'$RCSfile: eml-coverage.xsd,v $' Copyright: 1997-2002 Regents of the
University of California, University of New Mexico, and Arizona State University Sponsors:
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis and Partnership for Interdisciplinary
Studies of Coastal Oceans, University of California Santa Barbara Long-Term Ecological
Research Network Office, University of New Mexico Center for Environmental Studies, Arizona
State University Other funding: National Science Foundation (see README for details) The David
and Lucile Packard Foundation For Details: http://knb.ecoinformatics.org/ '$Author: obrien $'
'$Date: 2009-02-25 23:51:54 $' '$Revision: 1.95 $' This program is free software; you can
redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your
option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have
received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to
the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA

moduleName: eml-coverage

moduleDescription: 
          
             The eml-coverage module - Geographic, temporal, and taxonomic extents of
              resources 
          
        

recommendedUsage: all datasets where spatial, temporal or taxonomic coverage is
          important

standAlone: no

tooltip: Geographic coverage

summary: Geographic coverage information.

description: Geographic Coverage is a container for spatial information about a
                project, a resource, or an entity within a resource. It allows a bounding box for
                the overall coverage (in lat long), and also allows description of arbitrary
                polygons with exclusions.

example: Please see the individual sub fields for specific examples.

tooltip: Description of geographic extent

summary: Short text description of the geographic areal domain of the data
                set.

description: 
                
                  geographicDescription is a short text description of a dataset's geographic
                    areal domain. A text description is especially important to provide a geographic
                    setting when the extent of the data set cannot be well described by the
                    "boundingCoordinates", or in the case of data which are not specifically
                    geospatial. Assuming the "boundingCoordinates" do not adequately describe the
                    extent of the data set, the discrepancy can be identified and described here.
                    The coordinates may define a rectangle around a country, with this
                    geographicDescription element containing a disclaimer and/or further details
                    concerning the border. A study of the diseases of salmon may not have a specific
                    geographic extent associated with it, but the salmon were collected in the
                    states of Washington and Oregon. The "boundingCoordinates" might form a general
                    rectangle around the states of Washington and Oregon, but the
                    "geographicDescription" might describe the fact that the study took place only
                    along certain rivers within those states. 
                   This data element differs from the standard data element "Place_Keyword" in
                    that it allows a free text description of the geographic extent, rather than
                    just a list of words or phrases useful as an index of location names associated
                    with the data set. 
                  This element can also contain information about the collection of the
                    boundingCoordinates, e.g., an altitude value that is referenced to Mean Lower
                    Low Water, or the projection system that the latitude and longitude coordinates
                    were taken from.
                
              

example: "Manistee River watershed"

example:  "extent of 7 1/2 minute quads containing any property belonging to
                Yellowstone National Park"

example:  "ponds and reservoirs larger than 2 acres in Jefferson County,
                Colorado".

tooltip: Bounding coordinates

summary: The four margins (N, S, E, W) of a bounding box on the earth's surface,
                or when considered in lat-lon pairs, the corners of the box. To define a single
                point, use the same value in each lat or lon pair. These elements are meant to
                convey general information and are not for accurate mapping. More specific
                information may be included by using the elements in the spatialReference
                schema.

description: 
                
                  Bounding Coordinates are the four margins (N, S, E, W) of a bounding box, or
                    when considered in lat-lon pairs, the corners of the box. These elements are
                    meant to convey general information and are not for accurate mapping. More
                    specific information may be included by using the elements in the
                    spatialReference schema.
                  The limits of coverage of a data set should be expressed as decimal
                    latitudes and longitudes, and in the order western-most, eastern-most,
                    northern-most, and southern-most. By convention, latitudes and longitudes are
                    referenced to the Equator and to the Prime Meridian (the datums), respectively.
                    By definition, the 0 and 180 meridians themselves do not belong in either
                    hemisphere, but local conventions may place them in either. All coordinates are
                    typed as decimals. Since all four elements are required, a bounding area that is
                    a single point should use the same values for northBoundingCoordinate and
                    southBoundingCoordinate, and likewise for westBoundingCoordinate and
                    eastBoundingCoordinate. 
                  In the case of a data set that comprises all longitudes (e.g., a horizontal
                    band between 2 parallels that fully encompasses the earth ), please use a
                    westBoundingCoordinate of -180.0, and an eastBoundingCoordinate of 180.0 (or
                    +180.0). In this case, it could be considered geographically appropriate to
                    specify both values as "180" (or any other meridian), but this could also be
                    interpreted as only the meridian itself, so this is not recommended
                
              

example: Please see the individual sub-fields.

