the national geodetic survey ten-year plan this … vision and strategy 2008-2018 the national...
TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationU.S. Department of CommerceU.S. Department of Commerce
Mission, Vision and Strategy 2008-2018
The National Geodetic SurveyTen-Year Plan
![Page 2: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
![Page 3: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year PlanMission, Vision, and Strategy 2008-2018
![Page 4: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
![Page 5: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.
Wyatt Earp
A witty saying proves nothing.
Voltaire
![Page 6: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
![Page 7: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Executive Summary 1
Mission 3
Vision 5
Background: From the Past to the Present 5
Accuracy and Leadership: A View of the Future 5Define 5
Maintain 7
ProvideAccess 8
BeaWorldLeader 9
Achieving The Vision: Overview 11
Achieving The Vision #1: Modernize The Geometric (“Horizontal”) Datum 13
Achieving The Vision #2: Modernize The Geopotential (“Vertical”) Datum 21
Achieving The Vision #3: Migrate The Coastal Mapping Program 25
Toward IOCM
Achieving The Vision #4: Evolve Core Capabilities 29
Achieving The Vision #5: Increase Agency Visibility 33
Appendix A: Documentation For NGS Missions 37
Appendix B: Government Performance And Results Act (GPRA) 39
Appendix C: Glossary 43
Appendix D: Acronyms 45
vii
Table of Contents
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018
![Page 8: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
![Page 9: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018
IthasbeenthirteenyearssincetheNationalGeodeticSurvey(NGS)fullyexaminedandstateditsmission,visionandstrategicgoals.Sincethen,technologiesandpublicneedshavechanged,thoughagencymandateshaveremainedmostlyunchanged.Therefore,NGShasdecidedthetimehascometorevisitthistopicand,throughalmosttwoyearsofagencyintrospection,hasrefinedandrestateditsmissionasfollows:
1.Todefine,maintainandprovideaccesstotheNational Spatial Reference System (NSRS) tomeetournation’seconomic,social,andenvironmentalneeds,and
2. Tobeaworldleaderingeospatialactivi-ties,includingthedevelopmentandpromotionofstandards, specifications, and guidelines.
AvisionofthefuturehasbeenlaidoutwhereinNGSmodernizesandadaptstoperformitsmissionsuccessfully.Ambitiousgoalstoachievethemissionandtobetterservethepublicgoodhavebeendefinedinthevision.ThesegoalswillserveasadirectionalbeacontoNGSoverthenexttenyears.
Inordertoachievethevisionofthefuture,five technical improvementshavebeenidentified.Theyare:
1.Modernizethegeometric(“horizontal”)datum
2.Modernizethegeopotential(“vertical”)datum
3.MigratetheCoastalMappingProgramtowardIOCM
4.EvolveCoreCapabilities
5.IncreaseAgencyVisibility
1
Boldinitiativeswillberequiredinalloftheseareas.Onecommonthemeforallofthemischange for the better.NGSwillremovesystem-aticdeficienciesinbothclassicaldatumsbyre-definingthemandadoptingthelatesttechnologyformaintenanceandaccess.ThisincludestransformingtheContinuouslyOperatingReferenceStations(CORS)intoafullyGlobalNavigationSatelliteSystems(GNSS)-capablesystemwhichservesasthesoledefiningpointsofthegeometric(“horizontal”)datum.ThegeoidmodelingeffortswillincludenewtheoryanddatacollectionatlevelsnotseenatNGSsincetheNAD83andNAVD88efforts,leadingtoanewdefinitionandrealiza-tionofthegeopotential(“vertical”)datumbasedonCORSandagravimetricgeoid,ratherthanpassivebenchmarks.TimedependencieswillbebothacknowledgedandtrackedinallcomponentsoftheNSRS,fromtheshorelinetothegravityfield,fromheightstolatitudeandlongitude.TheCoastalMappingProgram,alreadyacornerstoneoftheNGSmission,willbeprogressedalongitsnaturalpathtowardintegrationwithothercoastalmappingcompo-nentsofthegovernmentuntilitservesaspartoftheIntegratedOceanandCoastalMappingprogram.
NGSwilltakestepstostrengthenitsreputationbyidentifyingandstrengtheningcorecapabili-tiesandincreasingvisibilityandinteractionwiththeglobalscientificcommunity.Specialemphasiswillbeplacedontheeducationofitsownworkforce,aswellasinternationalcollabo-rationandoutreachtothepublicingeneral.Corecapabilities,suchasthoseutilizedinthelong-standingAirportSurveyProgram,willbeevolvedtoadoptnewtechnologiesandmethodswhichNGSwillsharewiththeworldthroughbettertoolsandnewfieldmanuals.
Executive Summary
![Page 10: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
The National Geodetic Survey2
Inaword,NGSwillmodernize.Bettertools,newmanuals,newtheories,newproductsandservices—allinsupportoftheNGSmission,butwhichdosoinwaysthatutilizemoderntechnologiesandservethepublicneeds—willbedevelopedanddistributedoverthenextdecade.AnythinglessthanthemostefficientapproachtotheNGSmissionwillbetrans-formedintomodern,efficientmethodswithconstantvigilancetowardtheneedsoftheNGSstakeholdersandrespectforthecost-efficientspendingofAmericantaxdollars.
Onepenultimatenote:ThisplanaddresseswhatNGSwillseektoaccomplish,butpurposefullydoesnotattempttoanswerevery“who”and“how” questioninaccomplishingthesetasks.AgreatdealofworkinaccomplishingtheNGSmissionisdonebytheprivatesector,aswellasgovernmentalandacademicpartners.NGSwillcontinuetorelyonthesepartners,butonlywhilemaintainingacoreofintellectualskillsandperforminginherentlygovernmentalfunctions.
Finally,thisisaplan,andlikeallplans,itshowsdirectionasoftoday,butitcannotbeanall-inclusiveunchangingcourseofaction.Eventscan,andlikelywill,arisealteringthecourseofthisplanovertheyears,andeventuallynewplanswillbenecessaryasNGSmovesforward.
One penultimate note: This plan addresses what NGS will seek to accomplish, but purposefully does not attempt to answer every “who” and “how” question in accomplishing these tasks.
![Page 11: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 3
Mission TheNationalGeodeticSurvey(NGS)oftheUnitedStatesisacomponentoftheDepartmentofCommerce(DOC),NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration(NOAA),NationalOceanService(NOS).TheoriginsofNGSstretchback200yearstotheninthcongressoftheUnitedStateswhenlegislationwaspassedtoconducttheSurveyoftheCoast.Overthese200years,theSurveyoftheCoastchangeditsnameafewtimes,butmoreimportantly,itbroadeneditsmissiontoperformtheprimarygeodeticfunctionsoftheFederalgovernment.Overthelasttwodecades,thetechnologiesofgeodesy,surveying,remotesensing,mappingandchartinghavechangedradically.NGShasattemptedtoadapttothischangingenvironmentwhilecontinuingtoserveitscustomersandfulfillitsmission.ItiswithinthischangingenvironmentthatNGShasembarkeduponaneffortofself-reflectionandhopestoplanthenexttenyearsofworktoensureNGSremainsattheforefrontofnewandemergingtechnologieswhilecontinuingtoperformitscriticalmission.Inordertodothis,themissionofNGSmustbeclearlyarticulated.
ThemissionofNGSfindsitsbasisinacombi-nationofCongressionalmandates,ExecutiveOrders,DOC/NOAA/NOSmissionstatements,long-standingtraditionandagencyintrospec-tion.AclearlystatedmissionnotonlyaidsNGSindefiningtaskstobeperformed,butitiscriticalforprioritizingtasks.Lastly,aclearlydefinedmissionhelpsidentifywhereshort-fallsoccurinthecurrentworkoftheagency.Budgetaryrequestsshouldthereforebedirectlytraceabletothecompletionofthemission.
Withdueconsiderationtoexistingmandates,orders,andtradition�,theleadershipofNGS
� See Appendix A for a comprehensive analysis of how this mission has arisen.
hascometoaconcurrenceonthemissiontoguideNGSfrom2007intothefuture.
The mission of NGS is hereby understood to be:
1.Todefine,maintain,andprovideaccesstotheNational Spatial Reference Systemtomeetournation’seconomic,social,andenvironmentalneeds
and
2.Tobeaworldleaderingeospatialactivities,includingthedevelopmentandpromotionofstandards, specifications, and guidelines
NGSdefinestheNationalSpatialReferenceSystem(NSRS)astheofficialsystemoftheFederalgovernmentwhichallowsausertodeterminegeodeticlatitude,longitudeandheight,plusorthometricheight,geopotential,accelerationofgravityanddeflectionoftheverticalatanypointwithintheUnitedStatesoritsterritories.Furthermore,theNSRSencom-passestheofficialnationalshorelineoftheUnitedStates.TheNSRScontainsinformationregardingitsorientationandscalerelativetointernationalreferenceframes,aswellasthepreciseorbitsofallsatellitesusedtodefine,realize,oraccesstheNSRS.Lastly,theNSRSalsocontainsthenecessaryinformationtodescribehowallofthesequantitieschangeovertime.
Additionally,NGSdefines“geospatialactivities”asthosefunctionswhichseektoaccesstheNSRSatoneormorepointsatanyaccuracy,including(butnotlimitedto)geodesy,landand/orhydrographicsurveying,remotesensing,mappingandcharting.
![Page 12: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
![Page 13: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Background—From the Past to the Present
Fornearly200years,theprimarymethodfortheU.S.governmenttobothdefineandprovide access tolatitude,longitudeandheightcompo-nentsintheNSRShasbeenthroughanetworkofpassivesurveymonumentswhosepositionsrelativetooneanotherhadbeensurveyedtothehighestaccuracypossibleatthetime.Informationonthecoordinatesandmethodsforfindingthesepointswaspublished,firstinpaperform,thendigitally,asthemethodofprovidingaccesstotheNSRS.
Definitionof,andaccessto,theshorelinehassimilarlyhadanimpressivehistory,withtheprimaryaccessbeingpapernauticalcharts.Finally,modelingof,andaccessto,thegravityfieldoftheU.S.asageodeticcomponentoftheNSRShasonlybeenpursuedduringthelaterpartofthe20thcentury,thoughrarelyonmonumentedpointsandthereforewithlessrigorthanothercomponentsoftheNSRS.
ItiswiththeutmostrespectthatNGSlooksuponitspast,totheaccomplishmentsperformedindayspriortocomputers,GPSandmanyothermoderntools.But,itisalsowithfullknowledgeofmorerestrictivegovernmentbudgetsandrapidlyemergingtechnologiesthatNGSturnstothefuture.Themissionhasremainedverysimilarfordecades,butthe primary methods of accomplishing the mission must change.ItiswithconfidencethatNGSstrivestofulfillitsmissionbetterthaniteverhas,andtoleadthesurveying,mappingandchartingcommunitystronglythroughatransformationintothefuture.
Accuracy and Leadership—A View of the Future
IndefiningthepathNGSwilltakeintothefuture,itisvitaltoidentifythewayNGSwillmeasureitssuccessinachievingitsstatedmission.Inthisway,NGScanidentifyexistingproblemsrequiringeitherimmediateorlong-termattention.
Onestepistoidentifyessential(missioncritical)tasksbyconsideringthefunctionoftheNSRS—toprovideaconsistentcoordinatesystemasthefoundationforallsurveying,mappingandchartingactivitiesintheUnitedStatesanditsterritories.Withthisfunctioninmind,NGScanexpanduponitsmissionto“define,maintainandprovideaccessto”theNSRSandtobea“worldleader”ingeospatialactivitiesthroughthefollowingrigorousimpli-cations.Accuraciesinthissectionareatthe�sigmalevel,butitmustbeemphasizedthattheyaretargetstodrivefuturework,notnecessarilyassurancesofperformance.
Define
TheNSRSisthefoundationofallsurveying,mapping,chartingandpositioningactivitiesintheUnitedStatesanditsterritories.Therefore:
The NSRS must be more accurate than all activities which build upon it, while still being practically achievable.
Whilethe“moderateaccuracy”(�to�0meters)usersoftheNSRSarearguablythelargestandmoststeadilygrowingcommunityofusers,NGSmuststrivetomaketheNSRSaccurateenoughtoserveasthefoundationforallpositioningactivitiesrelativetotheNSRS,atanyaccuracy.
Itshouldberememberedthatconsistentcoordinatesystemshaveexistedforessentially
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 5
Vision
![Page 14: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
The National Geodetic Survey�
200yearsintheUnitedStates,andtheaccuracyofthosesystemshassteadilyimproved.Theaccuraciesfordefiningthevariouscompo-nentsoftheNSRShavebeen(andmustbe)regularlyupdatedasthebestmixof“theoreti-callybest”and“practicallyachievable”.GPSandotherspacegeodetictechniqueshavebroughttheworldintoanerawhenthatmixcanbeatsub-centimeteraccuraciesforsomecoordi-nates.Signalstoosmalltohavebeendetectedandmeasureddecadesagoarenowcriticaltounderstanding our environment and tracking climate change.
