Concept of Tool
Customers describe their requirement for environmental data using keywords with which they are familiar
The tool maps these keywords to standard DoD data elements for the user
The search for data is performed using this precise, standardized taxonomy
Notes:
Customers (data consumers, such as M&S developers) describe their need for data in various ways. The search for resources to satisfy their requirements, however, would be easier and more productive if everyone (consumers and producers of data) spoke the same language. On the other hand, one does not want to force anyone to use a language with which they are unfamiliar or uncomfortable, lest the process be hindered more than helped.
Using the Ocean Taxonomy Database the customer can use any of several taxonomies to describe the data they need. The tool then does the mapping to a list of DoD data elements [defined in the Defense Data Dictionary System (DDDS)], the standard language describing DoD data.
Producers of DoD data, as they move to the DoD data standards, use the DDDS to describe the data they make available. Therefore, the list of DDDS elements describing a requirements for data can be used for a precise search for matching resources.