tooltip: West bounding coordinate, in decimal degrees

summary: Western-most limit of a bounding box, expressed in degrees of
                      longitude.

description: The westBoundingCoordinate field defines the longitude of the
                      western-most point of the bounding box that is being described. A longitude
                      coordinate is typed as a decimal, i.e., decimal degrees from -180 to 180,
                      inclusive. Decimal degrees may be expressed to any precision desired.
                      Fractions of a degree in minutes and seconds should be converted to degree
                      fractions. Strings denoting direction or hemisphere (e.g., 'W' or 'west') are
                      not allowed. Longitudes east of the prime meridian must be specified by a plus
                      sign (+), or by the absence of a minus sign (-), and longitudes west of the
                      meridian shall be prefixed with minus sign (-). In the case of a data set that
                      comprises all longitudes (e.g., a horizontal band between 2 parallels that
                      fully encompasses the earth ), please use a westBoundingCoordinate of -180.0,
                      and an eastBoundingCoordinate of 180.0 (or +180.0). In this case, it could be
                      considered geographically appropriate to specify both values as "180" (or any
                      other meridian), but this could also be interpreted as only the meridian
                      itself, so this is not recommended.

example: -118.25

example: +25

example: 45.24755

tooltip: East bounding coordinate

summary: Eastern-most limit of a bounding box, expressed in degrees of
                      longitude.

description: The eastBoundingCoordinate field defines the longitude of the
                      eastern-most point of the bounding box that is being described. A longitude
                      coordinate is typed as a decimal, i.e., decimal degrees from -180 to 180,
                      inclusive. Decimal degrees may be expressed to any precision desired.
                      Fractions of a degree in minutes and seconds should be converted to degree
                      fractions. Strings denoting direction or hemisphere (e.g., 'W' or 'west') are
                      not allowed. Longitudes east of the prime meridian must be specified by a plus
                      sign (+), or by the absence of a minus sign (-), and longitudes west of the
                      meridian shall be prefixed with minus sign (-). In the case of a data set that
                      comprises all longitudes (e.g., a horizontal band between 2 parallels that
                      fully encompasses the earth ), please use a westBoundingCoordinate of -180.0,
                      and an eastBoundingCoordinate of 180.0 (or +180.0). In this case, it could be
                      considered geographically appropriate to specify both values as "180" (or any
                      other meridian), but this could also be interpreted as only the meridian
                      itself, so this is not recommended.

example: -118.25

example: +25

example: 45.24755

tooltip: North bounding coordinate

summary: Northern-most lilmit of a bounding box expressed in
                      latitude.

description: The northBoundingCoordinate field defines the latitude of the
                      northern-most point of the bounding box that is being described. A latitude
                      coordinate is typed as a decimal, i.e., decimal degrees from -180 to 180,
                      inclusive. Decimal degrees may be expressed to any precision desired.
                      Fractions of a degree in minutes and seconds should be converted to degree
                      fractions. Strings denoting direction or hemisphere (e.g., 'N' or north') are
                      not allowed. Latitudes north of the equator must be denoted by a plus sign
                      (+), or by the absence of a minus sign (-), and latitudes south of the equator
                      shall be prefixed with minus sign (-). A location with latitude of +90 (90) or
                      -90 degrees will specify the position at the North or South Pole,
                      respectively.

example: -18.25

example: +25

example: 65.24755

tooltip: South bounding coordinate

summary: Southern-most limit of the bounding box expressed in
                      latitude.

description: The southBoundingCoordinate field defines the latitude of the
                      southern-most point of the bounding box that is being described. A latitude
                      coordinate is typed as a decimal, i.e., decimal degrees from -180 to 180,
                      inclusive. Decimal degrees may be expressed to any precision desired.
                      Fractions of a degree in minutes and seconds should be converted to degree
                      fractions. Strings denoting direction or hemisphere (e.g., 'N' or north') are
                      not allowed. Latitudes north of the equator must be denoted by a plus sign
                      (+), or by the absence of a minus sign (-), and latitudes south of the equator
                      shall be prefixed with minus sign (-). A location with latitude of +90 (90) or
                      -90 degrees will specify the position at the North or South Pole,
                      respectively.

example: -118.25

example: +25

example: 84.24755

tooltip: Bounding altitudes

summary: The vertical limits of a data set expressed by
                      altitude.

description: The bounding altitude field is intended to contain altitudinal
                      (elevation) measurements for the bounding box being described. It allows for
                      minimum and maximum altitude fields, as well as a field for the units of
                      measure. The combination of these fields provide the vertical extent
                      information for the bounding box. 

