Commission Regulation (EC) No 1205/2008
of 3 December 2008
implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards metadata
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007 establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (Inspire) , and in particular Article 5(4) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Directive 2007/2/EC lays down general rules for the establishment of the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community. Since, for the proper functioning of that infrastructure, it is necessary for a user to be able to find spatial data sets and services and to establish whether they may be used and for what purpose, Member States should provide descriptions in the form of metadata for those spatial data sets and services. Since such metadata should be compatible and usable in a Community and trans-boundary context, it is necessary to lay down rules concerning the metadata used to describe the spatial data sets and services corresponding to the themes listed in Annexes I, II and III to Directive 2007/2/EC.
(2)
The definition of a set of metadata elements is necessary in order to allow identification of the information resource for which metadata is created, its classification and identification of its geographic location and temporal reference, quality and validity, conformity with implementing rules on the interoperability of spatial data sets and services, constraints related to access and use, and organisation responsible for the resource. Metadata elements related to the metadata record itself are also necessary to monitor that the metadata created are kept up to date, and for identifying the organisation responsible for the creation and maintenance of the metadata. This is the minimum set of metadata elements necessary to comply with Directive 2007/2/EC and does not preclude the possibility for organisations to document the information resources more extensively with additional elements derived from international standards or working practices in their community of interest. Nor does it preclude the possibility to adopt guidelines established and kept up to date by the Commission, in particular when it is necessary to ensure the interoperability of metadata.
(3)
Instructions are necessary for the validation of metadata in accordance with Directive 2007/2/EC with regard to the conditions and expected multiplicity of each metadata element, that is to say, whether values for each element are always to be expected in the metadata record, can occur only once, or can occur more than once.
(4)
The value domain of each metadata element is necessary to ensure interoperability of metadata in a multilingual context and that value domain should be able to take the form of free text, dates, codes derived from international standards, such as language codes, keywords derived from controlled lists or thesauri, or character strings.
(5)
The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 22 of Directive 2007/2/EC,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Subject matter
Article 1
This Regulation sets out the requirements for the creation and maintenance of metadata for spatial data sets, spatial data set series and spatial data services corresponding to the themes listed in Annexes 1, 2 and 3.

Definitions
Article 2
For the purposes of this Regulation, in addition to the definitions laid down in the INSPIRE Regulations 2009 or, as the case may be, the INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009, the definitions set out in Part A of Annex 4 shall apply.

Creation and maintenance of metadata
Article 3
The metadata describing a spatial data set, a spatial data set series or a spatial data service shall comprise the metadata elements or groups of metadata elements set out in Part B of Annex 4 and shall be created and maintained in accordance with the rules set out in Parts C and D thereof.

