An Ontology Based Methodology for Satellite Data Semantic Interoperability

Satellites and ocean based observing system consists of various sensors and configurations. These observing systems transmit data in heterogeneous file formats and heterogeneous vocabulary from various data centers. These data centers maintain a centralized data management system that disseminates the observations to various research communities. Currently, different data naming conventions are being used by existing observing systems, thus leading to semantic heterogeneity. In this work, sensor data interoperability and semantics of the data are being addressed through ontologies. The present work provides an effective technical solution to address semantic heterogeneity through semantic technologies. These technologies provide interoperability, capability to build knowledge base, and framework for semantic information retrieval by developing an effective concept vocabulary through domain ontologies. The paper aims at a new methodology to interlink the multidisciplinary and heterogeneous sensor data products. A four phase methodology has been implemented to address satellite data semantic interoperability. The paper concludes with the evaluation of the methodology by linking and interfacing multiple ontologies to arrive at ontology vocabulary for sensor observations. Data from Indian Meteorological satellite INSAT-3D satellite have been used as a typical example to illustrate the concepts. This work on similar lines can also be extended to other sensor observations.