A brief encounter with ontology in the context of environmental monitoring

Large-scale monitoring endeavours generate a suite of informatics challenges ranging from data acquisition and handling to analysis and synthesis. In this complex space, there is a need to ensure meaningful communication between both human and machine agents which must be addressed early on in the design of a monitoring system in order to ensure accuracy and efficiency. Ontology offers a means to address this need and provide semantic clarity in service of a wide range of stakeholders.