ISO 19165-2-2020 PDF

Full title and description

Geographic information — Preservation of digital data and metadata — Part 2: Content specifications for Earth observation data and derived digital products. This International Standard specifies content elements and guidance to support long‑term preservation of Earth observation (EO) data and derived digital products, with emphasis on provenance, context and mission/instrument specifics for spaceborne, airborne and in situ observation missions.

Abstract

This document extends metadata and preservation guidance for geospatial data to cover content specific to Earth observation missions and derived products. It defines content expected to capture provenance, processing history, acquisition context, instrument/platform details and other information needed to understand, validate and reuse EO datasets over the long term.

General information

• Status: Published.
• Publication date: July 2020 (Edition 1, 2020-07).
• Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO), developed under ISO/TC 211.
• ICS / categories: 35.240.70 (IT applications in science / geographic information).
• Edition / version: Edition 1 (2020).
• Number of pages: 30.

Scope

ISO 19165-2:2020 provides content specifications that extend preservation metadata practices to Earth observation data and derived products. The scope covers descriptive elements that record mission, platform and instrument characteristics, acquisition geometry, processing and calibration history, quality and provenance information, and contextual items required to enable long‑term intelligibility and reuse of EO data. It is intended to be used alongside the ISO 19165-1 fundamentals and existing metadata frameworks (for example ISO 19115 family and OAIS concepts) to produce geospatial archival information packages that are self‑describing and reconstructable.

Key topics and requirements

• Content elements for EO provenance: recording acquisition, processing steps, algorithms, software versions and responsible parties.
• Instrument/platform descriptors: fields to capture sensor type, spectral characteristics, spatial/temporal resolution and calibration information.
• Processing and product lineage: mandatory/conditional elements to document transformations from raw measurements to derived products.
• Context and environmental metadata: acquisition geometry, ancillary data references, ground truth/validation links and observation conditions.
• Packaging and interoperability considerations: guidance to integrate EO content with geospatial archival information packages (IPs) and metadata standards (ISO 19115 family).
• Long‑term intelligibility requirements: recommendations to ensure archived EO datasets can be understood and reused without original proprietary tools.

Typical use and users

Primary users include data managers and archivists at space agencies and earth observation centres, remote sensing data centres, national mapping and land administration agencies, research institutes, digital preservation professionals, and metadata specialists who must preserve, document and disseminate EO data and derived products for long‑term use. Implementers include system architects designing preservation workflows and repositories that follow OAIS and ISO 19165 principles.

Related standards

Key related standards are ISO 19165-1:2018 (Preservation of digital data and metadata — Part 1: Fundamentals), which defines the preservation metadata extension and geospatial archival information package requirements; the ISO 19115 metadata family (notably ISO 19115-1:2014 and ISO 19115-3 implementation/specifications) for core geospatial metadata; and OAIS (ISO 14721) as the reference model for archival systems. These documents are intended to be used together to produce self‑describing, preservable EO information packages.

Keywords

Earth observation, remote sensing, preservation metadata, provenance, archival information package, geospatial metadata, ISO 19165, ISO/TC 211, OAIS, instrument metadata, processing lineage.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO 19165-2:2020 is Part 2 of the ISO 19165 series and provides content specifications aimed at preserving Earth observation data and derived digital products by defining metadata elements and content needed to capture provenance, context and mission/instrument specifics.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers metadata content and guidance for EO datasets: mission/platform/instrument descriptors, acquisition and processing history, quality and validation notes, contextual and ancillary information, and packaging considerations to support long‑term preservation and future reuse.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Data custodians and archivists at space agencies, remote sensing data centres, research organisations, national mapping agencies, and metadata specialists responsible for long‑term preservation and discoverability of EO products. System designers and repository managers implementing OAIS‑compliant archives also use this standard.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: The 2020 edition (Edition 1) is published and was formally reviewed and confirmed in the 2025 systematic review, so the standard is current (confirmed) as of the ISO review outcome.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes — it is Part 2 of the ISO 19165 series. Part 1 (ISO 19165-1:2018) provides the fundamentals and preservation metadata extension; other related items in the ISO 19115 metadata family and OAIS model are commonly used with ISO 19165-2.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Earth observation, remote sensing, preservation metadata, provenance, archival information package, geospatial metadata, instrument metadata, processing lineage, OAIS, ISO/TC 211.