National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Strategic Plan 2013–2023
tional Geodetic SurveyTen-Year Strategic Plan2013–2023Positioning America for the Future2023National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationlNational Geodetic Survey
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geodetic Survey geodesy.noaa.gov
NGS Ten-Year Strategic Plan 2013-2023Positioning America for the FutureGoalThe National Geodetic SurveyTen-Year Strategic Plan, 2013-2023:Positioning America for the FutureNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geodetic Survey geodesy.noaa.gov
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geodetic Survey geodesy.noaa.gov
NGS Ten-Year Strategic Plan 2013-2023Positioning America for the Future“ I have always found that plans are useless,but planning is indispensable.”Dwight D. EisenhowerNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geodetic Survey geodesy.noaa.gov
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geodetic Survey geodesy.noaa.gov
NGS Ten-Year Strategic Plan 2013-2023Positioning America for the FutureGoalTableof ContentsExecutive Summary. . 1Mission . 7Vision . . . 8Check-in on the Last Ten-Year Plan . 8Justification of Objectives . 8Implementation . 9Goal 1: Support the Users of the National Spatial Reference System. 11Goal 2: Modernize and Improve the National Spatial Reference System. 15Goal 3: Expand the National Spatial Reference System Stakeholder Basethrough Partnerships, Education, and Outreach. 21Goal 4: Develop and Enable a Workforce with a Supportive Environment. 27Goal 5: Improve Organizational and Administrative Functionality (Enterprise Goal). . . 31Appendix A: Comparison with the Previous NGS Ten-Year Plan. . 35Appendix B: List of Acronyms. 37National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geodetic Survey geodesy.noaa.govvii
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geodetic Survey geodesy.noaa.gov
NGS Ten-Year Strategic Plan 2013-2023Positioning America for the FutureGoalExecutiveSummaryMission:To define, maintain, and provide access to theNational Spatial Reference System (NSRS)to meet our nation’s economic, social, andenvironmental needs.Vision:Everyone accurately knows where they are andwhere other things are anytime, anyplace!Goal 1: Support the Users of theNational Spatial Reference System.Goal 1 is an operational goal focused onmaintaining the good work NGS currentlyperforms through our operational products andactivities. Where a product is incomplete, is underdevelopment, or is otherwise is non-operational,that product is not a part of this goal.Objective 1: “Bluebooking andDatasheets”Maintain the capability to ingest, analyze, andstore internal and external survey data, andreturn useful information to the public.NGS intends to maintain its current abilityto ingest surveys through “Bluebooking” asit exists in 2012, with improvements beingdeveloped for future implementation. Othertechnical abilities and standards Bluebooking isbuilt upon will continue to be maintained.Objective 2: “Shoreline”Maintain annual production of the NationalShoreline.The National Shoreline is that shoreline shownon NOAA nautical charts, and it providescritical baseline data for updating nauticalcharts; defining our nation’s territorial limits,including the Exclusive Economic Zone; andmanaging our coastal resources. NGS mustcontinue its current work to define the NationalShoreline.Objective 3: “Airport Surveys”Maintain airport surveying operationalcapacity.The remote sensing and field operations expertise required to fulfill congressional mandatesis well illustrated through the AeronauticalSurvey Program (ASP). These surveys providecritical information regarding airport features.Internal ability to perform these surveys will bemaintained.Objective 4: “Field Operations”Maintain geodetic surveying operationalcapacity.The way NGS does business has changed inrecent decades, with fewer field crews beingrequired to perform surveys; however, it is stillcritical that the capacity and expertise requiredto do these types of surveys continues to existin-house. NGS employees are the resource andauthority for many surveying activities, and,therefore, NGS must know and fully understandthe associated field-work procedures.Objective 5: “Online Tools”Maintain online tools to continue to allowusers to access the NSRS.The most up-to-date information on geodeticcoordinates is derived using active controlNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geodetic Survey geodesy.noaa.gov1
2NGS Ten-Year Strategic Plan 2013-2023Positioning America for the Futurestations, or Continuously Operating ReferenceStations (CORS). Many NGS software tools,such as the Online Positioning User Service(OPUS), make use of data from CORS. Asimprovements are made to CORS and OPUS,basic functions will be maintained.Objective 3: “Re-invent Bluebooking”Goal 2: Modernize and Improve theNational Spatial Reference System.Goal 2 concerns projects as agents of changefor the better. Goal 2 focuses on improvingwhat NGS is doing (under three categories:starting new work, improving existing work,and retiring outdated work).Objective 1: “Replace NAD 83”By 2022, reduce all definitional and accessrelated errors in the geometric referenceframe to 1 centimeter when using 15 minutesof GNSS data.The North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)—in both its definition and in the servicesthrough which NGS provides its