Entry into force
Article 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
...
ANNEX 1
SPATIAL DATA THEMES CORRESPONDING WITH THE THEMES SET OUT IN ANNEX I TO DIRECTIVE
2007/2/EC
(IMMEDIATELY BEFORE EXIT DAY)
Coordinate reference systems
1.
Systems for uniquely referencing spatial information in space as a set of coordinates (x, y, z) and/or latitude and longitude and height, based on a geodetic horizontal and vertical datum.
Geographical grid systems
2.
Harmonised multi-resolution grid with a common point of origin and standardised location and size of grid cells.
Geographical names
3.
Names of areas, regions, localities, cities, suburbs, towns or settlements, or any geographical or topographical feature of public or historical interest.
Administrative units
4.
Units of administration, dividing areas where jurisdiction is exercised under local, regional and national government, which are separated by administrative boundaries.
Addresses
5.
Location of properties based on address identifiers, usually by road name, house number, postal code.
Cadastral parcels
6.
Areas defined by cadastral registers or equivalent.
Transport networks
7.
Road, rail, air and water transport networks and related infrastructure, including links between different networks.
Hydrography
8.
Hydrographic elements, including marine areas and all other water bodies and items related to them, including river basins and sub-basins, where appropriate, according to the definitions set out in the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2017, the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 or, as the case may be, the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003, and in the form of networks.
Protected sites
9.
Areas designated or managed under legislation or international law to achieve specific conservation objectives.
ANNEX 2
SPATIAL DATA THEMES CORRESPONDING WITH THE THEMES SET OUT IN ANNEX II TO DIRECTIVE
2007/2/EC
(IMMEDIATELY BEFORE EXIT DAY)
Elevation
1.
Digital elevation models for land, ice and ocean surface, including terrestrial elevation, bathymetry and shoreline.
Land cover
2.
Physical and biological cover of the Earth's surface including artificial surfaces, agricultural areas, forests, natural and semi-natural areas, wetlands and water bodies.
Orthoimagery
3.
Geo-referenced image data of the Earth's surface, from either satellite or airborne sensors.
Geology
4.
Geology characterised according to composition and structure, including bedrock, aquifers and geomorphology.
ANNEX 3
SPATIAL DATA THEMES CORRESPONDING WITH THE THEMES SET OUT IN ANNEX III TO DIRECTIVE
2007/2/EC
(IMMEDIATELY BEFORE EXIT DAY)
Statistical units
1.
Units for dissemination or use of statistical information.
Buildings
2.
Geographical location of buildings.
Soil
3.
Soils and subsoil characterised according to depth, texture, structure and content of particles and organic material, stoniness, erosion, where appropriate mean slope and anticipated water storage capacity.
Land use
4.
Territory characterised according to its current and future planned functional dimension or socio-economic purpose, including where such dimension or purpose is residential, industrial, commercial, agricultural, forestry or recreational.
Human health and safety
5.
(1)
Data in relation to—
a
the geographical distribution of dominance of pathologies, including allergies, cancers and respiratory diseases;
b
information indicating the effect on human health or well-being of matters linked directly or indirectly to the quality of the environment.
(2)
For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(b)—
a
“
information indicating the effect on human health
” includes biomarkers, decline of fertility and epidemics;
b
“
well-being
” includes fatigue and stress;
c
matters “linked directly to the quality of the environment” include air pollution, chemicals, depletion of the ozone layer and noise;
d
matters “linked indirectly to the quality of the environment” include food and genetically modified organisms.
Utility facilities and governmental services
6.
Data in relation to—
(a)
utility facilities, including sewage, waste management, energy supply and water supply;
(b)
administrative and social governmental services, including public administration, civil protection sites, schools and hospitals.
Environmental monitoring facilities
7.
The location and operation of environmental monitoring facilities, including those which observe or measure emissions, the state of environmental media or other ecosystem parameters, including biodiversity and the ecological condition of vegetation, by or on behalf of a public authority.
Production and industrial facilities
8.
Industrial production sites, including installations covered by any law in any part of the United Kingdom which implemented Directive
2008/1/EC
of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning integrated pollution prevention and control, and water abstraction facilities, mining and storage sites.
Agricultural and aquaculture facilities
9.
Farming equipment and production facilities, including irrigation systems, greenhouses and stables.
Population distribution — demography
10.
Geographical distribution of people, including population characteristics and activity levels, aggregated by grid, region, administrative unit or other analytical unit.
Area management zones, restriction zones, regulation zones and reporting units
11.
Areas or zones established, managed, regulated or used to plan, perform, monitor or control activities for the purpose of achieving specific or defined environmental objectives under an enactment, including—
a
dumping sites and areas for the dumping of waste;
b
restricted areas around drinking water sources;
c
nitrate-vulnerable zones;
d
regulated fairways at sea or large inland waters;
e
noise restriction zones;
f
prospecting and mining permit areas;
g
river basin districts;
h
relevant reporting units;
i
coastal zone management areas.
Natural risk zones
12.
Vulnerable areas characterised according to natural hazards, including atmospheric, hydrologic, seismic, volcanic or wildfire hazards that, because of their location, severity, and frequency, have the potential to seriously affect society.
Atmospheric conditions
13.
Physical conditions in the atmosphere, including spatial data based on measurements or models (or a combination of measurements and models), including measurement locations.
Meteorological geographical features
14.
Weather conditions and their measurements; precipitation, temperature, evapotranspiration, wind speed and direction.
Oceanographic geographical features
15.
Physical conditions of oceans, including currents, salinity and wave heights.
Sea regions
16.
Physical conditions of seas and saline water bodies divided into regions and sub-regions with common characteristics.
Bio-geographical regions
17.
Areas of relatively homogeneous ecological conditions with common characteristics.
Habitats and biotopes
18.
Geographical areas characterised by specific ecological conditions, processes, structure, and life support functions that physically support the organisms that live there, including terrestrial and aquatic areas distinguished by geographical, abiotic and biotic features, whether entirely natural or semi-natural.
Species distribution
19.
Geographical distribution of occurrence of animal and plant species aggregated by grid, region, administrative unit or other analytical unit.
Energy resources
20.
Energy resources, including hydrocarbons, hydropower, bio-energy, solar and wind, including, where relevant for structuring data, depth or height information on the extent of the resource.
Mineral resources
21.
Mineral resources including metal ores and industrial minerals including, where relevant for structuring data, depth or height information on the extent of the resource..
ANNEX 4

METADATA IMPLEMENTING RULES
PART A

Interpretation
1.
The following definitions shall apply:
- ‘character string’ means the value domain of metadata elements expressed as a set of characters treated as a unit,
- ‘free text’ means the value domain of metadata elements expressed in one or more natural languages,
- ‘lineage’ means the history of a data set, and the life cycle from collection and acquisition through compilation and derivation to its current form, in accordance with EN ISO 19101,
- ‘metadata element’ means a discrete unit of metadata, in accordance with EN ISO 19115,
- ‘namespace’ means a collection of names, identified by a uniform resource identifier (URI) reference, which are used in extensible markup language (XML) documents as element names and attribute names,
- ‘quality’ means the totality of characteristics of a product that bear on its ability to satisfy stated and implied needs, in accordance with EN ISO 19101,
- ‘resource’ means an information resource that has a direct or indirect reference to a specific location or geographic area,
- ‘spatial data set series’ means a collection of spatial data sets sharing the same product specification.
2.
References to the validity of spatial data sets shall be understood as relating to any of the following:
- the range of space and time that is pertinent to the data,
- whether the data have been checked to a measurement or performance standard,
- the extent to which the data are fit for purpose,
- where appropriate, the legal validity of the spatial data set.
PART B

Metadata elements
1.