Forexample,trackingsealevelriseatratesofmm/year,measuringsubsidenceratesatcm/year,surveyingboundarycornerstothecentimeterlevelanddeterminingtherotationoftheNorthAmericanPlateatmm/yearareallactivitiesrequiringaconsistentcoordinatesystemaccurateenoughtoidentifysignalsofthissmallmagnitude.Thismeansthatthe geodetic latitude, longitude and height of points used in defining the NSRS should have an absolute accuracy of 1 millimeter at any time.Obviously,suchpointswillbeactivelymonitoredpoints,notpassivemonuments.
DatafromavarietyofsatellitesystemsareusedindefiningcomponentsoftheNSRS.Accurateorbitinformationisalmostalwaysarequire-mentforusingsuchsatellitedata.Inmanycases,andwithnodetrimenttotheiroverallusebyNGS,theseorbitsareaccuratelydeterminedoutsideofNGS,andwithlatenciesofmonthsoryears.However,thereal-timenatureofGNSSsuchasGPS,combinedwiththeextensive
relianceuponGPSinCORSatNGS,makesthesituationofGPSorbitsunique.InordertoproperlymonitorCORScoordinates,NGSparticipatesintheInternationalGNSSService(IGS)effortstocomputedailyorbitsforGPS.
GPSispartofagrowingsetofGNSS’s,whichincludethe(existing)RussianGLONASSand(upcoming)EuropeanUnion’sGalileosystems.LikeGPS,thesesystemsarereal-timepositioningsystems,andNGSwilllikelyfindtheCORSnetworkutilizingthemovertime.Asof2007,however,NGScomputesonlyGPSorbits.However,ifothersatellitesystemssuchasGLONASSandGalileohaveadirectinfluenceonthedefinitionoftheNSRS(especiallythroughtheirinclusionintheCORSnetwork),thenNGSshouldbedirectlyinvolvedineithercomputing,orcollaborativelyworkingonsuchorbits.Ineithercase,the three dimensional coordinates of the orbits of any satellites monitored in the CORS network should have an accuracy of about 1 centimeter at any time, and less than a centimeter with a one week latency.
AlthoughthetrackingoflocalsealevelisdonethroughNOAA’sNationalWaterLevelObservationNetwork(NWLON)stationsrunbytheCenterforOperationalOceanographicProductsandServices(CO-OPS),NGShasavestedinterestinknowingtheabsoluteglobalsealevelrates.Thegeoid,forexample,istied(byitsverydefinition)totheabsolutelocationofglobalmeansealevel.Additionally,NOAA’sVDatum program(usedfortransformingfromterrestrialtowaterlevels)canonlybecompletelyimplementedatsiteswherethetidegauge(orwaterlevel)hasbeentiedvialevelingtotheverticaldatumnetwork,andviaGPStothenationalhorizontaldatum.Andsincewater/tidelevelsaremonitorednearlycontinuouslyintime,itwouldbebeneficialtobeabletoremovelocalsealevelfluctuations(causedbyboththeriseofwaterlevelandtheverticalmotionofthetide/waterlevelstation)fromabsolutesealevel
The NSRS must be more accurate than all activities which build upon it, while still being practically achievable.
![Page 15: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 7
fluctuations(causedonlybythemovementofsealevel).ThatsortofmonitoringcanbestbedoneviaGNSS.NGSthereforehastheresponsibilitytoseethatascientificallyusefulnumberoftidegaugeandwaterlevelstationsareeventuallycollocatedwithgeodeticqualitycontinuouslyoperatingGNSSreceivers.Therefore, the geodetic latitude, longitude and height of water level and tide gauge stations for the United States which are collo-cated with an active GNSS receiver will have an accuracy of 1 millimeter at any time.
ThevastmajorityofdataconcerningtheaccelerationofgravityatthesurfaceoftheEarthisknownataccuraciesof0.�-�.0mGal(combiningbothrelativegravityequipmenterrorandheighterror).Whilethisgenerallysupportsgeodeticlevelingwork,thecreationofanaccurategeoidmodelrequireshighlyaccurateandcontinentallyconsistentgravitymeasurementstiedtoabsolutegravitymeasure-mentsatdefiningpoints.Thismeansthatthe acceleration of gravity at points used in defining the NSRS should have an absolute accuracy of 10-7 m/s2 (10 microGals) at any time.Suchdefiningpointswillencompassanetworkofregularlymonitoredabsolutegravitystations.
RelatedtothisissueisthegravimetricgeoidusedtocomputeNSRSorthometricheights.NGSrecognizesthestrongrelativeaccuraciesofgeodeticleveling,butalsorecognizesitsimpracticalityastheprimarytoolfordefiningacountry-wideconsistentorthometricheightnetworkthatismaintainabletoanaccuracythatmeetsalluserneeds.ForyearsthegoalhasbeentoachievesuchanetworkviaGPSandanaccurategravimetricgeoid,butatwhataccuracy?NGSisawareofneitheranachiev-ablemethod,norapracticalapplicationof,absoluteorthometricheightaccuraciesbetterthan2centimeters.Certainlylocalrelativeaccuraciesof�millimeterorbetterexistandareneeded.Thesecanbeachievedviageodetic
levelingifNGSprovidesaccesstoanaccurateabsoluteheightofastartingpoint.Assuch,the gravimetric geoid used in defining the NSRS should have an absolute accuracy of 1 centi-meter at any place and at any time.
LookingnowattheshorelinecomponentoftheNSRS,thehighestaccuraciesregularlyachievedinshorelinemappingareontheorderof�to3metershorizontally,primarilyintheportsandotherareasofman-madecoastalinfrastructure.Whiletheseaccuracieshaveservedthechartingcommunity(thepredominantcustomerofthenationalshoreline),theyarenotalwaysstringentenoughtoservetheneedsofothercustomers.Forexample,legalmarinebound-ariesdefiningwetlands,fishingareas,mineralrights,etc.canrequiresub-meterresolutionwhenpublicandprivatepropertybound-ariesareconsidered.Additionally,theabilitytodeterminecoastalresilienceandmonitorcoastalenvironmentalchangeisdirectlyrelatedtohowaccuratelyonecanmeasureshorelinechange.Thisgenerallyrequiresknowledgeofalocalshorelinetoafewdecimeters.Assuch,the delineated national shoreline should have an absolute horizontal accuracy better than 1 meter anyplace at any time.
Maintain
IfoneacceptsthattheaccuraciesstatedabovearerequiredindefiningtheNSRS,thenNGSmusttakestepstoguaranteesuchaccuraciesareachievableinadynamicworld.ThisispartofNGS’missiontomaintaintheNSRS.Therefore,NGS must track all of the temporal changes to the defining points of the NSRS in such a way as to maintain the accuracy of the NSRS definition continually.
ThispartoftheNGSmissionhaslongbeengiventheleastattention,butitiscriticaltothemission.Withoutmaintenance,theNSRSwillbecomeobsoleteinamatterofyears.
![Page 16: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
The National Geodetic Survey�
Provide Access
InadditiontodefiningandmaintainingtheNSRSattheaccuraciesdescribedabove,NGShasthemissionofprovidingaccesstotheNSRS.NGSrecognizesthattheaccuracyrequiredindefiningandmaintainingtheNSRSisnotnecessarilytheaccuracywhichallusersneedinaccessingtheNSRS.Indeed,bywayofexample,thosewhoneedpositionsto�meterofaccuracyfaroutnumberthosewhoneedpositionsat�millimeterofaccuracy.SuchaccuraciesmayrequirevastlydifferentmethodsofaccessingtheNSRS(intermsofequipment,fieldtime,procedures,etc.),butifbothareachievable,thenNGSmustprovidebothuserswithaccess.Therefore,NGS must develop and maintain guidelines for users to access all components of the NSRS at a variety of accuracies.
OneimportantprogramwhichNGShassupportedtopromoteaccesstotheNSRShasbeentheCalibrationBaseline(CBL)programforlocaluserstocalibrateelectronicdistancemeasuring(EDM)equipment.Over200CBL’sweremaintainedintothe�980’s,butwiththeriseofGPSforlonglinesurveying,thesupportforCBL’satNGShasdecreased.WhileNGSfieldcrewsandstateadvisorshavebeenabletomaintainsomeoftheCBLs,manyofthemhavefallenintodisrepair.WhileNGSdoesnothaveplanstoresurrecttheCBLprogramasitwas,itmustbesuretoprovideexpertiseand“MasterBaselines”forregionaluserstoestablish,re-calibrateandmaintaintheirownCBL’s.Assuch,NGS must develop and issue guidelines
to transition the CBL program into a useful, sustainable partnership program.
SinceNGSrecognizesthattheEarth’scrustisadynamicenvironment,thateverypointhassomevelocityrelativetootherpoints,itisimperativeforNGStofullydocumentandmakeavailablethosevelocities.Therefore,NGS will publish all coordinates of defining points of the NSRS with an epoch tag and will furthermore publish velocities relative to that epoch-tagged set of coordinates. Additionally, velocities which are modeled at passive control will be provided in addition to the coordinates on that control.
NGSalsorecognizesthatmanyusersworkinvariousdatumsandreferenceframesandthatitmustprovidetoolsfortheseusers.NGS will therefore publish all coordinates and velocities of NSRS defining points in both the most recent official U.S. Datums and the most recent realization of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF). Furthermore, NGS will provide simple transformation tools between historic and current datums and reference frames used by NGS, in four dimensions, wherever practical and possible.
ThetoolsoftheNGSuserbasehavechangedovertheyears.TherapidlygrowingmarketofReal-TimeKinematic(RTK)surveyingforcesNGStore-evaluatehowitprovidesaccesstotheNSRS.Postprocessingwillcontinuetobeastrongtool,butusersdemandingcentimetersinrealtimewillnotbeservedbythisexistingmethodofaccess.NGS must support real time access to the NSRS without competing with the private sector.
Finally,inordertoproperlytrackthesuccessofNGSinprovidingaccesstotheNSRS,NGS will validate local capacity for accurate positioning through direct interaction with municipal, county and state representatives and evaluation of those regions’ access to the
NGS must track all of the temporal changes to the defining points of the NSRS in such a way as to maintain the accuracy of the NSRS definition continually.
![Page 17: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 9
NSRS. Byassessingtheuserneedsofcountysurveyors,stateDOTs,regionalsurveyingandgeospatialassociations,etc.NGSwillvalidatethatlocalusershavetheNOAA-enabledinfra-structure,toolsandlocalcapacityneededforaccuratepositioning.
Itisimportanttonotethatformanyyearstocome,therewillbetheexistenceofpassivesurveymonumentsthatprovide access tocomponentsoftheNSRSthatdonotmeettheaccuraciesofNSRS-definingpointsasstatedabove.Ofparticularnote,passivemarkswithnoknownvelocityorwhichhavenotbeenre-surveyedwithenoughregularitytoassurestrictaccuracygoals,willcontinuetobeasupportedmethodforaccessingtheNSRS,providedNGSmakespubliclyavailablethelimitationsinherentinpointsofquestionableaccuracy.Sincesuchmarksrequirere-surveyingtomaintaintheiraccuracy,NGSwillnotactivelypursuetheinstallationorsurveyingofpassivemarksforthedefinitionoftheNSRS,exceptincaseswherenoothermethodofdefiningtheNSRSexists(suchasabsolutegravitycontrol).Additionally,NGSwillnotpromotetheuseofpassivemarksastheprimarymethodofprovidingaccesstotheNSRS(exceptforgravitycontrol).However,NGSwillcontinuetomakeavailablecoordinatesandvelocities(andtheirassociatedaccuracies)onsuchpoints,ifsuchinformationisavailable,whiletransitioningtoamorevirtualNSRS.
TherewillcomeadaywhenNGSwillnottakeabluebookedsetofdataaboutasurveyperformedonpassivemarks,butwillinsteadrelyinauto-matedonlineWebtoolsforuserstosubmitandprocesstheirdata.Suchtoolswill—whileaddingefficiencyofdatasharing—removemuchoftheNGSoversightastothequalityofthesurveysperformed.Whenthathappens,suchmarks(whilestillbeingveryusefultothepublic)willceasetobepart oftheNSRSandwillbereferredtoastied totheNSRS.
Be a World Leader
NGSisoftenregardedinthesurveying,mappingandchartingcommunityasanauthoritativesourceofgeospatialinformation.ThegoodworkofNGSanditspredecessorsover200yearshasbuiltareputationthatmustbemaintainedifNGSistoremainrelevantinitsmission.
Inordertomaintainworldleadershipingeospatialactivities,NGSmustuseitsresourcesefficiently,dedicatingthemsolelytoacoresetofhighlyimportanttasks.Inordertofocusresourcesappropriately,NGS must make a concerted effort to identify and remove organizational deficiencies.
