defense Printing

Service Detachment Office.

Type: integer

Domain: 0 <= VPF Topology Level <= 3

Short Name: vpflevel
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3.3.2.2 VPF Point and Vector Object Information -- information about VPF point and vector

objects

Type: compound

Short Name: vpfinfo

3.3.2.2.1 VPF Point and Vector Object Type -- name of point and vector spatial objects

used to locate zero-, one-, and two-dimensional spatial locations in the data set.

Type: text

Domain: (The domain is from Department of Defense, 1992, Vector

Product Format (MIL-STD-600006): Philadelphia, Department of

Defense, Defense Printing Service Detachment Office):

"Node" "Edge" "Face" "Text"

Short Name: vpftype

3.4 Raster Object Information -- the types and numbers of raster spatial objects in the data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: rastinfo

3.4.1 Raster Object Type -- raster spatial objects used to locate zero-, two-, or three-dimensional

locations in the data set.

Type: text

Domain: (With the exception of "voxel", the domain is from "Spatial Data Concepts,"

which is chapter 2 of part 1 in Department of Commerce, 1992, Spatial Data Transfer

Standard (SDTS) (Federal Information Processing Standard 173): Washington,

Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology):

"Point" "Pixel" "Grid Cell" "Voxel"

Short Name: rasttype

3.4.2 Row Count -- the maximum number of raster objects along the ordinate (y) axis. For use

with rectangular raster objects.

Type: Integer

Domain: Row Count > 0

Short Name: rowcount

3.4.3 Column Count -- the maximum number of raster objects along the abscissa (x) axis. For use

with rectangular raster objects.

Type: Integer

Domain: Column Count > 0

Short Name: colcount

3.4.4 Vertical Count -- the maximum number of raster objects along the vertical (z) axis. For use

with rectangular volumetric raster objects (voxels).

Type: Integer

Domain: Depth Count > 0

Short Name: vrtcount
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Spatial Reference Information

4 Spatial Reference Information -- the description of the reference frame for, and the means to

encode, coordinates in the data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: spref

Spatial_Reference_Information = 

0{Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition}1 +

0{Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition}1

Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition =

[Geographic |

1{Planar}n |

Local] +

0{Geodetic_Model}1

Geographic =

Latitude_Resolution +

Longitude_Resolution +

Geographic_Coordinate_Units

Planar =

[Map_Projection |

Grid_Coordinate_System |

Local_Planar] +

Planar_Coordinate_Information

Map_Projection =

Map_Projection_Name +

[Albers_Conical_Equal_Area |

Azimuthal_Equidistant |

Equidistant_Conic |

Equirectangular |

General_Vertical_Near-sided_Perspective |

Gnomonic |

Lambert_Azimuthal_Equal_Area |

Lambert_Conformal_Conic |

Mercator |

Modified_Stereographic_for_Alaska |

Miller_Cylindrical |

Oblique_Mercator |

Orthographic |

Polar_Stereographic |

Polyconic |

Robinson |

Sinusoidal |

Space_Oblique_Mercator_(Landsat) |

Stereographic |

Transverse Mercator |
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van_der_Grinten |

Map_Projection_Parameters]

Albers_Conical_Equal_Area =

1{Standard_Parallel}2 +

Longitude_of_Central_Meridian +

Latitude_of_Projection_Origin +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

Azimuthal_Equidistant =

Longitude_of_Central_Meridian +

Latitude_of_Projection_Origin +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

Equidistant_Conic =

1{Standard_Parallel}2 +

Longitude_of_Central_Meridian +

Latitude_of_Projection_Origin +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

Equirectangular =

Standard_Parallel +

Longitude_of_Central_Meridian +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

General_Vertical_Near-sided_Perspective =

Height_of_Perspective_Point_Above_Surface +

Longitude_of_Projection_Center +

Latitude_of_Projection_Center +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

Gnomonic =

Longitude_of_Projection_Center +

Latitude_of_Projection_Center +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

Lambert_Azimuthal_Equal_Area =

Longitude_of_Projection_Center +

Latitude_of_Projection_Center +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

Lambert_Conformal_Conic =

1{Standard_Parallel}2 +
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Longitude_of_Central_Meridian +

Latitude_of_Projection_Origin +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

Mercator =

[Standard_Parallel |

Scale_Factor_at_Equator] +

Longitude_of_Central_Meridian +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

Modified_Stereographic_for_Alaska =

False_Easting +

False_Northing

Miller_Cylindrical =

Longitude_of_Central_Meridian +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

Oblique_Mercator =

Scale_Factor_at_Center_Line +

[Oblique_Line_Azimuth |

Oblique_Line_Point] +

Latitude_of_Projection_Origin +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

Oblique_Line_Azimuth =

Azimuthal_Angle +

Azimuth_Measure_Point_Longitude

Oblique_Line_Point =

2{Oblique_Line_Latitude +

Oblique_Line_Longitude}2

Orthographic =

Longitude_of_Projection_Center +

Latitude_of_Projection_Center +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

Polar_Stereographic =

Straight-Vertical_Longitude_from_Pole +

[Standard_Parallel |

Scale_Factor_at_Projection_Origin] +

False_Easting +

False_Northing
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Polyconic =

Longitude_of_Central_Meridian +

Latitude_of_Projection_Origin +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

Robinson =

Longitude_of_Projection_Center +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

Sinusoidal =

Longitude_of_Central_Meridian +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

Space_Oblique_Mercator_(Landsat) =

Landsat_Number +

Path_Number +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

Stereographic =

Longitude_of_Projection_Center +

Latitude_of_Projection_Center +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

Transverse_Mercator =

Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian +

Longitude_of_Central_Meridian +

Latitude_of_Projection_Origin +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

van_der_Grinten =

Longitude_of_Central_Meridian +

False_Easting +

False_Northing

Map_Projection_Parameters =

Appropriate data elements 4.1.2.1.23.1 through 4.1.2.1.23.18 to

document the map projection parameters.

Grid_Coordinate_System = 

Grid_Coordinate_System_Name +

[Universal_Transverse_Mercator |

Universal_Polar_Stereographic |

State_Plane_Coordinate_System |

ARC_Coordinate_System |
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Other_Grid_System's_Definition]

Universal_Transverse_Mercator =

UTM_Zone_Number +

Transverse_Mercator

Universal_Polar_Stereographic =

UPS_Zone_Identifier + 

Polar_Stereographic

State_Plane_Coordinate_System =

SPCS_Zone_Identifier +

[Lambert_Conformal_Conic |

Transverse_Mercator |

Oblique_Mercator |

Polyconic]

ARC_Coordinate_System =

ARC_System_Zone_Identifier +

[Equirectangular |

Azimuthal_Equidistant]

Local_Planar =

Local_Planar_Description +

Local_Planar_Georeference_Information

Planar_Coordinate_Information =

Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method +

[Coordinate_Representation |

Distance_and_Bearing_Representation] +

Planar_Distance_Units

Coordinate_Representation =

Abscissa_Resolution +

Ordinate_Resolution

Distance_and_Bearing_Representation =

Distance_Resolution +

Bearing_Resolution +

Bearing_Units +

Bearing_Reference_Direction +

Bearing_Reference_Meridian

Local =

Local_Description +

Local_Georeference_Information

Geodetic_Model = 

0{Horizontal_Datum_Name}1 +

Ellipsoid_Name +
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Semi-major_Axis +

Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio

Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition =

0{Altitude_System_Definition}1 +

0{Depth_System_Definition}1

Altitude_System_Definition =

Altitude_Datum_Name +

1{Altitude_Resolution}n +

Altitude_Distance_Units +

Altitude_Encoding_Method

Depth_System_Definition =

Depth_Datum_Name +

1{Depth_Resolution}n +

Depth_Distance_Units +

Depth_Encoding_Method

4.1 Horizontal Coordinate System Definition -- the reference frame or system from which linear or

angular quantities are measured and assigned to the position that a point occupies.

Type: compound

Short Name: horizsys

4.1.1 Geographic -- the quantities of latitude and longitude which define the position of a point on

the Earth's surface with respect to a reference spheroid.

Type: compound

Short Name: geograph

4.1.1.1 Latitude Resolution -- the minimum difference between two adjacent latitude values

expressed in Geographic Coordinate Units of measure.

Type: real

Domain: Latitude Resolution > 0.0

Short Name: latres

4.1.1.2 Longitude Resolution -- the minimum difference between two adjacent longitude

values expressed in Geographic Coordinate Units of measure.

Type: real

Domain: Longitude Resolution > 0.0

Short Name: longres

4.1.1.3 Geographic Coordinate Units -- units of measure used for the latitude and longitude

values.

Type: text

Domain: "Decimal degrees" "Decimal minutes" "Decimal seconds" "Degrees

and decimal minutes" "Degrees, minutes, and decimal seconds" "Radians"

"Grads"

Short Name: geogunit

4.1.2 Planar -- the quantities of distances, or distances and angles, which define the position of a
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point on a reference plane to which the surface of the Earth has been projected.

Type: compound

Short Name: planar

4.1.2.1 Map Projection -- the systematic representation of all or part of the surface of the

Earth on a plane or developable surface.

Type: compound

Short Name: mapproj

4.1.2.1.1 Map Projection Name -- name of the map projection.

Type: text

Domain: "Albers Conical Equal Area" "Azimuthal Equidistant"

"Equidistant Conic" "Equirectangular" "General Vertical Near-sided

Projection" "Gnomonic" "Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area"

"Lambert Conformal Conic" "Mercator" "Modified Stereographic for

Alaska" "Miller Cylindrical" "Oblique Mercator" "Orthographic" "Polar

Stereographic" "Polyconic" "Robinson" "Sinusoidal" "Space Oblique

Mercator" "Stereographic" "Transverse Mercator" "van der Grinten" 

free text

Short Name: mapprojn

4.1.2.1.2 Albers Conical Equal Area -- contains parameters for the Albers Conical Equal

Area projection.

Type: compound

Short Name: albers

4.1.2.1.3 Azimuthal Equidistant -- contains parameters for the Azimuthal Equidistant

projection.

Type: compound

Short Name:azimequi

4.1.2.1.4 Equidistant Conic -- contains parameters for the Equidistant Conic projection.

Type: compound

Short Name: equicon

4.1.2.1.5 Equirectangular -- contains parameters for the Equirectangular projection.

Type: compound

Short Name: equirect

4.1.2.1.6 General Vertical Near-sided Perspective -- contains parameters for the General

Vertical Near-sided Perspective projection.

Type: compound

Short Name: gvnsp

4.1.2.1.7 Gnomonic -- contains parameters for the Gnomonic projection. 

Type: compound

Short Name: gnomonic

4.1.2.1.8 Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area -- contains parameters for the Lambert

Azimuthal Equal Area projection. 
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Type: compound

Short Name: lamberta

4.1.2.1.9 Lambert Conformal Conic -- contains parameters for the Lambert Conformal

Conic projection. 

Type: compound

Short Name:lambertc

4.1.2.1.10 Mercator -- contains parameters for the Mercator projection

Type: compound

Short Name: mercator

4.1.2.1.11 Modified Stereographic for Alaska -- contains parameters for the Modified

Stereographic for Alaska projection. 

