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GeoTIFF v1.1 adopted as an OGC Standard

26 September 2019: The membership of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) has approved  version 1.1 of the GeoTIFF Encoding Standard.

The GeoTIFF 1.1 standard formalizes the existing  GeoTIFF specification version 1.0 by integrating it into OGC’s standardization process. Additionally, v1.1 aligns GeoTIFF with the on-going addition of data to the  EPSG Geodetic Parameter Dataset while maintaining backward compatibility with GeoTIFF 1.0.

The GeoTIFF format is used throughout the geospatial and earth science communities to share geographic image data.

Christopher Lynnes, NASA/GSFC, System Architect of the Earth Observing System Data and Information System, commented “With the approval of GeoTIFF 1.1 by the Open Geospatial Consortium, NASA has approved GeoTIFF as a standard format for Earth Observation standard products. This will allow production of appropriate NASA data products in GeoTIFF, a format that has been requested by the many GIS users in the user community.”

Emmanuel Devys, IGN and DGIWG Imagery and Gridded Data Technical Panel lead, commented “GeoTIFF 1.1, as an international standard, allows the DGIWG GeoTIFF profile to rely on a standardized GeoTIFF standard inline with the modern EPSG register for the production of its elevation data, orthoimages, and raster maps products, or for such production by DGIWG nations. IGN and, more generally in Europe, all mapping agencies may now rely on a modernized and maintained specification for their raster or gridded products, such as the INSPIRE Orthoimagery and Elevation data specifications.”

The Geographic Tagged Image File Format (GeoTIFF) specifies the content and structure of a group of industry-standard tag sets for the management of georeferenced or geocoded raster imagery using Aldus-Adobe’s public domain Tagged Image File Format (TIFF). GeoTIFF defines a set of TIFF tags provided to describe all "Cartographic" information associated with TIFF imagery that originates from satellite imaging systems, scanned aerial photography, scanned maps, digital elevation models, or as a result of geographic analyses. The goal is to provide a consistent mechanism for referencing a raster image to a known model space or earth-based coordinate reference system, and for describing those coordinate reference systems. 

Approval of this GeoTIFF 1.1 standard begins the process of integration of the GeoTIFF standard into other parts of OGC’s standardization process. 

The Libgeotiff development version (future version 1.6.0) and the GDAL development version (future version 3.1.0) both support this GeoTIFF 1.1 version.

The evolution of GeoTIFF after this version 1.1 depends upon community requirements, with several potential evolutions already under consideration by OGC. Such evolutions may be by extension to GeoTIFF 1.1, or imply a minor revision, or require a major revision.

Users and communities are welcome to submit their proposal for evolutions under the  OGC GeoTIFF GitHub issues page. Submitters need to be ready for some technical contribution in support of their proposal.

As with any OGC standard, the open GeoTiff 1.1 standard is free to download and implement. Interested parties can view and download the standard on the  OGC’s GeoTIFF Standard Page.

About OGC

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is an international consortium of more than 530 businesses, government agencies, research organizations, and universities driven to make geospatial (location) information and services FAIR - Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.

OGC’s member-driven consensus process creates royalty free, publicly available geospatial standards. Existing at the cutting edge, OGC actively analyzes and anticipates emerging tech trends, and runs an agile, collaborative Research and Development (R&D) lab that builds and tests innovative prototype solutions to members' use cases.

OGC members together form a global forum of experts and communities that use location to connect people with technology and improve decision-making at all levels. OGC is committed to creating a sustainable future for us, our children, and future generations.

Visit  ogc.org for more info on our work.



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