The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) invites public comment on the proposed OGC Coverage Implementation Schema (CIS) 1.2 Standard.

The proposed OGC Coverage Implementation Schema (CIS) 1.2 Standard specifies an implementable, conformance-testable coverage structure based on the abstract schema for coverages defined in ISO 19123-1. This document defines a concrete data structure that is suitable for encoding coverages in many formats.

Based on the concepts defined in OGC Abstract Topic 6.1 (also published as ISO 19123-1), coverages serve as digital representations of space-time varying phenomena, corresponding to the notion of a “field” in physics. Specifically, grid coverages model datacubes. Coverages can be discrete or continuous. Common examples include 1-D time series, 2-D imagery, 3-D x/y/t image time series and x/y/z geophysical voxel models, as well as 4-D x/y/z/t atmospheric and ocean data. Coverages are independent from service definitions and, therefore, can be accessed through a variety of web-based service types, such as the OGC Web Coverage Service (WCS) Standard.

This document is a compliant standardization target of OGC Abstract Topic 6.1, relying on its concepts, terms, definitions, and interfaces to establish a logical schema (via UML) implementing the interfaces defined there. Additionally, this document defines related physical coverage schemas (via format encodings) for the single logical schema.

This is the second backward-compatible revision of OGC CIS. The Standard is also published as ISO 19123-2.

To Comment

The proposed OGC Coverage Implementation Schema (CIS) 1.2 is available for review and comment for a period of 30 days. Comments are due by 12 September, 2026.

Comments can be submitted in the OGC GitHub repository for a period ending on the “Close request date” listed above. Comments received will be consolidated and reviewed by OGC members for potential incorporation into the document.

About OGC

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is a membership organization dedicated to using the power of geography and technology to solve problems faced by people and the planet. OGC unlocks value and opportunity for its members through Standards, Innovation, and Collaboration. Our membership represents a diverse and active global community drawn from government, industry, academia, international development agencies, research & scientific organizations, civil society, and advocates.