OGC seeks public comment on update to GeoTIFF standard

14 May 2019: The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) seeks public comment on v1.1 of the GeoTIFF standard. The GeoTIFF v1.1 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.

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.

The GeoTIFF format is used throughout the geospatial and earth science communities to share geographic image data. That usage inevitably leads to identification of new requirements and needs for profiles, extensions, and improvements to the original GeoTIFF Specification. The OGC is well established as a forum for standardization in the GeoTIFF producer and user communities and, as such, it provides an inclusive standardization process for those communities. This candidate standard is the first step in the process of integration of the GeoTIFF specification into OGC’s standardization process, with the adjustment of a minor revision in order to allow the use of the modern EPSG register, allowing backward compatibility with Revision 1.0.

The candidate GeoTiff standard is available for review and comment on the OGC Portal. Comments are due by 23 June 2019 and should be submitted via the method outlined on the Candidate GeoTiff Standard’s request page.