GeoCore Ontology is a core ontology for general use in Geology. It contains a limited set of concepts that are shared among various subdomains of Geology. Having a common core set of concepts is key in order to integrate and develop knowledge bases in the domain. GeoCore is a collaborative effort between the Informatics Institute at UFRGS (Brazil) and Geosiris Company (France). For more details check the original publication at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2019.104387
participates in
(Elucidation) participates in holds between some b that is either a specifically dependent continuant or generically dependent continuant or independent continuant that is not a spatial region & some process p such that b participates in p some way
Users that require more sophisticated representations of time are encouraged to import a temporal extension of BFO-Core provided by the BFO development team. See documentation for guidance: <Link>
has participant
p has participant c =Def c participates in p
generically depends on
g-depends on
b generically depends on c =Def b is a generically dependent continuant & c is an independent continuant that is not a spatial region & at some time t there inheres in c a specifically dependent continuant which concretizes b at t
is carrier of
b is carrier of c =Def there is some time t such that c generically depends on b at t
specifically depended on by
s-depended on by
b specifically depended on by c =Def c specifically depends on b
Coloured object specifically depended on by colour
specifically depends on
s-depends on
(Elucidation) specifically depends on is a relation between a specifically dependent continuant b and specifically dependent continuant or independent continuant that is not a spatial region c such that b and c share no parts in common & b is of a nature such that at all times t it cannot exist unless c exists & b is not a boundary of c
A shape specifically depends on the shaped object; hue, saturation and brightness of a colour sample specifically depends on each other
The analogue of specifically depends on for occurrents is has participant.
bearer of
b bearer of c =Def c inheres in b
A patch of ink is the bearer of a colour quality; an organism is the bearer of a temperature quality
inheres in
b inheres in c =Def b is a specifically dependent continuant & c is an independent continuant that is not a spatial region & b specifically depends on c
A shape inheres in a shaped object; a mass inheres in a material entity
occupies temporal region
p occupies temporal region t =Def p is a process or process boundary & the spatiotemporal region occupied by p temporally projects onto t
The Second World War occupies the temporal region September 1, 1939 - September 2, 1945
A relation between an 'earth material' or 'geological object', and a process, in which the continuant was generated by the process
When a geological process creates a new geological object or earth material, we say that it generated this new geological object or earth material. Thus, every instance of earth material and geological object have a unique generation relation with one instance of geological process.
generated by
The Geological Time Interval in which the object was generated.
generated in
The relation between a Geological Object and its Geological Age.
has age
The relation between a Geological Age and a Geological Object. Inverse of has age relation.
age of
The relation between some material entity and the material that it is made of.
This is a material constitution relation intended to represent the relationship between material objects, such as geological objects and earth materials, or aggregates of them.
Evnine, S. J. (2011). Constitution and composition: Three approaches to their relation. ProtoSociology, 27, 212-235.
constituted by
entity
(Elucidation) An entity is anything that exists or has existed or will exist
Julius Caesar; the Second World War; your body mass index; Verdi's Requiem
continuant
(Elucidation) A continuant is an entity that persists, endures, or continues to exist through time while maintaining its identity
A human being; a tennis ball; a cave; a region of space; someone's temperature
occurrent
(Elucidation) An occurrent is an entity that unfolds itself in time or it is the start or end of such an entity or it is a temporal or spatiotemporal region
As for process, history, process boundary, spatiotemporal region, zero-dimensional temporal region, one-dimensional temporal region, temporal interval, temporal instant.
independent continuant
b is an independent continuant =Def b is a continuant & there is no c such that b specifically depends on c or b generically depends on c
An atom; a molecule; an organism; a heart; a chair; the bottom right portion of a human torso; a leg; the interior of your mouth; a spatial region; an orchestra
spatial region
(Elucidation) A spatial region is a continuant entity that is a continuant part of the spatial projection of a portion of spacetime at a given time
As for zero-dimensional spatial region, one-dimensional spatial region, two-dimensional spatial region, three-dimensional spatial region
temporal region
(Elucidation) A temporal region is an occurrent over which processes can unfold
As for zero-dimensional temporal region and one-dimensional temporal region
spatiotemporal region
(Elucidation) A spatiotemporal region is an occurrent that is an occurrent part of spacetime
The spatiotemporal region occupied by the development of a cancer tumour; the spatiotemporal region occupied by an orbiting satellite
'Spacetime' here refers to the maximal instance of the universal spatiotemporal region.
process
event
(Elucidation) p is a process means p is an occurrent that has some temporal proper part and for some time t, p has some material entity as participant
An act of selling; the life of an organism; a process of sleeping; a process of cell-division; a beating of the heart; a process of meiosis; the taxiing of an aircraft; the programming of a computer
quality
(Elucidation) A quality is a specifically dependent continuant that, in contrast to roles and dispositions, does not require any further process in order to be realized
The colour of a tomato; the ambient temperature of this portion of air; the length of the circumference of your waist; the shape of your nose; the shape of your nostril; the mass of this piece of gold
specifically dependent continuant
b is a specifically dependent continuant =Def b is a continuant & there is some independent continuant c which is not a spatial region & which is such that b specifically depends on c
(with multiple bearers) John's love for Mary; the ownership relation between John and this statue; the relation of authority between John and his subordinates
(with one bearer) The mass of this tomato; the pink colour of a medium rare piece of grilled filet mignon at its centre; the smell of this portion of mozzarella; the disposition of this fish to decay; the role of being a doctor; the function of this heart to pump blood; the shape of this hole
fiat object part
(Elucidation) A fiat object part b is a material entity & such that if b exists then it is continuant part of some object c & demarcated from the remainder of c by one or more fiat surfaces
The upper and lower lobes of the left lung; the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the body; the Western hemisphere of the Earth; the FMA:regional parts of an intact human body
object aggregate
(Elucidation) An object aggregate is a material entity consisting exactly of a plurality (≥1) of objects as member parts which together form a unit
The aggregate of the musicians in a symphony orchestra and their instruments; the aggregate of bearings in a constant velocity axle joint; the nitrogen atoms in the atmosphere; a collection of cells in a blood biobank
'Exactly' means that there are no parts of the object aggregate other than its member parts.
The unit can, at certain times, consist of exactly one object, for example, when a wolf litter loses all but one of its pups, but it must at some time have a plurality of member parts.
site
(Elucidation) A site is a three-dimensional immaterial entity whose boundaries either (partially or wholly) coincide with the boundaries of one or more material entities or have locations determined in relation to some material entity
A hole in a portion of cheese; a rabbit hole; the Grand Canyon; the Piazza San Marco; the kangaroo-joey-containing hole of a kangaroo pouch; your left nostril (a fiat part - the opening - of your left nasal cavity); the lumen of your gut; the hold of a ship; the interior of the trunk of your car; hole in an engineered floor joist
object
(Elucidation) An object is a material entity which manifests causal unity & is of a type instances of which are maximal relative to the sort of causal unity manifested
An organism; a fish tank; a planet; a laptop; a valve; a block of marble; an ice cube
A description of three primary sorts of causal unity is provided in Basic Formal Ontology 2.0. Specification and User Guide
generically dependent continuant
g-dependent continuant
(Elucidation) A generically dependent continuant is an entity that exists in virtue of the fact that there is at least one of what may be multiple copies which is the content or the pattern that multiple copies would share
The pdf file on your laptop; the pdf file that is a copy thereof on my laptop; the sequence of this protein molecule; the sequence that is a copy thereof in that protein molecule; the content that is shared by a string of dots and dashes written on a page and the transmitted Morse code signal; the content of a sentence; an engineering blueprint
process boundary
p is a process boundary =Def p is a temporal part of a process & p has no proper temporal parts
The boundary between the 2nd and 3rd year of your life
one-dimensional temporal region
(Elucidation) A one-dimensional temporal region is a temporal region that is a whole that has a temporal interval and zero or more temporal intervals and temporal instants as parts
The temporal region during which a process occurs
material entity
(Elucidation) A material entity is an independent continuant has some portion of matter as continuant part
A human being; the undetached arm of a human being; an aggregate of human beings
continuant fiat boundary
(Elucidation) A continuant fiat boundary b is an immaterial entity that is of zero, one or two dimensions & such that there is no time t when b has a spatial region as continuant part & whose location is determined in relation to some material entity
As for fiat point, fiat line, fiat surface
immaterial entity
b is an immaterial entity =Def b is an independent continuant which is such that there is no time t when it has a material entity as continuant part
As for fiat point, fiat line, fiat surface, site
relational quality
b is a relational quality =Def b is a quality & there exists c and d such that c and d are not identical & b specifically depends on c & b specifically depends on d
A marriage bond; an instance of love; an obligation between one person and another
fiat surface
(Elucidation) A fiat surface is a two-dimensional continuant fiat boundary that is self-connected
The surface of the Earth; the plane separating the smoking from the non-smoking zone in a restaurant
An object that is 'generated by' some 'geological process' and has at least one part 'constituted by' some 'earth material' that is not an 'earth fluid'.
