An extensible schema for capturing environmental model metadata: Implementation in the HydroShare online data repository

Model metadata can be used to document the specifications, inputs, provenance, and other important attributes of an environmental modeling application. An open challenge in creating a general model metadata schema is addressing the diversity of environmental models in a way that provides flexibility and scalability while maintaining a standard core. This paper presents a new model metadata schema design aimed at addressing this challenge. Specifically, we present an extensible metadata schema for describing what we call a model instance: a specific application of an environmental model. We implement the schema in the HydroShare online data repository and demonstrate how the schema can be used for the Soil and Water Assessment (SWAT) model.