example: Please see the individual sub-fields for specific
                      examples.

tooltip: Minimum altitude

summary: The minimum altitude extent of coverage.

description: The minimum altitude extent of coverage for the bounding
                            box that is being described. The minimum altitude should be in reference
                            to a known datum (e.g., Mean Sea Level), which should be part of the
                            geographicDescription.

example: 100.6 

example: -12

tooltip: Maximum altitude

summary: The maximum altitude extent of coverage.

description: The maximum altitude extent of coverage for the bounding
                            box that is being described. The maximum altitude should be in reference
                            to a known datum, which should be part of the
                            geographicDescription.

example: 100.6

example: -10

tooltip: Altitude Units

summary: The unit of altitude 

description: The unit that the altitude is expressed in. See the
                            description under the Type definition

tooltip: Polygon data set

summary: This construct creates a spatial ring with a hollow center.

description: This construct creates a spatial ring with a hollow center. This
                doughnut shape is specified by the outer ring (datasetGPolygonOuterRing) and the
                inner exclusion zone (datasetGPolygonExclusionGRing) which can be thought of as the
                hole in the center of a doughnut. This is useful for defining areas such as the
                shores of a pond where you only want to specify the shore excluding the pond
                itself.

example: Please see the individual sub-fields for specific examples.

tooltip: Outer polygon

summary:  The outer containment loop of a datasetGPolygon. 

description: 
                      
                        The outer containment loop of a datasetGPolygon. This is the outer
                          part of the doughnut shape that encompasses the broadest area of coverage.
                          It can be created either by a gRing (list of points) or 3 or more
                          gRingPoints. See the sub-elements and their Type definitions for more
                          specific information.
                         This element is generally analogous to the FGDC outer ring although
                          somewhat differently specified. Documentation for an FGDC G-Ring states
                          that 4 points are required to define a polygon, and the first and last
                          should be identical. However this is not enforceable in XML Schema, and so
                          in EML a minimum of 3 <gRingPoint>s is required to define a polygon,
                          and it can be assumed that a polygon is closed by joining the last point
                          to the first. XSL stylesheets that transform EML instances to the FGDC
                          specification should repeat the first gRingPoint node as the last when
                          creating a list of points.

tooltip: G Ring Point

summary: A single geographic location

description: A single geographic location. As a child of
                              <datasetGPolygonOuterGRing> a minimum of 3 are required to
                              define a polygon. The polygon is presumed to be closed. Please see the
                              sub elements and the Type description for more information about
                              creating a point location.

tooltip: G-Ring Latitude

summary:  The latitude of a point of the g-ring.

description:  A latitude coordinate is typed as a decimal, i.e., decimal degrees
              from -90 to 90, inclusive. Decimal degrees may be expressed to any precision desired.
              Fractions of a degree in minutes and seconds should be converted to degree fractions.
              Strings denoting direction or hemisphere (e.g., 'S' or 'south') are not allowed.
              Latitudes north of the equator must be specified by a plus sign (+), or by the absence
              of a minus sign (-), and latitudes south of the equator shall be prefixed with minus
              sign (-). 

example: 34.123

example: -18.25

example: +78.25

tooltip: G-Ring Longitude

summary: 

description: The longitude of a point of the g-ring A longitude coordinate is typed
              as a decimal, i.e., decimal degrees from -180 to 180, inclusive. Decimal degrees may
              be expressed to any precision desired. Fractions of a degree in minutes and seconds
              should be converted to degree fractions. Strings denoting direction or hemisphere
              (e.g., 'W' or 'west') are not allowed. Longitudes east of the prime meridian must be
              specified by a plus sign (+), or by the absence of a minus sign (-), and longitudes
              west of the meridian shall be prefixed with minus sign (-).

example: -118.25

example: +25

example: 45.24755

tooltip: G-Ring

description: A set of ordered pairs of floating-point numbers, The
                            number of points in the string is not enforced by EML. However, authors
                            should note that in order for this field is to be directly translated to
                            FGDC, 4 points should be included in the string. See the Type for more
                            information on constructing the string.

tooltip: Exclusion polygon

summary:  Data Set G-Polygon Exclusion G-Ring, the closed nonintersecting
                      boundary of a void area (or hole in an interior area). 

description: 
                      
