Metadata

Metadata is information about data that enables data discovery, access, and reuse. It also serves as the linchpin for data interoperability, acting as the mechanism through which other data catalogues and systems exchange data.

Numerous metadata standards have been developed to best describe the data they represent.

Examples include:

• ISO 19115/19139 (used at: This Catalogue, British Antarctic Survey, SEANOE, GNS)

• Ecological Markup Language (used at: McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER Data Catalogue, Darwin Core Archive)

• Digital Interchange Format (used at: NASA’s Antarctic Metadata Directory AMD, Australian Antarctic Data Center)

See the Digital Curation Center to browse a full-list of domain specific metadata standards.

The catalogue describes metadata compliant with the ISO19115-3 Geographic Information metadata standard.