Partoftheimprovementdesiredfromanorganizationalperspectivewillbetoconcen-trateoncustomerservice.Thismeansthedevelopmentofuser-friendlyWebtools,andaneasilynavigableWebsite.Butmostcritically,NGS must develop a strong and well-staffed Communications and Outreach branch which will serve as the “face” of NGS to its customers and to the world.
Furthermore,NGSmustnotonlyrecognize,butalsofullyembracethechangingtechnolo-giessurroundingitsmission.NGS must make significant efforts to acquire (or gain access to) all modern equipment (hardware and software) which might be utilized by our customers. Furthermore, significant portions of the NGS workforce should be regularly trained (or re-trained) in the newest field technologies.
AsNGSacquiresandtrainsaworkforceintheuseofthelatesttechnologies,NGS should completely revisit, rewrite or create new standards, specifications and guidelines documents, as well as retiring out-of-date versions of these documents.
![Page 18: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
The National Geodetic Survey10
However,themodernizationofNGSshouldnotbelimitedtofieldtechnologies.Theofficetoolsforcreationanddisseminationofproductshavechangedsignificantlyinthelasttenyears.NGS must therefore adopt new product creation and dissemination methods which use modern technology.
Finally,oneofthemostcritical(andvisible)aspectsofbeingaworldleaderisthepublica-tionofgoodscientificpapers.TherehavebeeninstancesofgoodscientificworkatNGSbeingmaintainedonlyininternalpublications,orevenofscientistsnotpublishingatall.ToavoidthisandincreasetheNGS’positionasaworldleader,NGS will strive to increase its publication record in both research and trade journals. Thehighestemphasiswillbeplacedonpublicationofpeer-reviewedscientificpapers,sincesuchpapershavethegreatestpotentialtoinfluencethefuturedirectionofthefieldsofgeodesy,surveying,mapping,GISandremotesensing.However,tradejournalarticles,conferencepapers,andotherwrittenmateri-als(e.g.Webcontent)gearedtowardageneralaudiencearealsoofsignificantvalue,especiallytopublicoutreachandeducation.Thus,allemployeeswithawiderangeoftechnical/scien-tificexpertisehavethepotentialtocontributetoNGS’publications.
![Page 19: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
InorderforNGStoaccomplishitsmissionbyachievingthevisionlaidoutinthepreviouschapter,certainstepsmustbetaken.ThisistheheartoftheTen-YearPlan—answeringtheprimaryquestionof“What will NGS do over the next ten years in order to accomplish its mission?”Answeringthequestionistheverypointofthisdocument.WhatwillbeshownisthattheworkneedingtobedoneoverthenexttenyearswillinvolveimprovementsandmodernizationamongallcomponentsofNGS.
Anyorganizationattemptingtomakethesortoflarge-scalemodernizationlaidoutinthisplanmustberunefficientlyandeffectively.NGSmustthereforeaddressexistingorgani-zationaldeficienciesifthisplanistosucceed.Theseissuesshouldbeaddressedsoonthroughacomprehensiverealignmentinitiative,butwillnotbeaddressedherein.
ThefollowingfivetechnicalimprovementsmustbethefocusofNGSforthenexttenyearsforthisplantobeachieved:
1. Modernize the geometric (“horizontal”) datum
2. Modernize the geopotential (“vertical”) datum
3. Migrate the Coastal Mapping Program toward IOCM
4. Evolve core capabilities
5. Increase agency visibility
Eachofthesestepswillbedetailedinthenextfivechapters.Foreachchapter,thebasicformatwillbethesame:firstavisionsummary,followedbyadescriptionofthedetailedstepsrequiredwithinthenextonetotwoyears,andfinally,broaderviewsofwhereNGSshouldbeforbothfiveandtenyearsaheadinorderto
stayontrackwithachievingeachcomponentofthisplan.
Undercurrentorganizationalstructure,NGSiscomposedofaDirector’sstaffandsixdivisions:ObservationandAnalysis(OAD),RemoteSensing(RSD),GeosciencesResearch(GRD),GeodeticServices(GSD),SpatialReferenceSystem(SRSD)andSystemsDevelopment(SDD).Eachofthesesevengroupsconcentratesonaparticularcompo-nentoftheoverallNGSmission.Assuch,inthefollowingsections,aparticulargroupwilloftenbenamedasa“Lead”foraccomplishingcertaintasks.Thisisnottoimplythattheworkofthattaskmustbedoneonlybythatgroup,butthattheprimaryleadershipshouldcomefromthatgroupforthattask.
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 11
Achieving the Vision: Overview
![Page 20: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
![Page 21: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
Vision Summary:By20�8,NGShasdefinedanewgeometricdatum(classicallycalled“horizontal”)toreplaceNAD83withitsmanysystematicerrors.TheprimarymeansofaccessingthisnewdatumisGNSStechnology.WhilepassivecontrolcontinuestobeusedasasecondarymethodtoaccesstheNSRS,suchcontrolwillbe“tiedto”,nota“partof”,theNSRS.
TheCORSnetworktransformsintoatwo-levelsystemwhosefirst(verysmall)levelismadeupofNGS-ownedor-operated“foundation”sitestreatedascriticalinfrastructure.Thesefoundationsitesareequipped,monumented,spacedapartfromoneanotherandcollocatedwithotherspacegeodeticobservatoriesinsuchawayastoensuretheNSRSisaccuratelytiedtotheITRFandaccessibletoGNSSusersinaminimallyacceptablefashionanywhereinUnitedStatesterritory.
Thesecond(verylarge)leveloftheCORSnetworkisallothersites,whicharepositionedrelativetothefoundationandwhosemainte-nanceandqualitycontrolfalltothesiteoperators.DataandrelativepositioningtoolscontinuetobeavailableforallCORSsites,butnotattheexpenseofsignificantNGSresources.Theconceptsof“National”and“Cooperative”CORSdisappear,infavorof“CORS”.Thelocationofstoreddata(oneofthemaindistinctionsbetweenCooperativeandNational
CORS,willberenderedmootasNGSdevelopssoftwaretoaccessandstoreallCORSdata.NGSwillworkcooperativelywithallCORSsiteoperatorstotransitionfromthecurrentsystemtoonewhererolesandresponsibilitiesareperformedinapartnership-orientedmodel.
ThecoordinatesofallCORSarecomputeddailybyNGSandmadeavailabletothepublicthrougheasilyavailablecharts,spreadsheetsanddatafiles.Additionally,CORSsitesandallCORSaccesstoolswillbemodernizedastheGNSSconstellationsmodernize.
TheCORSnetworkservesthepublicbysupportingreal-timepositioningcomplement-ing(withoutcompetingagainst)privateandlocalgovernmentinitiatives.
ProductstobedevelopedincludeasuiteofGNSSpost-processingonlinetoolscapableofcomputingcoordinatesforanynumberofstationswithanycombinationofconstellations,signalsanddatacollectiontimes.
Finally,andmostcautiously,NGSmustdefinethisnewdatuminascientificallyaccuratewaythatalsoaddressestheneedsofuserstohave(asmuchaspossible)stable,unchangingcoordinates.EverythingfromtectonicplaterotationtolocalsubsidencemustbeconsideredwhenNGSdefines,maintainsandprovidesaccesstothisnewdatum.
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 13
Achieving the Vision: 1 Modernize the Geometric (“Horizontal”) Datum
“NSRS2007”),thediscrepanciesbetweenthepassivenetworkandactivenetworkarenoteasilyrectified.Withoutanaccurateandperpetuallyupdatedthreedimensionalcrustalmotionmodel,therewillneverbecompletecoordinationbetweentheactiveandpassivecontrolofNAD83.
TheNAD83hasbeendefinedwiththesameparameterssinceitsinception,butithasbeenadjustedrepeatedlyover20years.Ithaspredominantlybeenaccessedthroughcoordinatesonpassivemarks,butmorerecentlythroughCORSandOPUS-GNSS.Unfortunately,asseeninthemostrecentadjustmentofNAD83(knownas
![Page 22: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
The National Geodetic Survey14
Withthisrealityinmind,theactivecontrol(CORS)willbecometheprimarymethodofmaintainingandaccessingthegeometric(Cartesianandellipsoidal)coordinatesoftheNSRSwhenusingGNSStechnology.Thedeter-minationofcoordinatesonpassivemarkswillcontinuetobesupported(throughtoolssuchasOPUS-GNSS),butthecollectionofsuchdatabybluebookingandsubmittingtoNGSwilleventuallycease,asNGSwillnolongerusesuchdatainitsday-to-dayNSRSsteward-ship.Specifically,inthecaseofgeometriccoordinatesonpassivemarks,thesemarkswillbe“tiedtotheNSRS”butwillnolongerbe“partoftheNSRS”.ThisterminologyreflectsachangetotheNGSacceptanceofGNSSdataonpassivecontrol;suchdatawillbeusedtocomputecoordinatesandthecoordinateswillbesharedwiththeworldviaNGS,butonlythroughautomatedtoolssuchastheDBfeatureofOPUS-GNSSandnotthroughtheuseofbluebookingandentryintotheNGSIntegratedDatabase(IDB).OnceOPUS-GNSSisfullyfunctional,NGSwillremaincommittedtoprovidingpositioningtoolsandsharinginformationonpassivemarks,butNGSdoesnotspecificallyseeksuchdatafromoutsideusersfortheaccomplishmentofitsmission.BluebookingofGNSSdataonpassivemarksandtheentryofthatinformationintotheNGSIDB(or“intotheNSRS”asithascolloquiallybeenknown)willceasewithinafewyearsofOPUS-GNSSbecomingfullyfunctional.
WhatofCORSitself?TheCORSprogramis,withoutquestion,oneofNGS’mostsuccess-fulprograms.Notonlywasitbuiltupwith
minimalcosttothegovernment,butitbecamearealistictoolforthesurveyingcommunitytotransformfromstandardterrestrialtechniquestotheuseofGPSforaccuratepositioning.However,theprogramisalsoavictimofitssuccess.Theissuessurroundingalargenumberofdiversesiteoperators(manyofwhompartic-ipateforreasonsthatdonotdirectlyincludetheNGSmission)arebecomingaburdentoNGSresources.
InordertobalancetheNGSmissionagainsttheNGSresourcescurrentlyrequiredfortheCORSnetworktogrowatitspresentrate,NGSwillchangeitsbusinessapproachwithrespecttoCORS.Specifically,NGSwillseektostrengthenpartnershipswithintheCORScommunitybyentrustinggreaterresponsibilitytositeopera-tors.ThistransferofresponsibilitywillenableNGStoconcentrateonday-to-daymaintenanceofthefoundationCORS(definedlater)inordertofulfillitsmissionofdefining,maintainingandprovidingaccesstotheNSRS.ItwillalsomeanthattheCORSnetworkcan,intheory,expandindefinitelywithoutsignificantlyaffect-ingtheNGSworkload.NGSwillcontinuetoprovideaccesstodataatallCORSsites,buttheonusofqualityandtimelinessofthatdatawilltransfertothesiteoperators.
BecauseCORSisacommunaleffort,andthedataarereceivedatNGSforfree,ithasbeendifficultforNGStoapplyrigorousstandardsonsitelocation,monumentation,timelinessofdataarrival,qualityofdata,continuityofhardwareorstatusofmetadata.TheseissueswerelessimportantatfirstthanthegreaterissueofsimplybuildinguptheCORSnetworkovertheyears.Withthisnetworknowinitsseconddecadeofexistenceandnewsiteoperatorscontinuallybeingadded,NGScanturnitsattentionandresourcestothefoundationCORS.
NGSwilldefineminimalaccesstotheNSRSandtheITRFviaCORS.Thesedefinitionswill
By 201�, NGS has defined a new geometric datum (classically called “horizontal”) which replaces NAD �3
![Page 23: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 15
specifythenumber,spacingandconfigurationofthoseCORSrequiredtoperformtheNGSmission.NGSwillthenmakeaconcertedefforttodirectlyownoroperatesuchsites(prefer-ablybytransferringexistingCORSintoNGSoperation,butinalllikelihoodalsobybuildingitsownCORS).BecauseCORSisacooperativeeffort,theonlymethodsbywhich“voids”inCORScoveragecanbeaddressedareencour-agementoflocalentitiesconstructingCORSsitesinthosevoidsor,barringthat,theinstalla-tionofafoundationCORSsiteinsuchavoid.(ThiswillbepredicatedonNGSfirstdefiningtherequiredspacingoffoundationCORS.)BecausethesefoundationCORSwillalways(bythemselves)allowNGStoconductagivenpartofitsmissionataminimallevel,theywillbetheonlysiteswhichNGSwilloverseedirectlyonadailybasis.AllotherCORSwillcontinuetobepartofthenetworkandwillhavetheirpositionsadjustedtothefoundationCORS,buttheonusofaCORSsite’sdataarrival,dataquality,andmetadatawillliesolelyonthesiteoperators,manyofwhomalreadyhaveadoptedthisresponsibility.
