An Information Model for Geospatial and Temporal References

Within the surface ship community, there is a significant amount of content describing Geospatial and Temporal References (G&TR); Def Stan 22-61 is the prime example. However, from an information modelling perspective, much of this is unstructured. And where it is structured, it reflects a data implementation rather than an information modelling perspective; in MDA terms, a platform-specific model rather than a computation-independent model perspective. It aims at describing how G&TR data should be used, but has not been so directly aimed at describing what G&TR is – the target of an information model. This has led to a situation where a solid foundation for the information model is missing and there is no clear articulation of the fundamental components for the information model. This analysis provides a sketch that can be developed into an information model that would provide the foundation for the ‘how’ model in Def Stan 21-66. The combined models would provide a better, more accurate, overall model.