6.13.2.10 ObservationTime

6.13.2.10.1 Purpose

When an observation applies, with the precision the source gave: an instant, a date, a month, an interval or unknown.

6.13.2.10.2 Fields

Field	Type	Cardinality	Description
kind	enum	1..1	Values: instant, date, month, interval, unknown.
instant	datetime with timezone	0..1
date	date	0..1
month	string (YYYY-MM)	0..1
interval	ObservedPeriod	0..1
precision	TimePrecisionEnum	1..1	A local time in the repeated hour of the autumn clock change is resolved by the source's own order (increasing record id or end time) when it has one; without an order it takes the later (standard-time) reading and the adapter raises a DataIssue of kind ambiguous_local_time, never a silent guess.

6.13.2.10.3 Relationships

Uses types

ObservedPeriod, TimePrecisionEnum

Used by

• CanonicalObservation.time
• ObservationSession.time
• Sample.collected_time
• ProductMaterial.represented_time

6.13.2.10.4 Rules & constraints

• Preserve precision without encoding unknown clock time as an observed midnight.
• Exactly the field selected by kind; unknown has no value. Precision is consistent with kind.
• Instants normalize to UTC; dates/months remain calendar values, not fabricated UTC instants.
• Interval endpoints preserve precision; date-to-next-date means a calendar day, not universally 24 hours.
• Source timezone/offset is retained by the adapter; ambiguous local times are not silently guessed.