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World Models · legacy example

Terrain & Landform

This meta-model describes the solid relief of a territory: the measured shape of the ground surface, the quantities derived from that shape (slope, aspect, curvature), and the landforms that people name, map and reason about. It is its own model because relief is a persistent physical substrate that many other models depend on but none of them owns: parcels, catchments, soils, settlements and hazards all sit on terrain and would otherwise each re-model elevation in an incompatible way. Terrain here is described as geometry and measurement, not as land tenure (P2) or land condition (P10).

AI YAMLAGENTS.mdSource
IDworld.p1-terrain-and-landform
Version history0.2.0-legacy
CategoryReference example
IndustryCross-industry
Domainplanet-nature
Tagsterrain, landform
Data structure

Bundles and layers

Bundle

relief

The continuous ground surface as measured, derived and changing over time

Layers

elevationSurface`: gridded and point elevation coverages with their vertical reference · `morphometry`: quantities computed from the surface such as slope, aspect, curvature and roughness · `surfaceChange`: differences between surfaces of two epochs, uplift, subsidence, erosion and accumulation

Bundle

landformInventory

Discrete relief features as named, classified objects

Layers

landformTaxonomy`: the classification scheme of landform kinds and their defining criteria · `namedFeature`: individual delineated landforms with names, extents and prominence

Bundle

spatialFraming

The geodetic and geometric frame in which relief is expressed

Layers

referenceSystem`: horizontal and vertical coordinate reference systems, datums and epochs · `regionGeometry`: the footprints, tiles and region polygons that delimit described areas

Findings

Catalogue-native findings must describe the information grouped by each layer. This legacy version does not declare them separately.

Questions & artifacts

Questions, artifact requirements and serial naming rules are required by Vercy vNext; they remain unassigned in this reference version.

Service layers

How this specification operates

Dimension & namespace

  • REFERENCE `world.landParcelAndCadastre` (P2): parcels are located on relief, and boundary geometry is often surveyed against the same control network
  • REFERENCE `world.waterBodyAndHydrology` (P3): catchment delineation and flow direction are derived from the elevation surface published here
  • REFERENCE `world.soilAndAgriculturalLand` (P10): slope and aspect are inputs to soil capability and erosion assessment
  • REFERENCE `world.naturalPhenomenonAndHazard` (P9): slope, curvature and relative relief feed landslide and flood susceptibility characterization
  • REFERENCE `world.settlementAndUrbanForm` (U4) and `world.physicalInfrastructureNetwork` (U3): built form and network alignment are described against this relief frame
  • ALIGN `world.addressAndLocationReferencing` (U7): shared coordinate reference systems keep positions comparable across models
  • imports: ogc-geosparql (ALIGN): geometry and topology vocabulary for features and regions
  • imports: inspire (ALIGN): elevation and geographical grid themes for cross-register comparability
  • imports: dem (COMPOSE): the digital elevation model product pattern for gridded height coverages
  • imports: iso-19111-crs (REFERENCE): coordinate and vertical reference system identifiers rather than local copies

Canon, patches & standards

  • REFERENCE `world.landParcelAndCadastre` (P2): parcels are located on relief, and boundary geometry is often surveyed against the same control network
  • REFERENCE `world.waterBodyAndHydrology` (P3): catchment delineation and flow direction are derived from the elevation surface published here
  • REFERENCE `world.soilAndAgriculturalLand` (P10): slope and aspect are inputs to soil capability and erosion assessment
  • REFERENCE `world.naturalPhenomenonAndHazard` (P9): slope, curvature and relative relief feed landslide and flood susceptibility characterization
  • REFERENCE `world.settlementAndUrbanForm` (U4) and `world.physicalInfrastructureNetwork` (U3): built form and network alignment are described against this relief frame
  • ALIGN `world.addressAndLocationReferencing` (U7): shared coordinate reference systems keep positions comparable across models
  • imports: ogc-geosparql (ALIGN): geometry and topology vocabulary for features and regions
  • imports: inspire (ALIGN): elevation and geographical grid themes for cross-register comparability
  • imports: dem (COMPOSE): the digital elevation model product pattern for gridded height coverages
  • imports: iso-19111-crs (REFERENCE): coordinate and vertical reference system identifiers rather than local copies

Artifact formats & serial data

Format-independent core. Concrete artifact formats and naming prefixes are not declared in this legacy version.