NGSrecognizesthatotherusershavetighterrequirementsforCORSspacingsthanmightbedefinedforminimalaccesstotheNSRS.However,sincethoserequirementsfalloutsideoftheNGSmission,andsincethebuildingof,anddirectoversightof,foundationCORSwillcomefromtheNGSbudget,theonlyconsiderationforfoundationCORSwillbethefulfillmentoftheNGSmission.
Inordertofacilitatethisnewbusinessmodel,thefoundationCORSmustbebuiltandnewautomateddataprocessingtoolsmustbecreatedandputinplace.Withinafewyears,allCORSsiteswillautomatically:
1.MaketheirdataavailabletoNGSinrealorvery-near-realtime
2.HavedataqualitycheckedbyNGS
3.Havecoordinatescomputedandcheckedforconsistency
ItshouldbestressedthatallofthisshouldoccurwithoutNGSintervention.Ifasitefailstoreportdataontime,orreportsbaddata,orhascoordinatejumpsduetounreportedhardwarechanges,suchasitewill,inautomatedfashion,receiveemailnotificationfromNGSconcerningtheproblem.Additionally,thatsite’sdatawillbetemporarilyremovedfromthelistofCORSuntiltheproblemisresolved.
Underthisnewbusinessstyle,NGSmuststrivetoeducateCORSusersabouttheversatilityoftheOnlinePositioningUserServiceforGNSS(OPUS-GNSS)sothatusersdonotrelyonanyparticularCORSsite.Ifauser’s“preferredCORSsite”isn’tavailable,positioningshouldstillbeaccomplishedatthesamelevelofconfidenceasbefore.ThismeansNGSmustregularlytesttheCORSdataandOPUS-GNSStoensurethatallsitesyieldidenticalresultswithinerrortolerances.WhenaCORSsiteisunavailable,NGSwillimmediatelymakethatinformationavailableonitsWebpage,anduserswillbedirectedtothesite operator—nottoNGSpersonnel—forquestionsregardingwhyaparticularsite’sdataarenotavailable.
Thenewapproachalsomeansthattheconceptsof“NationalCORS”and“CooperativeCORS”willgoawayastheneedforacontinuedsepara-tionofthetwosystemsnolongerexistsfortheaccomplishmentoftheNGSmission.
ThreeGNSS-relatedissuesmustbeaddressedfortheCORSnetworktoremainaviabletoolforaccuratepositioningintheNSRS.First,thechangingworldofGNSSmustbeaccountedfor.Thatis,asnewsignalsandconstellationsbecomeavailable,NGSmustassurethatnewandreplacedCORShardwareaccountsforthesechanges.(AsidefromfoundationCORS,.equip-mentatexistingCORSwillnotberequiredtobeupgradeduntilacomponentfails,atwhich
![Page 24: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
The National Geodetic Survey1�
timethereplacedcomponentwillneedtoalignwithNGSpolicyonCORSandGNSS).Second,NGSmustprovideuserswithsoftwarethatwilluseanyandallGNSSsignals.Thatis,OPUS-GNSSmustallowforeverypossiblescenariofromsinglefrequency,pseudo-rangeGPSpositioningwithonesecondofdatatotriple-constellation,multiple-frequency,24-hourcarrier-phasesurveyswithmultipleantennasinanarray,andeverythinginbetween.Third,orbitdeterminationsoftwareusedatNGSmustencompassallGNSSchanges,forcompletesupporttobepossible.
OthercomponentstomodernizingtheCORSnetwork:NGSmustmaintainworldleadershipbychangingfromarelativeantennacalibrationprogramtoanabsoluteantennacalibrationprogram.Anditmustuseitsexpertisetoassistglobalsealevelresearchbydeterminingaccuratewaterlevelsinthegeodeticframework,preferablythroughtheinstallationofCORSatwaterandtidelevelstations.SomeoftheseissueshavebeenaddressedthroughtheNGSHeightModernizationprogram.Thismodern-izationofCORSsupplementsandcomplimentsthatalreadyexistingeffort.
Onefinalbutcriticalcomponentofmodern-izingCORSwillbethemethodsitwillusetosupportthecurrent(andgrowing)fieldofreal-timeapplications.Oneexistingreal-timeapplication,RTK,hasseenenormousgrowthinthelastdecade.Insuchanapplication,abaseGPSstationisused(eithertemporarilyorpermanentlyinstalled),andaroverGPSreceiverismovedabout,witharadiolinkbetweenthetwoyieldingacentimeters-precisepositionoftheroverrelativetothebase.AvarietyofRTKapplicationsexisttoday,rangingfromasinglebase/roverpairusedbyasinglesurveyor,tocityandstategovernmentsinstall-ingnetworksofbasestationsandchargingfeestoroverusers.NGSdoesnotenvisionprovidinganationwideRTKproduct,butdoes
fullyendorseandrecognizethestrengthofthisapplication.TheroleofNGSinsupport-ingthesevariousRTKapplicationsistoassureconsistencywithintheNSRS.ConsidertheexampleofametropolitanareabeingcoveredbytwoorthreedifferentcompetingRTKnetworks.TheseshouldalldeliverreliableNSRSvaluesregardlessofwhichnetworkisused.
NGSwillsupportRTKapplicationsinseveralways.First,alikelyscenariotodevelopinthenextfewyearsisforNGStoprovideaservicetoRTKnetworkoperatorstocertifythemas“NSRScompliant”.Thedetailswillbecraftedinthenexttwoyears,butwhatthiswillessentiallymeanisthatthebasestationsinanygivenRTKnetworkwillbeepisodicallyinvestigatedbyNGStomakesuretheircoordinatesareaccuratewithintheNSRS,andthatthecoordi-natescomputedatroversarealsoaccuratewithintheNSRS.ToremaincompliantwiththeNSRS,thiswillneedtobeaccomplishedinawaythatdoesnotholdNGSliableforthenetwork.NGSwillthusallowtheprivateandlocalgovernmentsectorstorunRTKnetworkswhileitservestheoverallpublicgoodbyensur-ingsurveysin“compliant”RTKnetworksarecompatiblewitheachotherandwiththeNSRSingeneral.
Asecondsupportforreal-timeapplicationswillcomeasNGSbeginstoprovideCORSdataatsmallerandsmallerlatencies.Currently,mostCORSdatalatencyisaroundanhour.Inthefuture,thatlatencywillbereducedandreal-timeCORSdatastreamswillbeestablished.Itishopedthatthroughsuchinitiatives,NGSwillfurtherpromotethedevelopmentofRTKnetworksinthoseareaswhichdonothavesuchservices.
Athirdmethodofreal-timesupportmaycomethroughamedium-accuracyreal-timesingle-frequencyCORSapplication.Throughreal-timeinternetdatastreamsandreal-timeatmosphericmodeling,asingle-frequency
![Page 25: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 17
applicationmaybedevelopedatNGSallowinguserstoachieve�to2metersofpost-processedpositionalaccuracy.Inaddition,NGSantici-patesthatitsreal-timedatastreamswillenabletheprivatesectortodevelopreal-time position-ing applicationsataroundthe�meterlevel.Suchapplicationswouldallowgreaterexpan-sionofNGSproductstoserveGISuserswhodonotrequirethecentimeteraccuracyofanRTKnetwork.Nosafety-of-lifemandatewouldexistwithsuchreal-timepositioningservices,sotheycouldnotreplacetheDepartmentofTransportation’sNationwideDifferentialGPS(NDGPS)navigationservice.
Finally,CORSapplications(suchasOPUS-GNSS)willcontinuetobeimprovedsotheamountofdata(currentlytwohours)requiredforasolutionwillbereducedtoafewminutes,possiblyafewseconds(onceotherGNSSconstellationsareavailable,and/ornewbreakthroughsindataprocessingaremade).OPUS-GNSSwilldevelopintoasuiteofproductscapableofsupportingmultiplestations,multipleconstellationsandsignals,andanylengthofdatacollection,withthepossibilityofsharingtheseresultsinstantlyviaanonlineNGSdatabase.OPUS-GNSSwillcontinuetooperateonthefullsetofCORSsites,notonly“foundationCORS”.
Inthenexttenyears,NGSwillnotbeprovidinganyindependentserviceyieldingtruereal-timecentimeters-accurateaccesstotheNSRS.Rather,NGShopesthat,throughitssupportofreal-timeinitiatives,localRTKnetworkswillbedevelopedwhichwillbeconsistentwiththeNSRSandservetheneedsoflocalpositioningexperts.
MuchofthissectionhasdealtwithCORS,butthisissimplybecauseitisthecriticaltoolinprovidingaccesstothegeometricdatum.Atthistime,thereisaknownnon-geocentricityoftheNAD83originbyover2meters.Thisnon-geocentricityaffectsalllatitudes,longi-
tudesandellipsoidheightsintheUnitedStates.Anon-geocentricellipsoidisnotoptimalforuseinageoid-basedgeopotential(“vertical”)datum(discussedinthenextsection).Assuch,NGSwillberedefininganewgeometricdatuminconjunctionwithanewgeopotentialdatumaroundtheyear20�8.
Onefinalnoteonthenewdatum—NGShaslongrealizedthatabalancemustbestruckbetweentheneedsofsurveyors(whoprefercoordinatesthatneverchange)andtherealitiesoflivingonadynamicplanet(wherecoordi-nateschangeeverywhere).Assuch,NGSwillinvestigatethedevelopmentoftoolswhichallowusersaccesstotheNSRSinanyepochandallowthetransferalofcoordinatesacrossepochs.Andwhilethe“stable”NorthAmericanPlateisasignificantportionoftheCONUSregion,NGScannotatthistimecommititselftofixingthenewgeometricdatumtothatplate.Theexactdefinitionofthisnewgeometricdatumwillbedeterminedthroughaseriesofstakeholderfeedbackforumswhichwillseektoachievethebestsolutionforallparties.
Intheend,NGSmustmodernizethegeometricdatum,andespeciallytheCORSnetwork,byconcentratingontheNSRSmission,transfer-ringresponsibilitytothesiteoperators,andeducatingusers.
Theinitialstepsneededtobetakenwithin two years inordertoachievethevisionarefoundinthetableonthenextpage.
![Page 26: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
The National Geodetic Survey1�
Table 1: Two-year Milestones toward Modernizing the Geometric DatumTask Lead Description
GRD Identifythetoolsandexternaldatarequired,aswellastheexactequipment,number,spacing,monumentation,metadataandco-locationwithotherscientificobservationsites,ofthoseCORSsitesneededtoguarantee“minimallyacceptableaccesstotheNSRS”.Thisisdefinedas:(�)Sub-centimeterpositioningofeachCORSantennarelativetotheITRFand(2)�-cmpositioningofauser’santennarelativetotheNSRS,iftheuser’soccupationmeetsthefollowingconditions:�.Usesadual-frequencygeodeticqualityGPSreceiver2.OccupiesaGPS-viewablesiteforfourhoursononeday3.Doesnotsufferfromextenuatingenvironmentalconditions
ThesesitesneededforminimalNSRSaccesswillbeknownas“foundation CORS”.
SRSD IdentifywhichexistingCORScouldbetransformedintotheabove-mentionedfoundationCORSthroughdirectfunding,MOUs,orothermeans.
Director’s Staff IdentifyfundinggapsbetweentheidentifiedfoundationCORSandexistingNGS-ownedor-operatedCORSsites.
OAD DevelopaplaninconjunctionwithNOAACO-OPStocollocate,overtime,newandexistingtidegaugesandwaterlevelgaugeswithaCORSantenna.
GRD ReplacethecurrentGNSSrelativeantennacalibrationprogramwithafullyfunctioningabsolutephasecentervariationprogramforallGNSSantennas.
GRD DevelopanupdatedGNSSprocessingenginewhichallowspost-processingofanynumberofreceiversandanycombinationofconstellations,signalsanddatacollectiontimes.
SDDOAD
Developaplanforcollecting(possiblystoring)anddisseminatingallCORSdatatoallowfortheunlimitedexpansionofCORSwhileminimizingtheworkloadonNGSpersonnelandthusremovingthenecessityofdividingCORSinto“national”and“cooperative”.
Director’s Staff DevelopandexecuteapolicyonwhatsignalsandconstellationsnewandreplacedCORSantennasmustsupport.
GRD DeveloporbitcomputationsoftwareforGLONASS.
SRSD Determine,publishandimplementNGSpolicyontheuseofpassivehorizontalandverticalmarks,specificallyaddressingupkeepofexistingmarks,installationofnewmarks,informationpresentedonmarksintheNGSdatasheetsandotherrelevantquestions.