Type: compound

Short Name: modsak

4.1.2.1.12 Miller Cylindrical -- contains parameters for the Miller Cylindrical projection.

Type: compound

Short Name: miller

4.1.2.1.13 Oblique Mercator -- contains parameters for the Oblique Mercator projection. 

 

Type: compound

Short Name: obqmerc

4.1.2.1.14 Orthographic -- contains parameters for the Orthographic projection. 

Type: compound

Short Name:orthogr

4.1.2.1.15 Polar Stereographic -- contains parameters for the Polar Stereographic

projection.

Type: compound

Short Name:polarst

4.1.2.1.16 Polyconic -- contains parameters for the Polyconic projection. 

Type: compound

Short Name:polycon

4.1.2.1.17 Robinson -- contains parameters for the Robinson projection. 

Type: compound

Short Name: robinson

4.1.2.1.18 Sinusoidal -- contains parameters for the Sinusoidal projection. 

Type: compound

Short Name: sinusoid

4.1.2.1.19 Space Oblique Mercator (Landsat) -- contains parameters for the Space

Oblique Mercator (Landsat) projection.

Type: compound
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Short Name: spaceobq

4.1.2.1.20 Stereographic -- contains parameters for the Stereographic projection. 

Type: compound

Short Name: stereo

4.1.2.1.21 Transverse Mercator -- contains parameters for theTransverse mercator

projection.

Type: compound

Short Name: transmer

4.1.2.1.22 van der Grinten -- contains parameters for the van der Grinten projection.

Type: compound

Short Name: vdgrin

4.1.2.1.23 Map Projection Parameters -- a complete parameter set of the projection that

was used for the data set. The information provided shall include the names of

the parameters and values used for the data set that describe the mathematical

relationship between the Earth and the plane or developable surface for the

projection.

Type: compound

4.1.2.1.23.1 Standard Parallel -- line of constant latitude at which the surface of the

Earth and the plane or developable surface intersect.

Type: real

Domain: -90.0 <= Standard Parallel <= 90.0

Short Name: stdparll

4.1.2.1.23.2 Longitude of Central Meridian -- the line of longitude at the center of a

map projection generally used as the basis for constructing the

projection.

Type: real

Domain: -180.0 <= Longitude of Central Meridian < 180.0

Short Name: longcm

4.1.2.1.23.3 Latitude of Projection Origin -- latitude chosen as the origin of

rectangular coordinates for a map projection.

Type: real

Domain: -90.0 <= Latitude of Projection Origin <= 90.0

Short Name: latprjo

4.1.2.1.23.4 False Easting -- the value added to all "x" values in the rectangular

coordinates for a map projection. This value frequently is assigned to

eliminate negative numbers. Expressed in the unit of measure identified

in Planar Coordinate Units.

Type: real

Domain: free real

Short Name: feast

4.1.2.1.23.5 False Northing -- the value added to all "y" values in the rectangular
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coordinates for a map projection. This value frequently is assigned to

eliminate negative numbers. Expressed in the unit of measure identified

in Planar Coordinate Units.

Type: real

Domain: free real

Short Name: fnorth

4.1.2.1.23.6 Scale Factor at Equator -- a multiplier for reducing a distance obtained

from a map by computation or scaling to the actual distance along the

equator.

Type: real

Domain: Scale Factor at Equator > 0.0

Short Name: sfequat

4.1.2.1.23.7 Height of Perspective Point Above Surface -- height of viewpoint above

the Earth, expressed in meters.

Type: real

Domain: Height of Perspective Point Above Surface > 0.0

Short Name: heightpt

4.1.2.1.23.8 Longitude of Projection Center -- longitude of the point of projection for

azimuthal projections.

Type: real

Domain: -180.0 <= Longitude of Projection Center < 180.0

Short Name: longpc

4.1.2.1.23.9 Latitude of Projection Center -- latitude of the point of projection for

azimuthal projections.

Type: real

Domain: -90.0 <= Latitude of Projection Center <= 90.0

Short Name: latprjc

4.1.2.1.23.10 Scale Factor at Center Line -- a multiplier for reducing a distance

obtained from a map by computation or scaling to the actual distance

along the center line.

Type: real

Domain: Scale Factor at Center Line > 0.0

Short Name: sfctrlin

4.1.2.1.23.11 Oblique Line Azimuth -- method used to describe the line along which

an oblique mercator map projection is centered using the map projection

origin and an azimuth.

Type: compound

Short Name: obqlazim

4.1.2.1.23.11.1 Azimuthal Angle -- angle measured clockwise from north, and

expressed in degrees.

Type: real

Domain: 0.0 <= Azimuthal Angle < 360.0

Short Name: azimangl
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4.1.2.1.23.11.2 Azimuth Measure Point Longitude -- longitude of the map

projection origin.

Type: real

Domain: -180.0 <= Azimuth Measure Point Longitude <

180.0

Short Name: azimptl

4.1.2.1.23.12 Oblique Line Point -- method used to describe the line along which an

oblique mercator map projection is centered using two points near the

limits of the mapped region that define the center line.

Type: compound

Short Name: obqlpt

4.1.2.1.23.12.1 Oblique Line Latitude -- latitude of a point defining the oblique

line.

Type: real

Domain: -90.0 <= Oblique Line Latitude <= 90.0

Short Name: obqllat

4.1.2.1.23.12.2 Oblique Line Longitude -- longitude of a point defining the

oblique line.

Type: real

Domain: -180.0 <= Oblique Line Longitude < 180.0

Short Name: obqllong

4.1.2.1.23.13 Straight Vertical Longitude from Pole -- longitude to be oriented straight

up from the North or South Pole.

Type: real

Domain: -180.0 <= Straight Vertical Longitude from Pole <

180.0

Short Name: svlong

4.1.2.1.23.14 Scale Factor at Projection Origin -- a multiplier for reducing a distance

obtained from a map by computation or scaling to the actual distance at

the projection origin.

Type: real

Domain: Scale Factor at Projection Origin > 0.0

Short Name: sfprjorg

4.1.2.1.23.15 Landsat Number -- number of the Landsat satellite. (Note: This data

element exists solely to provide a parameter needed to define the space

oblique mercator projection. It is not used to identify data originating

from a remote sensing vehicle.)

Type: Integer

Domain: free integer

Short Name: landsat

4.1.2.1.23.16 Path Number -- number of the orbit of the Landsat satellite. (Note: This

data element exists solely to provide a parameter needed to define the

space oblique mercator projection. It is not used to identify data
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originating from a remote sensing vehicle.)

Type: integer

Domain: 0 < Path Number < 251 for Landsats 1, 2, or 3

0 < Path Number < 233 for Landsats 4 or 5, free integer

Short Name: pathnum

4.1.2.1.23.17 Scale Factor at Central Meridian -- a multiplier for reducing a distance

obtained from a map by computation or scaling to the actual distance

along the central meridian.

Type: real

Domain: Scale Factor at Central Meridian > 0.0

Short Name: sfctrmer

4.1.2.1.23.18 Other Projection’s Definition -- a description of a projection, not defined

elsewhere in the standard, that was used for the data set. The

information provided shall include the name of the projection, names of

parameters and values used for the data set, and the citation of the

specification for the algorithms that describe the mathematical

relationship between Earth and plane or developable surface for the

projection.

Type: text

Domain: free text

4.1.2.2 Grid Coordinate System -- a plane-rectangular coordinate system usually based on,

and mathematically adjusted to, a map projection so that geographic positions can be

readily transformed to and from plane coordinates.

Type: compound

Short Name gridsys

4.1.2.2.1 Grid Coordinate System Name -- name of the grid coordinate system.

Type: text

Domain: "Universal Transverse Mercator"

"Universal Polar Stereographic" "State Plane Coordinate System 1927"

"State Plane Coordinate System 1983" "ARC Coordinate System"

"other grid system"

Short Name: gridsysn

4.1.2.2.2 Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) -- a grid system based on the transverse

mercator projection, applied between latitudes 84 degrees north and 80 degrees

south on the Earth's surface.

Type: compound

Short Name: utm

4.1.2.2.2.1 UTM Zone Number -- identifier for the UTM zone.

Type: integer

Domain: 1 <= UTM Zone Number <= 60 for the northern

hemisphere;

-60 <= UTM Zone Number <= -1 for the southern

hemisphere

Short Name: utmzone
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4.1.2.2.3 Universal Polar Stereographic (UPS) -- a grid system based on the polar

stereographic projection, applied to the Earth's polar regions north of 84

degrees north and south of 80 degrees south.

Type: compound

Short Name: ups

4.1.2.2.3.1 UPS Zone Identifier -- identifier for the UPS zone.

Type: text

Domain: "A" "B" "Y" "Z"

Short Name: upszone

4.1.2.2.4 State Plane Coordinate System (SPCS) -- a plane-rectangular coordinate system

established for each state in the United States by the National Geodetic Survey.

Type: compound

Short Name: spcs

4.1.2.2.4.1 SPCS Zone Identifier -- identifier for the SPCS zone.

Type: text

Domain: Four-digit numeric codes for the State Plane Coordinate

Systems based on the North American Datum of 1927 are found

in Department of Commerce, 1986, Representation of geographic

point locations for information interchange (Federal Information

Processing Standard 70-1): Washington: Department of

Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology. 

Codes for the State Plane Coordinate Systems based on the North

American Datum of 1983 are found in Department of Commerce,

1989 (January), State Plane Coordinate System of 1983 (National

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Manual NOS NGS 5): 

Silver Spring, Maryland, National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration, National Ocean Service, Coast and Geodetic

Survey.

Short Name: spcszone

4.1.2.2.5 ARC Coordinate System -- the Equal Arc-second Coordinate System, a planerectangular coordinate system established in Department of Defense, 1990,

Military specification ARC Digitized Raster Graphics (ADRG)

(MIL-A-89007): Philadelphia, Department of Defense, Defense Printing

Service Detachment Office.

Type: compound

Short Name: arcsys

4.1.2.2.5.1 ARC System Zone Identifier -- identifier for the ARC Coordinate System

Zone.

Type: integer

Domain: 1 <= ARC System Zone Identifier <= 18

Short Name: arczone

4.1.2.2.6 Other Grid System's Definition -- a complete description of a grid system, not

defined elsewhere in this standard, that was used for the data set. The

information provided shall include the name of the grid system, the names of
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the parameters and values used for the data set, and the citation of the

specification for the algorithms that describe the mathematical relationship

between the Earth and the coordinates of the grid system.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: othergrd

4.1.2.3 Local Planar -- any right-handed planar coordinate system of which the z-axis

coincides with a plumb line through the origin that locally is aligned with the surface

of the Earth.

Type: compound

Short Name: localp

4.1.2.3.1 Local Planar Description -- a description of the local planar system.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: localpd

4.1.2.3.2 Local Planar Georeference Information -- a description of the information

provided to register the local planar system to the Earth (e.g. control points,

satellite ephemeral data, inertial navigation data).

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: localpgi

4.1.2.4 Planar Coordinate Information -- information about the coordinate system developed

on the planar surface.

Type: compound

Short Name: planci

4.1.2.4.1 Planar Coordinate Encoding Method -- the means used to represent horizontal

positions.

