GeoScience Ontology: Release 1.0.1

The GeoScience Ontology (GSO) is a systemized representation of key geoscience knowledge. It consists of a three-layer framework including a foundational layer applicable to any discipline, a geological layer forming the root for any aspect of geology, as well as detailed modules that can be refined or supplemented as required for specific purposes.

The top two GSO layers are serialized as distinct files, using the Turtle ‘ttl’ serialization (Beckett and Berners-Lee, 2011): ‘GSO-Common.ttl’ for the non-geological foundational layer, and ‘GSO-Geology.ttl’ for the geological layer. The modules comprising the third GSO layer are also distinct ttl files, one for each geological aspect. The number of modules is currently growing as various aspects are added, initially by GSO creators and eventually by other users. The GSO package also includes a GSO-Master.ttl file that imports all original modules  and comprises the full original GSO ontology – it has been used to create the example instances in the Github Examples directory. Each folder should contain an OASIS catalog file (e.g. catalog-v001.xml), providing a mapping from GSO URIs to file locations in the repository, which is required by OWL editors to resolve imports locally when GSO is unavailable online. However, users might need to generate the catalog-v001.xml file locally.