Landscape domains and information surfaces: Data collection, recording and citation using decimal latitude‐longitude geolocation via the FAIR principles

Abstract

There is a need for geomorphology to integrate better with related disciplines, especially in Critical Zone science. To help satisfy this integration, geomorphology's knowledge‐base should extend into biotic as well as geological processes via ‘open data’. To aid information exchange between disciplines, the use of decimal latitude‐longitude (dLL) topographic geo‐referencing is advocated to identify locations of investigations, images and data in accord with the FAIR principles for data: findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability. While local place names (toponyms) have their uses, they do not provide good location information. Identification of detailed locations using dLL referencing should be used in written, especially published, reports of investigations. Author‐date citations are traditionally used to identify geomorphic knowledge, which can be enhanced when linked to dLL‐specified locations and data such as sample sites and laboratory data. Ways in which dLL specifications might be used in geomorphology and associated disciplines are explored and some geomorphological problems associated with ‘steepland’ landscape domains are presented. Examples show how dLL data can be incorporated into the literature, whereby authors can help provide and develop geomorphic ‘information surfaces’ by using geo‐referencing to enhance ‘open’ science via the FAIR principles.