GRD IssueacomprehensiveevaluationofhowandwhereNGShastheabilitytoprovide�cmaccurateNAD83ellipsoid heightstoGPSusersintheUnitedStateswithonly�hourofdata.Identifyandplanoutallstepsrequired(includingnewresearch,softwaredevelopment,installationofadditionalCORS,etc.)toextendthisabilitynationwide.
GSDDevelopandexecuteaworkshopforCORSuserswhichspecificallyaddressesthelargechangescominginthenexttenyears.
SRSD
DeployaninitialsetofhorizontalandverticalvelocitymodelsfortheellipsoidalcoordinatesinCONUSandAlaska,anddistributethesecoordinatesonallpassivemarks.
SRSD AnalyzeallhistoricCORSdataandissueupdatedcoordinatesandvelocities.
![Page 27: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 19
constellation,withless than four hours of dataanywhereintheUnitedStatesoritsterritories.
3.AllexistingNWLONsitesareeithercollocatedwithaCORSantennaorelsetiedepisodicallytotheITRFusingGNSStechnology.
4.NGSprovides�-cmorbitsforGPS,GLONASSandGalileo.
5.NGSproductsandservicesdirectlysupportreal-timeaccesstoallcomponentsoftheNSRSwithoutcompetingwiththeprivatesector.
Asasimplemethodofunderstandingthenewviewof“OPUS”withinNGS,thefollow-inggraphictellswhereNGSisandwhereitisheaded.
Inadditiontotheseinitialsteps,thefollowingfive- and ten-year milestonesareidentifiedtotransformCORS.Thestepsneededtogettothesemilestonesareleftforfutureplanningdocuments:
Five-Year Milestones (2013):1.NGSownsoroperatesacompletesetof
foundationCORSsites.2.NGSprovides�-cmaccesstothegeodetic
latitude,longitudeandheightcomponentsoftheNSRSforGPS-exclusiveusers(withgeodeticqualityreceivers)withless than one hourofdataanywhereintheUnitedStatesoritsterritories,relativetotheNSRS.
3. AllCORShaveanepoch-tagged3-DcoordinateandavelocityinboththelatestUSDatumandthelatestITRF.
4.OPUS-GNSSworkswithanysortofGNSSdatasubmitted(e.g.independentoffrequencies,codes,constellation,staticordynamicnatureofdata,andlengthoffielddataacquisitiontime).
5.NGSoperatesacompletelyupdatedsetoforbitalsoftware,computingorbitsforbothGLONASSandGPSwithabout�-cmabsoluteaccuracy.
�.NGSproductsandservicesdirectlysupportreal-timeaccesstothegeodeticcomponentoftheNSRSwithoutprivatesectorcompetition.
7. Haveafullsetofcrustalmotionmodelsshowingvelocitiesinellipsoidallatitude,longitudeandellipsoidheightforallterritoriesoftheUnitedStates.
Ten-Year Milestones (2018): 1.NGSprovides�-cmaccesstothegeodetic
latitude,longitudeandheightcomponentsoftheNSRSforallGPS-exclusiveusers(withgeodeticqualityreceivers)withless than �5 minutesofdataanywhereintheUnitedStatesoritsterritories.
2.NGSprovides�-cmaccesstogeodeticlatitude,longitudeandheighttoallGNSS(generic)users,withoutregardto
![Page 28: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/28.jpg)
![Page 29: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/29.jpg)
Vision Summary: Theeraofusinggeodeticlevelingforcontinent-scaleverticaldatumdefinitioncomestoanend.Thegravimetricgeoid,longusedasthefoundationforhybridgeoidmodels,becomesthe most critical model produced by NGS.Before20�8,NGSprovesthata�-cmgeoidiscomputable(orshowswhereitisnotandwhy)andproduces(inconjunc-tionwithotherNorthAmericangeodesists)themostaccurate,continent-sizedgravimetricgeoidmodeleverseen.Themodelcovers,attheveryleast,theregionextendingfromtheNorthPoletotheEquatorandfromAttuIslandtoNewfoundland.Themodelthenservesasthefoundationfora new vertical datum for at least the conterminous United States,ifnottheentireNorthAmericancontinent.Similarsmallerscalegeoid-basedverticaldatuminitiativesareundertakenforthoseUnitedStatesterritoriesnotwithintheneighborhoodofNorthAmerica.
Tofullysupporttheabovework,anentirelymodernizedprogramofgravityobservation,modeling,monitoring,analysisanddissemina-tion(calledThe GRAV-D Project)isestablishedwithinNGS.Thegravityfieldbecomesamonitored time-dependentpartoftheNSRS.Thetime-varyingnatureofthegravityfieldisconsideredinallproductsandservicesofNGS.Theculminationofalltheseeffortsallowsfast,accuratedeterminationofheightsthroughGPS,andthustrulyrepresents“HeightModernization”asoriginallyenvisioned.
By20�8,anewgeopotentialdatum(forortho-metricanddynamicheights)isdefinedandrealizedthroughthecombinationofGNSStechnologyandgravityfieldmodeling.InordertosupportusersofNAVD88,NGSwillprovidetransformationtoolsbetweenthenewdatumandNAVD88basedpredominantlyonthefewthousandmeasurementsofGPSderivedellip-soidheightsonNAVD88benchmarks.
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 21
Achieving the Vision: 2 Modernize the Geopotential (“Vertical”) Datum
EveryeffortshouldbemadebyNGStoworkcollaborativelyandcometoconsensuswithCanadaandMexico(attheveryleast)ontheconceptofre-definingtheverticaldatumviaagravimetricgeoid,themethodofcomputingsuchageoidandtherealiza-tionofdynamicheightsinsuchadatum.Thedefinitionofthegeoidshouldproperlyaccountfornotonlythelocaltimedepen-dentnatureofthegravityfield,butalsotheriseofglobalmeansealevel.Thegravimetricgeoidmodelwillconsistofbothanepoch-taggedgridanditsrateofchangeovertime.
Whensuchamodelisachievedandhasbeenappropriatelytested,itwillbeusedinconjunctionwithspacegeodetictechniques
tiedtoITRF(predominantlyGNSS)todefineanewverticaldatumfortheUnitedStates.
Inorderforthegeoidmodeltoremainrelevantandtheverticaldatumtoremainaccuratelydefined,thegravityfieldmustbemonitored.Thiswillrequireacombinationofcarefullyplannedabsolutegravitycampaigns,newrelativegravitymeasurements,judiciousplace-mentofthesuperconductinggravimeterandtheacquisitionofairborneandsatellite-basedgravitydata(suchasGRACEandGOCE).Secondarily,datasetssuchasdeflectionsoftheverticalandco-locatedlevelingandGPScanbeusedinitiallyasacheckonthegravimetricgeoid;alternativelyasinputtoit.Additionally,thegravitydataholdingsofNGSmustbe
![Page 30: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/30.jpg)
The National Geodetic Survey22
inventoried,cleanedandputintoamoreeasilyusableformat.Gravitydatacollectionhasbeenplannedingreaterdetailthanisappropriatetothisdocument.DetailscanbefoundintheNGSdocumentThe GRAV-D Project: Gravity for the Re-definition of the American Vertical Datum. Theymustbequicklyaccessibletothepublic(inbothstaticandtimevaryingform),andeasilyanalyzablewithinNGS.Renewedeffortstoacquiredatafromexternalsourcesmustbemade.
Whenthegravityfield,andthusthegeoid,ismonitoredintime,NGSwillbeabletomonitorthechangestoorthometricheights(sinceellipsoidheightswillbemonitoredintimeviaCORS).Asthesystemisbuiltup(repre-sentingtherealizationofthenationalHeightModernizationprogrambegunin�998)thenecessityofpassivemarkswilldecrease.Suchatransitionwilltakethefulltenyearsofthisplan,butevenasGPSbecomestheprimarysourceforaccurateheightsandtheneedforpassivemarksdecreases,NGSrecognizesthatsomepassiveverticalmonumentswillhavearoleintheNSRSfortheforeseeablefuture.
Alloftheabovewillrequireatremendousnumberofperson-yearstoachieve.Thescien-tistsworkingonthegeoidhaveestimatedthatthecurrent“to-dolist”ofissuestoachievetheabovevisionis27person-years.Withonlythreesuchscientists,thatmeansnineyearsofwork,presumingnothingnewarisesoverthosenineyears(whichisunrealistic).BearinginmindthatCanadaisconsideringswitchingtoagravimetricgeoid-basedverticaldatumby20�2(fouryearsaway),theimmediatepersonnelresourceneedsofNGSmustbefocusedonthosewhoworkongravityfieldissues.
Theinitialstepsneededtobetakenwithin two years inordertoachievethevisionarefoundonthenextpage.
![Page 31: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/31.jpg)
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 23
TABLE 2: Two-year Milestones toward Modernizing the Geopotential Datum
Task Lead Description
GRD / OAD TransferallabsolutegravityfieldoperationsfromGRDtoOAD.
OAD Hire,trainorcontractasecondabsolutegravityoperator.
OAD Investigatenewabsolutegravitymeters,andmakerecommendationsaboutNGSpurchasingthem.
Director’s Staff / OAD / GRD
Performacost-benefitanalysisonkeepingthesuperconductinggravimeterinBoulder,versusmovingittoanareawhereitsdatacanbemoredirectlysupportiveofthegeoidcomponentoftheNGSmission.Actontheresultsofthatstudy.
OAD Trainallfieldoperatorsintheoperationofrelativegravitymeters.
SRSD Revitalizethegravitydatabaseby:�.Assigningorhiringatleastonepersontobeinchargeofthestateofthedatabase.2.CreatingaGISbased,user-friendlymethodofadding,cleaning,manipulatinganddistributingthegravityholdings.3.Developingamethodfortagginggravitymeasurementswithepochsandvelocities(andaccelerationsifneeded).4.Developingamethodforenteringabsolutegravitydataintothedatabase.
GRD Hire,contractorreassignthreemoreMSsorPhDsdevotedexclusivelytogravityfieldresearch.
GRD Answerthefollowingquestionsaboutcomputablegeoidaccuracy:�.Isagravimetricgeoid,accurateto�cm,computablewithoutanimpracticalamountofcrustalrockdensitysurveys?2.Ifso,whatisNGSmissinginordertoachievethis?3.Ifnot,whataccuracycanbepracticallyachieved,brokendownbygeography?
GSD SurveytheNGScustomerbaseonthebestwaytoshiftverticaldatumaccessfromarelianceonpassivemarkstoarelianceonGPS/geoiddefinedverticaldatum.
GRD AnswerthefollowingquestionsregardingthelackofgravitydatainlittoralregionsoftheUnitedStates:�.Doessuchagravitygapaffectourabilitytocomputea�cmaccurategravimet-ricgeoidatanyplace(s)intheUnitedStatesoritsterritories?2.Iftheanswertoquestiononeis“yes”,thenwillthecollectionofgravityviaairbornesensorsinthoselittoralregionsremove,oratleastpartiallyalleviate,suchinaccuracies?3.Iftheanswertoquestiontwois“yes”,thenwhere,atwhatspacing,atwhatheight,atwhatspeedandwithwhatsensorsshouldairbornegravitybetakenintheUnitedStatesanditsterritories?
SRSD/OAD FormalizeNGSpolicyontheuseofpassiveverticalmarks,specificallyaddressingupkeepofexistingmarks,installationofnewmarks,informationpresentedonmarksintheNGSdatasheetsandotherrelevantquestions.
GRD /RSD
Identifyandacquire:�.ThemostaccurateDigitalElevationModelsavailablefortheUnitedStatesandtheworld2.ThemostaccuratebathymetrymodelsavailablefortheoceansandtheGreatLakes
![Page 32: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/32.jpg)
The National Geodetic Survey24
Inadditiontotheseinitialsteps,thefollowingfive- and ten-year milestonesareidentifiedtoimprovethegravimetricgeoid.Thestepsneededtogettothesemilestonesareleftforfutureplanningdocuments:
Five-Year Milestones (2013):1.NGSre-introducesanewgravityinterpo-
lationtoolwhichworksanywhereintheUnitedStatesoritsterritories,andwhichshowsanyaspectofthegravityfield(geoid,gravity,geopotential)onorabovethesurfaceoftheEarth,aswellasthetemporalrateofchangeofthatquantity.
2.NGShasproofthatagravimetricgeoidaccurateto�cmiscomputable(ordetailswhereandwhyitisnot).
3.NGSdevelopsaplanforredefiningtheverticaldatumoftheUnitedStatesusingGNSSandthegeoidby20�8.
4. NGS,incollaborationwithNaturalResourcesCanada,computesaprototypeNorthAmericangravimetricgeoid.
Ten-Year Milestones (2018):1.NGSwillcomputeapole-to-equator,Alaska-
to-Newfoundlandgeoidmodel,preferablyinconjunctionwithMexicoandCanadaaswellasotherinterestedgovernments,withanaccuracyof�cminasmanylocationsaspossible.
