Enhancing the digital earth via digital decimal geolocation and the FAIR data principles

The essential aspects of Gore’s “Digital Earth” concept include “georeferenced” data. This paper is concerned with establishing the need for a standardised and common form to locate points on the earth’s surface. Rather than a degree, minute, second (dms) system for latitude/longitude location, a decimal degree system, formatted as a comma separated variable tuple in square brackets, [dLL], is advocated. Values, to an appropriate number of decimal places, can be inserted in text to be computer searchable. The [dLL] also becomes metadata for a data set or as an index in databases or identifiers for images. Various uses of this system are illustrated. The [dLL] allows data to become more “open” via the FAIR data principles: findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability. Wider use of [dLL] in the earth sciences is fundamental to collaboration with other disciplines, especially Critical Zone Science. The general use of [dLL] geolocation can be exploited in a wide variety of data analytical methodologies, some of which are outlined, and in earth science and environmental data situations.