Type: text

Domain: "coordinate pair" "distance and bearing" "row and column"

Short Name: plance

4.1.2.4.2 Coordinate Representation -- the method of encoding the position of a point by

measuring its distance from perpendicular reference axes (the "coordinate pair"

and "row and column" methods).

Type: compound

Short Name: coordrep

4.1.2.4.2.1 Abscissa Resolution -- the (nominal) minimum distance between the "x"

or column values of two adjacent points, expressed in Planar Distance

Units of measure.

Type: real

Domain: Abscissa Resolution > 0.0

Short Name: absres

4.1.2.4.2.2 Ordinate Resolution -- the (nominal) minimum distance between the "y"
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or row values of two adjacent points, expressed in Planar Distance Units

of measure.

Type: real

Domain: Ordinate Resolution > 0.0

Short Name: ordres

4.1.2.4.3 Distance and Bearing Representation -- a method of encoding the position of a

point by measuring its distance and direction (azimuth angle) from another

point.

Type: compound

Short Name: distbrep

4.1.2.4.3.1 Distance Resolution -- the minimum distance measurable between two

points, expressed Planar Distance Units of measure.

Type: real

Domain: Distance Resolution > 0.0

Short Name: distres

4.1.2.4.3.2 Bearing Resolution -- the minimum angle measurable between two

points, expressed in Bearing Units of measure.

Type: real

Domain: Bearing Resolution > 0.0

Short Name: bearres

4.1.2.4.3.3 Bearing Units -- units of measure used for angles.

Type: text

Domain: "Decimal degrees" "Decimal minutes" "Decimal

seconds" “Degrees and decimal minutes" "Degrees, minutes, and

decimal seconds" "Radians" "Grads"

Short Name: bearunit

4.1.2.4.3.4 Bearing Reference Direction -- direction from which the bearing is

measured.

Type: text

Domain: "North" "South"

Short Name: bearrefd

4.1.2.4.3.5 Bearing Reference Meridian -- axis from which the bearing is measured.

Type: text

Domain: "Assumed" "Grid" "Magnetic" "Astronomic" "Geodetic"

Short Name: bearrefm

4.1.2.4.4 Planar Distance Units -- units of measure used for distances.

Type: text

Domain: "meters" "international feet" "survey feet" free text

Short Name: plandu

4.1.3 Local -- a description of any coordinate system that is not aligned with the surface of the

Earth.

Type: compound
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Short Name: local

4.1.3.1 Local Description -- a description of the coordinate system and its orientation to the

surface of the Earth.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: localdes

4.1.3.2 Local Georeference Information -- a description of the information provided to

register the local system to the Earth (e.g. control points, satellite ephemeral data,

inertial navigation data).

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: localgeo

4.1.4 Geodetic Model -- parameters for the shape of the earth.

Type: compound

Short Name: geodetic

4.1.4.1 Horizontal Datum Name -- the identification given to the reference system used for

defining the coordinates of points.

Type: text

Domain: "North American Datum of 1927" "North American Datum of 1983"

free text

Short Name: horizdn

4.1.4.2 Ellipsoid Name -- identification given to established representations of the Earth's

shape.

Type: text

Domain: "Clarke 1866" "Geodetic Reference System 80" free text

Short Name: ellips

4.1.4.3 Semi-major Axis -- radius of the equatorial axis of the ellipsoid.

Type: real

Domain: Semi-major Axis > 0.0

Short Name: semiaxis

4.1.4.4 Denominator of Flattening Ratio -- the denominator of the ratio of the difference

between the equatorial and polar radii of the ellipsoid when the numerator is set to 1.

Type: real

Domain: Denominator of Flattening > 0.0

Short Name: denflat

4.2 Vertical Coordinate System Definition -- the reference frame or system from which vertical

distances (altitudes or depths) are measured.

Type: compound

Short Name: vertdef

4.2.1 Altitude System Definition -- the reference frame or system from which altitudes (elevations)

are measured. The term "altitude"' is used instead of the common term "elevation" to
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conform to the terminology in Federal Information Processing Standards 70-1 and 173.

Type: compound

Short Name: altsys

4.2.1.1 Altitude Datum Name -- the identification given to the surface taken as the surface of

reference from which altitudes are measured.

Type: text

Domain: "National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929" "North American

Vertical Datum of 1988" free text

Short Name: altdatum

4.2.1.2 Altitude Resolution -- the minimum distance possible between two adjacent altitude

values, expressed in Altitude Distance Units of measure.

Type: real

Domain: Altitude Resolution > 0.0

Short Name: altres

4.2.1.3 Altitude Distance Units -- units in which altitudes are recorded.

Type: text

Domain: "meters" "feet" free text

Short Name: altunits

4.2.1.4 Altitude Encoding Method -- the means used to encode the altitudes.

Type: text

Domain: "Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates"

"Implicit coordinate" "Attribute values" 

Short Name: altenc

4.2.2 Depth System Definition -- the reference frame or system from which depths are measured.

Type: compound

Short Name: depthsys

4.2.2.1 Depth Datum Name -- the identification given to surface of reference from which

depths are measured.

Type: text

Domain: "Local surface" "Chart datum; datum for sounding reduction"

"Lowest astronomical tide" "Highest astronomical tide" "Mean low water"

"Mean high water" "Mean sea level" "Land survey datum"

"Mean low water springs" "Mean high water springs" "Mean low water neap"

"Mean high water neap" "Mean lower low water" "Mean lower low water

springs" "Mean higher high water" "Mean higher low water"

"Mean lower high water" "Spring tide" "Tropic lower low water" "Neap tide"

"High water" "Higher high water" "Low water" "Low-water datum"

"Lowest low water" "Lower low water" "Lowest normal low water" "Mean tide

level" "Indian spring low water" "High-water full and charge"

"Low-water full and charge" "Columbia River datum" "Gulf Coast low water

datum" "Equatorial springs low water" "Approximate lowest astronomical tide"

"No correction" free text

Short Name: depthdn
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4.2.2.2 Depth Resolution -- the minimum distance possible between two adjacent depth

values, expressed in Depth Distance Units of measure.

Type: real

Domain: Depth Resolution > 0.0

Short Name: depthres

4.2.2.3 Depth Distance Units -- units in which depths are recorded.

Type: text

Domain: "meters" "feet" free text

Short Name: depthdu

4.2.2.4 Depth Encoding Method -- the means used to encode depths.

Type: text

Domain: "Explicit depth coordinate included with horizontal coordinates"

"Implicit coordinate" "Attribute values"

Short Name: depthem
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Entity and Attribute Information

5 Entity and Attribute Information -- details about the information content of the data set, including

the entity types, their attributes, and the domains from which attribute values may be assigned.

Type: compound

Short Name: eainfo

Entity_and_Attribute_Information =

[1{Detailed_Description}n |

1{Overview_Description}n |

1{Detailed_Description}n +

1{Overview_Description}n]

Detailed_Description =

Entity_Type +

0{Attribute}n

Entity_Type =

Entity_Type_Label +

Entity_Type_Definition +

Entity_Type_Definition_Source

Attribute =

Attribute_Label +

Attribute_Definition +

Attribute_Definition_Source +

1{Attribute_Domain_Values}n +

0{Beginning_Date_of_Attribute_Values +

0{Ending_Date_of_Attribute_Values}1}n +

(Attribute_Value_Accuracy_Information) +

(Attribute_Measurement_Frequency)

Attribute_Domain_Values = 

[Enumerated_Domain |

Range_Domain |

Codeset_Domain |

Unrepresentable_Domain]

Enumerated_Domain =

1{Enumerated_Domain_Value +

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition +

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source +

0{Attribute}n }n

Range_Domain =

Range_Domain_Minimum +

Range_Domain_Maximum +

0{Attribute_Units_of_Measure}1 +

(Attribute_Measurement_Resolution) +

0{Attribute}n
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Codeset_Domain=

Codeset_Name +

Codeset_Source

Attribute_Value_Accuracy_Information =

Attribute_Value_Accuracy +

Attribute_Value_Accuracy_Explanation

Overview_Description =

Entity_and_Attribute_Overview +

1{Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation}n

5.1 Detailed Description -- description of the entities, attributes, attribute values, and related

characteristics encoded in the data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: detailed

5.1.1 Entity Type -- the definition and description of a set into which similar entity instances are

classified.

Type: compound

Short Name: enttype

5.1.1.1 Entity Type Label -- the name of the entity type.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: enttypl

5.1.1.2 Entity Type Definition -- the description of the entity type.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: enttypd

5.1.1.3 Entity Type Definition Source -- the authority of the definition.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: enttypds

5.1.2 Attribute -- a defined characteristic of an entity.

Type: compound

Short Name: attr

5.1.2.1 Attribute Label -- the name of the attribute.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: attrlabl

5.1.2.2 Attribute Definition -- the description of the attribute.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: attrdef
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5.1.2.3 Attribute Definition Source -- the authority of the definition.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: attrdefs

5.1.2.4 Attribute Domain Values -- the valid values that can be assigned for an attribute.

Type: compound

Short Name: attrdomv

5.1.2.4.1 Enumerated Domain -- the members of an established set of valid values.

Type: compound

Short Name: edom

5.1.2.4.1.1 Enumerated Domain Value -- the name or label of a member of the set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: edomv

5.1.2.4.1.2 Enumerated Domain Value Definition -- the description of the value.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: edomvd

5.1.2.4.1.3 Enumerated Domain Value Definition Source -- the authority of the

definition.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: edomvds

5.1.2.4.2 Range Domain -- the minimum and maximum values of a continuum of valid

values.

Type: compound

Short Name: rdom

5.1.2.4.2.1 Range Domain Minimum -- the least value that the attribute can be

assigned.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: rdommin

5.1.2.4.2.2 Range Domain Maximum -- the greatest value that the attribute can be

assigned.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: rdommax

5.1.2.4.2.3 Attribute Units of Measure -- the standard of measurement for an

attribute value.

Type: text

Domain: free text
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Short Name: attrunit

5.1.2.4.2.4 Attribute Measurement Resolution -- the smallest unit increment to

which an attribute value is measured.

Type: real

Domain: Attribute Measurement Resolution > 0.0

Short Name: attrmres

5.1.2.4.3 Codeset Domain -- reference to a standard or list which contains the members

of an established set of valid values.

Type: compound

Short Name: codesetd

5.1.2.4.3.1 Codeset Name -- the title of the codeset.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: codesetn

5.1.2.4.3.2 Codeset Source -- the authority for the codeset.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: codesets

5.1.2.4.4 Unrepresentable Domain -- description of the values and reasons why they

cannot be represented.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: udom

5.1.2.5 Beginning Date of Attribute Values -- earliest or only date for which the attribute

values are current. In cases when a range of dates are provided, this is the earliest

date for which the information is valid.

Type: date

Domain: free date

Short Name: begdatea

5.1.2.6 Ending Date of Attribute Values -- latest date for which the information is current. 

Used in cases when a range of dates are provided.

Type: date

Domain: free date

Short Name: enddatea

5.1.2.7 Attribute Value Accuracy Information -- an assessment of the accuracy of the

assignment of attribute values.

Type: compound

Short Name: attrvai

5.1.2.7.1 Attribute Value Accuracy -- an estimate of the accuracy of the assignment of

attribute values.