2.NGSredefinestheverticaldatumbasedonGNSSandagravimetricgeoid.
3.NGSredefinesthenationalhorizontaldatumtoremovegrossdisagreementswiththeITRF.
By 201�, a new geopotential datum (for orthometric and dynamic heights) is defined and realized through the combination of GNSS technology and gravity field modeling.
![Page 33: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/33.jpg)
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 25
Achieving the Vision: 3 Migrate the Coastal Mapping Program Toward IOCM
Vision Summary: Thehumansubjectivityfactor,acurrentlimitationinshorelinedelin-eation,isreducedthroughmoderntoolswithgreaterautomation.Aerialfilmcamerasarereplacedwithnewertechnologies,suchasdigitalcameras,LIDARsystems,thermalimagersandavarietyofsatellite-bornesensors.
Inthenearfuture,NGSutilizesacomple-mentarysuiteofsensorstosupplydataforavarietyofNOAAcoastalprojectsandprogramsthroughasingleflightmission,therebyassistingNOAAinefficientlymeetingtherequirementsoftheIOCMprogram.
Asakeycomponentofsuccess,theVDatumtooliscompletedandusedasacornerstoneoftheshorelinemappingprojecttoextractaconsistent,non-interpretedshoreline.
Althoughaerialfilm-basedphotographyhasbeentheprimarymethodusedtomapthenation’scoastline,theprofessionisseeingincreasedcompetitionfromdigitalcamerasandislikelytobephasedoutofexistenceinthefuture.Duetothesubstantiallygreatertechni-calchallengesandrequirements,thetransitionfromfilmtodigitalisoccurringslowerinairbornemappingcamerasthaninordinaryhand-heldcameras.However,commercialunavailabilityoffilmphotogrammetricsuppliesisnotthereasonfortransition,butinsteadtheeffect.Digitalaerialcamerasofferanumberofpotentialadvantages,including:quickerturnaroundtime,superiorradiometricperfor-mance,andimprovedrobustnesstoshadowsandlowilluminationlevels.Thus,NGSisactivelyinvestigatingdigitalaerialphotographyincombinationwithotherremotely-senseddata,suchassatelliteimagery,lightdetectionandranging(LIDAR),imagingspectroscopy(hyperspectraldata)andthermalimageryformappingtheshoreline.
Digitalcamerashaveemergedintotheremotesensingcommunitywithseveralvarying
designsandconfigurations.Aspartofitseffortstobeginthetransitionfromfilm-basedcamerastodigital,NGSisconductingfeasi-bilityresearchforutilizingsuchsensorsforshorelinemapping.Issuesthatareaggressivelybeinginvestigatedincludegeometricaccura-cies,radiometriccapabilities,calibration,stability,anddataprocessingworkflows.Arelatedareaofinvestigationinvolvestheuseofdigitalaerialcamerasforpost-emergencyresponse,anactivitylikelytoconstituteanincreasinglyimportantpartofNGS’missionoverthenextdecade.
Additionally,NGSisexploringtheuseofLIDARincoastalmapping.ResearcherswithinNGShavedemonstratedthatthistechnologyhasthepotentialtobeusedasamethodtoaccuratelyconductshorelinemappingopera-tionsinanefficient,consistent,objective,andrepeatablemanner.LIDARisanactivesystemthatprovidesthecapabilitytoquicklygatherdenseandaccurateelevationinformationfortheearth’ssurface.Theextractionofshorelinesutilizingthemethodologycurrentlyunderdevelopmentincorporatesaverticaldatum
![Page 34: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/34.jpg)
The National Geodetic Survey2�
transformationtoolfortransformingLIDARtoaspecifiedtidallybaseddatum.Thismethodol-ogyforshorelineextractionprovidessignificantadvantagesoverothershorelineproxiesthatdonotprovideconsistent,non-interpretedshorelines.LIDAR-derivedshorelinesareprovingtoprovidegoodresultsforcommonlyoccurringnaturalcoastlinetypesandcanallowformultipletidallybasedshorelinestobederivedfromasingledatasetifproperlytidecoordinated.Moreimportantly,thisproce-dureminimizesthevariabilityandsubjectivitythathaveplaguedmoretraditionalshorelinedelineationtechniques.Furthermore,LIDARdataacquisitioncanbedoneduringthedayornightandinsometypesofweatherunsuitableforaerialphotography,leadingtoanincreaseinoperationalefficiency.
NGSiscurrentlytestinganddevelopingaverticaldatumtransformationtoolcalledVDatum.VDatumcurrentlysupports29verticaldatumsthatcanbeplacedintothreecategories:three-dimensional(realizedthroughspace-bornesystems),orthometric(definedrelativetoaformofmeansealevel),andtidal(basedonatidallyderivedsurface).UtilizingLIDARandotherremotelysensedelevationdatasets,itisimportanttohaveatoolthatcantransformtheelevationinforma-tiontoanappropriate,consistentdatum.Theverticaldatumtransformationtoolaccountsforchangesintidalrangewhichisintegraltoextractingaconsistent,non-interpretedshoreline.VDatumallowsuserstoconvertfromaneasilyaccessedverticaldatum(suchasthoseusedinGPS)toanyotherterrestrialorhydro-graphicdatum.WorkiscurrentlyunderwaytopopulateVDatumforthecontinentalUnitedStatesoverthenextfiveyears.Developmentsarealsobeingmadetothetooltoenhancefunction-alityandincreaseeaseofuse.
NGSisalsoexploringothersensorssuchasimagingspectrometers,thermalimageryand
otherairborneandsatellitebornesensors.Imagingspectroscopyallowsfortheacquisitionofdataoverawideportionoftheelectromag-neticspectruminseveralnarrow,contiguousspectralbands.Suchdata(oftencalledhyper-spectraldata)canbeusedtodeterminetheland/waterinterfaceaccuratelyandassistwithclassificationofthescene.Thisclassificationcanaidthefeatureattributionoftheshorelinevectors.Thermalimagersarealsobeingexaminedtoassistinderivingtheland/waterinterface.Thistechnologyisparticularlyattrac-tiveforcoastalregionswithlargetemperaturegradientsacrosstheland/waterinterface.
Overthenextfiveyearstheprimaryfocusofthisresearchintoemergingremotesensingtechnologiesandprocessing/analysistechniquesistoincreaseefficiencyintheCoastalMappingProgram.Thegoalsoftheseresearchinitiativesincludegainingflexibilityoverweatherandtidalconstraintsandprovidingdatatobenefitmultipleuserssupportingavarietyofprojectsandprograms.Aspecificareaofresearchduringthistimeframewillinvolvemulti-sensordatafusion.Throughfusionofdatafrompassiveandactivesensors(e.g.LIDARdataandmulti-orhyperspectralimagery),wecanimprovetheinformationaboutboth“wherethingsare”and“whattheyare”whilesimulta-neouslysupportingmultipledataneeds.
Takingalongerview,NOAAleadershipisimplementingmatrixmanagementtomoreeffectivelymanageresourcesandimproveefficiencyacrosstheentireorganization.IntegratedOceanandCoastalMapping(IOCM)isoneareawherethiscrosscuttingstrategywillcomplementadvancesinremotesensingtechnologies.Historically,therehavebeennumeroususersofaerialremotelysenseddata,andthenumberofrequestersisconstantlygrowing.Asidefromthecongres-sionallymandatedshorelinemappingproductNGSisresponsiblefor,NOAAusersneeddata
![Page 35: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/35.jpg)
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 27
toproducemapssupportingthefollowingactivities:
n Marinenavigation(bathymetry)
n Oceanexploration
n Fisheries,benthichabitat
n Non-pointsourceandpointsourcepollution
n Coralreefassessment
n Oceanchemistry
n Tsunamiandstormsurgemodeling
n NationalMarineSanctuarymonitoring
n WetlandsmappingatNationalEstuarineResearchReserves(NERRs)
Twomainchallengeskeepprospectiveusersfromrealizingtheirdatarequirements:expenseandexpertise.Aerialremotesensingisaveryexpensiveproposition.Asidefromthehighcostassociatedwithoperatingaircraftandprocuringstateoftheartsensors,mostappli-cationsrequireveryspecificenvironmentalconditionswhichseverelylimitthetimeavailablefordatacollection.Additionally,thetimeandexpenseneededtotrainpersonnelandmaintaintherequiredskillsetsaresubstantial.Inthecurrentparadigm,variousofficeswithinNOAAwhichrequiremappingproductsareeffectivelyontheirownwhenitcomestodatacollection,processing,andproduction.Thisresultsinahightimeandmoneycostforalowvolumeofendproductsthatdonotalwaysmeetthecustomer’sneeds.
IntegratedOceanandCoastalMapping(IOCM)willaddressthisproblembycentral-izingNOAAmappingandchartingactivities.Asremotesensingtechnologyadvances,moreandmoremappingneedswillberealizedinthismanner.Active(e.g.LIDAR)andpassive(e.g.imagingspectrometersandcameras)sensorsoperatedfromaircrafthavetheability
toprovideaplethoraofinformationthatcanbeusedtodescribethecoastalzone.Thesesensorsworkverywellindependently,howeverthefusionofthesedatasetshasthepotentialtoproduceproductsthataregreaterthanthesumoftheirparts.Notableadvanceswilllikelybeintheareaofdiscreteobjectandareaclassi-fication,aswellasincreasedcollectionandprocessingefficiency(i.e.automation).
SincethenavigationalchartinguseofNGSdatatypicallyexceedsanyotheruser’sspatialaccuracyrequirements,NGSisuniquelysuitedtotaketheleadinmeetingIOCMchallenges.Avarietyofchangesoverthenextfewyears,fromnewequipmenttobetterprocessingtechniques,shouldimproveNGS’abilitytobeafullyengagedpartnerinthefield.ItisNGS’visionto:
n BealeaderinIOCM
n Useexperiencegainedin-housetodevelopstandardsandproceduresforcontractors
n Qualityassurancecontracteddataandproducts
n CollectproductiondatathatsatisfyabroadrangeofNOAAcustomers’needswherecontractingisnotpractical
n Streamlineproductionworkflowandpriori-tizeareasofrapidchangetobetterutilizein-houseandcontractedresources
n Keepthenationalshorelineuptodateandwithinaccuracyspecifications
Theinitialstepsneededtobetakenwithin two years inordertoachievethevisionarefoundinthetableonthenextpage.
![Page 36: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/36.jpg)
The National Geodetic Survey2�
Inadditiontotheseinitialsteps,thefollowingfive- and ten-year milestonesareidentifiedtoincreasetheefficiencyofshorelinedelineation.Thestepsneededtogettothesemilestonesareleftforfutureplanningdocuments:
Five-Year Milestones (2013):1.NGScompletesallupdatestotheterrestrial
componentofVDatum.2.NGScompletesthetransitionfromfilm
camerastostrictlydigitalsensors.3.Efficiencyofcoastlinedelineationallowsfor
resurveyofportseveryfouryearsandtotalcoastlineevery�5years.
Ten-Year Milestones (2018): 1.Ahighlyautomatedsystemforextractinga
delineatedshorelineisinplace.2.NGScoastalmissionsarestronglyintegrated
withIOCM,GGOS(GlobalGeodeticObservingSystem)andGEOSS(GlobalEarthObservationSystemofSystems).
Table 3: Two-year Milestones toward Migrating the Coastal Mapping Program toward IOCM
Task Lead Description
RSD Developthecapabilityofusingdigitalcamerasforshorelinedelineationandbeginphasingoutfilmcameras.
GRD / RSD ResolvethefollowinggeodeticissuesforVDatuminsideCONUS:SupportGEOID03,GEOID99,futureGEOIDmodels,updatestoNAVD88andIGLD85inUTMandGeographicCoordinatetransformations.BeginworkonthesametasksforOCONUS,includingCaribbean,Hawaii,Alaska,andPacificTrustTerritories.
RSD ConductresearchonvariousremotesensingplatformsandtechnologiesandreporttotheDirectoraplanforwhichplatformandsensor(orcomplementarysuiteofsensors)willbethepredominantmethodofcoastalmappingforthenextdecade.
![Page 37: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/37.jpg)
proposedinthisplantoNGSspecifications,guidelines,toolsandmanuals.
Onamoreinternalnote,NGSwillempowertheProductsandServicesCommittee(PSC)withgreaterresponsibilitytodirectlyinfluencetheassignmentofNGSresourcestowarddevelopingnewproducts,aswellasensuringthatexistingproductsandservicesareeitherupdatedorretired,asappropriate.
InordertoincreasethestakeholderfeedbacktoNGSregardingproductsandservices,thePSCwillalsobeempoweredtoseeksuchinputdirectly(withinFederalAdvisoryCommitteesAct(FACA)guidelines).Furthermore,NGSwillcontinuetomakeuseoftheCountyScorecardprocess—avitaltoolinassessingthegeographicbreakdownofNGS’effectivenessonacounty-by-countybasis,thoughnewtoolsforevaluatingmorelocalormorestatewideinfor-mationshouldultimatelybedeveloped.
