REST-based semantic feature catalogue services

The exchange of scientific datasets online and their subsequent use by service-centric applications requires semantic description of the data objects, or features, being transacted. This is particularly the case in the Earth Systems Sciences. Semantic repositories provide a partial answer to generating rich content. Ideally these repositories should be founded in a framework that permits cross-referencing between independently established semantic data-stores and which provides for a loose coupling between repositories and the agents or clients that will use them. We investigated the applicability of using an ISO 19110-based Feature Catalogue as a cross-domain, semantic repository for various Earth Systems Science communities of interest. Our aim was to develop a repository and a set of services capable of providing semantic content for consumption by smart clients. The constraint applied throughout the research was to develop a set of tools that would present a very low uptake barrier for programmers and domain specialists alike. To meet this challenge, we used Representational State Transfer (REST)-based services to expose content from an enhanced implementation of an ISO 19110-based Feature Catalogue. This article describes how the ISO 19110 conceptual model was augmented during implementation to cater for the requirements of two large multi-disciplinary science groups: the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and the Australian Ocean Data Network. The reasons for opting for a REST-based service pattern are discussed and the three REST service types that were developed are described.