                         the closed nonintersecting boundary of a void area (or hole in an
                          interior area). This is the center of the doughnut shape created by the
                          datasetGPolygon. It can be created either by a gRing (list of points) or
                          one or more gRingPoints. See the sub-elements and their Type definitions
                          for more information.
                         This element is generally analogous to an FGDC exclusion ring "Data
                          Set G-Polygon Exclusion G-Ring", although it's children are somewhat
                          differently described. Documentation for the FGDC component states that 4
                          points are required to define a polygon, and the first and last should be
                          identical. However this EML element requires only one point so that a
                          single point can be excluded, presumably, a single station. If multiple
                          single stations are to be excluded, then authors should include multiple
                          <datasetGPolygonExclusionGRing>s.

tooltip: G Ring Point

summary: A single geographic location

description: A single geographic location. This is useful if you
                            register your datasets by a single geospatial point, such as the
                            lat/long of your research station. Please see the sub elements and the
                            Type description for more information on constructing a
                            gRingPoint

tooltip: G-Ring

description: A set of ordered pairs of floating-point numbers, See the
                            Type for more information

tooltip: Temporal coverage

summary: Temporal coverage information.

description: This field specifies temporal coverage, and allows coverages to be a
                single point in time, multiple points in time, or a range of dates. Dates can be
                expressed in terms of both calendar dates and geologic dating
                systems.

example: Please see the individual sub fields for specific examples.

tooltip: Single Date/Time

summary: Means of encoding a single date and time

description: The singleDateTime field is intended to describe a single date and
                time for an event. There is a choice between two options: a calendar date with a
                time, or a geologic age.

example: Please see the individual sub-elements for example.

tooltip: Calendar date

summary: The calendar date for an event.

description: The calendar date field is used to express a date, giving the year,
                month, and day. The format should be one that complies with the International
                Standards Organization's standard 8601. The recommended format for EML is
                YYYY-MM-DD, where Y is the four digit year, M is the two digit month code (01 - 12,
                where January = 01), and D is the two digit day of the month (01 - 31). This field
                can also be used to enter just the year portion of a date.

example: 2001-01-01

example: 2001-10-12

example: 2001

example: 1895

tooltip: Time of day

summary: The time of day for an event.

description: The time field is used to express the hour (and optionally minute, or
                minute and second) of the day for an event, and should comply with the International
                Standards Organization's standard 8601. The recommended format for EML is
                hh:mm:ssTZD, where hh is the two digit hour of the day, mm is the two digit minute
                of the hour, and ss is the two digit second of the minute. TZD stands for Time Zone
                Designator which is used to handle time zone offsets. Times may be expressed in two
                ways: 1) UTC (Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, or
                GMT), with a special UTC designator ("Z"), 2) local time, together with a time zone
                offset in hours and minutes. A time zone offset of "+hh:mm" indicates that the date
                or time uses a local time zone which is "hh" hours and "mm" minutes ahead of UTC. A
                time zone offset of "-hh:mm" indicates a local time zone which is "hh" hours and
                "mm" minutes behind UTC.

example: 1) 08:31:22Z , which means eight thirty one and 22 seconds in the morning
                at Coordinated Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time). 2) 14:06:09-08:00 , which means
                six minutes, nine seconds past two o'clock p.m., Pacific Standard Time (which is
                offset eight hours behind UTC)

tooltip: Alternative Time Scale

summary: A name, code, or date describing an event or period in an alternative time
              scale, such as one of the geologic time scales.

description: A name, code, or date describing an event or period in an alternative
              time scale, for instance as an absolute date calculated using a named dating method,
              or as a relative date that is drawn from stratigraphy or biostratigraphy. Calendar
              dates as provided in the ISO 8601 dating system used in the standard CSDGM are not
              adequate to describe geologic time periods. Absolute geologic time is usually measured
              in millions of years before present, but may use different units and relative base
              times. Relative geologic time is measured by subdivisions of the earth's geology. in
              an order based upon relative age, most commonly, vertical or stratigraphic position.
              The actual dating systems used in geologic studies often tie relative times measured
              through stratigraphy or biostratigraphy to a particular absolute time using
              radioisotope dating techniques, among others. As these methods for absolute dating
              have improved, the estimates of the dates for strata have changed, consequently, it
              would be inaccurate to record absolute dates in situations where relative dates were
              measured. This structure is provided as an optional alternative to the standard
              calendar dates provided by ISO 8601. 

example: Please see the individual sub-fields for specific examples.

tooltip: alternative time scale

summary: Name of a recognized alternative time scale.

description: Name of a recognized alternative time scale. This includes
                    'Absolute' as the name of the time scale for measuring geologic dates before the
                    present and names of geologic dating systems that are arrangements of symbols or
                    names in order of relative geologic time.

