Macrostrat unit legend and tag generation

[davenquinn]

Several users have requested the ability to see a legend for the Macrostrat map layer and pre-populate known information for a geological region into a list of units Tags that can then be attached to spots. One potential implementation would be as a pop-up that shows a list of legend entries for a region, and gives the option to "Add as Tags".

Macrostrat has a development API route [OpenAPI documentation] that gives the legend entry for a map bounding box and zoom level. This should be synced to the units that are actually visible in a given viewport and can be the basis for creating unit tags.

• These tags would ideally carry the source_id and unit_id from Macrostrat, allowing spots to be directly linked to the Macrostrat unit they describe (this will be valuable for filtering in Macrostrat's system).
• Soon, we will add more information on lithology and ages to this API, potentially allowing for lithology tags to be pre-generated as well if desired (Legend API enhancements UW-Macrostrat/macrostrat#270)

[ClairePMartin]

Hi @davenquinn, a new geologic unit import/export feature is in testing to be released to the public in the next version release (this week?). There is an opportunity here for a very easy first pass at Macrostrat unit integration.

If users on Macrostrat are able to use the bounding box process to generate a .json file configured for StraboField import they would be able to import regional geologic unit tags asap. I realize reconfiguring your development API to interact with your interface is different than the final goal, but as a first step it would be an immediate feature for users with almost zero development time required for Jessica and Nathan.

The import/export feature is a big step for group collaboration, and continuity across user projects but the ability to generate the geo unit list from an established geologic map like macrostrat would be huge! Users wouldn't have to manually create and input information for each unit before exporting and sharing.

I've attached a demo geologic unit json file below. If you'd like to be added to the TestFlight group to try out the feature before the public release, let me know.

An example of a geologic unit with all fields filled out, please note the bold fields are selected by users from a controlled vocabulary dropdown menu in the application: {"type":"geologic_unit","name":"Geo unit name","unit_label_abbreviation":"Example","map_unit_name":"Example","member_name":"Example","submember_name":"Example","rock_type":"metamorphic","metamorphic_rock_types":"schist","metamorphic_grade":"greenschist_fa","eon":["proterozoic"],"era_proterozoic":["mesoproterozoi"],"period_mesoproterozoic":["ectasian"],"age_modifier":["middle"],"absolute_age_of_geologic_unit":111,"age_uncertainty":11,"description":"Testing unit description","notes":"Testing unit notes","id":17756820469732,"color":"#CC0066"},

2026-04-08_501pm_Cronese_GeologicUnits.json

[davenquinn]

@ClairePMartin thanks for this – I think basing the integration around this in-progress feature makes sense.

This leads to the question of what is easiest around vocabulary mapping, since we have our own dictionaries of lithologies, age intervals, etc. that would have to be mapped to the equivalents in StraboSpot. Maybe @NathanNovak or @jessicagood can chime in about how the controlled vocabulary mapping should be handled, and which fields can be ignored?

If we have a good solution, I am not averse to putting it in Macrostrat's API but we are also stretched for development time in the near term 😬. The advantage of keeping this focused on the in-app feature is that we wouldn't have to describe to users how to navigate the Macrostrat API, find the right bounding box, etc.

[ClairePMartin]

Hi @davenquinn, I have attached the kobo xls file that has the controlled vocab options. The bare minimum solution would be the required Name and Label. The notes could be used to contain macrostrat information and the color could be matched to the macrostrat map optionally.

I'll defer to @jessicagood and @NathanNovak for additional input.

ar7TkV4YmhCYQhF9VKNHt6.xlsx

[davenquinn]

Thanks for this! The schema and number of options looks pretty approachable to align with our controlled vocabularies, so we could populate lithology/age interval information too.

The main question then is, who maintains the mapping? How does it get updated? If we add our macrostrat IDs to this spreadsheet, could the mapping be built into the app? That seems like the simplest solution long-term, as it would happen within the tool people are hoping to use the information in. But an API route on our end would be technically feasible as well.

[ClairePMartin]

Hi @davenquinn, to summarize (correct any misunderstandings, also @jessicagood @NathanNovak)
The form used within the application is a kobo form, simple text string and controlled vocabulary fields.

Building in vocabulary mapping would need to interact with your bounding box API and a tbd mapping component which would require a connected environment and a new functionality in the geo unit modal/menu. Not impossible, but a much bigger lift and added complexity into the geo unit functionality.

In order to take advantage of the new feature (potentially in time for your April meeting), all we would need is a json file formatted for import into StraboField. I think the mapping component would be better served existing within the bounding box API. That way the translation can stay up-to-date with your unit information formatting. I could imagine a cool next step where users could 'export' geologic units as needed when using the Macrostrat geologic map!

[davenquinn]

My vision of the final functionality would be for the map info pop up on the Macrostrat basemap in StraboSpot to have a "legend" panel that displays the entries with the color boxes. That would be a helpful reference. This could be connected to an option to "import units from Macrostrat". That seems like the most streamlined starting point for a spatially bounded map query from the users' perspective (and valuable for users to see the legend itself).

Here's a prototype map interface showing off the legend functionality.

This might be a good jumping off point for a discussion around how we want the overall Macrostrat-StraboSpot integration to be presented to users. My focus on improvements in the app is primarily based on that being the current place where the integration is realized (we could make a page at Macrostrat but how would StraboSpot users know to go there?)

More prosaically, the code to translate our units list to your JSON format could live in the app or on Macrostrat's servers (both are technically easy, it's the UI/UX part that's a heavier lift). The vocabulary mapping is conceptually simple, but the question is more whether we should have Macrostrat maintain a list of StraboSpot identifiers or vise-versa. We could put the translation code into https://github.com/digitalcrust/interchange-schemas, alongside our spot <-> checkin transformer. But right now this would require @amyfromandi or I to write the code and and we're at pretty full capacity.