IDENTIFICATION
The following metadata elements shall be provided:
1.1.

Resource title
This a characteristic, and often unique, name by which the resource is known.
The value domain of this metadata element is free text.
1.2.

Resource abstract
This is a brief narrative summary of the content of the resource.
The value domain of this metadata element is free text.
1.3.

Resource type
This is the type of resource being described by the metadata.
The value domain of this metadata element is defined in Part D.1.
1.4.

Resource locator
The resource locator defines the link(s) to the resource and/or the link to additional information about the resource.
The value domain of this metadata element is a character string, commonly expressed as uniform resource locator (URL).
1.5.

Unique resource identifier
A value uniquely identifying the resource.
The value domain of this metadata element is a mandatory character string code, generally assigned by the data owner, and a character string namespace uniquely identifying the context of the identifier code (for example, the data owner).
1.6.

Coupled resource
If the resource is a spatial data service, this metadata element identifies, where relevant, the target spatial data set(s) of the service through their unique resource identifiers (URI).
The value domain of this metadata element is a mandatory character string code, generally assigned by the data owner, and a character string namespace uniquely identifying the context of the identifier code (for example, the data owner).
1.7.

Resource language
The language(s) used within the resource.
The value domain of this metadata element is limited to the languages defined in ISO 639-2.
2.

CLASSIFICATION OF SPATIAL DATA AND SERVICES
2.1.

Topic category
The topic category is a high-level classification scheme to assist in the grouping and topic-based search of available spatial data resources.
The value domain of this metadata element is defined in Part D.2.
2.2.

Spatial data service type
This is a classification to assist in the search of available spatial data services. A specific service shall be categorised in only one category.
The value domain of this metadata element is defined in Part D.3.
3.

KEYWORD
If the resource is a spatial data service, at least one keyword from Part D.4 shall be provided.
If a resource is a spatial data set or spatial data set series, at least one keyword shall be provided from the general environmental multilingual thesaurus (GEMET) describing the relevant spatial data theme as set out in Annex 1, 2 or 3.
For each keyword, the following metadata elements shall be provided:
3.1.

Keyword value
The keyword value is a commonly used word, formalised word or phrase used to describe the subject. While the topic category is too coarse for detailed queries, keywords help narrowing a full text search and they allow for structured keyword search.
The value domain of this metadata element is free text.
3.2.

Originating controlled vocabulary
If the keyword value originates from a controlled vocabulary (thesaurus, ontology), for example GEMET, the citation of the originating controlled vocabulary shall be provided.
This citation shall include at least the title and a reference date (date of publication, date of last revision or of creation) of the originating controlled vocabulary.
4.

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
The requirement for geographic location referred to in regulation 7(3)(d) of the INSPIRE Regulations 2009 or, as the case may be, regulation 8(3)(d) of the INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009 shall be expressed with the metadata element geographic bounding box.
4.1.

Geographic bounding box
This is the extent of the resource in the geographic space, given as a bounding box.
The bounding box shall be expressed with westbound and eastbound longitudes, and southbound and northbound latitudes in decimal degrees, with a precision of at least two decimals.
5.

TEMPORAL REFERENCE
This metadata element addresses the requirement to have information on the temporal dimension of the data .... At least one of the metadata elements referred to in points 5.1 to 5.4 shall be provided.
The value domain of the metadata elements referred to in points 5.1 to 5.4 is a set of dates. Each date shall refer to a temporal reference system and shall be expressed in a form compatible with that system. The default reference system shall be the Gregorian calendar, with dates expressed in accordance with ISO 8601.
5.1.

Temporal extent
The temporal extent defines the time period covered by the content of the resource. This time period may be expressed as any of the following:
- an individual date,
- an interval of dates expressed through the starting date and end date of the interval,
- a mix of individual dates and intervals of dates.
5.2.

Date of publication
This is the date of publication of the resource when available, or the date of entry into force. There may be more than one date of publication.
5.3.

Date of last revision
This is the date of last revision of the resource, if the resource has been revised. There shall not be more than one date of last revision.
5.4.

Date of creation
This is the date of creation of the resource. There shall not be more than one date of creation.
6.

QUALITY AND VALIDITY
The requirements referred to in regulations 6(2) and 7(2)(a)(ii) and (3) of the INSPIRE Regulations 2009 or, as the case may be, regulations 7(2) and 8(2)(a)(ii) and (3) of the INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009 relating to the quality and validity of spatial data shall be addressed by the following metadata elements:
6.1.

Lineage
This is a statement on process history and/or overall quality of the spatial data set. Where appropriate it may include a statement whether the data set has been validated or quality assured, whether it is the official version (if multiple versions exist), and whether it has legal validity.
The value domain of this metadata element is free text.
6.2.

Spatial resolution
Spatial resolution refers to the level of detail of the data set. It shall be expressed as a set of zero to many resolution distances (typically for gridded data and imagery-derived products) or equivalent scales (typically for maps or map-derived products).
An equivalent scale is generally expressed as an integer value expressing the scale denominator.
A resolution distance shall be expressed as a numerical value associated with a unit of length.
7.