Policies & accepted processes

  • `elevationDataAccessContract`: terms on which tiles or whole coverages are read, including resolution ceiling, redistribution rights and attribution
  • `derivedProductLicense`: terms for publishing morphometric or visual products computed from a source surface, including required lineage statements
  • `surveyCommissionAgreement`: terms under which a requester commissions a new survey of an area and how the resulting model enters the catalogue

Read / add / edit / delete

CRUD procedures and interface bindings are not declared in this legacy version.

Ownership, roles & access

A commons steward for territory holds the terrain register: it commissions or accepts surveys, publishes elevation surfaces and maintains the landform inventory, without claiming any right over the land itself. Ownership records for that land live in P2 and S1, access to restricted resolutions or embargoed surveys is granted by the steward through S2 access contracts, and reads are logged in S4.

Existing assembly

Objects, relationships, events and projections

Objects

  • `elevationModel`: a coverage of ground or surface heights over an area; key attributes: resolution, coverage geometry, vertical datum reference, model kind (terrain or surface), acquisition epoch, accuracy statement
  • `elevationSurvey`: an acquisition campaign that produced height measurements; key attributes: method (levelling, photogrammetry, laser scanning, radar), operator reference, period, nominal accuracy
  • `spotHeight`: a monumented or measured point of known height; key attributes: identifier, coordinates, height, datum reference, monument condition, last check date
  • `morphometricSurface`: a derived raster of a terrain quantity; key attributes: quantity (slope, aspect, curvature, roughness), unit, source model reference, computation method
  • `landform`: a delineated relief feature; key attributes: extent geometry, class reference, relative relief, prominence, orientation, confidence of delineation
  • `landformClass`: a term in the landform taxonomy; key attributes: term identifier, definition, parent term, diagnostic criteria
  • `terrainRegion`: an area sharing a dominant relief character; key attributes: geometry, dominant landform classes, elevation range, mean slope
  • `verticalDatum`: the height reference a surface is expressed against; key attributes: identifier, realization epoch, type (geoid, ellipsoid, tidal), transformation notes

Relationships

  • `elevationModel` -> derivedFrom -> `elevationSurvey` (n:1): every published surface traces to the campaign that measured it
  • `morphometricSurface` -> computedFrom -> `elevationModel` (n:1): derived quantities carry the identity of their source surface and method
  • `elevationModel` -> referencedTo -> `verticalDatum` (n:1): heights are meaningless without the datum they are expressed against
  • `spotHeight` -> monumentedWithin -> `terrainRegion` (n:1): control points are located within the region whose relief they help fix
  • `landform` -> classifiedAs -> `landformClass` (n:1): each delineated feature carries one taxonomy term at a time
  • `landform` -> containedIn -> `terrainRegion` (n:m): features nest into regional relief units, with partial containment allowed
  • `landform` -> adjacentTo -> `landform` (n:m): neighbouring features share a delineation edge, supporting continuity checks
  • `terrainRegion` -> nestedIn -> `terrainRegion` (n:1): regions form a hierarchy from coarse relief provinces to local units

Events

  • `elevationSurveyCompleted`: a measurement campaign finished and its raw observations became available
  • `elevationModelPublished`: a new or revised height surface was issued for an area at a stated resolution and accuracy
  • `verticalDatumRealizationChanged`: the height reference was re-realized, so previously published heights shifted
  • `spotHeightRemeasured`: a control point was checked and its height or monument condition was updated
  • `landformDelineated`: a relief feature was outlined and entered into the inventory
  • `landformReclassified`: an existing feature moved to a different taxonomy term after review
  • `terrainChangeDetected`: comparison of two epochs showed elevation gain or loss beyond the detection threshold

Projections

  • `publicReliefView`: hillshade, contours and coarse elevation for general use; omits raw point clouds, sensor diagnostics and per-tile accuracy internals
  • `engineeringTerrainExtract`: full resolution clipped surface plus accuracy metadata for a defined works area; omits everything outside the requested footprint
  • `regionalReliefSummary`: mean elevation, elevation range and slope bands per terrain region; omits geometry detail and individual features