EPA Metadata Technical Specification
Effective August 2016
Introduction:
The primary purpose of this document is to establish guidelines for publishing metadata for data sets developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This document is an update to the 2007 Geospatial Metadata Technical Specification and reflects requirements fromProject Open Data andISO 19115.The primary differences between the ISO 19115 standard and EPA’s implementation are that the fields required for Project Open Data have been made mandatory and follow the requirements laid out in theProject Open Data Schema 1.1. Please see thechangelog for a complete list of updates.
This document is not intended as a complete explanation of the implementation of either the Project Open Data or ISO 19115 standards. Rather, it is intended as a reference for guidance only on those elements that are considered important or mandatory for the EPA implementation. This implementation does not create new elements; rather it provides standard interpretation guidelines for existing elements. Mappings are provided between Project Open Data Schema, ISO 19115, FGDC CSDGM, and ArcGIS metadata. Full guidance on best practices, examples and implementation of the metadata technical specification can be found in theEPA Metadata Style Guide.
Metadata that is compliant with this technical specification will also be compliant with minimum Project Open Data and ISO 19115 standards and thus may be shared withData.gov and theNational Geospatial Platform, as well as with EPA’s central geospatial metadata catalog, theEnterprise Data Catalog (EDC).
The EPA Metadata Technical Specification is a specification under theEnterprise Information Management Policy’s Cataloging Procedure. The purpose of this procedure is to advance discovery, access and sharing of information produced by EPA by requiring that it be cataloged in an Agency information management system.
(Contact: Ana Greene;Greene.Ana@epa.gov).
| Field Name | Description | Required? | Geospatial Only? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Human-readable name of the asset. Should be in plain English and include sufficient detail to facilitate search and discovery. | Always | All |
| Description | Human-readable description (e.g., an abstract) with sufficient detail to enable a user to quickly understand whether the asset is of interest. | Always | All |
| Tags (General) | Tags (or keywords) help users discover your dataset; EPA requires the use of keywords from several different standard thesauruses; please also include terms that would be used by technical and non-technical users. | Always | All |
| Tags (ISO) | The ISO 19115 Topic Category is a general categorization of data resources that is intended to provide data classification consistency across agencies. | Always | All |
| Tags (Place) | One or more geographic feature names describing the range of spatial applicability of the dataset. | Always | All |
| Tags (EPA Org) | The organization within the EPA responsible for the stewardship of this dataset. If this dataset is produced and maintained by an external agency, this field should be set to non-EPA. | Pending | All |
| Tags (EPA Theme) | Thematic keywords commonly used to describe EPA datasets, recommended to promote consistency across the agency. | Optional | All |
| Tags (Federal Program Code) | Federal program inventory code corresponding to the program responsible for the production and maintenance of this dataset. | Always | All |
| Last Update | Most recent date on which the dataset was changed, updated or modified, or for continually updated data, the frequency with which the data are updated. | Always | All |
| Publishing Organization | The title of the organization responsible for publishing the dataset | Always | All |
| Publisher | The name of a contact responsible for the dataset | Always | All |
| Publisher Email | The email address where questions about this dataset should be sent. | Always | All |
| Identifier | This element is a unique identifier for the metadata record. It may be aUUID orDOI. | Always | All |
| Access Level | The degree to which this dataset could be made publicly-available, regardless of whether it has been made available. Choices: public (Data asset is or could be made publicly available to all without restrictions), restricted public (Data asset is available under certain use restrictions), or non-public (Data asset is not available to members of the public). | Always | All |
| Rights | An explanation for the selected “accessLevel” including instructions for how to access a restricted file, if applicable, or explanation for why a “non-public” or “restricted public” data asset is not “public,” if applicable. Text, 255 characters. | Required if Access Level is not public | All |
| Data License | The URL to a web page describing the data license governing the use of this dataset. | Required if Access Level is public, otherwise optional | All |
| System of Records | If the system is designated as a system of records under the Privacy Act of 1974, provide the URL to the System of Records Notice related to this dataset. | Required if metadata represents a system of record | All |
| General Use Limitation | This optional field allows any general use limitations to be included. | Optional | Geo Only |
| Spatial Extent | The range of spatial applicability of a dataset. Should include a spatial region like a bounding box but may also be a named place. | Required for geospatial data | All |
