EO Glossary

Vocabulary Design Principles

The CEOS Interoperability Handbook 2.0 identifies persistent vocabulary heterogeneity as a root cause of interoperability failures across EO communities. The glossary implements its recommendations through six structural principles, grounded in the academic framework of Strobl et al. (2024).

Substitution-valid definitions

Every definition must be substitutable for its term in any sentence without altering the meaning. Circular definitions, synonymy, and negation-based formulations are excluded.

Four-tier term classification

Terms are assigned to one of four tiers — base, core, controversial, high-impact — reflecting both their ontological role in EO science and the degree of cross-community consensus they carry.

Source traceability

Each definition is attributed to one or more authoritative sources (ISO, CEOS, OGC, WMO, community standards). Adaptations and deliberate deviations are explicitly annotated.

Explicit consensus status

Status tags (approved / under discussion / proposed) make the state of community agreement visible at the term level, enabling informed review and targeted debate.

Dependency transparency

Definitions preferentially employ other glossary terms. The resulting citation graph exposes foundational dependencies between concepts and reveals which terms carry the widest definitional load.

Open governance

Definitions are version-controlled on GitHub. Corrections, additions, and formal discussion proceed through pull requests and issues, ensuring a transparent record of how the vocabulary evolves.

Term Classification

Strobl et al. (2024) — Lost in Translation, Surveys in Geophysics

base

Base term

Ontological foundations used in the definitions of other terms. Require cross-community consensus before adoption.

e.g. Data, Entity, Phenomenon, Property

core

Core term

Standard EO vocabulary with broadly agreed definitions across the principal user communities.

e.g. Accuracy, Calibration, Sensor, Collection

controversial

Controversial term

Terms whose meaning differs materially across communities. Multiple definitions are provided with explicit context.

e.g. Observation, In-Situ, Model, Sample

high-impact

High-impact term

Concepts whose complexity requires a full framework document rather than a single-sentence definition.

e.g. Interoperability, Analysis Ready Data

Reference

The glossary is the vocabulary companion to the CEOS Interoperability Handbook 2.0. Its term structure, classification system, and governance model are grounded in the following publication.

Strobl, P. A., Woolliams, E. R., & Molch, K. (2024). Lost in Translation: The Need for Common Vocabularies and an Interoperable Thesaurus in Earth Observation Sciences. Surveys in Geophysics.

doi:10.1007/s10712-024-09854-8

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