WaterML

WaterML is a technical standard and information model used to represent hydrological time series structures. The current version is WaterML 2.0, released an open standard[1] of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).

History

WaterML 1.0

Version 1.0 of WaterML was published in 2009 by the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science.[2] WaterML 1.0 (and 1.1) is an XML exchange format developed for use specifically in the United States.

WaterML 2.0

WaterML 2.0 is an open standard[1] of the OGC. Version 2.0 marks a harmonisation with different formats from various organisations and countries, including the Australian Water Data Transfer Format, WaterML 1.0 from the United States,[2] XHydro from Germany, and with existing OGC formats. WaterML 2.0 was adopted as an official standard by the OGC in September 2012,[3][4] endorsed by the US Federal Geographic Data Committee,[5] and has been proposed for adoption by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).[6]

Example uses include: exchange of data for operational hydrological monitoring programs; supporting operation of infrastructure (e.g. dams, supply systems); cross-border exchange of observational data; release of data for public dissemination; enhancing disaster management through data exchange; and exchange in support of national reporting. The standard was developed through a harmonisation process[7] by members of the joint OGC-WMO Hydrology Domain Working Group.[8]

Structure

WaterML 2.0 makes use of existing OGC standards, primarily Observations and Measurements (O&M) and the Geography Markup Language (GML). This enhances consistency and interoperability with other standards and web services. Through use of the O&M standard, WaterML 2.0 defines types allowing for standard definition of the core properties relating to hydrological time series, including:

The core information model is defined using the Unified Modelling Language, allowing for flexibility in creating implementation-specific encodings. The standard defines a GML-conformant XML encoding allowing for use with OGC Web Services.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 OGC WaterML 2.0, Open Geospatial Consortium, 2014-02-24
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Valentine, David; Zaslavsky, Ilya (June 11, 2009), CUAHSI WaterML 1.0, Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science
  3. ↑ , OGC press release
  4. ↑ , CSIRO press release
  5. ↑ , FGDC press release
  6. ↑ , WMO, Resolution 3, Commission for Hydrology session November 2012 - Abridged final report with resolutions and recommendations
  7. ↑ , Taylor, P.; Cox, S.; Walker, G.; Valentine, D; Sheahan, P. WaterML 2.0: Development of an open standard for hydrological time series data exchange. Journal of Hydroinformatics. doi:10.2166/hydro.2013.174.
  8. ↑ WMO/OGC Hydrology Domain Working Group wiki page