Multilingual Keyword Thesaurus

In EGDI, keywords are used to tag and search datasets. The keywords are focused on and grouped by geoscientific topic within a thesaurus management system. The keywords are arranged in a hierarchy, and each keyword can be registered in many different languages. With the help of the Keyword Thesaurus, it is possible to find information in EGDI without knowing the exact keywords used by data providers in their datasets. Maybe a dataset has been registered under the keyword 'Evaporite'. But a user will also find this through the EGDI Data Search, either by searching for Gypsum because Gypsum is an evaporite, or, for instance, Yeso (Gypsum in Spanish).

In short, the EGDI Keyword Thesaurus is:

• A collection of more than 2500 geoscientific index terms,
• grouped into 16 geoscientific search categories,
• predominantly labelled in English,
• with translations into different languages (30% of the index terms are available in 22 non-English languages),
• with unique web addresses (URIs),
• with links to standardised codelists from INSPIRE and GeoSciML,
• including links to sources used, such as GEMET thesaurus and GBA thesaurus,
• including relevant index terms from KINDRA and VOGERA and the OneGeology keyword lists,
• thesaurus-like modelled (SKOS/RDF) in accordance with search use cases and metadata tagging in the metadata catalogue,
• supplied in RDF format.

Improve discoverability with multilingual, structured geoscience keywords

In EGDI, keywords are used to tag and search datasets. The Multilingual Keyword Thesaurus groups geoscientific concepts in a structured management system, organises them in a hierarchy and enables each keyword to be registered in multiple languages. This improves metadata tagging consistency and helps users discover relevant datasets even when they do not know the exact terms used by data providers.

What the thesaurus is used for

• Metadata tagging: consistent keyword assignment across providers and projects improves interoperability and reuse.
• Semantic search: related terms and multilingual translations support better search results for users across languages.
• Better navigation across EGDI tools: thesaurus-backed terms help connect searches, metadata records and thematic resources.

Who benefits from it?

• Data providers: assign harmonised keywords to datasets to make them easier to find.
• Researchers & analysts: discover datasets via broader-term matching and multilingual search.
• GIS & technical users: use consistent concepts to support cross-border workflows and documentation.

Recommended workflow (3 steps)

• Find the right concepts in the Multilingual Keyword Thesaurus (preferred terms, hierarchy and translations).
• Use the same keywords when tagging datasets and creating metadata records to improve consistency.
• Search EGDI resources using Data Search and review structured metadata in the Metadata Catalogue. Multilingual, semantically related terms can help surface results even when wording differs.

Related EGDI resources

• EGDI Data Search – discover datasets and access results with structured metadata.
• Geological Metadata Catalogue – review standardised metadata records.
• Vocabulary – explore project/domain vocabularies and concept relationships.
• Scientific Themes – browse topic hubs (Mineral Resources/CRM, Water Resources, GeoEnergy, Marine Geology, Basic Geology).