ISO 19115 defines 19 Topic Categories — a flat keyword vocabulary for classifying geospatial metadata. These are the most widely used metadata keywords in CSW (Catalog Service for the Web) servers worldwide.
Each topic category below is mapped to its location in the SPHERE tree. The ISO categories are intentionally broad — a single category like “Environment” or “Imagery/BaseMaps/EarthCover” spans multiple SPHERE domains, which is why threads are essential.
Standard: ISO 19115:2014 Geographic information — Metadata, Annex B.5.27 MD_TopicCategoryCode
Themes → SPHERE Mapping
| Theme | Primary Sphere | Subsphere(s) | Threads |
|---|---|---|---|
| |Biota | Biosphere | Vegetation, Fauna, biosphere_ecosystems | — |
| |Boundaries | Socio-Technical | Socio_technical_governance | — |
| Atmosphere | Atmosphere | atmosphere_climate, atmosphere_weather, atmosphere_composition | — |
| |Economy | Socio-Technical | Socio_technical_socioeconomic | — |
| |Elevation | Toposphere | toposphere_topography_bathymetry | — |
| |Environment | Socio-Technical | Socio_technical_services | Biosphere, Hydrosphere, Pedosphere, Atmosphere |
| |Farming | Socio-Technical | Socio_technical_resource_utilisation | Biosphere |
| |Geoscientific Information | Lithosphere | lithosphere_geology, lithosphere_tectonics, lithosphere_resources | Pedosphere |
| |Health | Socio-Technical | Socio_technical_services, Socio_technical_contaminants | — |
| Earth Cover | Toposphere | toposphere_remote_sensed_observations | Socio-Technical |
| Military | Socio-Technical | Socio_technical_governance | — |
| |Location | Socio-Technical | Socio_technical_governance, socio_technical_ict_flows | — |
| |Oceans | Hydrosphere | hydrosphere_marine | — |
| Cadastre | Socio-Technical | Socio_technical_governance | Biosphere, Hydrosphere, Lithosphere |
| |Society | Socio-Technical | Socio_technical_socioeconomic | — |
| |Structure | Socio-Technical | Socio_technical_infrastructure | — |
| |Transportation | Socio-Technical | Socio_technical_infrastructure | — |
| Communication | Socio-Technical | Socio_technical_infrastructure, socio_technical_ict_flows | — |
See SPHERE for the protocol definition. See all classifications for the full Rosetta Stone.