EnVar microschema · class

Provenance Chain

ProvenanceChain

The ordered list of all upstream ToolRuns whose outputs were inputs to this run, terminating in a typed root. Patterned after W3C PROV (prov:wasDerivedFrom, prov:wasGeneratedBy).

3 fields 0 core

URI: prov:Bundle

Where it sits

Composed intoEnvironmentalExposureRecord

ReferencesToolRun

Fields

Core Conditionally core Recommended Optional

Recommended Strongly encouraged 2 fields

Provenance Chain Stepsrecommended

provenance_chain_steps · range ToolRun · cardinality * · multivalued

A step-by-step history of every program run that led to this data, oldest first — like a parcel's tracking history showing each station it passed through on the way to you.

Ordered list of upstream ToolRuns, from oldest to most recent, whose outputs were inputs to this run.

Example

None — a single upstream geocoding step preceding the daymet run

Covered by — 5 standards

omop_gaiaassertedpartial coverage

where gaia_catalog/meta_etl_*.json (ETL recipe) + gaia_db/spatial_join_log.txt (SQL NOTICE lines)

Gaia's ETL descriptor plus the spatial-join log capture upstream steps, but not as an ordered per-run W3C-PROV chain. Conservative: partial.

degaussassertedabsent coverage

DeGAUSS emits no ordered upstream-run chain on its native outputs.

amadeusassertedabsent coverage

No native Amadeus file records an ordered upstream-run chain.

cherassertedpartial coverage

where dataset_lineage table (parent-child links) + lineage_notes

C-HER's dataset_lineage links parent and child resources but is a dataset-lineage graph, not an ordered per-run W3C-PROV tool chain.

codataassertedout_of_layer coverage

Ordered tool-run provenance is instance-layer; out of scope for CODATA.

Why it matters & mappings

A value like a daily temperature is usually the end of several runs (geocode, then extract); without the ordered steps a consumer can verify only the last hop, and any upstream error is invisible. The chain lets anyone walk the full derivation back to its root.

See also: https://www.w3.org/TR/prov-o/

Provenance Chain Terminus Typerecommended

provenance_chain_terminus_type · range ProvenanceChainTerminusEnum · cardinality 0..1

This says what the very first link of the history is — freshly downloaded raw data, simulated data, or an existing curated dataset. Different starting points deserve different levels of scrutiny.

The kind of root of the chain.

Example

raw_source_download

Allowed values

raw_source_download Chain terminates at a raw download from the source producer synthetic_data Chain terminates at a synthetic / simulated dataset pre_existing_curated_dataset Chain terminates at a pre-existing curated dataset

Covered by — 5 standards

omop_gaiaassertedabsent coverage

Gaia's meta_etl points at raw source downloads but has no typed chain-terminus field.

degaussassertedabsent coverage

DeGAUSS carries no typed provenance-chain terminus.

amadeusassertedabsent coverage

Amadeus carries no typed provenance-chain terminus.

cherassertedabsent coverage

C-HER's lineage graph has no typed terminus field on the chain.

codataassertedout_of_layer coverage

Chain-terminus typing is instance-layer; out of scope for CODATA.

Why it matters & mappings

A chain that just stops is unverifiable — stating whether it ends at a raw source download, synthetic data, or a pre-existing curated dataset tells consumers what kind of trust the root deserves, and makes the no-orphaned-steps validation rule checkable.

Optional Include when available 1 field

Chain Compatibility Assertionsoptional

chain_compatibility_assertions · range String · cardinality * · multivalued

These are notes saying "step B was built to accept what step A produces" — like declaring that a plug and a socket follow the same standard, so a checker can catch mismatched pairs automatically.

Declarations that two chain steps are compatible (e.g. daymet@1.0.0 expects geocoder@>=3.0.0 output column schema). Optional but enables strict-mode validation.

Example

None

Why it matters & mappings

Version bumps in one chain step can silently break the assumptions of the next (e.g. a changed output column schema); explicit compatibility declarations make such mismatches machine-checkable in strict mode instead of surfacing later as wrong values.

Full field reference — every slot, cardinality & inheritance

Field	Name	Tier	Cardinality / Range	Description
Provenance Chain Steps	`provenance_chain_steps`	recommended	* ToolRun	Ordered list of upstream `ToolRun`s, from oldest to most recent, whose output...
Provenance Chain Terminus Type	`provenance_chain_terminus_type`	recommended	0..1 ProvenanceChainTerminusEnum	The kind of root of the chain
Chain Compatibility Assertions	`chain_compatibility_assertions`	optional	* String	Declarations that two chain steps are compatible (e

Diagram & LinkML source

 classDiagram
    class ProvenanceChain
    click ProvenanceChain href "../../classes/ProvenanceChain/"
      ProvenanceChain : chain_compatibility_assertions

      ProvenanceChain : provenance_chain_steps





        ProvenanceChain --> "*" ToolRun : provenance_chain_steps
        click ToolRun href "../../classes/ToolRun/"



      ProvenanceChain : provenance_chain_terminus_type





        ProvenanceChain --> "0..1" ProvenanceChainTerminusEnum : provenance_chain_terminus_type
        click ProvenanceChainTerminusEnum href "../../enums/ProvenanceChainTerminusEnum/"

name: ProvenanceChain
annotations:
  domain_of_use:
    tag: domain_of_use
    value: environmental_exposure
description: The ordered list of all upstream `ToolRun`s whose outputs were inputs
  to this run, terminating in a typed root. Patterned after W3C PROV (`prov:wasDerivedFrom`,
  `prov:wasGeneratedBy`).
title: Provenance Chain
from_schema: https://w3id.org/linkml/microschemas/envar
see_also:
- https://www.w3.org/TR/prov-o/
- https://www.w3.org/TR/prov-primer/
rank: 1000
attributes:
  provenance_chain_steps:
    name: provenance_chain_steps
    annotations:
      tier:
        tag: tier
        value: recommended
      justification:
        tag: justification
        value: A value like a daily temperature is usually the end of several runs
          (geocode, then extract); without the ordered steps a consumer can verify
          only the last hop, and any upstream error is invisible. The chain lets anyone
          walk the full derivation back to its root.
      explanation:
        tag: explanation
        value: A step-by-step history of every program run that led to this data,
          oldest first — like a parcel's tracking history showing each station it
          passed through on the way to you.
      covered_by:
        tag: covered_by
        annotations:
          omop_gaia:
            tag: omop_gaia
            annotations:
              extent:
                tag: extent
                value: partial
              status:
                tag: status
                value: asserted
              where:
                tag: where
                value: gaia_catalog/meta_etl_*.json (ETL recipe) + gaia_db/spatial_join_log.txt
                  (SQL NOTICE lines)
              note:
                tag: note
                value: 'Gaia''s ETL descriptor plus the spatial-join log capture upstream
                  steps, but not as an ordered per-run W3C-PROV chain. Conservative:
                  partial.'
          degauss:
            tag: degauss
            annotations:
              extent:
                tag: extent
                value: absent
              status:
                tag: status
                value: asserted
              where:
                tag: where
                value: no column
              note:
                tag: note
                value: DeGAUSS emits no ordered upstream-run chain on its native outputs.
          amadeus:
            tag: amadeus
            annotations:
              extent:
                tag: extent
                value: absent
              status:
                tag: status
                value: asserted
              where:
                tag: where
                value: no column
              note:
                tag: note
                value: No native Amadeus file records an ordered upstream-run chain.
          cher:
            tag: cher
            annotations:
              extent:
                tag: extent
                value: partial
              status:
                tag: status
                value: asserted
              where:
                tag: where
                value: dataset_lineage table (parent-child links) + lineage_notes
              note:
                tag: note
                value: C-HER's dataset_lineage links parent and child resources but
                  is a dataset-lineage graph, not an ordered per-run W3C-PROV tool
                  chain.
          codata:
            tag: codata
            annotations:
              extent:
                tag: extent
                value: out_of_layer
              status:
                tag: status
                value: asserted
              where:
                tag: where
                value: no column
              note:
                tag: note
                value: Ordered tool-run provenance is instance-layer; out of scope
                  for CODATA.
    description: Ordered list of upstream `ToolRun`s, from oldest to most recent,
      whose outputs were inputs to this run.
    title: Provenance Chain Steps
    examples:
    - description: a single upstream geocoding step preceding the daymet run
      object:
        tool_name: geocoder
        tool_version: 3.3.0