| Temporal Extent | The range of temporal applicability of a dataset (i.e., a start and end date of applicability for the data). | Mandatory if Applicable | All |
| Distribution URL | One or more URLs providing access to the dataset | Mandatory if Applicable | All |
| Metadata Date Stamp | The date when the metadata was created or last updated | Always | Geo Only |
| Update Frequency | The frequency with which dataset is published or updated. | Mandatory for Geo | All |
| Metadata Responsible Party | Contact information for the party responsible for creating and maintaining the metadata. | Always | Geo Only |
| Language | The language(s) of the dataset. | Required for geospatial data | All |
| Country | The country in which the metadata document was produced. | Required for geospatial data | Geo Only |
| Spatial Reference | Identification of the horizontal projections, vertical datums and temporal reference systems used. | Required for geospatial data | Geo Only |
| Spatial Data Representation | Digital representation of spatial information in the dataset. (Vector/Grid, Point/Line/Polygon etc.) | Required for geospatial data | Geo Only |
The tables below include additional guidance for each element, including valid value domains, examples and crosswalks to XPaths for ArcGIS Metadata, ISO 19115, the Federal Geographic Data Committee's (FGDC) Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM). Full guidance on best practices, examples and implementation of the metadata technical specification can be found in theEPA Metadata Style Guide. The following links exit the site
| Field | Title |
|---|---|
| Required? | Always |
| Guidance | Titles should be succinct yet descriptive including the topic, and where relevant, temporal info, geography and related programs in a way that distinguishes it from other, similar resources. To this end, EPA recommends the following template: {Subject, Geographic Extent, Relevant Time Period, Data Owner/Provider, Office/Region/Research Lab of Data Owner}Any individual component of this title template may be omitted if not applicable. For example, there is no need to include a date if data are frequently or continuously updated. Similarly, if the geographic extent is implicit in the subject, i.e. National Hydrography Dataset, it may be omitted provided that the actual extent of the data matches the extent implied in the title (an example of a dataset whose actual extent does not match the implicitly titled extent would be National Hydrography Dataset clipped to a given state). Geographic Extent should always refer to a place name, not a bounding box or coordinates. Spell out any acronyms. |
| Accepted Values | Plain Text |
| Example | "Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Locations, Oklahoma, 2012, EPA OIAA, EPA REG 66 WQPD" |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Overview > Item Description > Title and Overview > Citation > Titles > Title |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/idCitation/resTitle |
| Project Open Data Element | title |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/idinfo/citation/citeinfo/title |
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Required? | Always |
| Guidance | Typically, this element should be used to provide a brief summary of the resource. Some of the recommended items that should be included in this field are: - general content and features - dataset form (GIS, CAD, image, Dbase, etc.) - geographic coverage (county/city name) - time period of content (begin and end date or single date) - special data characteristics or limitations |
| Accepted Values | Plain Text |
| Example | "A total of 54 GPS points were collected around the Willamette Valley, Oregon, in the fall of 1997 and spring of 1998. Locations were selected at road crossings over streams and along the Mainstem Willamette. Attention was paid to achieving relatively even spacing around the basin, including farthest extents, and along the Mainstem. Points were differentially corrected and imported into a file geodatabase, attributed to indicate location, road, stream, and notes." |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | all items except tools: Overview > Item Description > Description/Abstract tools: Overview > Item Description > Summary |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/idAbs |
| Project Open Data Element | description |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/idinfo/descript/abstract |
| Field | Tags (General) |
|---|---|
| Required? | Always |
| Guidance | A minimum of three keywords is required. Any helpful and descriptive keywords may be chosen, but they should enhance the additional keywords listed below. |
| Accepted Values | Comma-separated values |
| Example | vegetables, veggies, greens, leafy, spinach, kale, nutrition |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Overview > Topics & Keywords > User Keywords > {Keywords subpage} (Note, please do not use Overview > Item Description > Tags, as any tags in this section will cause all other tags to be suppressed) |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/themeKeys/keyword[../thesaName/resTitle="User"] |
| Project Open Data Element | keyword |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | No translation. |
| Field | Tags (ISO) |
|---|---|
| Required? | Always |