Type: real
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Domain: free real

Short Name: attrva

5.1.2.7.2 Attribute Value Accuracy Explanation -- the definition of the Attribute Value

Accuracy measure and units, and a description of how the estimate was derived.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: attrvae

5.1.2.8 Attribute Measurement Frequency -- the frequency with which attribute values are

added.

Type: real

Domain: "Unknown" "As needed" "Irregular" "None planned" free text 

Short Name: attrmfrq

5.2 Overview Description -- summary of, and citation to detailed description of, the information

content of the data set. 

Type: compound

Short Name: overview

5.2.1 Entity and Attribute Overview -- detailed summary of the information contained in a data

set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: eaover

5.2.2 Entity and Attribute Detail Citation -- reference to the complete description of the entity

types, attributes, and attribute values for the data set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: eadetcit
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Distribution Information

6 Distribution Information -- information about the distributor of and options for obtaining the data

set.

Type: compound

Short Name: distinfo

Distribution_Information = 

Distributor +

0{Resource_Description}1 +

Distribution_Liability +

0{Standard_Order_Process}n +

0{Custom_Order_Process}1 +

(Technical_Prerequisites) +

(Available_Time_Period)

Distributor =

Contact_Information (see section 10 for production rules)

Standard_Order_Process = 

[Non-digital_Form | 

1{Digital_Form}n ] +

Fees +

(Ordering_Instructions) +

(Turnaround)

Digital_Form = 

Digital_Transfer_Information +

Digital_Transfer_Option

Digital_Transfer_Information =

Format_Name +

([Format_Version_Number |

Format_Version_Date] +

(Format_Specification) ) +

(Format_Information_Content) +

0{File_Decompression_Technique}1 +

(Transfer_Size)

Digital_Transfer_Option = 

1{ [Online_Option | 

Offline_Option] }n

Online_Option = 

1{Computer_Contact_Information}n +

(Access_Instructions) +

(Online_Computer_and_Operating_System)

Computer_Contact_Information =

[Network_Address |
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Dialup_Instructions]

Network_Address =

1{Network_Resource_Name}n

Dialup_Instructions = 

Lowest_BPS +

0{Highest_BPS}1 +

Number_DataBits +

Number_StopBits +

Parity +

0{Compression_Support}1 +

1{Dialup_Telephone}n +

1{Dialup_File_Name}n

Offline_Option = 

Offline_Media +

0{Recording_Capacity}1

1{Recording_Format}n +

0{Compatibility_Information}1

Recording_Capacity =

1{Recording Density}n +

Recording_Density_Units

Available_Time_Period =

Time_Period_Information (see section 9 for production rules)

6.1 Distributor -- the party from whom the data set may be obtained.

Type: compound

Short Name: distrib

6.2 Resource Description -- the identifier by which the distributor knows the data set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: resdesc

6.3 Distribution Liability -- statement of the liability assumed by the distributor.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: distliab

6.4 Standard Order Process -- the common ways in which the data set may be obtained or received, and

related instructions and fee information.

Type: compound

Short Name: stdorder

6.4.1 Non-digital Form -- the description of options for obtaining the data set on non-computercompatible media.

Type: text
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Domain: free text

Short Name: nondig

6.4.2 Digital Form -- the description of options for obtaining the data set on computer-compatible

media.

Type: compound

Short Name: digform

6.4.2.1 Digital Transfer Information - description of the form of the data to be distributed.

Type: compound

Short Name: digtinfo

6.4.2.1.1 Format Name -- the name of the data transfer format.

Type: text

Domain: domain values from the table below; free text

Short Name: formname

Domain

Value Definition

"ARCE" ARC/INFO Export format

"ARCG" ARC/INFO Generate format

"ASCII" ASCII file, formatted for text attributes, declared

format 

"BIL" Imagery, band interleaved by line

"BIP" Imagery, band interleaved by pixel

"BSQ" Imagery, band interleaved sequential

"CDF" Common Data Format

"CFF" Cartographic Feature File (U.S. Forest Service)

"COORD" User-created coordinate file, declared format

"DEM" Digital Elevation Model format (U.S. Geological

Survey) 

"DFAD" Digital Feature Analysis Data

 (National Imagery and Mapping Agency)

"DGN" Microstation format (Intergraph Corporation)

"DIGEST" Digital Geographic Information Exchange Standard

"DLG" Digital Line Graph (U.S. Geological Survey) 

"DTED" Digital Terrain Elevation Data (MIL-D-89020)

"DWG" AutoCAD Drawing format

"DX90" Data Exchange '90

"DXF" AutoCAD Drawing Exchange Format

"ERDAS" ERDAS image files (ERDAS Corporation)

"GRASS" Geographic Resources Analysis Support System

"HDF" Hierarchical Data Format

"IGDS" Interactive Graphic Design System format

 (Intergraph Corporation)

"IGES" Initial Graphics Exchange Standard

"MOSS" Multiple Overlay Statistical System export file

"netCDF" network Common Data Format

"NITF" National Imagery Transfer Format

"RPF" Raster Product Format
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 (National Imagery and Mapping Agency)

"RVC" Raster Vector Converted format (MicroImages)

"RVF" Raster Vector Format (MicroImages)

"SDTS" Spatial Data Transfer Standard

 (Federal Information Processing Standard 173)

"SIF" Standard Interchange Format (DOD Project 2851)

"SLF" Standard Linear Format

 (National Imagery and Mapping Agency)

"TIFF" Tagged Image File Format

"TGRLN" Topologically Integrated Geographic

 Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) Line format

 (Bureau of the Census)

"VPF" Vector Product Format

 (National Imagery and Mapping Agency)

6.4.2.1.2 Format Version Number -- version number of the format.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: formvern

6.4.2.1.3 Format Version Date -- date of the version of the format.

Type: date

Domain: free date

Short Name: formverd

6.4.2.1.4 Format Specification -- name of a subset, profile, or product specification of the

format.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: formspec

6.4.2.1.5 Format Information Content -- description of the content of the data encoded in

a format.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: formcont

6.4.2.1.6 File Decompression Technique -- recommendations of algorithms or processes

(including means of obtaining these algorithms or processes) that can be

applied to read or expand data sets to which data compression techniques have

been applied.

Type: text

Domain: "No compression applied", free text

Short Name: filedec

6.4.2.1.7 Transfer Size -- the size, or estimated size, of the transferred data set in

megabytes.

Type: real

Domain: Transfer Size > 0.0

Short Name: transize
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6.4.2.2 Digital Transfer Option -- the means and media by which a data set is obtained from

the distributor.

Type: compound

Short Name: digtopt

6.4.2.2.1 Online Option -- information required to directly obtain the data set

electronically.

Type: compound

Short Name: onlinopt

6.4.2.2.1.1 Computer Contact Information -- instructions for establishing

communications with the distribution computer.

Type: compound

Short Name: computer

6.4.2.2.1.1.1 Network Address -- the electronic address from which the data set

can be obtained from the distribution computer.

Type: compound

Short Name: networka

6.4.2.2.1.1.1.1 Network Resource Name -- the name of the file or service

from which the data set can be obtained.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: networkr

6.4.2.2.1.1.2 Dialup Instructions -- information required to access the

distribution computer remotely through telephone lines.

Type: compound

Short Name: dialinst

6.4.2.2.1.1.2.1 Lowest BPS -- lowest or only speed for the connection's

communication, expressed in bits per second.

Type: integer

Domain: Lowest BPS >= 110

Short Name: lowbps

6.4.2.2.1.1.2.2 Highest BPS -- highest speed for the connection's

communication, expressed in bits per second. Used in

cases when a range of rates are provided.

Type: integer

Domain: Highest BPS > Lowest BPS

Short Name: highbps

6.4.2.2.1.1.2.3 Number DataBits -- number of data bits in each character

exchanged in the communication.

Type: integer

Domain: 7 <= Number DataBits <= 8

Short Name: numdata
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6.4.2.2.1.1.2.4 Number StopBits -- number of stop bits in each character

exchanged in the communication.

Type: integer

Domain: 1 <= Number StopBits <= 2

Short Name: numstop

6.4.2.2.1.1.2.5 Parity -- parity error checking used in each character

exchanged in the communication.

Type: text

Domain: "None" "Odd" "Even" "Mark" "Space"

Short Name: parity

6.4.2.2.1.1.2.6 Compression Support -- data compression available

through the modem service to speed data transfer.

Type: text

Domain: "V.32" "V.32bis" "V.42" "V.42bis"

free text

Short Name: compress

6.4.2.2.1.1.2.7 Dialup Telephone -- the telephone number of the

distribution computer.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: dialtel

6.4.2.2.1.1.2.8 Dialup File Name -- the name of a file containing the data

set on the distribution computer.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: dialfile

6.4.2.2.1.2 Access Instructions -- instructions on the steps required to access the

data set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: accinstr

6.4.2.2.1.3 Online Computer and Operating System -- the brand of distribution

computer and its operating system.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: oncomp

6.4.2.2.2 Offline Option -- information about media-specific options for receiving the

data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: offoptn

6.4.2.2.2.1 Offline Media -- name of the media on which the data set can be

received.
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Type: text

Domain: "CD-ROM" "3-1/2 inch floppy disk" "5-1/4 inch floppy

disk" "9-track tape" "4 mm cartridge tape" "8 mm cartridge tape"

"1/4-inch cartridge tape" free text

Short Name: offmedia

6.4.2.2.2.2 Recording Capacity -- the density of information to which data are

written. Used in cases where different recording capacities are possible.

Type: compound

Short Name: reccap

6.4.2.2.2.2.1 Recording Density -- the density in which the data set can be

recorded.

Type: real

Domain: Recording Density > 0.0

Short Name: recden

6.4.2.2.2.2.2 Recording Density Units -- the units of measure for the recording

density.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: recdenu

6.4.2.2.2.3 Recording Format -- the options available or method used to write the

data set to the medium.

Type: text

Domain: "cpio" "tar" "High Sierra" "ISO 9660"

"ISO 9660 with Rock Ridge extensions" "ISO 9660 with Apple

HFS extensions" free text

Short Name: recfmt

6.4.2.2.2.4 Compatibility Information --- description of other limitations or

requirements for using the medium.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: compat

6.4.3 Fees -- the fees and terms for retrieving the data set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: fees

6.4.4 Ordering Instructions -- general instructions and advice about, and special terms and

services provided for, the data set by the distributor.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: ordering

6.4.5 Turnaround -- typical turnaround time for the filling of an order.

Type: text
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Domain: free text

Short Name: turnarnd

6.5 Custom Order Process -- description of custom distribution services available, and the terms and

conditions for obtaining these services.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: custom

6.6 Technical Prerequisites -- description of any technical capabilities that the consumer must have to

use the data set in the form(s) provided by the distributor.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: techpreq

6.7 Available Time Period -- the time period when the data set will be available from the distributor.

Type: compound

Short Name: availabl
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Metadata Reference Information

7 Metadata Reference Information -- information on the currentness of the metadata information, and

the responsible party.

