Federal Geographic Data Committee: Spatial data transfer standard, part 5; raster profile and extensions,

[Federal Register: June 16, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 115)]

[Notices]

[Page 32891-32892]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr16jn98-102]

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Geological Survey

Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC): Public Review of the ``Spatial Data Transfer Standard, Part 5: Raster Profile and Extensions''

ACTION: Notice; Request for comments.

Note: This announcement extends the deadline for comment stated in an announcement published June 4, 1998, until September 5, 1998.

SUMMARY: The FGDC is sponsoring a public review of the draft ``Spatial Data Transfer Standard, Part 5: Raster Profile and Extensions''.

The FGDC recognizes that standards must meet the needs and recognize the views of State and local governments, academia, industry, and the public. The purpose of this notice is to solicit such views. The FGDC invites the community to review, test, and evaluate the proposed standard. Comments are encouraged about the content, completeness, applicability, and usability of the proposed standard.

[[Page 32892]]

The FGDC anticipates that the proposed standard will be adopted as Federal Geographic Data Committee standard after updating or revision. The standard may be forwarded to voluntary standards bodies for adoption if interest warrants such actions.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 5, 1998.

CONTACT and ADDRESSES: Requests for written copies of the standard should be addressed to ``Spatial Data Transfer Standard, Part 5: Raster Profile and Extensions'', FGDC Secretariat (attn: Jennifer Fox), U.S. Geological Survey, 590 National Center, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, Virginia, 20192; telephone 703-648-5514; facsimile 703-648- 5755; or Internet at gdc@usgs.gov. The standard may be downloaded from this Internet address: ftp://www.fgdc.gov/Standards/Documents/ Standards/SDTS__Pt5/.

Reviewer's comments may be sent to the FGDC via Internet mail to: gdc-sdtsras@www.fgdc.gov.

Reviewer comments may also be sent to the FGDC Secretariat at the above address. Please send one hardcopy version of the comments and a soft copy version, preferably on a 3.5 x 3.5 diskette in WordPerfect 5.0 or 6.0/6.1 format.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS) defines a general mechanism for the transfer of geographically referenced spatial data and its supporting metadata, i.e., attributes, data quality reports, coordinate reference systems, security information, etc. The overriding principle that SDTS promotes is that the spatial data transfer should be self-documenting. The data set in SDTS should contain all of the information that is needed to assess and (or) use the data for any appropriate GIS application. The SDTS base specification (Parts 1, 2 and 3) is implemented via profiles of SDTS. A SDTS profile, in general terms, may be defined as a limited subset of the standard, designed for use with a specific type of data model, i.e., topological vector, point, grid, image, etc. Specific choices are made for encoding possibilities not addressed, left optional, or left with numerous choices with in the SDTS base specification. A profile may also specify extensions to the base standard to address changing technologies, and to take advantage of other industry standards. For raster image data, there are numerous standards, with various properties, restrictions, and degrees of implementation. The SDTS Raster Profile and Extensions (SRPE) permits the use of two common industry standards for image data: Basic Image Interchange Format (BIIF) and Tagged Image File Format (TIFF). The BIIF defines a general mechanism for the transfer of image data and any supporting data, i.e. image parameters, visualization parameters, compression parameters, text annotations, symbols, etc. BIIF is an ANSI/ISO standard and is in wide use in the commercial military community (formerly NITF). TIFF is a general purpose image file format that is used widely for simple image applications.

For answers to questions related to the content of the standard please contact the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Subcommittee on Base Cartographic Data, attn. Mark DeMulder, U.S. Geological Survey, 511 National Center, Reston, VA 20192.

Dated: June 9, 1998. Richard E. Witmer, Chief, National Mapping Division, U.S. Geological Survey.

[FR Doc. 98-15864Filed6-15-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-Y7-M