What are standard geospatial data standards relevant to interoperability in risk projects?

• A. ISO 9001 quality management.
• B. ISO 19115/19139 metadata, OGC standards (WMS, WFS, WCS), GeoJSON, GML; data quality and coordinate reference system definitions.
• C. Proprietary formats only.
• D. There are no established standards.

Answer: (B)

Interoperability in risk projects hinges on standard ways to describe, access, and align geospatial data so different systems can work together. Metadata standards like ISO 19115/19139 give a consistent structure for who collected the data, when, what it covers, quality, and the data’s lineage, which helps users assess suitability and track provenance across datasets. Open geospatial consortium services like WMS, WFS, and WCS define interoperable ways to request maps, vector features, and coverages from diverse data sources, enabling seamless integration into dashboards and analyses. Web-friendly formats such as GeoJSON simplify sharing and visualization of vector data across web platforms, while GML provides a richer encoding for more complex data exchanges in enterprise workflows. Explicit coordinate reference system definitions and data quality information ensure spatial alignment and trustworthiness when combining datasets for risk assessment. Other options either miss the geospatial focus or propose formats that hinder interoperability: a general quality-management standard doesn’t address geospatial data interoperability directly; relying only on proprietary formats limits exchange; and there are established standards, so claiming none exist would be incorrect.