Biodiversity profile to promote data exchange

A number of practitioners in the field of biodiversity data and standards have called for the development of a biodiversity profile that would enable them to exchange biodiversity and environmental observation data through SensorWeb. These stakeholders are in the process of establishing a biodiversity profile for SensorWeb. View larger version

At the recent Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Workplan Symposium in Geneva (April 2012), a number of practitioners in the field of biodiversity data and standards discussed the requirement to exchange biodiversity and environmental observation data through SensorWeb.

This is currently not feasible, since a schema (profile) for such exchanges does not exist.

Originally conceived by Jochen Schmidt of the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research in New Zealand, the requirement was endorsed by other participants, including Stefano Nativi (ESSI Lab), George Percival (OGC), Jay Pearlman (IEEE) and Wim Hugo of SAEON. OGC appeared to be a natural candidate for promoting adoption of such a profile.

Sensor webs

Sensor webs are a valid addition to the standardised dissemination of such data, since it would mean that in situ biodiversity or ecological data can be queried across many data providers, and that time series signals of such observations can more easily be collated with other signals such as weather and climate phenomena, atmospheric conditions, streamflows, or other data traditionally derived from in situ sensors. In essence, the profile must answer this question: “If I ask a biological/ ecological SensorWeb service for data, what does the result look like?”

In pursuit of this objective, Wim Hugo presented the concept at the recent OGC Technical Committee meeting in Exeter (16-18 June, 2012), where the Earth and Space Science Domain Working Group recommended a course of action to formalise the process of establishing such a profile. No objections to the process were raised at the OGC meeting, and informal consensus on the way forward was reached at the GBIC conference in July 2012 (Copenhagen).

The next steps are to:

1. Create a project charter based on OGC guidelines;
2. Aim to focus on achievable milestones, with a simple profile as a first objective; and
   
3. Approach the TDWG Interest Group as a channel to take the process forward in OGC.