Type: compound

Short Name: metainfo

Metadata_Reference_Information = 

Metadata_Date +

(Metadata_Review_Date) +

(Metadata_Future_Review_Date) +

Metadata_Contact +

Metadata_Standard_Name +

Metadata_Standard_Version +

0{Metadata_Time_Convention}1 +

(Metadata_Access_Constraints) +

(Metadata_Use_Constraints) +

(Metadata_Security_Information) + 

0{Metadata_Extensions}n

Metadata_Contact =

Contact_Information (see section 10 for production rules)

Metadata_Security_Information =

Metadata_Security_Classification_System +

Metadata_Security_Classification +

Metadata_Security_Handling_Description

Metadata_Extensions =

0{Online_Linkage}n +

0{Profile_Name}1

7.1 Metadata Date -- the date that the metadata were created or last updated.

Type: date

Domain: free date

Short Name: metd

7.2 Metadata Review Date -- the date of the latest review of the metadata entry.

Type: date

Domain: free date; Metadata Review Date later than Metadata Date

Short Name: metrd

7.3 Metadata Future Review Date -- the date by which the metadata entry should be reviewed.

Type: date

Domain: free date; Metadata Future Review Date later than Metadata Review Date

Short Name: metfrd

7.4 Metadata Contact -- the party responsible for the metadata information.

Type: compound
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Short Name: metc

7.5 Metadata Standard Name -- the name of the metadata standard used to document the data set.

Type: text

Domain: "FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata" free text

Short Name: metstdn

7.6 Metadata Standard Version -- identification of the version of the metadata standard used to

document the data set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: metstdv

7.7 Metadata Time Convention -- form used to convey time of day information in the metadata entry. 

Used if time of day information is included in the metadata for a data set.

Type: text

Domain: "local time" "local time with time differential factor" "universal time"

Short Name: mettc

7.8 Metadata Access Constraints -- restrictions and legal prerequisites for accessing the metadata. 

These include any access constraints applied to assure the protection of privacy or intellectual

property, and any special restrictions or limitations on obtaining the metadata.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: metac

7.9 Metadata Use Constraints -- restrictions and legal prerequisites for using the metadata after access

is granted. These include any metadata use constraints applied to assure the protection of privacy

or intellectual property, and any special restrictions or limitations on using the metadata.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: metuc

7.10 Metadata Security Information -- handling restrictions imposed on the metadata because of national

security, privacy, or other concerns.

Type: compound

Short Name: metsi

7.10.1 Metadata Security Classification System -- name of the classification system for the

metadata.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: metscs

7.10.2 Metadata Security Classification -- name of the handling restrictions on the metadata.

Type: text

Domain: "Top secret" "Secret" "Confidential" "Restricted" "Unclassified" "Sensitive"

free text

Short Name: metsc
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7.10.3 Metadata Security Handling Description -- additional information about the restrictions on

handling the metadata.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: metshd

7.11 Metadata Extensions – a reference to extended elements to the standard which may be defined by a

metadata producer or a user community. Extended elements are elements outside the Standard, but

needed by the metadata producer. If extended elements are created, they must follow the guidelines

in Appendix D, Guidelines for Creating Extended Elements to the Content Standard for Digital

Geospatial Metadata.

Type: compound

Short Name: metextns

7.11.1 Online Linkage -- the name of an online computer resource that contains the metadata

extension information for the data set. Entries should follow the Uniform Resource Locator

convention of the Internet.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: onlink

7.11.2 Profile Name -- the name given to a document that describes the application of the Standard

to a specific user community.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: metprof
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Citation Information

8 Citation Information -- the recommended reference to be used for the data set. (Note: this section

provides a means of stating the citation of a data set, and is used by other sections of the metadata

standard. This section is never used alone.)

Type: compound

Short Name: citeinfo

Citation_Information =

1{Originator}n +

Publication_Date +

(Publication_Time) +

Title +

0{Edition}1 +

0{Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form}1 +

0{Series_Information}1 +

0{Publication_Information}1 +

0{Other_Citation_Details}1 +

(1{Online_Linkage}n) +

0{Larger_Work_Citation}1

Series_Information =

Series_Name +

Issue_Identification

Publication_Information =

Publication_Place +

Publisher

Larger_Work_Citation =

Citation_Information

8.1 Originator -- the name of an organization or individual that developed the data set. If the name of

editors or compilers are provided, the name must be followed by "(ed.)" or "(comp.)" respectively.

Type: text

Domain: "Unknown" free text

Short Name: origin

8.2 Publication Date -- the date when the data set is published or otherwise made available for release.

Type: date

Domain: "Unknown" "Unpublished material" free date

Short Name: pubdate

8.3 Publication Time -- the time of day when the data set is published or otherwise made available for

release.

Type: time

Domain: "Unknown" free time

Short Name: pubtime

8.4 Title -- the name by which the data set is known.
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Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: title

8.5 Edition -- the version of the title.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: edition

8.6 Geospatial Data Presentation Form -- the mode in which the geospatial data are represented.

Type: text

Domain: (the listed domain is partially from pp. 88-91 in Anglo-American Committee on

Cataloguing of Cartographic Materials, 1982, Cartographic materials: A manual of

interpretation for AACR2: Chicago, American Library Association):

"atlas" “audio” "diagram" “document” "globe" "map" "model" “multimedia presentation”

"profile" “raster digital data” "remote-sensing image" "section" “spreadsheet” “tabular

digital data” “vector digital data” “video” "view" free text

Short Name: geoform

8.7 Series Information -- the identification of the series publication of which the data set is a part.

Type: compound

Short Name: serinfo

8.7.1 Series Name -- the name of the series publication of which the data set is a part.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: sername

8.7.2 Issue Identification -- information identifying the issue of the series publication of which the

data set is a part.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: issue

8.8 Publication Information -- publication details for published data sets.

Type: compound

Short Name: pubinfo

8.8.1 Publication Place -- the name of the city (and state or province, and country, if needed to

identify the city) where the data set was published or released.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: pubplace

8.8.2 Publisher -- the name of the individual or organization that published the data set.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: publish

8.9 Other Citation Details -- other information required to complete the citation.
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Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: othercit

8.10 Online Linkage -- the name of an online computer resource that contains the data set. Entries

should follow the Uniform Resource Locator convention of the Internet.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: onlink

8.11 Larger Work Citation -- the information identifying a larger work in which the data set is included.

Type: compound

Short Name: lworkcit
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Time Period Information

9 Time Period Information -- information about the date and time of an event. (Note: this section

provides a means of stating temporal information, and is used by other sections of the metadata

standard. This section is never used alone.)

Type: compound

Short Name: timeinfo

Time_Period_Information =

[Single_Date/Time |

Multiple_Dates/Times |

Range_of_Dates/Times ]

Single_Date/Time =

Calendar_Date +

(Time_of_Day)

Multiple_Dates/Times =

2{Single_Date/Time}n

Range_of_Dates/Times =

Beginning_Date +

(Beginning_Time) +

Ending_Date +

(Ending_Time)

9.1 Single Date/Time -- means of encoding a single date and time.

Type: compound

Short Name: sngdate

9.1.1 Calendar Date -- the year (and optionally month, or month and day).

Type: date

Domain: "Unknown" free date

Short Name: caldate

9.1.2 Time of Day -- the hour (and optionally minute, or minute and second) of the day.

Type: time

Domain: "Unknown" free time

Short Name: time

9.2 Multiple Dates/Times -- means of encoding multiple individual dates and times.

Type: compound

Short Name: mdattim

9.3 Range of Dates/Times -- means of encoding a range of dates and times.

Type: compound

Short Name: rngdates

9.3.1 Beginning Date -- the first year (and optionally month, or month and day) of the event.

Type: date
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Domain: "Unknown" free date

Short Name: begdate

9.3.2 Beginning Time -- the first hour (and optionally minute, or minute and second) of the day

for the event.

Type: time

Domain: "Unknown" free time

Short Name: begtime

9.3.3 Ending Date -- the last year (and optionally month, or month and day) for the event.

Type: date

Domain: "Unknown" "Present" free date

Short Name: enddate

9.3.4 Ending Time -- the last hour (and optionally minute, or minute and second) of the day for

the event.

Type: time

Domain: "Unknown" free time

Short Name: endtime
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Contact Information

10 Contact Information -- Identity of, and means to communicate with, person(s) and organization(s)

associated with the data set. (Note: this section provides a means of identifying individuals and

organizations, and is used by other sections of the metadata standard. This section is never used

alone.)

Type: compound

Short Name: cntinfo

Contact_Information = 

[Contact_Person_Primary |

Contact_Organization_Primary] +

(Contact_Position) +

1{Contact_Address}n +

1{Contact_Voice_Telephone}n +

(1{Contact_TDD/TTY_Telephone}n) +

(1{Contact_Facsimile_Telephone}n) +

(1{Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address}n) +

(Hours_of_Service) +

(Contact_Instructions)

Contact_Person_Primary = 

Contact_Person +

(Contact_Organization)

Contact_Organization_Primary = 

Contact_Organization +

(Contact_Person)

Contact_Address = 

Address_Type +

0{Address}n +

City +

State_or_Province +

Postal_Code +

(Country)

10.1 Contact Person Primary -- the person, and the affiliation of the person, associated with the data set. 

Used in cases where the association of the person to the data set is more significant than the

association of the organization to the data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: cntperp

10.1.1 Contact Person -- the name of the individual to which the contact type applies.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: cntper

10.1.2 Contact Organization -- the name of the organization to which the contact type applies.

Type: text
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Domain: free text

Short Name: cntorg

10.2 Contact Organization Primary -- the organization, and the member of the organization, associated

with the data set. Used in cases where the association of the organization to the data set is more

significant than the association of the person to the data set.

Type: compound

Short Name: cntorgp

10.3 Contact Position -- the title of individual.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: cntpos

10.4 Contact Address -- the address for the organization or individual.

Type: compound

Short Name: cntaddr

10.4.1 Address Type -- the information provided by the address.

Type: text

Domain: "mailing" "physical" "mailing and physical", free text

Short Name: addrtype

10.4.2 Address -- an address line for the address.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: address

10.4.3 City -- the city of the address.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: city

10.4.4 State or Province -- the state or province of the address.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: state

10.4.5 Postal Code -- the ZIP or other postal code of the address.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: postal

10.4.6 Country -- the country of the address.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: country

10.5 Contact Voice Telephone -- the telephone number by which individuals can speak to the

organization or individual.
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Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: cntvoice

10.6 Contact TDD/TTY Telephone -- the telephone number by which hearing-impaired individuals can

contact the organization or individual.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: cnttdd

10.7 Contact Facsimile Telephone -- the telephone number of a facsimile machine of the organization or

individual.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: cntfax

10.8 Contact Electronic Mail Address -- the address of the electronic mailbox of the organization or

individual.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: cntemail

10.9 Hours of Service -- time period when individuals can speak to the organization or individual.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: hours

10.10 Contact Instructions -- supplemental instructions on how or when to contact the individual or

organization.