access—isin need of improvement. Improvements canbe combined into one overarching objectiveto improve tools over the next ten years, whilepreparing for the ultimate replacement ofNAD 83 with a truly geocentric reference frame.Objective 2: “Replace NAVD 88”By 2022, reduce all definitional and accessrelated errors in orthometric heights in thegeopotential reference frame to 2 centimeterswhen using 15 minutes of GNSS data.The North American Vertical Datum of 1988(NAVD 88), in both its definition and in theservices through which NGS provides access,is in need of improvement. NGS will continueto collect airborne gravity data through theGravity for the Redefinition of the AmericanVertical Datum (GRAV-D) Project, as well assupport Height Modernization, and will workacross agencies to connect important data.By 2018, increase the efficiency and accuracyof soliciting, accepting, processing, storing,reporting the results of, and reprocessing allsurvey data, while maintaining the qualitystandards our external users have come toexpect.The era of expanding the passive controlnetwork is coming to an end. There arereasons for surveying passive control marks,but the tools NGS will build for the futurewill allow users to easily see and understandall existing information—both historical andcurrent—for a given point. In the future,tools such as OPUS-Database (OPUS-DB)and OPUS-Projects will be completed tocarry the weight and authority maintained byBluebooking.Objective 4: “Fix the Toolkit”Continually increase the use of commerciallyavailable software, the usefulness of all NGSproducts and services, and the interoperability of NGS software with commercialsoftware from 2013 to 2016.NGS’ intention is to properly evaluate the toolsit provides to the public and to begin a programof creating consistency and modernization,effectively cleaning up the toolkit to make it amore user friendly and scientifically accurateproduct for the nation. Future NGS productsand services should be broadened to includeaccuracy, velocity, and useful metadata ongeodetic control.Objective 5: “Better Surveying”Continually improve the efficiency andaccuracy of geospatial data collectionmethodologies.NGS will engage in a renewed effort ofconducting field survey research, updatinggeodetic survey manuals to the latest technologies, and verifying these manuals with scientificfact. That is, NGS will re-invest in creatingsurveying standards, not merely guidelines.National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geodetic Survey geodesy.noaa.gov
NGS Ten-Year Strategic Plan 2013-2023Positioning America for the FutureGoal 3: Expand the National SpatialReference System Stakeholder Basethrough Partnerships, Education andOutreach.encouragement of NGS employees to achieveadvanced degrees, or NGS employees teachingseminars at universities.Goal 3 concerns the public; current users ofthe NSRS and those groups who would greatlybenefit by engaging with NGS. Goal 3’s focusis on reaching new stakeholders, providingtraining and education to existing stakeholders,and improving NGS’ ability to meet our missionthrough engagement of outside experts.Objective 1: “Validate RTNs”Provide, by 2015, a process for RTN operatorsto validate that their RTNs are aligned to theNSRS using NGS-acceptable standards.With RTN use expected to grow, NGS willengage the RTN user community to jointlydevelop a methodology to give them a completeunderstanding of how their derived coordinatesare consistent with the NSRS.Objective 2: “Engage New Stakeholders”Annually increase the number of stakeholdercommunities directly educated or engagedby NGS.As the global community becomes more“geospatially enabled,” the potential for misuseand misunderstanding of data grows. NGSintends to reach a broader audience, with userfriendly educational material, to increase publicunderstanding of geodesy. The NGS CorbinTraining Center (CTC) has provided trainingto non-traditional customers in the past, butthe focus has been on high-accuracy geospatialprofessionals, not the general public.Objective 3: “University Engagement”Annually increase the number of collaborations between NGS and universities for solvingresearch problems over the next three years.Graduate students can become a significantresource for augmenting the research completedby professionals. NGS will increase universitycollaborations, whether through grants, theObjective 4: “Dynamic Web Presence”Increase online stakeholder engagementand improve NGS response mechanisms.NGS intends to consolidate its Web presence,focusing on both outward-looking materials(such as education and outreach), as well asbuilding a tiered response system for inquiries,much like the system of old, where questionsare tracked and monitored for messageconsistency.Objective 5: “Educational Portfolio”Achieve, by 2017, the creation of an onlineeducational portfolio, and reduce latency ofall components to less than five years.NGS will continue to organize its overall“educational toolkit,” making sure information is easy to find, up to date, easy to use, andregularly monitored. The initial steps mustbe geared toward improving the actual fieldmanuals NGS uses and provides to the public.Eventually, the portfolio will expand to includeall levels, from universities down through theelementary school level.Objective 6: “IOCM”Increase the use and users of data obtainedthrough, and provided to, the IntegratedOcean and Coastal Mapping Program (i.e.“Map once use many times”).NOAA implemented the Integrated Ocean andCoastal Mapping (IOCM) program in 2007,recognizing that ocean and coastal geospatialdata has multiple uses, including uses for shoreline data. NGS intends to continue to broadenthe useable products arising from the CoastalMapping Program (CMP), as well as leverageIOCM partner data for use in CMP products.National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geodetic Survey geodesy.noaa.gov3