Last,butcertainlynotleast,NGSmustcontinuetoexpandtheknowledgebaseofitsemployees,
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 29
Achieving the Vision: 4 Evolve Core Capabilities
Vision Summary: NGSidentifies,maintainsandimprovesitscapabilityofperformingcore(mission-related)functions.Atthesametime,NGSmodernizesitsinfrastructure,updatingallspecifications,guidelinesandtoolsinordertoenableNGSstakeholderstoaccesstheNSRSassimplyaspossible.Anumberofsub-tasksareassociatedwiththisoverarchinggoal,includingtheeducationandtrainingofNGSemployees,supportingreal-timeapplica-tions,evaluatinghoworwhetheroutsideuserssubmitdatatotheNGSdatabase,modern-izingalltoolsusedbyNGSandprovidedtothepublic,updatingalloutreachandtrainingmaterials,andgenerallyimprovingthequalityofallNGSproductsandservices.
Further,NGSdevelopsastrongagency-wideProductsandServicesCommitteetaskedwiththeresponsibilityoftrackingallofficialproductsandservicesofNGS,approvingthedevelopmentofprototypes,andimprovingorretiringexistingproductsandservices.
Lastly,NGStakesamoreactiveapproachtotrainingandre-toolingitsworkforce,includingsuccessiontraining,longtermtraining,supportingsabbaticalsandtechnicaltransferwithvisitingscientists.
NGSprovidesmanygoodday-to-daycore capabilities.Still,inthiseraofsmallerworkforces,itiscriticalthatNGStransfertooutsideusersthecapacitytoperformgoodworkthatwasoftenreservedforNGStoperformdirectly,whilestillmaintainingtheabilitytoperformcorecapabilities.Thiswillresultinavarietyofsmallchanges,andcontinuedgoodworks—inessence,ashiftinbusinessstylefrom“doitall”to“enableitall;dosomeourselves”.
Whatwillbecriticalinthefuturewillbeimproving(notnecessarilyexpanding)NGSinfrastructureandfocusingonatwo-waycommunicationwithNGSstakeholders.
NGSmustchangeitsproductsandservices,consideringtheinterestsof,andtakingthedirectinputof,thestakeholders.RevitalizingtheFederalGeodeticControlSubcommittee(FGCS)willbecriticalfordevelopingstakeholderinput.Thislaststepiscrucial,consideringthenumberofchangesbeing
![Page 38: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/38.jpg)
The National Geodetic Survey30
whileensuringthatcriticalinstitutionalknowledgeisretained.Quitesimply,thiswillrequireregularlysettingasidemoneyforeduca-tionalandtrainingopportunities(including,butnotlimitedto,annualNGSbudgetingtosponsorlong-termtraining,continuingeducation,sabbaticalsandvisitingscientists).Furthermore,criticaltaskswillbeidentified,andanachievablesuccessionplanningstrategywillbedevelopedandwillbecomeoneofthecriticaldocumentsofconsiderationduringthedevelopmentofannualperformanceplans.
Theinitialstepsneededtobetakenwithin two years inordertoachievethevisionarefoundbelow.
Table 4: Two-year Milestones Toward Evolving Core Capabilities
Task Lead Description
GSD DevelopanddeliveraGNSSRTKworkshoptoNGSandnon-NGSpersons.
SDD / SRSD FormallyadoptonegeospatialgraphicandanalysistoolforusebyallofNGSemployeesintheirduties.
SDD PhaseoutallDOS-basedprograms.
SDD Redesigndatasheets.
OAD / GRD / SDD MakenewtoolssuchasPDA-basedapplicationsandnon-bluebookdatasubmittalavailable.
GSD Createabranchforthestateadvisors.
Director’s Staff / GSD
Performacriticalanalysisofthestateadvisorprogramascurrentlyexecuted,developalternativesandcollectstakeholderfeedbackonthecurrentprogramweighedagainstalternatives.
OAD MakeallNGSfieldmanualsandtechnicaldocumentsavailableindigitalformontheinternet.
SDD / GSD UpdateNGSmainWebpage,includingnamingresponsiblepartiesforupdatingandremovingalldeadlinks.
GSD DevelopnewflyersforallNGSproducts.
All Divisions Deliverdatainefficient,modernways(suchasArcGISserver).
GSD AcquiretherequisitehardwareandsoftwaretofullycreateNGSmultimediapresentations,includingDVDs,streamingvideosandvoiced-overslideshows,aswellasGIS-friendlyinternetproductsandservices.
GSD DevelopanewstandardizedPowerPointtemplateforusearoundNGS.
![Page 39: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/39.jpg)
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 31
Table 4: Two-year Milestones Toward Evolving Core Capabilities
Task Lead Description
SDD / GSD CraftandadoptapolicylinkingthebasiclookandfeeloftheWebpagewithotheroutreachmaterials.
GRD OverhaulthelevelingprogramofNGScomprehensively,beginningwithimprovingthemethodforuserstosubmitlevelingprojecttoNGS.Furtherstepswillincludetheestablishmentofan“OPUS-leveling”onlinetoolbuiltuponacompleteandnewlyresearchedassessmentofallreductionsandfieldproceduressuitableforalllevelingprojects.Thisresearchwillyieldanewmanualforgeodeticleveling.ThefinalstepwillbetomakeOPUS-levelingoperational,includingfunctionalityforuserstosubmittheirdatathroughthetool.
GSD Develop“layperson”versionsofoutreachmaterialsgearedforstakeholders.(Forexample:teachpeoplehowgeodesyprovidesaccurateheightsforthedeter-minationofpotentialfloodareasinyourcity).
Director’s Staff AnalyzetheGeodesyProgram’snewGPRAmeasureandtheresultsoftheCountyScorecardtodeveloprecommendationsforimprovementsinNGSproductsandservices.
SRSD CraftandexecutetheofficialpolicyonNGS’roleinenablingreal-timeaccesstotheNSRS.
Director’s Staff Re-establishthemembershipofFGCS,andcallforregularmeetingstogainofficialUnitedStatesGovernmentbuy-infortheupdatingofnumerousNGSguidelinesandmeetingstakeholderneeds.
Director’s Staff Re-establishthemembershipofFGCS,developlongandshort-termplanforFGCSanddeveloptheannualworkplanrequiredbyFGDC.
Director’s Staff Identifythecriticalinstitutionalknowledgethatmustberetained,anddevelopanachievablesuccessionplanningstrategyforNGStouseinthedevelopmentofannualperformanceplans.
Director’s Staff IdentifycriticalinstitutionalknowledgegapsNGSmustclosetosuccessfullyperformtheirmissioninfutureyears.Developaplanforgainingsuchknowledgeandprovidethebudgetnecessarytoachieveit.
OAD ContinuetoprovideairportsurveystotheFAAasordered,throughamixofcorecapabilitiesandoutsidecontracting(overseenbyNGS).
RSD Continuetodelineate20%ofportsand5%oftheadditionalUnitedStatescoast-lineannually.
SRSD Continuetoprovideaccesstothegeodeticlatitude,longitudeandheightcomponentsoftheNSRSviaCORSandOPUS-GNSSorNGSdatasheets.
SRSD Continuetoprovideoutsideuserstheabilitytodeterminegeoidundulations(hybridorgravimetric),NAVD88heights,Dynamicheightsandsurfacegravity.
![Page 40: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/40.jpg)
The National Geodetic Survey32
Inadditiontotheseinitialsteps,thefollowingfive- and ten-year milestonesareidentifiedtoincreaseoutsidecapacitywhilemaintain-ingcorecapabilities.Thestepsneededtogettothesemilestonesareleftforfutureplanningdocuments:
Five-Year Milestones (2013): 1.Allpoint-baseddataareservedtothepublic
viaacustomized,colorized,hyperlinkedWeb-baseddatasheetcontainingimagesandtextlimitedtothosequantitiesacustomerrequests.
2.NGShasavibrantWebpagewithupdatedfielddocuments,papersandpresentations,aswellascomprehensiveonlineeducationalmaterials—alleasytofindandeachwithanidentifiedpointofcontact.
3.NGSservesupavarietyofproductsusingWebservicesandreal-timedatastreaming.
4.AccesstotheNSRSisefficientlyperformedviamoderntoolsanddoesnotrequiresubmissionoffielddatatotheNGSdatabase,butwhichdoesprovideanefficientandsimplemethodforuserstosubmittheirfielddatatotheNGSdatabase.
5.Over90%ofallUnitedStatescountiesarefullyorsubstantiallyenabledwiththeinfra-structure,toolsandcapacityforaccuratepositioning(seeAppendixB).
�.AllNGSmanualsandtechnicaldocumentshavebeenmadeavailabledigitallywithupdatesreflectingmoderntechnologyandprocedures.
Ten-Year Milestones (2018):1.AllNGSstandards,specificationsandguide-
linesareupdatedtothelatesttechnologies,andavailabledigitallywithanannualstatuscheckandpotentialupdatecycle.
![Page 41: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/41.jpg)
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 33
Achieving the Vision: 5 Visibility
Someofthisparticipationwillincludebroadeducationalinitiatives,arobustvisitingscien-tistprogram,animprovedpublicationrecord,participationandleadershipinnationalandinternationalscientificorganizations,develop-mentofworld-standardgeospatialstandardsandspecificationsandcooperativeworkingrelation-shipswithdiversepartnersaroundthecountryandtheworld.
Vision Summary: NGSstrengthensitsstatusasaworldleaderingeospatialactivitiesthroughincreasedparticipationintheinterna-tionalarenaandtheuseofpartnershipswithuniversities,Federalagencies,stategovern-mentsandotherstakeholders.
TheprecedingportionsofthisplanhavefocusedonspecifictechnicalissuessurroundinglargeNGSprograms,butthischapterwillspecifi-callyaddressavarietyofbusiness styleissueswhichmustchangeif,inaccordancewithitsstatedmission,NGSistostrengthenandretainitspositionasaworldleaderingeospatialactivities.
OneofthecoreproblemswithmaintainingworldleadershipingeospatialactivitieshasbeenashrinkingNGSworkforce,coupledwithalethargicapproachtowardretrainingandretoolingtheexistingworkforce.Thismustchange.NGSmustreachouttouniversitiestoencouragethetrainingofnewgeospatialexpertsand,infact,musttakestepstoensurebasicgeospatialtopicsaretaughtatthehighschoolandmiddleschoollevels.TheimmediatefuturehiresofNGSshouldalsoconcentrateonhighlyskilledandeducatedscientistscapableofapplyingmoderntoolstotheNGSmission.OneotherchangeNGSmustmakeistorevital-izeandfullysupportavibrantvisitingscientistprogram.Inthe�970’sand�980’s,NGSwashosttonumerousinternationalscientists.InordertoimproveNGS’statureasageospa-tialworldleaderwhileoffsettingareducedworkforce,NGSshouldrestartastrongvisitingscientistprogram.TheprogramshouldincludenotonlyscientistsvisitingNGS,butalsoNGS
employeestakingsabbaticalsatotherinstitu-tions.Furthermore,therevitalizationofFGCS,includingstrongliaisonswithFGCSagencies,willallowNGStoleadgeospatialactivitiesonanationalscale.
TheparticipationbetweenNGSandscientificorganizationsmustbeallowedtogrowandprosper.Thereisanon-quantifiablebutdistinctlypositivebenefittoNGSscientistsbelongingtoandparticipatinginthemeetingsofnationalandinternationalorganizations.NGSshouldalsobecontributingtotheknowledgebaseofsuchorganizationswhilelearningandadopt-ingtheirlatestfindings.NGSemployeesshouldbegiveneveryopportunitytofullyengagewithorganizationssuchastheInternationalUnionofGeodesyandGeophysics(IUGG),theInternationalAssociationofGeodesy(IAG),theFédérationInternationaledesGéomètres(FIG),theInstituteofNavigation(ION),theAmericanGeophysicalUnion(AGU),theAmericanCongressonSurveyingandMapping(ACSM)theAmericanSocietyforPhotogrammetry&RemoteSensing(ASPRS),andtheAmericanSocietyofCivilEngineers(ASCE),tonameafew.
Onarelatednote,NGSmustimproveitsparticipationininternationalscientificservices.TheInternationalEarthRotationandReferenceSystemService(IERS)andtheInternationalGNSSService(IGS)arebothcriticalservices
![Page 42: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/42.jpg)
The National Geodetic Survey34
NGShasrelieduponfordecadestoperformitsmissionandtietheNSRStotheinterna-tionalcoordinateframes.Infact,NGSshouldconsideritadutytobemoreactiveinbothoftheseservices.Furthermore,greaterNGSparticipationinFIG,especiallycommissionsFour(Hydrography),Five(PositioningandMeasurement)andEight(SpatialPlanningandDevelopment)willaidNGSinachievinggloballeadershipinmanygeospatialactivities.