CONFORMITY
The requirements referred to in regulations 6(2)(aa) and 7(3)(ca) of the INSPIRE Regulations 2009 or, as the case may be, regulations 7(2)(aa) and 8(3)(ca) of the INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009 relating to the conformity, and the degree of conformity, with implementing rules set out in Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services shall be addressed by the following metadata elements:
7.1.

Specification
This is a citation of the implementing rules ... or other specification to which a particular resource conforms.
A resource may conform to more than one of the implementing rules ... or other specifications.
This citation shall include at least the title and a reference date (date of publication, date of last revision or of creation) of the implementing rules ... or of the specification.
7.2.

Degree
This is the degree of conformity of the resource to the implementing rules ... or other specification.
The value domain of this metadata element is defined in Part D.
8.

CONSTRAINT RELATED TO ACCESS AND USE
A constraint related to access and use shall be either or both of the following:
- a set of conditions applying to access and use (8.1),
- a set of limitations on public access (8.2).
8.1.

Conditions applying to access and use
This metadata element defines the conditions for access and use of spatial data sets and services, and where applicable, corresponding fees as required by regulations 6(2)(d) and (e) and 7(3)(e) of the INSPIRE Regulations 2009 or, as the case may be, regulations 7(2)(d) and (e) and 8(3)(e) of the INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009.
The value domain of this metadata element is free text.
The element must have values. If no conditions apply to the access and use of the resource, ‘no conditions apply’ shall be used. If conditions are unknown, ‘conditions unknown’ shall be used.
This element shall also provide information on any fees necessary to access and use the resource, if applicable, or refer to a uniform resource locator (URL) where information on fees is available.
8.2.

Limitations on public access
When data publishers limit public access to spatial data sets and spatial data services under regulation 9 of the INSPIRE Regulations 2009 or, as the case may be, regulation 10 of the INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009, this metadata element shall provide information on the limitations and the reasons for them.
If there are no limitations on public access, this metadata element shall indicate that fact.
The value domain of this metadata element is free text.
9.

ORGANISATIONS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT, MANAGEMENT, MAINTENANCE AND DISTRIBUTION OF SPATIAL DATA SETS AND SERVICES
For the purposes of regulations 6(2)(b) and 7(3)(f) of the INSPIRE Regulations 2009 or, as the case may be, regulations 7(2)(b) and 8(3)(f) of the INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009, the following two metadata elements shall be provided:
9.1.

Responsible party
This is the description of the organisation responsible for the establishment, management, maintenance and distribution of the resource.
This description shall include:
- the name of the organisation as free text,
- a contact e-mail address as a character string.
9.2.

Responsible party role
This is the role of the responsible organisation.
The value domain of this metadata element is defined in Part D.
10.

METADATA ON METADATA
For the purposes of regulation 6 of the INSPIRE Regulations 2009 or, as the case may be, regulation 7 of the INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009 the following metadata elements shall be provided:
10.1.

Metadata point of contact
This is the description of the organisation responsible for the creation and maintenance of the metadata.
This description shall include:
- the name of the organisation as free text,
- a contact e-mail address as a character string.
10.2.

Metadata date
The date which specifies when the metadata record was created or updated.
This date shall be expressed in conformity with ISO 8601.
10.3.

Metadata language
This is the language in which the metadata elements are expressed.
The value domain of this metadata element is limited to the official languages of the Community expressed in conformity with ISO 639-2.
PART C

Instructions on multiplicity and conditions of the metadata elements
The metadata describing a resource shall comprise, as regards a spatial data set or a spatial data set series, the metadata elements or groups of metadata elements listed in Table 1 and, as regards a spatial data set service, the metadata elements or groups of metadata elements listed in Table 2.
Those metadata elements or groups of metadata elements shall be in accordance with the expected multiplicity and the related conditions set out in Tables 1 and 2.
When no condition is expressed in relation to a particular metadata element, that element shall be mandatory.
The tables present the following information:
- the first column contains the reference to the paragraph in Part B of this Annex defining the metadata element or group of metadata elements,
- the second column contains the name of the metadata element or group of metadata elements,
- the third column specifies the multiplicity of a metadata element. The expression of the multiplicity follows the unified modelling language (UML) notation for multiplicity, in which:
  - 1 means that there shall be only one instance of this metadata element in a result set,
  - 1..* means that there shall be at least one instance of this element in a result set,
  - 0..1 indicates that the presence of the metadata element in a result set is conditional but can occur only once,
  - 0..* indicates that the presence of the metadata element in a result set is conditional but the metadata element may occur once or more,
  - when the multiplicity is 0..1 or 0..*, the condition defines when the metadata elements is mandated,
- the fourth column contains a conditional statement if the multiplicity of the element does not apply to all types of resources. All elements are mandatory in other circumstances.