Type: text

Domain: free text

Short Name: cntinst
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Appendix A, Glossary

61

Appendix A

Glossary

[Most of the terms and definitions are from Department of Commerce, 1992, Spatial Data Transfer

Standard (SDTS) (Federal Information Processing Standard 173): Washington: Department of

Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology.]

abscissa -- the coordinate of a point in a plane Cartesian coordinate system obtained by measuring parallel

to the x-axis ("the 'x' value").

accuracy -- the closeness of results of observations, computations or estimates to the true values or the

values accepted as being true.

altitude -- elevation above or below a reference datum, as defined in Federal Information Processing

Standard 70-1. See also elevation.

area -- a generic term for a bounded, continuous, two-dimensional object that may or may not include its

boundary.

area chain -- a chain that explicitly references left and right polygons and not start and end nodes. It is a

component of a two-dimensional manifold.

area point -- a representative point within an area usually carrying attribute information about that area.

arc -- a locus of points that forms a curve that is defined by a mathematical expression.

attribute -- a defined characteristic of an entity type (e.g. composition).

attribute value -- a specific quality or quantity assigned to an attribute (e.g., steel), for a specific entity

instance.

cardinality --the number of elements in an extended compound element

chain -- a directed nonbranching sequence of nonintersecting line segments and (or) arcs bounded by

nodes, not necessarily distinct, at each end. Area chain, complete chain, and network chain are special

cases of chain, and share all characteristics of the general case as defined above.

child -- the name of the data element which may occur under this data element. A child element may be

an extended or a standard element.

clearinghouse -- see National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse.

complete chain -- a chain that explicitly references left and right polygons and start and end nodes. It is a

component of a two-dimensional manifold.

compound element -- a group of data elements and other compound elements. Compound elements

represent higher-level concepts that cannot be represented by individual data elements.
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coordinates -- pairs of numbers expressing horizontal distances along orthogonal axes; alternatively,

triplets of numbers measuring horizontal and vertical distances.

data element -- a logically primitive item of data.

data set -- a collection of related data.

depth -- perpendicular distance of an interior point from the surface of an object.

developable surface -- a surface that can be flattened to form a plane without compressing or stretching

any part of it. Examples include cones and cylinders.

digital image -- a two-dimensional array of regularly spaced picture elements (pixels) constituting a

picture.

digital volume -- a three-dimensional array of regularly spaced volume elements (voxels) constituting a

volume.

domain -- in the definition of the elements in the metadata standard, the domain identifies valid values for

a data element.

Edge, Topology Level 0 -- VPF term for a string.

Edge, Topology Level 1 -- VPF term for a network chain in a network (in SDTS, a "Network chain, nonplanar graph").

Edge, Topology Level 2 -- VPF term for a network chain in a planar graph (in SDTS, a "Network chain,

planar graph").

Edge, Topology Level 3 -- VPF term for a complete chain.

elevation -- conforming to Federal Information Processing Standard 70-1, the term "altitude" is used in

this standard, rather than the common term elevation.

entity instance -- a spatial phenomenon of a defined type that is embedded in one or more phenomena of

different type, or that has at least one key attribute value different from the corresponding attribute values

of surrounding phenomena (e.g., the 10 Street Bridge).

entity point -- a point used for identifying the location of point features (or areal features collapsed to a

point), such as towers, buoys, buildings, places, etc.

entity type -- the definition and description of a set into which similar entity instances are classified (e.g.,

bridge).

explicit -- method of identifying positions directly by pairs (for horizontal positions) or triplets (for

horizontal and vertical positions) of numbers.

extended element -- a user-defined metadata element included in a metadata collection. Extended

elements may be defined by a data set producer or a user community. Extended elements are elements
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63

outside the Standard, but needed by the data set producer. If extended elements are created, they must

follow the guidelines in Appendix D, Guidelines for Creating Extended Elements in the Content Standard

for Digital Geospatial Metadata.

Face, Topology Level 3 -- VPF term for a GT-polygon composed of rings.

G-polygon -- an area consisting of an interior area, one outer G-ring and zero or more nonintersecting,

nonnested inner G-rings. No ring, inner or outer, shall be collinear with or intersect any other ring of the

same G-polygon.

G-ring --a string composed of pairs of longitude and latitude coordinates that define a closed nonintersecting boundary.

G-ring point -- a scalar consisting of a set of ordered pairs of floating-point numbers, separated by

commas, in which the first number in each pair is the longitude of a point and the second is the latitude of

the point. Longitude and latitude are specified in decimal degrees with north latitudes positive and south

negative, east longitude positive and west negative.

geospatial data -- information that identifies the geographic location and characteristics of natural or

constructed features and boundaries on the earth. This information may be derived from, among other

things, remote sensing, mapping, and surveying technologies.

graph -- a set of topologically interrelated zero-dimensional (node), one-dimensional (link or chain), and

sometimes two-dimensional (GT-polygon) objects that conform to a set of defined constraint rules. 

Numerous rule sets can be used to distinguish different types of graphs. Three such types, planar graph,

network, and two-dimensional manifold, are used in this standard. All three share the following rules:

each link or chain is bounded by an ordered pair of nodes, not necessarily distinct; a node may bound one

or more links or chains; and links or chains may only intersect at nodes. Planar graphs and networks are

two specialized types of graphs, and a two-dimensional manifold is an even more specific type of planar

graph.

grid -- (1) a set of grid cells forming a regular, or nearly regular, tessellation of a surface; (2) a set of

points arrayed in a pattern that forms a regular, or nearly regular, tessellation of a surface. The

tessellation is regular if formed by repeating the pattern of a regular polygon, such as a square, equilateral

triangle, or regular hexagon. The tessellation is nearly regular if formed by repeating the pattern of an

"almost" regular polygon such as a rectangle, non-square parallelogram, or non-equilateral triangle.

grid cell -- a two-dimensional object that represents the smallest nondivisible element of a grid.

GT-polygon -- an area that is an atomic two-dimensional component of one and only one two-dimensional

manifold. The boundary of a GT-polygon may be defined by GT-rings created from its bounding chains. 

A GT-polygon may also be associated with its chains (either the bounding set, or the complete set) by

direct reference to these chains. The complete set of chains associated with a GT-polygon may also be

found by examining the polygon references on the chains.

GT-ring -- a ring created from complete and (or) area chains.

horizontal -- tangent to the geoid or parallel to a plane that is tangent to the geoid.
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implicit -- method of identifying positions by a place in an array of values.

interior area -- an area not including its boundary.

label point -- a reference point used for displaying map and chart text (e.g., feature names) to assist in

feature identification.

latitude -- angular distance measured on a meridian north or south from the equator.

layer -- an integrated, areally distributed, set of spatial data usually representing entity instances within

one theme, or having one common attribute or attribute value in an association of spatial objects. In the

context of raster data, a layer is specifically a two-dimensional array of scalar values associated with all of

part of a grid or image.

line -- a generic term for a one-dimensional object.

line segment -- a direct line between two points.

link -- a topological connection between two nodes. A link may be directed by ordering its nodes.

longitude -- angular distance between the plane of a meridian east or west from the plane of the meridian

of Greenwich.

map -- a spatial representation, usually graphic on a flat surface, of spatial phenomena.

media -- the physical devices used to record, store, and (or) transmit data.

meridian -- a great circle on the Earth that passes through the geographic poles.

metadata -- data about the content, quality, condition, and other characteristics of data.

name -- the name of an extended element. The extended element name must not be the name of any other

element in the Standard. 

National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse -- a distributed network of geospatial data producers, managers,

and users linked electronically. Building on initiatives such as the national information infrastructure, the

clearinghouse uses a distributed, electronically connected network, such as the Internet. Each data

provider will describe available data in an electronic form, and provide these descriptions (or "metadata")

using means that can be accessed over a communications network. Thus, the data for the clearinghouse

are located at the sites of data producers (or, where more efficient, at the sites of intermediaries)

throughout the country. Using the network, users will search these descriptions to locate data that are

suitable for their applications.

network -- a graph without two dimensional objects. If projected onto a two-dimensional surface, a

network can have either more than one node at a point and (or) intersecting links or chains without

corresponding nodes.

network chain -- a chain that explicitly references start and end nodes and not left and right polygons. It

is a component of a network.
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node -- a zero-dimensional object that is a topological junction of two or more links or chains, or an end

point of a link or chain.

Node, Topology Level 0 -- VPF term for a point (in SDTS, a "point").

Node, Topology Level 1 -- VPF term for a node on a network (in SDTS, a "node, network").

Node, Topology Level 2 -- VPF term for a node on a planar graph (in SDTS, a "node, planar graph").

Node, Topology Level 3 -- VPF term for a point used to represent isolated features. These are

topologically linked to a containing face.

object -- a digital representation of all or part of an entity instance.

optionality - The optionality of a section or compound element always takes precedence over the elements

that it contains. Once a section or compound element is recognized by the data set producer as applicable,

then the optionality of its subordinate elements is to be interpreted. See Production Rules section for

additional interpretive guidance.

ordinate -- the coordinate of a point in a plane cartesian coordinate system obtained by measuring parallel

to the y-axis ("the 'y' value").

parent -- the name of the data element under which a given data element may occur. A parent element

may be an extended or a standard element.

phenomenon -- a fact, occurrence or circumstance. Route 10, George Washington National Forest, and

Chesterfield County are all phenomena.

pixel -- two-dimensional picture element that is the smallest nondivisible element of a digital image.

planar graph -- the node and link or chain objects of the graph occur or can be represented as though they

occur upon a planar surface. Not more than one node may exist at any given point on the surface. Links

or chains may only intersect at nodes. 

point -- a zero-dimensional object that specifies geometric location. One coordinate pair or triplet

specifies the location. Area point, entity point, and label point are special implementations of the general

case.

primitive -- the quality of not being subdivided; atomic.

quality -- an essential or distinguishing characteristic necessary for cartographic data to be fit for use.

raster -- one or more overlapping layers for the same grid or digital image.

raster object - one or more images and/or grids, each grid or image representing a layer, such that

corresponding grid cells and/or pixels between layers are congruent and registered.

rationale - a component of an extended element. The rationale is provided by the user creating the

extended element to explain the reason for its creation and its expected uses.
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repeatability --whether or not an extended element can be repeated and optionally a minimum or

maximum number of occurrences or both

resolution-- the minimum difference between two independently measured or computed values which can

be di stinguished by the measurement or analytical method being considered or used.

ring -- sequence of nonintersecting chains or strings and (or) arcs, with closure. A ring represents a

closed boundary, but not the interior area inside the closed boundary.

SDTS -- the Spatial Data Transfer Standard defined by Department of Commerce, 1992, Spatial Data

Transfer Standard (SDTS) (Federal Information Processing Standard 173): Washington, Department of

Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology.

short name -- a unique name for each compound or primitive data element consisting of eight alphabetic

characters or less. When creating extended element short names, do not duplicate an existing standard

element short name.

source --a component of an extended element. the name of the individual or organization creating an

extended element

spatial data -- see geospatial data.

stratum -- one of a series of layers, levels, or gradations in an ordered system. For this standard, the term

is used in the sense of (1) a region of sea, atmosphere, or geology that is distinguished by natural or

arbitrary limits; (2) a socioeconomic level of society comprised of persons of the same or similar status,

especially with regard to education or culture; or (3) a layer of vegetation, usually of the same or similar

height.

string -- a connected non-branching sequence of line segments specified as the ordered sequence of points

between those line segments. Note: A string may intersect itself or other strings.

two-dimensional manifold -- a planar graph and its associated two dimensional objects. Each chain

bounds two and only two, not necessarily distinct, GT-polygons. The GT-polygons are mutually exclusive

and completely exhaust the surface.

type -- in the definition of the elements in the metadata standard, a compound element has the type

"compound" to provide a unique way to identify compound elements. For a data element, the type

identifies the kind of value that can be assigned to the data element. The choices are "integer" for integer

numbers, "real" for real numbers, "text" for ASCII characters, "date" for day of the year, and "time" for

time of the day.

universe polygon -- defines the part of the universe that is outside the perimeter of the area covered by

other GT-polygons ("covered area") and completes the two-dimensional manifold. This polygon

completes the adjacency relationships of the perimeter links. The boundary of the universe polygon is

represented by one or more inner rings and no outer ring. Attribution of the universe polygon may not

exist, or may be substantially different from the attribution of the covered area.

vector -- composed of directed lines.
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67

vertical -- at right angles to the horizontal; includes altitude and depth.