4NGS Ten-Year Strategic Plan 2013-2023Positioning America for the FutureGoal 4: Develop and Enable aWorkforce with a SupportiveEnvironment.Objective 3: “Institutional Knowledge”Goal 4 is about employees, current and future,who enable NGS to fulfill its mission. Goal 4’sfocus is on ensuring NGS has the most qualified workforce, employs experts in many fields,and that existing employees are trained andcompelled to improve, thereby enabling NGS tomeet its mission in the long term.Objective 1: “Educated Workforce”Annually increase the scientific andtechnical knowledge and capabilities of NGS’workforce.Although there are fewer students graduatingwith actual “geodetic or remote sensing” sciencedegrees, it is imperative NGS employees havesignificant knowledge of the finer geospatialdetails involved in NGS’ operations. In order toprovide this knowledge, NGS will use a combination of employee-led educational classes,long-term training, and guest lecturers to broadengeodetic knowledge throughout the agency.Objective 2: “Recruiting”Align the NGS workforce with the NGSmission over the next three years.The difficulty NGS has experienced in its abilityto systematically hire new staff to fill importantgaps in its workforce has led to a situation whereover half of the NGS workforce is eligible forretirement. Without a singular effort to recruitand retain new talent, NGS will encounterproblems with successfully fulfilling its mission.NGS will, therefore, utilize every tool in theallowable government personnel toolbox torecruit, hire, and retain a broad spectrum ofnew employees over the next three years.Achieve succession planning by 2014, andarrange for permanent maintenance ofthe plan.NGS will institute a policy of requesting “onthe job documentation,” whereby NGS staffwill document their work procedures and helpeducate new employees via mentoring, allowingthe new employees to learn to do the jobs ofretiring staff with continuity. An investigationinto the institutional knowledge NGS has lostdue to retiring staff, as well as understanding ofknowledge that can and should be resurrected,should also be pursued.Enterprise Goal: ImproveOrganizational and AdministrativeFunctionality.All of the above-mentioned goals require NGS’efficient and effective operation, with workperformed in a safe workplace and with wellfunctioning equipment. The Enterprise Goalacknowledges that significant improvementsmay be made in the day-to-day operations andbehind-the-scenes work, resulting in moreefficient use of U.S. tax dollars.Objective 1: “Project Management”Achieve complete adoption of projectmanagement in NGS operations by 2016.Project management is a tool NGS must adoptin order to properly plan, budget, execute, andevaluate the various projects that have, historically, been performed in an ad hoc fashion.Objective 2: “Information Technology (I.T.)Support”Continually maintain I.T. infrastructure.NGS has experienced varied success with regardto its I.T. infrastructure. NGS will evaluate itsI.T. requirements and prepare a budget basedon a “must pay” basis prior to undertakingnew projects.National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geodetic Survey geodesy.noaa.gov
NGS Ten-Year Strategic Plan 2013-2023Positioning America for the FutureObjective 3: “Socio-Economic Awareness”Update or improve NGS’ knowledge basefor program evaluation, through analysis ofsocio-economic benefits of NGS products andservices on a 10-year cycle.Offices are required to perform program evaluation on a recurring basis, however this objectivealso carries the very real positive benefits ofself-reflection, leading to improved services andmore efficient use of tax dollars.Objective 4: “Records Management”Improve the management of NGS records.In 2011, NGS began a process of ensuringstricter compliance with federal andNOAA-specific records-retention guidelines.Many activities will continue to ensure NGSwill be fully organized, efficient, and in compliance with all federal guidance.Objective 5: “Regional Advisor Program”Achieve a fully-staffed regional advisorprogram by 2016.Recognizing the benefits of NGS’ current stateadvisor program, but also its patchwork natureand the reality of shrinking state budgets, in2010 NGS decided to transition to a regionaladvisor program. The regional program willconsist of a smaller cadre of advisors, all welltrained and dynamic educators capable ofcovering multi-state regions. The new advisorprogram will be at the cost of NGS, alone.National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geodetic Survey geodesy.noaa.gov5
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geodetic Survey geodesy.noaa.gov
