SDI Convergence - Nederlandse Commissie voor Geodesie - KNAW

tionality. Themes are ‘map view’ (spatial interrogation and display of models and data),
‘model query’ (model centric query), ‘model discovery’ (model search and selection
based on type, application or other model feature of interest), ‘data discovery’ (aspatial
data search), ‘administration’ (includes metadata entry and management and tool administration
and management functions) and ‘support’ (provides contact information,
manuals and links to other sources of relevant information). At present the system
largely stores metadata at level 1 and 2 (see Figure 1 and Table 1) and further research
into the design will be required to support automated modelling or processing
applications (although the storage of some relevant metadata is currently possible).
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Table 1: Some of model feature descriptors used in the MIKE.
Model feature metadata
Model Feature description Model Feature description
A classification (or type) of the model Model Physical Domain
A classification of model function based on Steintiz
Framework
A key contact for the model includes full details
such as address and phone
The level of model integration with a GIS
The model computational basis
A limitation of model The model development stage
A model called by this model but not fully integrated The principle application of the model
A model input The spatial scale of the model
A model integrated within this model The temporal characteristics of the model
A model output The version details of the model
A program language that the model is written in Abstract describing the model
A web page related to the model The background or history to the model
An author of the model The key model objectives
An operating system that supports the model Description of the model packages or component
programs
Keywords associated with the model Description of the modelling procedure
Model access type Description of the model purpose
Model application type
In the main the default interface design standards associated with the component technologies
and tools have been adopted and only varied as necessity demanded.
The registration mechanism for model projects or instances is shown in Figure 5. Note
that these instances at this point are not equivalent to the concept of model runs supported
by the Earth System Curator (DeLuca, 2008). Within that and similar systems a
model run is characterised by the execution of a model with a specific set of parameters
at a date and time. Due to the complexity and dispersion (geographic and institutional)
of NRM modelling our use of the term model instance is equivalent to the application
of a model to a specific landscape at a specific time (usually called a ‘modelling
project’). Consequently a model instance in this context can represent a large number
of modelling runs. To record a model instance in the tool requires: