GBIF network
The GBIF network is the entire network of people, computers and infrastructures which comes together to provide a common pool of biodiversity data.
GBIF Data Portal
The GBIF Data Portal is a unified access point to all the data shared using the GBIF network. It has three components: data, metadata and names - data.gbif.org.
GBIF-mediated data
Primary biodiversity data or its metadata discovered and/or accessed through the GBIF network using GBIF-promoted data interoperability, exchange/sharing standards.
GBIF web site
The GBIF website, also known as the GBIF Communications Portal, provides news, events, documents and other linkages of use to the GBIF community - www.gbif.org.
GNA
The Global Names Architecture (GNA) is a term used to refer to the activities of the GBIF ECAT programme in concert with other collaborating initiatives to develop a common methodology for discovering and accessing sources of taxonomic and nomenclatural data. These data can be collated and employed to provide syntactic and semantic information regarding names that facilitate discovery and access to biodiversity data and enable more effective linking of these data to relevant taxonomic concepts.
GBRDS
GBIF’s Global Biodiversity Resources Discovery System (GBRDS) can be viewed as an extended Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) registry. In addition to the standard UDDI business information (e.g. names, addresses, service URLs), it also acts as a registry for globally unique identifiers (GUIDs) that have been issued for biodiversity specific information. Many cross-references can be set up by means of the registry, e.g. datasets can be linked to metadata, to standards' definitions, to web service URLs and to various GUIDs.
GEOSS
Global Earth Observation System of Systems - www.earthobservations.org/geoss.shtml
GIS
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are computer systems and software that allow the combination of multiple geo-referenced data layers, each providing information about some characteristics of a geographic area. Such systems provide tools for mapping and analysing the data.
Governing Board, GBIF Governing Board
The highest executive body of GBIF, comprising representatives of all GBIF Participants who have signed the MoU, both Voting and Associate and which meets on an annual basis.
GUID
A Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) provides an unambiguous reference to an object in a software application. LSIDs are one implementation of a GUID system.