VPF -- the Vector Product Format defined by Department of Defense, 1992, Vector Product Format (MILSTD-600006): Philadelphia, Department of Defense, Defense Printing Service Detachment Office.

void polygon -- defines a part of the two-dimensional manifold that is bounded by other GT-polygons, but

otherwise has the same characteristics as the universe polygon. The geometry and topology of a void

polygon are those of a GT-polygon. Attribution of a void polygon may not exist, or may be substantially

different from the attribution of the covered area.

voxel -- a three-dimensional element that is the smallest nondivisible element of a digital volume.
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Appendix B, Alphabetical List of Compound Elements and Data Elements

68

Appendix B

Alphabetical List of Compound Elements and Data Elements

Abscissa Resolution, 32 City, 59

Abstract, 4 Cloud Cover, 15

Access Constraints, 7 Codeset Domain, 40

Access Instructions, 47 Codeset Name, 40

Address, 59 Codeset Source, 40

Address Type, 59 Column Count, 18

Albers Conical Equal Area, 25 Compatibility Information, 48

Altitude Datum Name, 35 Completeness Report, 12

Altitude Distance Units, 35 Compression Support, 47

Altitude Encoding Method, 35 Computer Contact Information, 46

Altitude Resolution, 35 Contact Address, 59

Altitude System Definition, 34 Contact Electronic Mail Address, 60

ARC Coordinate System, 31 Contact Facsimile Telephone, 60

ARC System Zone Identifier, 31 Contact Information, 58

Attribute, 38 Contact Instructions, 60

Attribute Accuracy, 11 Contact Organization, 58

Attribute Accuracy Explanation, 11 Contact Organization Primary, 59

Attribute Accuracy Report, 11 Contact Person, 58

Attribute Accuracy Value, 11 Contact Person Primary, 58

Attribute Definition, 38 Contact Position, 59

Attribute Definition Source, 39 Contact TDD/TTY Telephone, 60

Attribute Domain Values, 39 Contact Voice Telephone, 59

Attribute Label, 38 Coordinate Representation, 32

Attribute Measurement Frequency, 41 Country, 59

Attribute Measurement Resolution, 40 Cross Reference, 9

Attribute Units of Measure, 39 Currentness Reference, 4

Attribute Value Accuracy, 40 Custom Order Process, 49

Attribute Value Accuracy Explanation, 41 Data Quality Information, 10

Attribute Value Accuracy Information, 40 Data Set Credit, 8

Available Time Period, 49 Data Set G-Polygon, 5

Azimuth Measure Point Longitude, 29 Data Set G-Polygon Outer G-Ring, 5

Azimuthal Angle, 28 Denominator of Flattening Ratio, 34

Azimuthal Equidistant, 25 Depth Datum Name, 35

Bearing Reference Direction, 33 Depth Distance Units, 36

Bearing Reference Meridian, 33 Depth Encoding Method, 36

Bearing Resolution, 33 Depth Resolution, 35

Bearing Units, 33 Depth System Definition, 35

Beginning Date, 56 Description, 4

Beginning Date of Attribute Values, 40 Detailed Description, 38

Beginning Time, 57 Dialup File Name, 47

Bounding Coordinates, 5 Dialup Instructions, 46

Browse Graphic, 8 Dialup Telephone, 47

Browse Graphic File Description, 8 Digital Form, 44

Browse Graphic File Type, 8 Digital Transfer Information, 44

Calendar Date, 56 Digital Transfer Option, 46

Citation, 4 Direct Spatial Reference Method, 16

Citation Information, 53
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Appendix B, Alphabetical List of Compound Elements and Data Elements

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Distance and Bearing Representation, 33 Horizontal Datum Name, 34

Distance Resolution, 33 Horizontal Positional Accuracy, 12

Distribution Information, 42 Horizontal Positional Accuracy Explanation, 12

Distribution Liability, 43 Horizontal Positional Accuracy Report, 12

Distributor, 43 Horizontal Positional Accuracy Value, 12

East Bounding Coordinate, 5 Hours of Service, 60

Edition, 54 Identification Information, 2

Ellipsoid Name, 34 Indirect Spatial Reference, 16

Ending Date, 57 Issue Identification, 54

Ending Date of Attribute Values, 40 Keywords, 6

Ending Time, 57 Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area, 25

Entity and Attribute Detail Citation, 41 Lambert Conformal Conic, 26

Entity and Attribute Information, 37 Landsat Number, 29

Entity and Attribute Overview, 41 Larger Work Citation, 55

Entity Type, 38 Latitude of Projection Center, 28

Entity Type Definition, 38 Latitude of Projection Origin, 27

Entity Type Definition Source, 38 Latitude Resolution, 24

Entity Type Label, 38 Lineage, 13

Enumerated Domain, 39 Local, 33

Enumerated Domain Value, 39 Local Description, 34

Enumerated Domain Value Definition, 39 Local Georeference Information, 34

Enumerated Domain Value Definition Source, Local Planar, 32

39 Local Planar Description, 32

Equidistant Conic, 25 Local Planar Georeference Information, 32

Equirectangular, 25 Logical Consistency Report, 12

False Easting, 27 Longitude of Central Meridian, 27

False Northing, 27 Longitude of Projection Center, 28

Fees , 48 Longitude Resolution, 24

File Decompression Technique, 45 Lowest BPS, 46

Format Information Content, 45 Map Projection, 25

Format Name, 44 Map Projection Name, 25

Format Specification, 45 Map Projection Parameters, 27

Format Version Date, 45 Mercator, 26

Format Version Number, 45 Metadata, 1

G-Ring, 6 Metadata Access Constraints, 51

G-Ring Latitude, 6 Metadata Contact, 50

G-Ring Longitude, 6 Metadata Date, 50

G-Ring Point, 5 Metadata Extensions, 52

General Vertical Near-sided Perspective, 25 Metadata Future Review Date, 50

Geodetic Model, 34 Metadata Reference Information, 50

Geographic, 24 Metadata Review Date, 50

Geographic Coordinate Units, 24 Metadata Security Classification, 51

Geospatial Data Presentation Form, 54 Metadata Security Classification System, 51

Gnomonic, 25 Metadata Security Handling Description, 51

Grid Coordinate System, 30 Metadata Security Information, 51

Grid Coordinate System Name, 30 Metadata Standard Name, 51

Height of Perspective Point Above Surface, 28 Metadata Standard Version, 51

Highest BPS, 46 Metadata Time Convention, 51

Horizontal Coordinate System Definition, 24 Metadata Use Constraints, 51
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70

Miller Cylindrical, 26 Profile Name, 52

Modified Stereographic for Alaska, 26 Progress, 4

Multiple Dates/Times, 56 Publication Date, 53

Native Data Set Environment, 9 Publication Information, 54

Network Address, 46 Publication Place, 54

Network Resource Name, 46 Publication Time, 53

Non-digital Form, 43 Publisher, 54

North Bounding Coordinate, 5 Purpose, 4

Number DataBits, 46 Quantitative Attribute Accuracy Assessment, 11

Number StopBits, 47 Quantitative Horizontal Positional Accuracy

Oblique Line Azimuth, 28 Assessment, 12

Oblique Line Latitude, 29 Quantitative Vertical Positional Accuracy

Oblique Line Longitude, 29 Assessment, 13

Oblique Line Point, 29 Range Domain, 39

Oblique Mercator, 26 Range Domain Maximum, 39

Offline Media, 47 Range Domain Minimum, 39

Offline Option, 47 Range of Dates/Times, 56

Online Computer and Operating System, 47 Raster Object Information, 18

Online Linkage, 52, 55 Raster Object Type, 18

Online Option, 46 Recording Capacity, 48

Ordering Instructions, 48 Recording Density, 48

Ordinate Resolution, 32 Recording Density Units, 48

Originator, 53 Recording Format, 48

Orthographic, 26 Resource Description, 43

Other Citation Details, 54 Robinson, 26

Other Grid System's Definition, 31 Row Count , 18

Other Projection’s Definition, 30 Scale Factor at Center Line, 28

Overview Description, 41 Scale Factor at Central Meridian, 30

Parity, 47 Scale Factor at Equator, 28

Path Number, 29 Scale Factor at Projection Origin, 29

Place, 6 SDTS Point and Vector Object Type, 17

Place Keyword, 7 SDTS Terms Description, 17

Place Keyword Thesaurus, 7 Security Classification System, 9

Planar, 24 Security Handling Description, 9

Planar Coordinate Encoding Method, 32 Security Information, 9

Planar Coordinate Information, 32 Semi-major Axis, 34

Planar Distance Units, 33 Series Information, 54

Point and Vector Object Count, 17 Series Name, 54

Point and Vector Object Information, 16 Single Date/Time, 56

Point of Contact , 8 Sinusoidal, 26

Polar Stereographic, 26 Source Citation, 13

Polyconic, 26 Source Citation Abbreviation, 14

Positional Accuracy, 12 Source Contribution, 14

Postal Code, 59 Source Currentness Reference, 14

Process Contact, 15 Source Information, 13

Process Date, 14 Source Produced Citation Abbreviation, 15

Process Description, 14 Source Scale Denominator, 13

Process Step, 14 Source Time Period of Content, 14

Process Time, 15 Source Used Citation Abbreviation, 14
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South Bounding Coordinate, 5 West Bounding Coordinate, 5

Space Oblique Mercator (Landsat), 26

Spatial Data Organization Information, 16

Spatial Domain, 5

Spatial Reference Information, 19

SPCS Zone Identifier, 31

Standard Order Process, 43

Standard Parallel, 27

State or Province, 59

State Plane Coordinate System (SPCS), 31

Status, 4

Stereographic, 27

Straight Vertical Longitude from Pole, 29

Stratum, 7

Stratum Keyword, 7

Stratum Keyword Thesaurus, 7

Supplemental Information, 4

Technical Prerequisites, 49

Temporal, 7

Temporal Keyword, 7

Temporal Keyword Thesaurus, 7

Theme, 6

Theme Keyword, 6

Theme Keyword Thesaurus, 6

Time of Day, 56

Time Period Information, 56

Time Period of Content, 4

Title, 53

Transfer Size, 45

Transverse Mercator, 27

Turnaround, 48

Type of Source Media, 13

Universal Polar Stereographic (UPS), 30

Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM), 30

Unrepresentable Domain, 40

UPS Zone Identifier, 31

Use Constraints, 8

UTM Zone Number, 30

van der Grinten, 27

Vertical Coordinate System Definition, 34

Vertical Count, 18

Vertical Positional Accuracy, 13

Vertical Positional Accuracy Explanation, 13

Vertical Positional Accuracy Report, 13

Vertical Positional Accuracy Value, 13

VPF Point and Vector Object Type, 18

VPF Terms Description, 17

VPF Topology Level, 17

VPF_Point_and_Vector_Object_Information, 18
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Appendix C

References

American Congress on Surveying and Mapping and American Society of Civil Engineering, 1978,

Definitions of surveying and associated terms: Falls Church, Virginia, American Congress on Surveying

and Mapping.