Table 1

Metadata for spatial data sets and spatial data set series
Reference | Metadata elements | Multiplicity | Condition
1.1 | Resource title | 1 |
1.2 | Resource abstract | 1 |
1.3 | Resource type | 1 |
1.4 | Resource locator | 0..* | Mandatory if a URL is available to obtain more information on the resource, and/or access related services.
1.5 | Unique resource identifier | 1..* |
1.7 | Resource language | 0..* | Mandatory if the resource includes textual information.
2.1 | Topic category | 1..* |
3 | Keyword | 1..* |
4.1 | Geographic bounding box | 1..* |
5 | Temporal reference | 1..* |
6.1 | Lineage | 1 |
6.2 | Spatial resolution | 0..* | Mandatory for data sets and data set series if an equivalent scale or a resolution distance can be specified.
7 | Conformity | 1..* |
8.1 | Conditions for access and use | 1..* |
8.2 | Limitations on public access | 1..* |
9 | Responsible organisation | 1..* |
10.1 | Metadata point of contact | 1..* |
10.2 | Metadata date | 1 |
10.3 | Metadata language | 1 |

Table 2

Metadata for spatial data services
Reference | Metadata element | Multiplicity | Condition
1.1 | Resource title | 1 |
1.2 | Resource abstract | 1 |
1.3 | Resource type | 1 |
1.4 | Resource locator | 0..* | Mandatory if linkage to the service is available.
1.6 | Coupled resource | 0..* | Mandatory if linkage to data sets on which the service operates are available.
2.2 | Spatial data service type | 1 |
3 | Keyword | 1..* |
4.1 | Geographic bounding box | 0…* | Mandatory for services with an explicit geographic extent.
5 | Temporal reference | 1..* |
6.2 | Spatial resolution | 0..* | Mandatory when there is a restriction on the spatial resolution for this service.
7 | Conformity | 1..* |
8.1 | Conditions for access and use | 1..* |
8.2 | Limitations on public access | 1..* |
9 | Responsible organisation | 1..* |
10.1 | Metadata point of contact | 1..* |
10.2 | Metadata date | 1 |
10.3 | Metadata language | 1 |
PART D

Value domains
Where specified in the description of the metadata elements in Part B, the value domains described in Part D.1 to D.6 shall be used with the multiplicity expressed in Tables 1 and 2 of Part C.
In relation to a particular domain, each value is defined by:
- a numerical identifier,
- a textual name for humans which may be translated in the different Community languages,
- a language neutral name for computers (the value expressed between parenthesis),
- an optional description or definition.
1.

RESOURCE TYPE
1.1.
Spatial data set series (series)
1.2.
Spatial data set (dataset)
1.3.
Spatial data service (service)
2.

TOPIC CATEGORIES IN ACCORDANCE WITH EN ISO 19115
2.1.

Farming (farming)
Rearing of animals and/or cultivation of plants.
This category applies to ... spatial data theme Annex 3(9) Agricultural and aquaculture facilities.
2.2.

Biota (biota)
Flora and/or fauna in natural environment.
This category applies to the following ... spatial data themes: Annex 3(17) Bio-geographical regions, Annex 3(18) Habitats and biotopes, Annex 3(19) Species distribution.
2.3.

Boundaries (boundaries)
Legal land descriptions.
This category applies to the following ... spatial data themes: Annex 1(4) Administrative units, Annex 3(1) Statistical units.
2.4.

Climatology / Meteorology / Atmosphere (climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere)
Processes and phenomena of the atmosphere.
This category applies to the following ... spatial data themes: Annex 3(13) Atmospheric conditions, Annex 3(14) Meteorological geographical features.
2.5.

Economy (economy)
Economic activities, conditions and employment.
This category applies to the following ... spatial data themes: Annex 3(20) Energy resources, Annex 3(21) Mineral resources.
2.6.

Elevation (elevation)
Height above or below sea level.
This category applies to the following ... spatial data theme: Annex 2(1) Elevation.
2.7.

Environment (environment)
Environmental resources, protection and conservation.
This category applies to the following ... spatial data theme: Annex 1(9) Protected sites.
2.8.

Geoscientific Information (geoscientificInformation)
Information pertaining to earth sciences.
This category applies to the following ... spatial data themes: Annex 3(3) Soil, Annex 2(4) Geology, Annex 3(12) Natural risk zones.
2.9.

Health (health)
Health, health services, human ecology, and safety.
This category applies to the following ... spatial data theme: Annex 3(5) Human health and safety.
2.10.

Imagery / Base Maps / Earth Cover (imageryBaseMapsEarthCover)
Base maps.
This category applies to the following ... spatial data themes: Annex 2(3) Orthoimagery, Annex 2(2) Land cover.
2.11.

Intelligence / Military (intelligenceMilitary)
Military bases, structures, activities.
This category does not apply specifically to any ... spatial data themes.
2.12.

Inland Waters (inlandWaters)
Inland water features, drainage systems and their characteristics.
This category applies to the following ... spatial data theme: Annex 1(8) Hydrography.
2.13.

Location (location)
Positional information and services.
This category applies to the following ... spatial data themes: Annex 1(3) Geographical names, Annex 1(5) Addresses.
2.14.

Oceans (oceans)
Features and characteristics of salt water bodies (excluding inland waters).
This category applies to the following ... spatial data themes: Annex 3(16) Sea regions, Annex 3(15) Oceanographic geographical features.
2.15.

