Atlas · Burundi / Methodologies
METHODOLOGIES

Provenance, checksums and the archive

Every record links to the source file it came from, which is stored with a SHA-256 checksum.

Provenance is the audit trail from a number on screen back to the original source.

What Atlas stores

  1. The original files, byte for byte, in an archive on the server (for example the Global Mangrove Watch zips and gzipped GeoPackages, and every page of data received from WWF Kenya Sources).
  2. A SHA-256 checksum of each file, so any change or corruption can be detected.
  3. A manifest listing files, sizes, source URLs and timestamps.
  4. For each feature, a source record (original attributes and id) and a provenance row (dataset, version, import run, calculation).

Why it matters. A scientist can pick any polygon, follow it to its source record and archive file, and repeat the calculation. Atlas keeps its own complete archive, so every number can still be traced and repeated.

Try it. Open the Provenance Explorer or click "Source & provenance" in any map pop-up.

Limits. The archive proves what was downloaded, not that the source was right.

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