It is possible for a geoscience data providing organization simply to design an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) schema for a particular data exchange problem at hand and make it generally available. Though not ideal, this is an improvement on having many varieties of non XML data formats. This is because the XML format is partially self-documenting and provides common methods for parsing files, obtaining their structure and transforming them to alternative formats. If communities share a common data transfer model for their domains of interest however , data exchange becomes even easier and more likely to take place efficiently. The British Geological Survey (BGS) believes it is important for work to develop some common ML for the exchange of generic geoscience information. This is not being done from scratch but, by using XML Schema modularity capabilities, is being developed as an application of the OpenGIS Consortium's (OGC) Geography Markup Language (GML) and is building upon the applied geoscience domain focussed eXploration and Mining Markup Language (XMML). These are both fairly complex specifications and BGS is developing from them in an incremental and piece-wise manner to cover some particular geoscientific domains of interest, such as boreholes, text and structural geology, all within one overarching GeoSciML schema. With the support of suitable software tools the XML model development can proceed in an iterative manner with rapid prototyping incorporating the comments of experts in those chosen geoscientific domains or disciplines. We propose that a similar development process be extended to the wider geoscience community, with the support of bodies such as the International Union of Geological Sciences' (IUGS) Commission for the Management and Application of Geoscience Information and the OGC, so that GeoSciML style schemas, based on internationally agreed geoscience conceptual modelling, could become a common language for generic geoscience information exchange using XML based web processes.
GeoSciML is an application of OGC GML, and also has benefited from other existing standards, such as eXploration and Mining Markup Language (XMML), North America Data Model (NADMC1) et al REF .
GeoSciML: Development of a generic GeoScience Markup Language
Comput. Geosci.
Comput. Geosci.
Computer Science