Spacetime
Nature doesn’t stand still. Spacetime is Lemu’s 4D schema that organises environmental observations, models, and indicators so they stay consistent, comparable, and decision-ready—no matter the source.
Spacetime defines how nature data is represented, related, and versioned over space and time. It lets organisations combine field data, remote sensing, models, and records into one coherent fabric—ready for analysis, governance, and sharing.
A foundational schema for Nature Intelligence
- 4D by design: every record is anchored in location (x, y, z) and timestamp/period (t).
- Typed & linked: observations, features, events, habitats, and indicators are first-class, linked objects.
- Versioned & auditable: provenance, lineage, and change history are preserved end-to-end.
- Interoperable: aligns with open geospatial and temporal data conventions (e.g., GeoJSON-T concepts and STAC-style cataloguing) for smooth exchange.
Why it matters
- Comparability: like-for-like across sites, projects, and years—turns scattered datasets into a continuous story.
- Scientific integrity: explicit units, methods, and uncertainty keep insights honest and reproducible.
- Operational speed: one schema across teams, tools, and vendors reduces friction and rework.
- Governance & trust: traceable data builds confidence with regulators, investors, and communities.
- Actionable insight: makes complex ecology legible to business systems—so decisions include nature.
Key capabilities
- Spatiotemporal primitives – points, lines, polygons, rasters, volumes; instants and intervals.
- Event & state modelling – distinguish conditions (state) from changes (events) and link causes.
- Provenance & lineage – source, method, model version, and processing steps carried with data.
- Quality & uncertainty – confidence scores, detection limits, gaps clearly encoded.
- Indicators as first-class – pre-defined structures for nature metrics so results are portable.
- Permissions & sharing – fine-grained access so teams can publish openly or keep private.
- Standards friendly – plays well with established geospatial/temporal conventions and APIs.
FAQ
Is Spacetime a database or a file format?
Neither. It’s a schema—a shared model for how nature data is structured. We implement it across our stack and expose it via APIs.
Can I use Spacetime without Atlas?
Yes. You can integrate through APIs to push/pull data, or connect your tooling to Spacetime-conformant exports.
How does Spacetime handle uncertainty?
Uncertainty and quality flags are first-class fields attached to each measurement and indicator, with method metadata for reproducibility.
What standards does it support?
Spacetime aligns with open geospatial and temporal conventions (e.g., GeoJSON-T concepts, STAC-style catalogues) and interoperates with common GIS/EO tools.
How does versioning work?
Every dataset and model run carries a unique ID, timestamp, and lineage. Changes are tracked so you can compare states and roll back.
Can we publish subsets publicly?
Yes. Use Atlas Orbis to publish selected layers/indicators while keeping sensitive data private.