Lost in Translation: The Need for Common Vocabularies and an Interoperable Thesaurus in Earth Observation Sciences

The Earth Observation sciences are highly multidisciplinary with long value chains from the development, characterisation and deployment of sensors, through data processing and modelling, to the information services provided to decision makers in, for example, governments, companies and non-governmental organisations. A prerequisite to any multidisciplinary collaboration is effective communication and many communities involved in the value chains have developed vocabularies or terminologies to define terms from a particular viewpoint or legacy. However, these vocabularies are often inconsistent, with circular definitions, contradictions and using technical terms that are not defined. Here, three case studies from Earth Observation disciplines are considered involving challenges in the definition and use of the terms ‘observation’, ‘in-situ’ and ‘interoperable’. An approach is suggested for an initiative, starting in Earth Observation, to build a consistent thesaurus taking inspiration from the ISO 25964:2011 standard.