| Guidance | Inclusion of one or more ISO keywords is required for minimum EPA compliancy which supports inter-Agency sharing initiatives. The ISO 19115 Topic Category is a general categorization of data resources that is intended to provide data classification consistency across agencies. Select one or more of the basic ISO keywords for a general classification of your data or application. |
| Accepted Values | https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/wiki/index.php?title=ISO_Topic_Categories |
| Example | environment |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Overview > Topics & Keywords > Theme Keywords > {Keywords subpage} |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/themeKeys/ |
| Project Open Data Element | theme |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/idinfo/keywords/theme/themekey |
| Field | Tags (Place) |
|---|---|
| Required? | Always |
| Guidance | Inclusion of one or more place names is required for minimum EPA compliancy which supports discovery of assets by location. |
| Accepted Values | Data.gov links tohttp://www.geonames.org/ for official placenames. The EPA taxonomies registry also includes a shorter list. |
| Example | United States |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Overview > Topics & Keywords > Place Keywords > {Keywords subpage} |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/placeKeys/ |
| Project Open Data Element | spatial (for non-geo) |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/idinfo/keywords/place/placekey |
| Field | Tags (EPA Org) |
|---|---|
| Required? | Pending |
| Guidance | Because work is still in progress on providing metadata stewards with a current authoritative list of EPA's organizations, this element will be regarded as "pending", and no values are expected. When such an authoritative list is available and included in metadata editing tools, we do expect the element to be mandatory, but linked to the "publisher" field. The organization within the EPA responsible for the stewardship of this dataset, at the most specific level possible from the available choices. If this dataset is produced and maintained by an external agency, this field should be set to non-EPA. |
| Accepted Values | See theEPA Metadata Style Guide Keywords and EPA Organization Names. Work is in progress to include the organizational list in EPA's system of registries. |
| Example | OEI,OIC,IESD |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Overview > Topics & Keywords > Subtopic Keywords > {Keywords subpage} |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/subTopicCatKeys/ |
| Project Open Data Element | keyword |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/idinfo/keywords/theme/themekey |
| Field | Tags (EPA Theme) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Required? | Optional | ||||
| Guidance | This field is not required for minimum EPA compliancy, but is recommended for EPA personnel and contractors in order to promote metadata consistency across the Agency. Select one or more EPA keywords (listed below) to describe your data resource where applicable. EPA Keywords should be used to describe EPA-produced assets. The provided list of keywords represents a snapshot of EPA’s Web Taxonomy from some years ago. Efforts are underway to provide guidance and tools that allow EPA metadata stewards to take advantage of the full complement of EPA’s Terminology Services, Taxonomies and Controlled Vocabularies. | ||||
| Accepted Values |
| ||||
| Example | |||||
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Overview > Topics & Keywords > Subtopic Keywords > {Keywords subpage} | ||||
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/subTopicCatKeys/ | ||||
| Project Open Data Element | keyword | ||||
| ISO 19115 | |||||
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/idinfo/keywords/theme/themekey |
| Field | Tags (Federal Program Code) |
|---|---|
| Required? | Always |
| Guidance | A program code is mandatory for all federal agencies. More information about the Federal Program Inventory is available in aFact Sheet and aReport. Program codes should be entered as a separate keyword section, with the keyword thesaurus set to "Federal Program Inventory". |
| Accepted Values | Select from theFederal Program Inventory. |
| Example | "015:001" |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Overview > Topics & Keywords > Subtopic Keywords > {Keywords subpage} |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/subTopicCatKeys/ |
| Project Open Data Element | programCode |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/idinfo/keywords/theme/themekey |
| Field | Last Update |
|---|---|
| Required? | Always |
| Guidance | This element is the date when the data resource was published or otherwise made available for release. Dates should be ISO 8601 of highest resolution. In other words, as much of YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.sTZD as is relevant to this dataset. If there is a need to reflect that the dataset is continually updated, non geospatial records can useISO 8601 repeating intervals in this field. For instance, R/P1D for daily, R/P2W for every two weeks, and R/PT5M for every five minutes. Geospatial records should use |
| Accepted Values | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601 |
| Example | "2012-01-15" |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Overview > Citation > Dates > Revised |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/idCitation/date/reviseDate |
| Project Open Data Element | modified |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/idinfo/status/update |
| Field | Publishing Organization |
|---|---|
| Required? | Always |