Planning / Cadastre (planningCadastre)
Information used for appropriate actions for future use of the land.
This category applies to the following ... spatial data themes: Annex 1(6) Cadastral parcels, Annex 3(4) Land use, Annex 3(11) Area management/restriction/regulation zones & reporting units.
2.16.

Society (society)
Characteristics of society and cultures.
This category applies to the following ... spatial data themes: Annex 3(10) Population distribution – demography.
2.17.

Structure (structure)
Man-made construction.
This category applies to the following ... spatial data themes: Annex 3(2) Buildings, Annex 3(8) Production and industrial facilities, Annex 3(7) Environmental monitoring facilities.
2.18.

Transportation (transportation)
Means and aids for conveying persons and/or goods.
This category applies to the following ... spatial data theme: Annex 1(7) Transport networks.
2.19.

Utilities / Communication (utilitiesCommunication)
Energy, water and waste systems and communications infrastructure and services.
This category applies to the following ... spatial data theme: Annex 3(6) Utility and governmental services.
3.

SPATIAL DATA SERVICE TYPE
3.1.

Discovery Service (discovery)
Services making it possible to search for spatial data sets and services on the basis of the content of the corresponding metadata and to display the content of the metadata.
3.2.

View Service (view)
Service that makes it possible, as a minimum, to display, navigate, zoom in and out, pan or overlay viewable spatial data sets and to display legend information and any relevant content of metadata.
3.3.

Download Service (download)
Service that enables copies of spatial data sets, or parts of such sets, to be downloaded and, where practicable, accessed directly.
3.4.

Transformation Service (transformation)
Service that enables spatial data sets to be transformed with a view to achieving interoperability.
3.5.

Invoke Spatial Data Service (invoke)
Service that allows defining both the data inputs and data outputs expected by the spatial service and a workflow or service chain combining multiple services. It also allows defining the external web service interface of the workflow or service chain.
3.6.
Other Service (other)
4.

CLASSIFICATION OF SPATIAL DATA SERVICES
The keywords are based on the geographic services taxonomy of EN ISO 19119. This taxonomy is organised in categories, the subcategories defining the value domain of the classification of spatial data services.
100

Geographic human interaction services (humanInteractionService)
This category comprises the following subcategories:
1. Catalogue viewer (humanCatalogueViewer)
Client service that allows a user to interact with a catalogue to locate, browse, and manage metadata about geographic data or geographic services.
2. Geographic viewer (humanGeographicViewer)
Client service that allows a user to view one or more feature collections or coverages.
3. Geographic spreadsheet viewer (humanGeographicSpreadsheetViewer)
Client service that allows a user to interact with multiple data objects and to request calculations similar to an arithmetic spreadsheet but extended to geographic data.
4. Service editor (humanServiceEditor)
Client service that allows a user to control geographic processing services.
5. Chain definition editor (humanChainDefinitionEditor)
Provides user interaction with a chain definition service.
6. Workflow enactment manager.(humanWorkflowEnactmentManager)
Provides user interaction with a workflow enactment service.
7. Geographic feature editor (humanGeographicFeatureEditor)
Geographic viewer that allows a user to interact with feature data.
8. Geographic symbol editor (humanGeographicSymbolEditor)
Client service that allows a human to select and manage symbol libraries.
9. Feature generalisation editor (humanFeatureGeneralizationEditor)
Client service that allows a user to modify the cartographic characteristics of a feature or feature collection by simplifying its visualisation, while maintaining its salient elements – the spatial equivalent of simplification.
10. Geographic data-structure viewer (humanGeographicDataStructureViewer)
Client service that allows a user to access part of data set to see its internal structure.
200

Geographic model/information management service (infoManagementService)
This category comprises the following subcategories:
1. Feature access service (infoFeatureAccessService)
Service that provides a client access to and management of a feature store.
2. Map access service (infoMapAccessService)
Service that provides a client access to a geographic graphics, i.e. pictures of geographic data.
3. Coverage access service (infoCoverageAccessService)
Service that provides a client access to and management of a coverage store.
4. Sensor description service (infoSensorDescriptionService)
Service that provides the description of a coverage sensor, including sensor location and orientation, as well as the sensor’s geometric, dynamic, and radiometric characteristics for geo-processing purposes.
5. Product access service (infoProductAccessService)
Service that provides access to and management of a geographic product store.
6. Feature type service (infoFeatureTypeService)
Service that provides a client to access to and management of a store of feature type definitions.
7. Catalogue service (infoCatalogueService)
Service that provides discovery and management services on a store of metadata about instances.
8. Registry Service (infoRegistryService)
Service that provides access to store of metadata about types.
9. Gazetteer service (infoGazetteerService)
Service that provides access to a directory of instances of a class or classes of real-world phenomena containing some information regarding position.
10. Order handling service (infoOrderHandlingService)
Service that provides a client with the ability to order products from a provider.
11. Standing order service (infoStandingOrderService)
Order handling service that allows a user to request that a product over a geographic area be disseminated when it becomes available.
300

