Metadata can lead you to the best restaurant in town, and it’s also critical to understand environmental soils information and determine the viability of a real estate investment.
Before I dive into the ‘dirty details’ of environmental soils data in Phase II Environmental Site Assessments, let me first explain Metadata. Metadata, or data about data, is used to describe the thought process and meaning behind raw information. Simply, it is often nothing more than explanatory text. For example, a database may hold a set of coordinates for a point on the earth’s surface. Maybe the point represents the location of your favorite downtown restaurant. The metadata text will tell you how the coordinate data was collected, in what geographic coordinate system, and by whom. (Unfortunately though, it probably won’t tell you that the service is terrible on Friday nights and that they pour the cheap stuff in your top-shelf martini – you’re on your own there.)
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