| Guidance | This element should contain the full standardized name of the EPA organization responsible for publishing the dataset. If EPA is not the publishing entity, this element may be free text, but should still contain the name of the publishing entity (the metadata record will not be contributed to data.gov as an EPA record). |
| Accepted Values | All EPA Organizations should begin U.S. EPA or U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. |
| Example | U.S. EPA Office Of Environmental Information (OEI) - Office Of Information Collection (OIC) |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Resource > Points of Contact > Contact > Organization (Role = Publisher) |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/idPoC/rpOrgName |
| Project Open Data Element | publisher |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/idinfo/citation/citeinfo/pubinfo/publish |
| Field | Publisher |
|---|---|
| Required? | Always |
| Guidance | This element should contain the full name of a person responsible for the publication of a dataset. An actual human being is preferred, but if a helpdesk is responsible for providing support to dataset users, the name of the helpdesk team is acceptable. TheISO Role code must be set to "publisher" for this contact. |
| Accepted Values | Plain Text |
| Example | "Jane Doe" |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Resource > Points of Contact > Contact > Name (Role = Publisher) |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/idPoC/rpIndName |
| Project Open Data Element | contactPoint/fn |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/idinfo/ptcontac/cntinfo/cntorgp/cntper |
| Field | Publisher Email |
|---|---|
| Required? | Always |
| Guidance | This element should contain the email address of a person responsible for the publication of a dataset. An actual human being is preferred, but if a helpdesk is responsible for providing support to dataset users, the email address of the helpdesk team is acceptable. |
| Accepted Values | Email address |
| Example | doe.jane@agency.gov |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Resource > Points of Contact > Contact > Contact Information > Email |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/idPoC/rpCntInfo/cntAddress/eMailAdd |
| Project Open Data Element | contactPoint/hasEmail |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/metainfo/metc/cntinfo/cntemail |
| Field | Identifier |
|---|---|
| Required? | Always |
| Guidance | This element must contain a unique identifier for the metadata record. This identifier may be aUUID string or a DOI URL. The unique identifier provides the link between the metadata associated with a resource (e.g., feature class) in your local system to the metadata uploaded and published with the EDG. If a computer (or person) knows theunique identifierof a metadata record published with the EDG, then a generic URL + unique identifier can be used to view that record (i.e., https://edg.epa.gov/metadata/catalog/search/resource/details.page?uuid={0CA7A9AE-68DB-4F92-8566-2003C8BF41AB}). Many applications leverage generic URL +unique identifier. For example, when services are published, users will place the EDGunique identifier URL inside the MXD for each data layer. This way you can get access to the metadata via a REST endpoint (or web application) for a given data resource. |
| Accepted Values | UUID or DOI |
| Example | 8B7D82BE-B130-44B8-99FB-192973508BE8 |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Metadata > Details > File Identifier |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/mdFileID |
| Project Open Data Element | identifier |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/Esri/PublishedDocID and /metadata/idinfo/citation/citeinfo/othcit |
| Field | Access Level |
|---|---|
| Required? | Always |
| Guidance | This element is mandatory per Project Open Data requirements, and guidelines for non-geospatial records follow the POD specification. Since geospatial metadata standards do not have the same three-choice domain as the POD specification, geospatial records are assumed to be public if they contain no legal, security, or general constraints, and are considered restricted public or non-public if they do have security constraints listed: “non-public” whensecurity constraints code is sensitive, confidential, secret, or topSecret, “restricted public” whensecurity constraints code is restricted or official use only, and "public" when the security constraint code is unclassified. |
| Accepted Values | "public", "restricted public", "non-public" |
| Example | public |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Resource > Constraints > Security Constraints > Classification (note: do not confuse this with Metadata > Constraints > Security Constraints, which refers to restrictions on the metadata document itself, rather than the data) |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/resConst/SecConsts/class/ClasscationCd/@value |
| Project Open Data Element | accessLevel |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/idinfo/secinfo/secclass |
| Field | Rights |
|---|---|
| Required? | Required if Access Level is not public |
| Guidance | If a dataset has an access level of public, this field can be populated with general informational free text about accessing the dataset (note that the limit is 255 characters - EPA's legacy disclaimer is longer than this and may cause the record to be rejected from data.gov). Please include disclaimers in the "General Use Limitations" field or at URLs. If the dataset is not public, the value must be chosen from an approved list of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) categories describing why the dataset may not be made public. |