Geographic workflow/task management services (taskManagementService)
This category comprises the following subcategories:
1. Chain definition service (chainDefinitionService)
Service to define a chain and to enable it to be executed by the workflow enactment service.
2. Workflow enactment service (workflowEnactmentService)
The workflow enactment service interprets a chain and controls the instantiation of services and sequencing of activities.
3. Subscription service (subscriptionService)
Service to allow clients to register for notification about events.
400

Geographic processing services – spatial (spatialProcessingService)
This category comprises the following subcategories:
1. Coordinate conversion service (spatialCoordinateConversionService)
Service to change coordinates from one coordinate system to another coordinate system that is related to the same datum.
2. Coordinate transformation service (spatialCoordinateTransformationService)
Service to change coordinates from a coordinate reference system based on one datum to a coordinate reference system based on a second datum.
3. Coverage/vector conversion service (spatialCoverageVectorConversionService)
Service to change the spatial representation from a coverage schema to a vector schema, or vice versa.
4. Image coordinate conversion service (spatialImageCoordinateConversionService)
A coordinate transformation or coordinate conversion service to change the coordinate reference system for an image.
5. Rectification service (spatialRectificationService)
Service for transforming an image into a perpendicular parallel projection and therefore a constant scale.
6. Orthorectification service (spatialOrthorectificationService)
A rectification service that removes image tilt and displacement due to terrain elevation.
7. Sensor geometry model adjustment service (spatialSensorGeometryModelAdjustmentService)
Service that adjusts sensor geometry models to improve the match of the image with other images and/or known ground positions.
8. Image geometry model conversion service (spatialImageGeometryModelConversionService)
Service that converts sensor geometry models into a different but equivalent sensor geometry model.
9. Subsetting service (spatialSubsettingService)
Service that extracts data from an input in a continuous spatial region either by geographic location or by grid coordinates.
10. Sampling service (spatialSamplingService)
Service that extracts data from an input using a consistent sampling scheme either by geographic location or by grid coordinates.
11. Tiling change service (spatialTilingChangeService)
Service that changes the tiling of geographic data.
12. Dimension measurement service (spatialDimensionMeasurementService)
Service to compute dimensions of objects visible in an image or other geodata.
13. Feature manipulation services (spatialFeatureManipulationService)
Register one feature to another, an image, or another data set or coordinate set; correcting for relative translation shifts, rotational differences, scale differences, and perspective differences. Verify that all features in the Feature Collection are topologically consistent according to the topology rules of the Feature Collection, and identifies and/or corrects any inconsistencies that are discovered.
14. Feature matching service (spatialFeatureMatchingService)
Service that determines which features and portions of features represent the same real world entity from multiple data sources, e.g., edge matching and limited conflation.
15. Feature generalisation service (spatialFeatureGeneralizationService)
Service that reduces spatial variation in a feature collection to increase the effectiveness of communication by counteracting the undesirable effects of data reduction.
16. Route determination service (spatialRouteDeterminationService)
Service to determine the optimal path between two specified points based on the input parameters and properties contained in the Feature Collection.
17. Positioning service (spatialPositioningService)
Service provided by a position-providing device to use, obtain and unambiguously interpret position information, and determines whether the results meet the requirements of the use.
18. Proximity analysis service (spatialProximityAnalysisService)
Given a position or geographic feature, finds all objects with a given set of attributes that are located within a user-specified distance of the position or feature.
500

Geographic processing services – thematic (thematicProcessingService)
This category comprises the following subcategories:
1. Geoparameter calculation service (thematicGoparameterCalculationService)
Service to derive application-oriented quantitative results that are not available from the raw data itself.
2. Thematic classification service (thematicClassificationService)
Service to classify regions of geographic data based on thematic attributes.
3. Feature generalisation service (thematicFeatureGeneralizationService)
Service that generalises feature types in a feature collection to increase the effectiveness of communication by counteracting the undesirable effects of data reduction.
4. Subsetting service (thematicSubsettingService)
Service that extracts data from an input based on parameter values.
5. Spatial counting service (thematicSpatialCountingService)
Service that counts geographic features.
6. Change detection service (thematicChangeDetectionService)
Service to find differences between two data sets that represent the same geographical area at different times.
7. Geographic information extraction services (thematicGeographicInformationExtractionService)
Services supporting the extraction of feature and terrain information from remotely sensed and scanned images.
8. Image processing service (thematicImageProcessingService)
Service to change the values of thematic attributes of an image using a mathematical function.
9. Reduced resolution generation service (thematicReducedResolutionGenerationService)
Service that reduces the resolution of an image.
10. Image Manipulation Services (thematicImageManipulationService)
Services for manipulating data values in images: changing colour and contrast values, applying various filters, manipulating image resolution, noise removal, ‘striping’, systematic-radiometric corrections, atmospheric attenuation, changes in scene illumination, etc.
11. Image understanding services (thematicImageUnderstandingService)
Services that provide automated image change detection, registered image differencing, significance-of-difference analysis and display, and area-based and model-based differencing.
12. Image synthesis services (thematicImageSynthesisService)
Services for creating or transforming images using computer-based spatial models, perspective transformations, and manipulations of image characteristics to improve visibility, sharpen resolution, and/or reduce the effects of cloud cover or haze.
13. Multiband image manipulation (thematicMultibandImageManipulationService)
Services that modify an image using the multiple bands of the image.
14. Object detection service (thematicObjectDetectionService)
Service to detect real-world objects in an image.
15. Geoparsing service (thematicGeoparsingService)
Service to scan text documents for location-based references, such as a place names, addresses, postal codes, etc., in preparation for passage to a geocoding service.
16. Geocoding service (thematicGeocodingService)
Service to augment location-based text references with geographic coordinates (or some other spatial reference).
600

