API Documentation

The 4life.earth API provides programmatic access to citizen science project data and submissions. All endpoints return data in JSON, CSV, or GeoJSON formats for easy integration with external applications.

FAIR Data Principles

Findable

All data is accessible through standardized REST APIs with clear documentation and metadata.

Accessible

Data is freely available without authentication for public projects. Open access for research and education.

Interoperable

Multiple data formats (JSON, CSV, GeoJSON) ensure compatibility with various tools and platforms.

Reusable

Rich metadata and clear licensing enable data reuse for research, education, and policy development.

Privacy & Anonymity

Anonymous Access: All public data is available without authentication or personal information.

Data Protection: Personal identifiers are removed from public datasets. Only aggregated and anonymized data is exposed.

Open Science: Data is shared under open licenses to promote transparency and scientific collaboration.

Endpoints

GET

/api/observations

Retrieve recent observations from all projects or filtered by specific project

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
format	string	No	Response format (json, csv, geojson)
project_id	string	No	Filter by specific project ID or slug
bounds	string	No	Geographic bounds (north,south,east,west)
coordinates	string	No	Center point with radius (lat,lng,radius_km)
limit	number	No	Number of observations to return (default: 100, max: 1000)
days	number	No	Filter observations from last N days (default: 30)

Example Request

cURL

curl "https://4life.earth/api/observations?format=json&project_id=water-quality&coordinates=52.3676,4.9041,10&limit=50"

Example Response

JSON

{
  "observations": [
    {
      "id": "observation-id",
      "project_id": "project-id",
      "project_title": "Water Quality Monitoring",
      "data": {
        "water_temperature": 18.5,
        "ph_level": 7.2,
        "turbidity": 2.1
      },
      "location": {
        "lat": 52.3676,
        "lng": 4.9041,
        "address": "Amsterdam, Netherlands"
      },
      "status": "approved",
      "submitted_at": "2024-01-10T14:30:00Z",
      "type": "form_submission"
    }
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "total": 150,
    "filtered_by": {
      "project_id": "water-quality",
      "coordinates": [52.3676, 4.9041, 10],
      "days": 30
    },
    "format": "json",
    "generated_at": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
  }
}