W3C and OGC put more Spatial (and space-born) Data on the Web
The Spatial Data on the Web Working Group, a collaboration between W3C and the Open Geospatial Consortium, has published 4 documents today. QB4ST adds extensions to the RDF Data Cube for spatio-temporal components. These are designed to make it easier to share and manipulate data such as Earth Observations with linkable slices through time and space. The QB4ST extensions are used in another of today's publications, Publishing and Using Earth Observation Data with the RDF Data Cube and the Discrete Global Grid System, which shows how SPARQL queries can be served through OGC's developing Discrete Global Grid System for observations, coupled with a triple store for observational metadata. The approach makes use of the power of Linked Data on the Web without requiring all data points to be encoded as RDF triples.
The latest Working Draft of the Semantic Sensor Network Ontology sets out a modular approach that allows alignment with related vocabularies. The modular architecture supports the judicious use of "just enough" semantics for diverse applications, including satellite imagery, large scale scientific monitoring, industrial and household infrastructure, citizen observers, and the Web of Things. Finally, the Working Group is pleased to publish an update to its Spatial Data on the Web Best Practices document that advises on best practices related to the publication and usage of spatial data on the Web; the use of Web technologies as they may be applied to location.