NGS Ten-Year Strategic Plan 2013-2023Positioning America for the FutureGoalMission:To define, maintain, and provide access tothe National Spatial Reference System tomeet our nation’s economic, social, andenvironmental needs.To understand the mission of the NationalGeodetic Survey (NGS), it is critical to understand the National Spatial Reference System(NSRS). NGS defines the NSRS as the officialreference system of the federal government thatallows a user to determine geodetic coordinates(including, but not limited to, latitude, longitude, height, scale, and orientation relative tothe International Terrestrial Reference Frame,or ITRF) and which keeps all federal civilianmaps in the nation consistent with one another.The NSRS also encompasses the official nationalshoreline of the United States. NGS’ missionis derived from congressional acts, executiveorders, National Research Council (NRC)studies, and more than 200 years of history.The NSRS is the foundation for all surveying,mapping, charting, and positioning activitiesin the United States and its territories. Allactivities—from hydrographic mapping, whichallows commerce to flow through U.S. ports; tosubsidence monitoring, which informs communities regarding changing vulnerabilities dueto local flooding; to environmental monitoringused in restoration—must be built upon anextremely accurate NSRS.NGS defines the NSRS and its componentsthrough many activities. NGS determinesmultiple region-specific datums—includingNAD 83(2011), NAD 83(PA11), NAD 83(MA11),NAVD 88, PRVD02, ASVD02, NMVD03,GUVD04, and VIVD09. These multi-regiondatums define latitude, longitude, and heightfor the entire nation. Additionally, NGS definesthe national shoreline used by NOAA and otheragencies in their products. NGS also defines acivilian-use geoid, a mathematical approximation of the earth’s shape, necessary to connectGlobal Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS)derived ellipsoidal heights to physically-defined(“orthometric,” colloquially known as “sealevel”) heights on the ground. To maintain theNSRS, NGS regularly updates the shoreline, thedatums, and the geoid as technology improves,thus enabling accuracy to also be improved.NGS must track all the temporal changes to thedefining points of the NSRS in such a way as tomaintain the accuracy of the NSRS continually.Without continuous maintenance, the NSRSwould soon become obsolete.NGS provides access to the NSRS in twodifferent ways. Primary access is throughprecise GNSS orbits and “active control,” theContinuously Operating Reference Stations(CORS). Users can access the NSRS throughCORS by connecting their own GNSS surveysto CORS, using tools such as NGS’ OnlinePositioning User Service (OPUS). A morehistoric and increasingly secondary form ofaccess is via the more than 1,000,000 passiveNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geodetic Survey geodesy.noaa.gov7
8NGS Ten-Year Strategic Plan 2013-2023Positioning America for the Futuregeodetic control marks with pub
NGS Ten-Year Strategic Plan 2013-2023 Positioning America for the Future 1 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geodetic Survey geodesy.noaa.gov National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geodetic Survey geodesy.noaa.gov
The earlier geodetic works in the broader Aegean Sea region and several more recent studies [e.g. Goldsworthy et al., 2000] based on evidence from geomorphology, the spatial distribution of the large earthquakes, and additional geodetic measurements have suggested that the active faulting in
The first three sections ot these notes deal with the com putation of geodetic positions on an ellipsoid. In chapter one, a review of ellipsoidal geometry is gi-ven in order that the development of further formul.ae can be understood . Camnon to all of the classical ellipsoidal computations is the necessity to reduce geodetic
Global GPS data analysis at the National Geodetic Survey . been one of the Analysis Centers (ACs) of the International GNSS Service (IGS) since its inception in 1994. Solutions for daily GPS orbits and Earth orientation parameters are regularly contributed to the IGS Rapid and Final products, . mate and precise information contained in the .
the base line was established by the north carolina geodetic survey. for more information please contact mr. gary thompson, at the north carolina geodetic survey, claude t bowers building, north carolina national guard complex, 4105 reedy creek road raleigh, nc 27607, phone: (919) 733-3836, fax: (919) 733-4407.
This manual explains how to perform computations on the State Plane Coordinate System of 1983 (SPCS 83). It supplements Coast and Geodetic Survey Special Publication No. 235, "The State coordinate systems," and replaces Coast and Geodetic Survey Publication 62-4, "State plane coordinates by automatic data processing.''
North Carolina Geodetic Survey North Carolina Continuous Operating Reference Stations (CORS) What is a CORS? . Supply (UPS) Receiver location Surge protection Internet connection . CORS Hardware GNSS Receiver Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
TDOT – SURVEY MANUAL Revised: --/--/--5-1 CHAPTER 5 - GENERAL SURVEY INFORMATION AND CONSULTANT COORDINATION 5.1 SURVEY DATUMS AND THE TENNESSEE GRID SYSTEM 5.1.1 ORIGIN OF DATUMS The North American Datum of 1927, established by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC & GS), has recently been adjusted and republished by the National
build-up and as a follow-up to the 11th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC11) in December 2017. At MC11 in Buenos Aires, differences on digital commerce could not be bridged. Views were significantly opposed. Discussions were heated. While negotiators cannot reach compromise let alone consensus, the digital economy continues to grow very fast, with major economic and .