        run_timestamp_utc: '2026-05-23T14:02:11Z'
        output_file_sha256: 5b6c7d8e9f0a...
    from_schema: https://w3id.org/linkml/microschemas/envar
    see_also:
    - https://www.w3.org/TR/prov-o/
    owner: ProvenanceChain
    domain_of:
    - ProvenanceChain
    range: ToolRun
    multivalued: true
    inlined: true
    inlined_as_list: true
  provenance_chain_terminus_type:
    name: provenance_chain_terminus_type
    annotations:
      tier:
        tag: tier
        value: recommended
      justification:
        tag: justification
        value: A chain that just stops is unverifiable — stating whether it ends at
          a raw source download, synthetic data, or a pre-existing curated dataset
          tells consumers what kind of trust the root deserves, and makes the no-orphaned-steps
          validation rule checkable.
      explanation:
        tag: explanation
        value: This says what the very first link of the history is — freshly downloaded
          raw data, simulated data, or an existing curated dataset. Different starting
          points deserve different levels of scrutiny.
      covered_by:
        tag: covered_by
        annotations:
          omop_gaia:
            tag: omop_gaia
            annotations:
              extent:
                tag: extent
                value: absent
              status:
                tag: status
                value: asserted
              where:
                tag: where
                value: no column
              note:
                tag: note
                value: Gaia's meta_etl points at raw source downloads but has no typed
                  chain-terminus field.
          degauss:
            tag: degauss
            annotations:
              extent:
                tag: extent
                value: absent
              status:
                tag: status
                value: asserted
              where:
                tag: where
                value: no column
              note:
                tag: note
                value: DeGAUSS carries no typed provenance-chain terminus.
          amadeus:
            tag: amadeus
            annotations:
              extent:
                tag: extent
                value: absent
              status:
                tag: status
                value: asserted
              where:
                tag: where
                value: no column
              note:
                tag: note
                value: Amadeus carries no typed provenance-chain terminus.
          cher:
            tag: cher
            annotations:
              extent:
                tag: extent
                value: absent
              status:
                tag: status
                value: asserted
              where:
                tag: where
                value: no column
              note:
                tag: note
                value: C-HER's lineage graph has no typed terminus field on the chain.
          codata:
            tag: codata
            annotations:
              extent:
                tag: extent
                value: out_of_layer
              status:
                tag: status
                value: asserted
              where:
                tag: where
                value: no column
              note:
                tag: note
                value: Chain-terminus typing is instance-layer; out of scope for CODATA.
    description: The kind of root of the chain.
    title: Provenance Chain Terminus Type
    examples:
    - value: raw_source_download
    from_schema: https://w3id.org/linkml/microschemas/envar
    owner: ProvenanceChain
    domain_of:
    - ProvenanceChain
    range: ProvenanceChainTerminusEnum
  chain_compatibility_assertions:
    name: chain_compatibility_assertions
    annotations:
      tier:
        tag: tier
        value: optional
      justification:
        tag: justification
        value: Version bumps in one chain step can silently break the assumptions
          of the next (e.g. a changed output column schema); explicit compatibility
          declarations make such mismatches machine-checkable in strict mode instead
          of surfacing later as wrong values.
      explanation:
        tag: explanation
        value: These are notes saying "step B was built to accept what step A produces"
          — like declaring that a plug and a socket follow the same standard, so a
          checker can catch mismatched pairs automatically.
    description: Declarations that two chain steps are compatible (e.g. `daymet@1.0.0`
      expects `geocoder@>=3.0.0` output column schema). Optional but enables strict-mode
      validation.
    title: Chain Compatibility Assertions
    examples:
    - object: daymet@1.0.0 expects geocoder@>=3.0.0 output column schema
    from_schema: https://w3id.org/linkml/microschemas/envar
    owner: ProvenanceChain
    domain_of:
    - ProvenanceChain
    range: string
    multivalued: true
class_uri: prov:Bundle

Identifier and Mapping Information

Annotations

property	value
domain_of_use	environmental_exposure

Schema Source

from schema: https://w3id.org/linkml/microschemas/envar

Mappings

Mapping Type	Mapped Value
self	prov:Bundle
native	envar:ProvenanceChain

Provenance Chain

See Also

Identifier and Mapping Information

Annotations

Schema Source

Mappings