American National Standards Institute, 1975, Representations of universal time, local time differentials,

and United States time zone reference for information interchange (ANSI X3.51-1975): New York,

American National Standards Institute.

American National Standards Institute, 1986, Representation for calendar date and ordinal date for

information interchange (ANSI X3.30-1985): New York, American National Standards Institute.

American National Standards Institute, 1986, Representations of local time of day for information

interchange (ANSI X3.43-1986): New York, American National Standards Institute.

American National Standards Institute, 1986, Representations of Geographic Point Locations for

Information Interchange (ANSI X3.61-1986): New York, American National Standards Institute.

American National Standards Institute, 1990, Dictionary for information systems (ANSI X3.172-1990): 

New York, American National Standards Institute.

Anglo-American Committee on Cataloguing of Cartographic Materials, 1982, Cartographic materials: A

manual of interpretation for AACR2: Chicago, American Library Association.

ASTM Section D18.01.05, various dates, Spatial metadata Content Standard for geographic information

systems, catalogs, and data exchange (drafts).

Clark, Suzanne, Larsgaard, Mary, and Teague, Cynthia, 1992, Cartographic citations: A style guide: 

Chicago, American Library Association, Map and Geography Roundtable.

Cogan, Christopher, and Edwards, Thomas, Jr., 1994 (February), Metadata standards for Gap analysis: 

Moscow, Idaho, Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Idaho.

Department of Commerce, 1975, Tide and Current Glossary, Special Publication 228: Washington,

Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Survey.

Department of Commerce, 1989 (January), State Plane Coordinate System of 1983 (National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration Manual NOS NGS 5): Silver Spring, Maryland, Department of Commerce,

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, Coast and Geodetic Survey.

Department of Commerce, 1992, Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS) (Federal Information Processing

Standard 173): Washington, Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Department of Defense, 1981, Glossary of mapping, charting, and geodetic terms (4th ed.): Washington,

Department of Defense, National Imagery and Mapping Agency.
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Department of Defense, 1990, Military specification ARC Digitized Raster Graphics (ADRG)

(MIL-A-89007): Philadelphia, Department of Defense, Defense Printing Service Detachment Office.

Department of Defense, 1992, Vector Product Format (MIL-STD-600006): Philadelphia, Department of

Defense, Defense Printing Service Detachment Office.

Dodd, Susan, 1982, Cataloging machine-readable files. Chicago, American Library Association.

Hansen, Wallace, 1991, Suggestions to authors of the reports of the United States Geological Survey

(7th ed.): Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office.

Li, Xia, and Crane, Nancy, 1993, Electronic style: A guide to citing electronic information: Westport,

Connecticut, Meckler Publishing.

Network Development and MARC Standards Office, 1988, USMARC format for bibliographic data: 

Washington, Library of Congress, Cataloging Distribution Service.

Network Development and MARC Standards Office, 1988, USMARC code list for relators, sources, and

description conventions: Washington, Library of Congress, Cataloging Distribution Service.

(no author), 1994, The Government Information Locator Service (GILS): Report to the Information

Infrastructure Task Force (May 2, 1994).

Patrias, Karen, 1991 (April), National Library of Medicine recommended formats for bibliographic

citations: Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service,

National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine.

Snyder, John, 1987, Map projections: A working manual (U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper

1395): Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office.

Westbrook, J. H., and Grattidge, W., 1991, A glossary of terms relating to data, data capture, data

manipulation, and data bases: CODATA Bulletin, v. 23, no. 1-2.
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Appendix D

Guidelines for Creating Extended Elements in the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata

Extended elements to the Standard may be defined by a data set producer or a user community. Extended

elements are elements outside the Standard, but needed by the data set producer. If extended elements are

created, they must follow the guidelines presented here. The Online_Linkage data element within

Metadata_Extensions points to a formal document containing the necessary documentation for a

subsequent metadata producer to reuse the extended element. If extended elements are used in a profile,

the Profile_Name can also be included in the Metadata_Extensions compound data element. See

Appendix E for Guidelines on Creating a Profile for the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial

Metadata.

It should be noted here that metadata capture and exploitation tools need to be updated to adjust to these

minor modifications. At the end of Section 7, Metadata Reference Information, the following elements

were added in order to handle extended elements:

Extended elements may also be created for use with non-geospatial data holdings when this practice does

not conflict with other Federal standards, directives, or statutes.

Metadata_Extensions=

0{Online_Linkage}n +

0{Profile_Name}1

If a metadata producer does not have the capability to provide online linkage, he or she may list the

information in the data set.

The Online Linkage element references a structured file (or uniform resource locator) containing the

following information about the extended element in the production rule dictated below: name, data type,

domain values, short name, parent element, optionality (Mandatory, Mandatory-if-applicable, or

Optional), cardinality, for example, (0, 1, ..., n) or ( > 1 but < 10), repeatability, definition, rationale, and

source. The compound element Extension_Information is repeatable, but the primitive data elements

occurring in Extension_Information are not. Note that these elements do not appear in the metadata

record itself.

Extension_Information =

Name +

Short_Name +

Type +

[Domain | [0{Child}n | Rule]] +

1{Parent}n +

(Optionality) +

(Repeatability) +

(Definition) +

(Rationale) +

(Source)

The following rules must be followed when defining extended elements:
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C Extended elements must be formally documented within the hierarchical structure of the

Standard (Section 0 - “Metadata”). When metadata extended elements are used, their

existence must be documented in the Metadata Reference Information, element

Metadata_Extensions. Every effort should be made to logically organize extended elements

within the existing sections and structure. Where there is no logical or natural “fit”, new

section(s) and/or subsections may be defined.

C Extended elements must not be used to change the name, definition, type, or domain of a

standard element. In particular, an extended element cannot be nested under a data element.

C Extended elements may be defined as compound and may include extended and standard

elements as components. If a standard element is included in an extended compound

element, no components of the standard element are changed.

C Extended elements, like the standard element “Single_Date/Time” may appear in multiple

places in the metadata set.

Extended_Element_Name -- (Mandatory) -- the name of the element. The name given to the

element must not be the name of any other element in the Standard.

Domain: free text (Do not duplicate any other Standard element name.)

Definition -- (Mandatory) -- the definition of the element.

Domain: free text

Rationale -- (Optional) -- the reason for creating the Extended element, and its expected

uses.

Domain: free text

Source -- (Mandatory) -- the name of the entity creating the Extended element.

Domain: free text

Type -- (Mandatory) -- the kind of value to be provided, or “compound” if the Extended

element contains other elements.

Domain: integer, real, text, date, time, compound

Domain -- (Mandatory) -- valid values that can be assigned to the data element. The same

rules as those for Standard elements are applied here.

Domain: free text

Short Name -- (Mandatory) -- a unique short name consisting of eight alphabetic characters

or less.

Domain: free text (Do not duplicate another short name used by the Standard or

any other short name in the Extension Registry.)

Parent -- (Mandatory) -- The name of the element(s) under which this element may appear. 

The name(s) may be standard or other extended element(s).

Domain: none, free text (Must be the name of an existing standard or extended

element. If the extended element is not part of any other compound element, its
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parent is the section name as defined by the Standard. If the extended element is

defining a whole new section, then its parent is Section 0 - “Metadata”.)

Child -- (Mandatory-if-applicable) -- The name of the element(s) which may appear under

this element. The name(s) may be standard or other extended element(s).

Domain: none, free text (Must be the name of an existing Standard or extended

element.)

Rule: production rule for the element, specified using the form given in this Standard.
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Appendix E

Guidelines for Creating a Profile for the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata

The current Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata provides metadata collectors with formally

defined elements known as standard elements. The metadata Standard attempts to standardize the content

of metadata elements for a wide range of digital geospatial data. However, some users may determine that

modifications to the Standard are needed to create meaningful metadata for their data sets. The Standard

allows the user to create extended elements and profiles. Extended elements are user-defined elements

outside the Standard needed by the metadata producer. A profile is a document that describes the

application of the Standard to a specific user community.

A profile always contains the Standard, plus modifications to the optionality or repeatability of nonmandatory elements in the Standard. Modifications to the domains of standard elements can also be made

where permitted by the Standard. Profiles may also contain extended elements.

Profiles may be formalized through the FGDC standards process or may be used informally by a user

community. FGDC is the approval authority for profiles. To become recognized by the FGDC, a

metadata profile must go through the FGDC standards review and approval process. FGDC approved

profiles must specify a maintenance authority. While the FGDC is the designated maintenance authority

for the Metadata Standard the organization or agency sponsoring a profile will be considered the

maintenance authority for that profile.

Profiles may also be created for use with non-geospatial data holdings when this practice does not conflict

with other Federal standards, directives, or statutes.

Requirements

A profile must include:

C the basic, minimum set of metadata collected to the specification of this Standard

C all mandatory elements in all mandatory sections. These are known as the core metadata elements

C all mandatory- if-applicable elements in all mandatory sections, if the data set has the

characteristic documented in the element

C all mandatory elements in all mandatory-if-applicable sections if the data set has the characteristic

documented in the section

C all mandatory-if-applicable elements in all mandatory-if-applicable sections, if the data set has the

characteristic documented in the section

Guidelines

The guidelines for creating a profile follow:

C A profile must not change the name, definition, or data type of a standard element.

C A profile may impose more stringent conditionality on standard elements than the Standard

requires. (Elements that are optional in the Standard may be mandatory in a profile.)
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C A profile may contain elements with domains that are more restrictive than the Standard. 

(Elements whose domains have free text in the Standard may have a closed list of appropriate

values in the profile.)

C A profile may restrict the use of domain values allowed by the Standard. For example, if the

Standard contains five domain values for a standard element, the profile may specify that its

domain consist of three domain values identified in the profile. The profile may require that the

user select a value from the three domain values.)

C A profile will not permit anything not allowed by the Standard. (If the Standard element has a

domain of three values, without a free text element, the profile will not allow a user to enter

anything other than those 3 values.)

C Before creating a profile, the metadata producer will check existing registered profiles. 

C A profile must be made available to anyone receiving metadata that was collected according to that

profile.

C The profile document submitted to the FGDC for formal approval shall contain the same six

sections as the introduction section of this Standard.

The format of a profile document shall meet the directives of the FGDC Standards Working

Group and shall consist of the following:

1. Objectives

2. Scope

3. Applicability

4. Related Standards

5. Standards Development Process

6. Maintenance Authority

7. A section stating that the mandatory elements from the Standard must be

provided.

8. A section describing the changes to the domains and conditionality of Standard

elements being modified from their original use in the Standard. These

changes should be presented in the same manner used by the Standard.

9. A section describing the extended elements created under this profile. This

section must include all of the components of an extended element described in

the Standard.