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17.04.2007 | Folie 1
Ecoterm IV
Ecoterm IV – Vienna17 – 18 April 2007
1
Ecoterm IV - Vienna
EcoInformatics InitiativeEcoInformatics Initiative
17.04.2007 | Folie 2
Ecoterm IV
Semantic Integration of Environmental Data
Herbert Schentz
START
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Ecoterm IV
Overview
Integrating Environmental Data
Why We Need Semantics
Helpful Technologies
Ontologies in Networks
Final Considertions
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Ecoterm IV
Ecologists need data of various parts of nature
?
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Ecoterm IV
Data are often stored in different databases at different sites
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Ecoterm IV
Lots of questions are not even posed because getting data is too difficult
?
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Ecoterm IV
Overview
Integrating Environmental Data
Why We Need Semantics
Helpful Technologies
Ontologies in Networks
Final Considertions
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Ecoterm IV
When you want to integrate the data many questions arise
How was measuring (observation) done ?Which unit ?Which vegetation layer?, soil layer?, species ?How were the measurement sites selected ?When was the measurement done ?How often was the measurement repeated ?Who did the measurement ?Which important measurement was done in parallel ?Within which project was it done ?Special circumstances of measurement ?....
... the meaning of data and metadata !
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Ecoterm IV
attached Information ?
It would be fine if the data would haveattached something similar to the bar-codeof products which allows to identify a lot of qualities of the product just by reading it
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Ecoterm IV
The power of the barcode is the meaning connected to it
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Meaning is a sample of terms with relations between them
producer
product name
price
main deliverer
product declarations
transport
stock
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Ecoterm IV
Meaning is a sample of terms with relations between them
unit
value
Measurement site
limit of detection ....
vegetation layer
species
parametermeasured on
has value
has value
measured for
measured inlies in
inwith limit of dedection
in
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We need a connection from the data to a description of their meaning
ontology
People who share a common description of the meaning of the data (common ontology) and have a common protocol for the interconnection
can instantly correctly share their data.
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Ecoterm IV
Interfaces, Thesauri, Metadata, Ontologies
Thesauri
More relations and rules
Metadata
Knowledge Representation
Interfaces
+ semantic interoperabilityOntologies
Machine readability
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Ecoterm IV
Overview
Integrating environmental Data
Why we need Semantics
Helpful Technologies
Ontologies in Networks
Final Considertions
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Ecoterm IV
Technologies of the Semantic Web
The technologies of the semantic web can help us:They are designed to build structures that express meaning share those structures connect resources distributed all over the web be extended
The basic construct is the RDF (Resource Description Framework) - triple
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Ecoterm IV
RDF – the tripples
Cat mouse
mamal
is a is a
hunts
tail leg head
has has has
child
bears
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Ecoterm IV
Another set of RDF tripples
Soil measurement
result when
site parameter method
wherewhat how
layer
On what
timestampvalue
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Ecoterm IV
RDFS / OWL the classes of tripples
Soil measurement
result when
site parameter method
where what how
layer
On what
timestampvalue
Definition
S120A_Mg_2000
result when
S120A Mg AAS
where what how
Layer B
On what
2000-06-040.003
= Class= OWL / RDFS
Special Thing= instance
= RDF
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Features of RDFS / OWL (1)
Classes can be inhertited
animal
mammal
rodent
mouse
isA
isA
isAWhich means that mouse canalways be treated as a rodent as a mammal as an animalWherever rodent is allowed ,mouse is allowed too(Polymorphism)
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Features of RDF / RDFS / OWL (2)
All Entities (Classes, Relations, Instances can be distributed over several namespaces)
WWW
ontology onvegetation
regions
ontology onbirds
ontology onbirdwatching
sites
ALTERRA (NL)GBIF
Umweltbundesamt (A)
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Features of OWL (3)
Relations can have restrictions (cardinalities,...)
cat mousehunt
some
mammal headhas
all 1
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RDF / RDFS and OWL are W3C recomandations
RDF / RDFS / OWL
• They are constructed to be especially effective within the web (distributed ontologies)• Lots of Communities are adopting them as standards• Several tools exist for working with them:
• Editors• Mapping tools rdbs – ontologies• Mapping tools ontologies – GISs• Transformation Tools XSDs Ontologies• ……
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Overview
Integrating Environmental Data
Why We Need Semantics
Helpful Technologies
Ontologies in Networks
Final Considertions
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Ecoterm IV
What else do we need ?
ontologies
Data that can be linked to ontologies
mappings
query engines search engines(geo) graphical displays......
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integrating environmental applications
I
ontology
With semantically defined interfaces of webservices
„SAWSDL“
Massflow CalculationAllowed Substances „Heavy Metals“ Allowed Plants „Vascular Plants“ & „Mosses“Allowed Soil „Rentsina“Allowed gographical Region „Alpine Region“
Ouput „Distribution“ after time t in „days“
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Ecoterm IV
What do we need to build ontologies
ThesauriMetadata Structures
Collaboration efforts Knowledge
Existing ongologies
Tools for collaborative developement of ontologies
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Ecoterm IV
Overview
Integrating Environmental Data
Why We Need Semantics
Helpful Technologies
Ontologies in Networks
Final Considertions
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Ecoterm IV
The socio- political component
„.... This is more a social task than a technical task“, Midori Harris said at a conference on
Ontologies in Edinburgh.
We all knocked our heads. – so did I-
and
We went home to work on our technical solutions.
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Vicious circle
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Positive spirale
Semantic InteroperabilityBased on Ontologies
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Ecoterm IV
Ecoterm IV – Vienna17 – 18 April 2007
32
Ecoterm IV - Vienna
EcoInformatics InitiativeEcoInformatics Initiative
Thank you for your attention
I wish us a fruitfull conference
http://www.umweltbundesamt.at