example: 'Absolute', 'Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale', 'International
                    Geological Time Scale', 'Oxygen-Isotope'

tooltip: Time scale age estimate

summary: 

description: Either an absolute date or a relative age name describing an
                    event or period in an alternative time scale such as the Geologic Time
                    Scale.

example: For example, '300 Ma' (300 million years before present) is a
                    Geologic_Age_Estimate based on the Absolute Geologic_Time_Scale, 'C28r' is a
                    chron name from the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale, and 'Maastrichtian' and
                    'Jurassic' are names from the International Geological Time Scale. Since
                    different relative geologic time scales are often not aligned, multiple geologic
                    dates may need to be specified. For example, the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale
                    chron 'C29r', at the K/T boundary lies in both the 'Maastrichtian' and the
                    'Danian' stages from the International Geological Time Scale, thus if you were
                    documenting this event using the International Geological Time Scale, both
                    'Maastrichtian' and 'Danian' should be included here.

tooltip: Time scale age uncertainty

summary: The error estimate for the alternative time scale.

description: The error estimate for the alternative time. This should include
                    the units of measure, a description of what the error estimate represents and
                    how it was calculated.

example: +/- 5 Ma (Million Years)

tooltip: Time scale age explanation

summary: The name and/or description of the method used to calculate the time
                    scale age estimate.

description: The name and/or description of the method used to calculate the
                    age estimate. Detailed information about the method may be provided through
                    references contained in the Time Scale Citation field.

tooltip: Time Scale citation

summary: Citation for works providing detailed information about any element
                    of the time scale age.

description: Citation for works providing detailed information about any
                    element of the time scale age.

example: For example, a publication describing the methodology used for carbon
                    dating or describing the basic geologic time scale in more detail could be cited
                    here.

tooltip: Range of dates/times

summary: Means of encoding a range of dates and times.

description: The 'RangeOfDatesType' field is intended to be used for describing a
                range of dates and/or times. It may be used multiple times to document multiple date
                ranges. It allows for two 'singleDateTime' fields, the first to be used as the
                beginning dateTime, and the second to be used as the ending dateTime of the
                range.

example: Please see the examples from the 'singleDateTime' field for specific
                examples.

tooltip: Begin Date

summary: A single time stamp signifying the beginning of some time
                      period

description: A single time stamp signifying the beginning of some time
                      period. There is a choice between two options: a calendar date with a time, or
                      a geologic age.

example: Please see the individual sub-elements for example.

tooltip: End Date

summary: A single time stamp signifying the end of some time
                      period

description: A single time stamp signifying the end of some time period.
                      There is a choice between two options: a calendar date with a time, or a
                      geologic age.

example: Please see the individual sub-elements for example.

tooltip: Taxonomic coverage

summary: Taxonomic coverage information.

description: Taxonomic Coverage is a container for Taxonomic information about a
                project, a resource, or an entity within a resource. It includes a list of species
                names (or higher level ranks) from one or more classification
                systems.

example: Please see the individual sub fields for specific examples.

tooltip: Taxonomic system

summary: Documentation of taxonomic sources, procedures, and
                treatments.

description: Documentation of taxonomic sources, procedures, and
                treatments.

tooltip: Classification system/authority

summary: Information about the classification system or authority
                      used.

description: Information about the classification system or authority
                      used.

example: Flora of North America

tooltip: Taxonomic citation

summary: 

description: Relevant literature for documenting the used
                            classification system.

tooltip: Classification system modification

summary: 

description: A description of any modifications or exceptions made to
                            the classification system or authority used.

tooltip: Non-authoritative citation

summary: 

description: Information on any non-authoritative materials (e.g. field
                      guides) useful for reconstructing the actual identification
                      process.

tooltip: Identifier's Name

summary: 

description: Information about the individual(s) responsible for the
                      identification(s) of the specimens or sightings, etc.

tooltip: Taxonomic procedures

summary: 

description: Description of the methods used for the taxonomic
                      identification.

example: specimen processing, comparison with museum materials, keys and key
                      characters, chemical or genetic analyses

tooltip: Taxonomic completeness

summary: 

description: Information concerning the proportions and treatment of
                      unidentified materials, estimates of the importance and possible identities of
                      uncertain determinations, synonyms or other incorrect usages, taxa not well
                      treated or requiring further work, and expertise of field
                      workers.

example: materials sent to experts, and not yet determined

tooltip: Specimen information

summary: 

description: Information on the types of specimen, the repository, and the
                      individuals who identified the vouchers.

tooltip: Specimen type

summary: 

description: A word or phrase describing the type of specimen
                            collected.

example: herbarium specimens, blood samples, photographs, individuals,
                            or batches