Geographic processing services – temporal (temporalProcessingService)
This category comprises the following subcategories:
1. Temporal reference system transformation service (temporalReferenceSystemTransformationService)
Service to change the values of temporal instances from one temporal reference system to another temporal reference system.
2. Subsetting service (temporalSubsettingService)
Service that extracts data from an input in a continuous interval based on temporal position values.
3. Sampling service (temporalSamplingService)
Service that extracts data from an input using a consistent sampling scheme based on temporal position values.
4. Temporal proximity analysis service (temporalProximityAnalysisService)
Given a temporal interval or event, find all objects with a given set of attributes that are located within a user-specified interval from the interval or event.
700

Geographic processing services – metadata (metadataProcessingService)
This category comprises the following subcategories:
1. Statistical calculation service (metadataStatisticalCalculationService)
Service to calculate the statistics of a data set.
2. Geographic annotation services (metadataGeographicAnnotationService)
Services to add ancillary information to an image or a feature in a feature collection.
800

Geographic communication services (comService)
This category comprises the following subcategories:
1. Encoding service (comEncodingService)
Service that provides implementation of an encoding rule and provides an interface to encoding and decoding functionality.
2. Transfer service (comTransferService)
Service that provides implementation of one or more transfer protocols, which allows data transfer between distributed information systems over offline or online communication media.
3. Geographic compression service (comGeographicCompressionService)
Service that converts spatial portions of a feature collection to and from compressed form.
4. Geographic format conversion service (comGeographicFormatConversionService)
Service that converts from one geographic data format to another.
5. Messaging service (comMessagingService)
Service that allows multiple users to simultaneously view, comment about, and request edits of feature collections.
6. Remote file and executable management (comRemoteFileAndExecutableManagement)
Service that provides access to secondary storage of geographic features as if it were local to the client.
5.

DEGREE OF CONFORMITY
5.1.

Conformant (conformant)
The resource is fully conformant with the cited specification.
5.2.

Not Conformant (notConformant)
The resource does not conform to the cited specification.
5.3.

Not evaluated (notEvaluated)
Conformance has not been evaluated.
6.

RESPONSIBLE PARTY ROLE
6.1.

Resource Provider (resourceProvider)
Party that supplies the resource.
6.2.

Custodian (custodian)
Party that accepts accountability and responsibility for the data and ensures appropriate care and maintenance of the resource.
6.3.

Owner (owner)
Party that owns the resource.
6.4.

User (user)
Party who uses the resource.
6.5.

Distributor (distributor)
Party who distributes the resource.
6.6.

Originator (originator)
Party who created the resource
6.7.

Point of Contact (pointOfContact)
Party who can be contacted for acquiring knowledge about or acquisition of the resource.
6.8.

Principal Investigator (principalInvestigator)
Key party responsible for gathering information and conducting research.
6.9.

Processor (processor)
Party who has processed the data in a manner such that the resource has been modified.
6.10.

Publisher (publisher)
Party who published the resource.
6.11.

Author (author)
Party who authored the resource.
OJ L 108, 25.4.2007, p. 1.
Deleted by Corrigendum to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1205/2008 of 3 December 2008 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards metadata (Official Journal of the European Union L 326 of 4 December 2008).
Substituted by Corrigendum to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1205/2008 of 3 December 2008 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards metadata (Official Journal of the European Union L 326 of 4 December 2008).
Annexes 1-3 inserted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(6); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Annex renumbered as Annex 4 (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(7); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. C substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(9); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. D para. 2 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(10)(a); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. D para. 2 substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(10)(b); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. D para. 2 substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(10)(c); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. D para. 2 substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(10)(d); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. B para. 3 substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(8)(a); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. B para. 4 substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(8)(b); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. B para. 5 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(8)(c); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. B para. 6 substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(8)(d); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. B para. 7 substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(8)(e)(i); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. B para. 7 substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(8)(e)(ii); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. B para. 7.1 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(8)(f)(i); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. B para. 7.1 inserted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(8)(f)(ii)(aa); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Word in Annex 4 Pt. B para. 7.1 substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(8)(f)(ii)(bb); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. B para. 7.2 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(8)(g); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. B para. 8.1 substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(8)(h); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. B para. 8.2 substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(8)(i)(i); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. B para. 8.2 substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(8)(i)(ii); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. B para. 9 substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(8)(j); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Annex 4 Pt. B para. 10 substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(8)(k); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Art. 1 substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(2); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Art. 2 substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(3)(a); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Art. 2 substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(3)(b); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Art. 3 substituted (31.12.2020) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(4); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Art. 4 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Art. 4 (including binding words) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1338), regs. 1, 10(5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)