Geoscience Data Standards

Geoscience Data Standards are documented technical specifications that are used consistently to ensure that datasets and products are fit for their purpose. Since its inception, Geoscience Australia has developed and maintained standards and procedures for creating and distributing geoscientific information.

Geoscience Australia contributes to the establishment and maintenance of nationally acceptable standards through the following:

• Databases

  Geoscience Australia is the prime custodian of the national scale geoscientific databases. Many Geoscience Australia database models and data definitions have been adopted as standards by the private sector and state governments.

• Lookup tables

  Geoscience Australia maintains database lookup tables, also known as controlled vocabulary or authority lists, to classify and validate entries in the main database tables. Lookup tables perform several very important functions in a database, such as standardising the terms used, reducing errors, and preventing many ways of saying the same thing. They also provide a standard language to facilitate transformation. Public access to the database lookup tables and many of Geoscience Australia's Oracle databases can be found at www.ga.gov.au/oracle/index.jsp

• Geological names

  Geoscience Australia is a national authority on geological names including stratigraphic units and province names. The Stratigraphic Index of Australia (STRATINDEX), also stores information on published references to these units and is the repository for definition descriptions.

• GIS geoscience data dictionary

  This is a specification for the capture of geoscientific GIS data. It forms a foundation for the production of GIS data by specifying rules regarding the structure of such data.

• Data symbology

  Geoscience Australia's geological symbols sets are accessible online. They contain specialised line and marker symbols for use in GIS software.

• Quality control and quality assurance

  Geoscience Australia validates all of its GIS datasets before they are released to the public. Up to 80 tests, mostly using a sampling regimen, are conducted to ensure data integrity. Tests are carried out for data completeness and correctness and, where appropriate, for compliance with Geoscience Australia's GIS data dictionary.

• International Geological Data Model - GeoSciML

  National and international efforts are currently underway to standardise the format and delivery of geological data exchanged via the internet. In 2003, the Commission for the Management and Application of Geoscience Information (CGI), a commission of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), established a working group to develop GeoSciML - a data model for exchange of geological map data, and an encoding of that data model based on GML (Geography Markup Language).

  The GeoSciML data model is based on prior work carried out by North American, European and Australian geological surveys and research organisations. The current (2007) working group contains members from Australia (CSIRO, Geoscience Australia, Geoscience Victoria), USA, Canada, UK, France, Sweden and Japan. The Australian Government Geoscience Information Policy Advisory Committee (GGIPAC), representing all state, territory and federal geological surveys, have endorsed GeoSciML as the Australian geological data transfer standard.

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Consultation

In developing and maintaining national geoscience data standards, Geoscience Australia strives to consult as widely as possible with the geoscience industry. Geoscience Australia aims for excellence in the provision of its standards and advice. But the development and maintenance of its standards depends on cooperative effort and consultation with those who have a deep-seated interest in the value and use of data standards.

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Service feedback

Your feedback, on how well Geoscience Australia is achieving the standards it has set, is valuable. To provide feedback please contact us.