VISUALISING AUSTRALASIA'S SOILS

Visualising Australasia’s Soils Background Technical Build CeRDI Observations System

CeRDI Observations System

The CeRDI Observations System is designed to collect, store, and publish environmental observation and measurement data for researchers, industry, government, and the public. It implements the ISO 19156 and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Observations and Measurements (O&M) conceptual model, providing a domain-independent structure for managing both field and laboratory datasets.

An Observation is an action whose result is an estimate of the value of some property of the feature-of-interest, obtained using a specified procedure” (SJD Cox)

Separates key components to ensure clarity and reusability:

  1. Observation act – the event of measuring or recording data.

  2. Procedure – the analytical or field method applied, which may be reused across observations.

  3. Feature-of-interest – the sample, site, or object measured, which can have multiple measurable properties observed over time or using different procedures.

In addition to standardising the data structure, the system makes use of existing domain-specific controlled vocabularies and ontologies to standardise the semantic content.

This system is a custom development by CeRDI, primarily using PHP and PostgreSQL, services are provided via PostGrest.


VAS Conceptual Overview: Diagram (Open Link in a New Tab)

To understand the CeRDI Observations System in a Simpler way, please visit: Simple (CeRDI OS)

Upload/Validation

The VAS Upload and Validation Architecture ensures partner data moves seamlessly from submission to CeRDI’s Observation System, meeting ISO 19156 / O&M standards for accurate, FAIR-compliant publication.

Upload/Validation
Database

The VAS database applies the ISO 19156 / O&M model in a PostgreSQL-based system, separating observations, procedures, and results for consistent, standardised data management.

Database
VAS System API

The VAS API, built with PostgREST, exposes database views as RESTful JSON-LD endpoints aligned with OGC SOSA/SSN and Schema.org for interoperable, FAIR-compliant soil data access

VAS System API

The top three components Upload/Validation, Database and API form the core workflow of the CeRDI Observations System, defining how soil data moves from contributor submission to validated publication.

Through a self-serve upload system, contributors such as farmer groups, researchers, and government partners submit datasets using standardised templates that capture metadata and observations. Educational “how-to” videos support the process. Data then undergoes curation process follows:

  • Initial dataset assessment and schema mapping (O&M alignment).

  • Standardisation of terms, units, and controlled vocabularies.

  • Internal review and quality checks before ingestion into the CeRDI Observations System.

Validated data integrates with external datasets (e.g. ANSIS, SLGA, Bureau of Meteorology) and is then published via the VAS API for access through the VAS portal, external systems, or public interfaces.