Background

Metadata is data that provides other information about the data, not the content of the data. For example, the metadata for a document may include such information as the author, file size, creation date, and keywords. For the purposes of the AusSeabed Data Hub the metadata collected includes the following types:

• Descriptive metadata— the descriptive information about a resource. It is used for discovery and identification. It includes elements such as title, abstract, author, and keywords

• Structural metadata— metadata about containers of data and indicates how compound/complex objects are put together, for example, what formats data exist in and how the data is structured into containers or folders. It describes the types, versions, conventions, relationships and other characteristics of digital materials

• Administrative metadata— the information to help manage a resource, like resource type, permissions, and when and how it was created, when it was last updated.

• Reference metadata— the information about the content such as references, citations and quality of data

• Statistical/Process metadata— also called process data, may describe processes that collect, process, or produce data or products

• Legal/Ownership metadata— provides information about the creator, copyright holder, and public licensing, if provided.

This specification is focussed on defining the requirements for a Survey. For the purposes of this specification the term ‘Survey’ is synonymous with Mission or Voyage and represents the highest level metadata from which specific data collections are captured. The Survey may utilise a platform other than a Ship (ie Satellite, Plane, Drove, or AUV) and so the term ‘Voyage’ was discounted. Mission was deemed to be a broader concept and therefore Survey became the preferred term.