| Accepted Values |
|
| Example | EPA Category: Mission Sensitive, NARA Category: Critical Infrastructure |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Resource > Constraints > Security Constraints > User Note (note: do not confuse this with Metadata > Constraints > Security Constraints, which refers to restrictions on the metadata document itself, rather than the data) |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/resConst/SecConsts/userNote |
| Project Open Data Element | rights |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/idinfo/accconst |
| Field | Data License |
|---|---|
| Required? | Always |
| Guidance | The license or non-license (i.e. Public Domain) status with which the dataset or API has been published. EPA provides astandard open data license page that is preferred for use when no other restrictions are in place on the data. |
| Accepted Values | URL |
| Example | ArcGIS Metadata XML:
ISO XML:
|
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Resource > Constraints > Legal Constraints > Use Limitation (Access Constraint = License) |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/resConst/LegConsts/othConsts |
| Project Open Data Element | license |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/distinfo/distliab |
| Field | System of Records |
|---|---|
| Required? | Required if metadata represents a system of record |
| Guidance | This element should contain a URL pointing to theEPA System of Records Notice (SORN) that relates to the dataset, specifically from FederalRegister.gov. |
| Accepted Values | URL |
| Example | https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/08/28/2015-21384/creation-of-a-new-system-of-records-notice-eventbrite |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Resource > Constraints > Legal Constraints > Use Limitation (Access Constraint = Privacy) |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/resConst/LegConsts/useLimit |
| Project Open Data Element | systemOfRecords |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | No equivalent |
| Field | General Use Limitation |
|---|---|
| Required? | Optional |
| Guidance | For data developed in-house, determine scale, accuracy, and other limitations related to using the data. This Use Limitation will also be shown on the basic Item Description summary across the EPA GeoPlatform. If there are no known use constraints for the data set, use the term 'None' and provide the EPA General Use Constraints Statement shown in the "Example" below. |
| Accepted Values | Plain Text |
| Example | "Please check sources, scale, accuracy, currency and other available information. Please confirm that you are using the most recent copy of both data and metadata." |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Resource > Constraints > General Constraints > Use Limitation and Overview > Item Description > Use Limitation |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/resConst/Consts/useLimit |
| Project Open Data Element | No equivalent |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/idinfo/useconst |
| Field | Spatial Extent |
|---|---|
| Required? | Required for geospatial data |
| Guidance | This field should contain a bounding coordinate box for the dataset represented in latitude / longitude pairs where the coordinates are specified in decimal degrees referenced to WGS84 and in the order of: minimum longitude, minimum latitude, maximum longitude, maximum latitude. Please followISO 6709 guidance on point locations. |
| Accepted Values | Latitude/Longitude pairs |
| Example | -88,46,-87,47 |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Overview > Item Description > Bounding Box or Resource > Extents > Extent > Bounding Box |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/dataExt/geoEle/GeoBndBox |
| Project Open Data Element | spatial |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/idinfo/spdom/bounding/westbc |
| Field | Temporal Extent |
|---|---|
| Required? | Always |
| Guidance | This field should contain an interval of time defined by start and end dates. Dates should be formatted as pairs of {start datetime/end datetime} in theISO 8601 format. ISO 8601 specifies that datetimes can be formatted in a number of ways, including a simple four-digit year (eg. 2013) to a much more specific YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ, where the T specifies a seperator between the date and time and time is expressed in 24 hour notation in the UTC (Zulu) time zone. (e.g., 2011-02-14T12:00:00Z/2013-07-04T19:34:00Z). Use a solidus (“/”) to separate start and end times. |
| Accepted Values | ISO 8601 Date |
| Example | 2000-01-15/2010-01-15 |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Resource > Extents > Extent > Temporal Period Extent |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/dataExt/tempEle/TempExtent/exTemp/TM_Period/ |
| Project Open Data Element | temporal |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/idinfo/timeperd/timeinfo/ |
| Field | Distribution URL |
|---|---|
| Required? | Mandatory if Applicable |