A geological object is a naturally occurring entity because a geological process generates it, and some earth material constitutes it. Thus, we can differentiate geological objects from artificial objects, such as a well-core, because even though some earth material constitutes artificial objects, they are human-made rather than generated by some geological process. Furthermore, Geological Objects are specializations of BFO Objects, meaning they must necessarily have some unity criteria. The unity is what differentiates geological objects from Earth Materials.
geological object
objeto geológico
Examples are the process of deposition, the process of folding, a tectonic process, a sedimentary process.
It is a physical, or chemical, or biological, naturally occurring process that occurs on the Earth’s surface or subsurface and occupies some 'geological time interval'
Geological processes are macro processes that generate, transform, deform, transport, or destroy geological objects and earth materials. These processes are not necessarily atomic and may have other geological processes as parts.
geological process
processo geológico
It is a quality that 'inheres in' a 'geological object' or 'earth material' that corresponds to the 'geological time interval' in which the 'geological process' that it was 'generated by' occupied.
geological age
idade geológica
It is a 'generically dependent continuant' that is the pattern of a non-atomic 'geological object''s internal arrangement.
Geological structures are general material patterns repeated in many geological objects. The pattern comprises the material configuration and the mutual relationships of the object’s different parts. Structures result from one or a series of geological processes that generated or transformed the geological object they generically depend on. Thus, there is some historical dependence relation between the structure and this geological process, but what concretizes the structure is some complex quality inhering in the object, not the process.
geological structure
estrutura geológica
It is a BFO temporal interval that corresponds to a time interval within the Geological Time Scale.
geological time interval
intervalo de tempo geológico
Examples are an amount of sandstone, an amount of petroleum, an amount of natural gas.
It is a natural amount of matter 'generated by' some 'geological process'.
Earth Materials are natural amounts of matter. Thus, they come into existence by nature, without any artificial aid. Since they are amounts, they don’t hold unity criteria, but they are ontologically rigid and provide an identity criteria. Earth Materials and BFO Objects are disjoint. They are either solid, fluid, or unconsolidated. We usually observe earth materials when constituting other objects, such as an amount of rock constituting a geological unity or an amount of sand constituting a dune.
earth material
material geologico
The amount of quarts that constitutes some grain, the amount of feldspar that is part of an amount of rock.
An amount of rock is an 'earth material' that is a naturally occuring, inorganic, solid, homogeneous chemical compound with a crystalline structure.
Amounts of mineral lack a unity criteria as every other 'earth material'. We usually observe them when they are constitution objects such as crystals or grains.
amount of mineral
quantidade de mineral
The amount of sandstone that constitutes a lithostratigraphic unit.
An amount of rock is a solid consolidated 'earth material' that is 'constituted by' an aggregate of particles made of mineral matter or material of biological origin.
Geologists define rocks at a scale of observation where they consider them homogeneous, even though an aggregate of solid particles constitutes it. These particles are usually geological objects, such as grains or crystals, or the rest of dead animals or plants. Amounts of rock, like other earth materials, are independent rigid entities that do not hold any unity criteria. We can observe them in nature when they are constituting objects such as geological unities.
amount of rock
quantidade de rocha
Earth fluid is an 'earth material' that is fluild.
Earth fluids can be water, oil, gas or a mixture of those fluids.
earth fluid
fluido da terra
Unconsolidated earth material is an 'earth material' that is consituted by an aggregate of solid particles but is not consolidated into a 'rock' it self.
unconsolidated earth material
material geológico inconsolidado
It is a fiat surface that is 'located in' the external surface of a 'geological object'.
The 'geological boundary' of a 'geological object' coincides with the complete physical discontinuity that delimits it.
geological boundary
limite geológico
It is a 'relational quality' that 'inheres in' two distinct 'geological object' that are 'externally connected with'
A geological contact exists when two distinct geological objects are externally connected with, i.e., their external boundaries are physically adjacent. Objects that are in contact do not have any kind of proper parthood relationship between them.
geological contact
contato geológico