| Guidance | At least one online linkage should be provided for all datasets - if no linkage of any kind is provided, EDG staff may ask for a justification. Every URL must contain an associated function code. Other associated elements such as Title and Description are optional but recommended. Data publishers are encouraged to publish datasets as both downloads and web services. Below is some additional guidance for specific online linkages:
|
| Accepted Values | URL |
| Example | Online Resource 1 Linkage Download URL: " Online Resource 2 Linkage Map Service: " |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Resource > Distribution > Digital Transfer Options > Online Resource > Linkage |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/distInfo/distTranOps/onLineSrc/linkage |
| Project Open Data Element | distribution |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/distInfo/distributor/distorTran/onLineSrc/linkage |
| Field | Metadata Date Stamp |
|---|---|
| Required? | Always |
| Guidance | The metadata datestamp is mandatory per the ISO 19115 specification. The EPA Metadata Editor should automatically populate/update this field when any edit is made. |
| Accepted Values | ISO 8601 Date |
| Example | "2013-02-21" |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Metadata > Details > Date Stamp |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/mdDateSt |
| Project Open Data Element | No equivalent |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/metainfo/metd |
| Field | Update Frequency |
|---|---|
| Required? | Mandatory for Geo |
| Guidance | This element is the frequency with which changes and additions are made to the data resource after the initial data resource is completed. Non-geo records should use ISO-8601 codes for specifying intervals, please see theProject Open Data guidance for "accrualPeriodicity" for details and examples. Geospatial records should choose from a standard list: "continual, daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, biannually, annually, as needed, irregular, not planned, unknown" |
| Accepted Values | ISO 8601 Interval or ISO Code |
| Example | weekly orR/P1W |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Resource > Maintenance > Update Frequency |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/resMaint/maintFreq/MaintFreqCd/@value |
| Project Open Data Element | accrualPeriodicity |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/idinfo/status/update |
| Field | Metadata Responsible Party |
|---|---|
| Required? | Always |
| Guidance | Provide detailed information regarding who should be contacted regarding the metadata specifically. The contact person should be an individual who is knowledgable about the metadata, and may be able to answer questions about the metadata record, as opposed to the data specifically (this may also be the same person as the data set publisher). This element is mandatory per the ISO 19115 specification, and per NOAA guidance, the role code for this contact should be set to "pointOfContact". |
| Accepted Values | Responsible Party |
| Example | Jane Doe |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Metadata > Contacts > Contact > {Contact subpage} |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/mdContact/ |
| Project Open Data Element | No equivalent |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/metainfo/metc |
| Field | Language |
|---|---|
| Required? | Required for geospatial data |
| Guidance | Select the language from the dropdown |
| Accepted Values | Language Code |
| Example | English |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Resource > Details > Languages > Language |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/dataIdInfo/dataLang/languageCode/@value |
| Project Open Data Element | language |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | No translation |
| Field | Spatial Reference |
|---|---|
| Required? | Required for geospatial data |
| Guidance | Identification of the horizontal projections, vertical datums and temporal reference systems used. Mandatory per ISO-19115 if spatialRepresentationType in dataIdentification is vector, grid, or tin. This information should be automatically derived from the data, and under most circumstances should not require any user editing. The EPA implementation leaves the specification for all of these elements to ISO. |
| Accepted Values | Reference system identifier |
| Example | EPSG:4326 (Preferred) or4326 (acceptable with separate codespace value) |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Metadata > Resource > Spatial Reference |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/refSysInfo/RefSystem/ |
| Project Open Data Element | No equivalent |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/spref |
| Field | Spatial Data Representation |
|---|---|
| Required? | Required for geospatial data |
| Guidance | Digital representation of spatial information in the dataset. (Vector/Grid, Point/Line/Polygon etc.) Mandatory per ISO-19115 if spatialRepresentationType in dataIdentification is vector, grid, or tin. This information should be automatically derived from the data, and under most circumstances should not require any user editing. The EPA implementation leaves the specification for all of these elements to ISO. |
| Accepted Values | Spatial Representation |
| Example | |
| ArcCatalog Editor Location | Metadata > Resource > Spatial Data Representation |
| ArcGIS Metadata XPath | /metadata/spatRepInfo |
| Project Open Data Element | No equivalent |
| ISO 19115 | |
| FGDC CSDGM Element | /metadata/spdoinfo |
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Last updated on April 29, 2025