Onanationallevel,butstillpartoftheimple-mentationofagloballeadershipstrategy,NGSwillhaveastrongerfocusonnationalizingtheHeightModernizationprogram.Begunin�998throughareporttoCongress,theprogramhasbeenimplementedpredominantlyonastate-by-statebasis.ThishashadtheunfortunateeffectofunbalancingNGS’abilitytoserveitsconstituentsonanationallevel.Suchachangeclearlytakestimetoimplement.ThefirststepwillbeforNGStoengagewiththeFederalGeodeticControlSubcommitteeonthechangeofdirection.Additionally,NGSmustactivelyengagewithitscurrentHeightModernizationpartnerstodevelopaplanwhichtransitionsHeightModernizationeffortsinthenexttenyearstowardamorenationalapproach.AplantonationalizetheprogramwilllikelyinvolvedirectingHeightModernizationeffortstowardthe(previouslymentioned)goalsof“ModernizeCORS”and“ImproveGravityFieldModeling”.
Finally,thegoodworkofNGSmustbebroughttolightasoftenaspossible.Thismeansspecificallypublishingresearchandupdatingallstandardsandspecificationtoreflecttheverylatestintechnologyandfieldprocedures.
Theinitialstepsneededtobetakenwithin two years inordertoachievethevisionarefoundinthetableonthenextpage.
![Page 43: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/43.jpg)
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 35
Table 5: Two-year Milestones toward Increasing Agency Visibility
Task Lead Description
SRSD / OAD Developaplanfortheupdateorretirementofallfieldguidelinesandothertechnicaldocuments(including,butnotlimitedto:geodeticleveling,GPSderivedorthometricheights,GPSderivedellipsoidheights,theGeodeticGlossary).
All Divisions Acquireany/allofthemostmodernremotesensing,surveyingandgeodeticfieldequipmentavailable(including,butnotlimitedto:GLONASSandGalileoreceivers,RTKnetworkequipment,LaserLevels,GPS/Lasersurveyingequipment,absolutegravimeters,airbornegravimeters)
GRD Developandinstituterequirementsforallresearcherstopublishinpeerreviewedscientificjournalsregularly.Alsoincludedshouldberequirementstopresentfindingsatscientificandprofessionalmeetings.
Director’s Staff / GSD
HoldaseriesofHeightModernizationpartnershipmeetings,anddevelopaplantoallowtheexecutionofHeightModernizationonanationalbasis.
Director’s Staff Developatleastonecompletecollege-levelcourseofeducationalmaterialsonageodetictopic.DeploythematerialonboththeNGSWebpage,aswellasdistrib-utingittovarioussurveyingandmappingprogramsatuniversitiesworldwide.
Director’s Staff Developandmakeavailable(inconjunctionwithNOSCommunicationsandEducationDivision)educationalmaterialsappropriateforgradesKthrough�2.
GSD DevelopoutreachWorldWideWeb(WWW)materialsandworkshopsexpressingthedynamicnatureoftheNSRS.
GSD DevelopoutreachmaterialsfortheWWWandworkshopsonthistenyearplan.
Director’s Staff SetasideafixedbudgetannuallytofinancegraduatestudentresearchapplicabletotheNGSmission.
Director’s Staff Setasideafixedbudgetannuallytofinancevisitingscientists.
Director’s Staff Re-establishFGCSmembership,andcallforregularmeetingstogainofficialUnitedStatesGovernmentbuy-inforupdatingNGSguidelinesandtomeetstake-holderneeds.
Director’s Staff Re-establishthemembershipofFGCS,developalong-termplanforFGCSanddeveloptheannualworkplanrequiredbyFGDC.
GRD / SRSD VolunteertheservicesofNGStoserveastandardfour-yeartermasthe“AnalysisCenterCoordinator”fortheIGS.
Director’s Staff ParticipateintheNationalResearchCouncil’sstudyontheneedfor,andmake-upof,geodeticnetworks.
All Divisions EncourageNGSemployeemembershipinscientificorganizationsand,totheextentfiscallypossible,fundtraveltonationalandinternationalconferences.SpecialemphasisshouldbeplacedonNGSemployeesservingasofficersandboardmembersofIAG,AGU,TRB,ACSM,ASPRSandFIG(commissions4,5and8).
![Page 44: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/44.jpg)
The National Geodetic Survey3�
Inadditiontotheseinitialsteps,thefollowingfive- and ten-year milestonesareidentifiedtoimplementagloballeadershipstrategy.Thestepsneededtogettothesemilestonesareleftforfutureplanningdocuments Five-Year Milestones (2013):1.NGShasaprovenrecordoffundingand
hostingvisitingscientiststotheextentsuchinvitationsaresoughtbyinternationalcolleagues.
2.NGSemployeesdirectlyparticipateintheIGS,IERS,ION,AGU,FIG,ACSMASPRS,FGCS,PNTCOandIAG,bothtechnicallyandmanagerially.
3.AcompletesetofeducationaltoolsisavailableontheNGSWebpageforscienceteacherstouseintheclassroom.
Ten-Year Milestones (2018):1.NGSdevelopsstrongtiestomultiple
universities,fundingresearchandapplyingresearchforapplicationtothemission.
2.NGSstronglyholdsapositionasworldleaderingeospatialactivities.
3.NGSprovidestechnicalsupporttoatleasttwoothercountriesindevelopingcriticalgeodeticinfrastructure.
![Page 45: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/45.jpg)
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 37
Appendix A Documentation for NGS Missions
AgenciessuchasNGSwhicharehierarchi-callyafewlevelsremovedfromthePresident’scabinet,mayfinditdifficulttofindeitherlaw,ordersormandatesdirectlyorderingthemtoperformspecifictasks.However,thereareafewkeydocumentswhichdoaddressthemissionofNGSdirectly,whileindirectlyassigningthatmissiontoNGS.
In�993theNationalResearchCouncil(NRC)performedastudyentitledToward a Coordin–ated Spatial Data Infrastructure for the Nation. Whilenotagovernmentmandate,thestudyledtosomeofthestrongestdocumentsdefiningthemissionsofNGSinexistence.
OneofthesedocumentsisOMB Circular No. A-16 (“CoordinationofGeographicInformationandRelatedSpatialDataActivities”).ThisdocumentdirectedtheFederalGeographicDataCommittee(FGDC)beinchargeofestablishingtheNationalSpatialDataInfrastructure(NSDI).Furthermore,itdirectlynamesNOAAasthe“leadagency”inproviding“geodeticcontrol”fortheFederalgovernmentinsupportoftheNSDI.ThegeodeticcontrolspecificallynamedistheNationalSpatialReferenceSystem(NSRS).BecausenootheragencyinsideofNOAAdealsinestablishinggeodeticcontrol(norspecificallytheNSRS),thenamingof“NOAA”astheleadagencyeffectivelytranslatesinto“NGS”.Also,sincetheNSDIrequires“accessforallcitizenstospatialdata”,itisspecifiedinourlatestmissionstate-mentsthattheNSRSbeaccessedby“allUnitedStatescitizens.”
Additionally,Executive Order 12906(“Coordi-natingGeographicDataAcquisitionandAccess:TheNationalSpatialDataInfrastructure”)backsupOMBCircularNo.A-�6andempowerstheFGDCwithdevelopmentoftheNSDI.
In�994,theNRCperformedanotherstudyentitledForum on NOAA’s National Spatial Reference System.Again,whilenotdirectmandates,theNRC’srecommendationsareconsidereddirectlyrelevanttotheNGSintro-spectionindefiningitsmissionsastheypertaintotheNSRS.Thisisespeciallytrue,consideringhowthe�993NRCstudyledtoExecutiveOrder�2906andOMBCircularNo.A-�6.Inthisreport,theNRCrecognizedthatNGSshouldimplementtheNSRSas“thesingle,coordi-natedreferencesystem”inordertoachieve“maximumreturns”(economicaswellasinsupportoftheNSDI).
IntheformofUnitedStateslawsaddressingthisissuearethe U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Act,asamended.ThishasbeencodifiedintheUSCodeinseveralsectionsofTitle33oftheUSCode(thespecificcitewouldbe33USC§883atoroughly§888orso).Althoughwordinginthislawisdifficultataminimum,ifonestudiestheStatueinSec883a,onecanseethatthe“SecretaryofCommerce…inordertoprovidebasicdata…forscientificpurposes…canconductgeodetic-controlsurveys…andrelated…measurements…investigations,andobserva-tions”.ThislanguageishighlyvagueandattheDepartmentofCommercelevel.Still,besidesNGS,noagencywithintheDepartmentofCommercedealswithgeodeticdata,andassuch,thisacthasbeenseenasgivingNGSthemandatetoperformthenecessaryfieldsurveysanddatacollectiontoprovideforthecommongood.
Similarly,onecantakewordingfromanotherlaw,theHydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998andfinddirectrelevancetothemissionsofNGS.Intheact,theterm“hydro-graphic”isused,butitisbroadlydefinedwithintheacttoincludegeodeticdata.Takingnothingoutofcontext,butbysimplylookingatwhatgeodeticissuestheActaddresses(withinthe
![Page 46: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/46.jpg)
broadercontextofhydrographicissues),thelawcanbereadpartlyas:
TheAdministratorofNOAAistoacquireanddisseminategeodeticdata,promulgatestandardsforboththedataandservicesofsuchgeodeticdata,ensurecomprehensivecoverageofthatgeodeticdata,maintainanationaldatabaseofsuchdataandpartici-pateintheinternationaldevelopmentofstandardsforgeodeticdataandgeodeticservices.
ThisactspeakstothethirdmissionofNGS—thestandardsandspecificationsofgeodeticdata.BecausethepowerisentrustedtotheadministratorofNOAA,andbecausenootherofficeinNOAAdealswithgeodeticdata,NGSunderstandstheacttomeanthatNGSistobetheofficeinchargeofgeodeticstandardsandspecifications.
Finally,thelasttimeNGSwentthroughastrongintrospectionandmission-definingexercisewasin�994.ThatprocessledtothedocumentNational Geodetic Survey: Its Mission, Vision, and Strategic Goals. Thedocumentstatedbutonemission,whichinretrospectwasquitebroad,whilefailingtoaddresseithershorelinemappingorthedevelopmentofstandardsandspecifications.Also,manyofthetechnologiesusedtodaywerenotinusein�994.Additionally,thatdocument—likethisone—isbasedonacombinationofoutsideinfluenceandagencyintrospection,anditisthereforeopentore-interpretation.AlloftheseissuesclearlyindicatethatatimehascomeforNGStore-statethemissionsitwillaccomplishinthefuture.
The National Geodetic Survey3�
![Page 47: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/47.jpg)
Geodesy GPRA Measure Overview
PercentageofUnitedStatescountiesratedasfullyenabledorsubstantiallyenabledwithaccuratepositioningcapacity(Goal:Increasepercentageofcountiesratedassubstantiallyorfullyenabled,withtheinfrastructure,tools,anddemonstratedlocalcapacityforaccuratepositioning,from25%in2004to90%in20��).
Background
TheGeodesyProgram’scapacitytoenablestateandlocalgovernmentsandtheprivatesectortoobtainaccuratepositioningisacriticalfactorinfacilitatingequityofcommerceinaneconomybasedonlandownership.ThiscapacityisalsofundamentaltoNOAA’scontinuedabilitytoprovidenavigationservices,conductcoastalrestorationprojectsandsupportadaptationtotheeffectsofclimatechange,particularlysea-levelrise.Todeterminehowwellacountyisenabledwithaccuratepositioningcapacity,NOAAwilltrackcounty-levelusageofNOAA’sOPUSinitsseveralvariations—forlevelingprojects,GPSprojects,andsingle-pointpositioning.However,NOAArecognizesthatOPUSsolutionsinonecountymayhavebeenperformedbyusersfromothercounties,andsowilleventuallyneedtodevelopmoreaccuratemethodsofdeterminingthegeographicdistri-butionoftheGeodesyProgram’scapacitytoenablelocaluserstoaccesstheNSRS.
UsingOPUSdataforthenewGPRAperfor-mancemeasure,NOAAwillfeatureautomateddatacapturethroughaconnectiontotheNGSdatabase.Withthesedata,NOAAcaneasilycreateGeographicInformationSystemstovisuallyshowperformancecounty-by-countyonamapoftheUnitedStates.Countylevelisthemostappropriategeographicunit,becauseitofferscoveragefortheentireUnitedStates,andthereisanexistingcounty-levelinfrastructure
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 39
Appendix B Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)
foraddressingspatialissues.Landrecordsaremaintainedatthecountylevelandthesupportinglocalsurveyprojects,relyingongeodeticcontrol,aretypicallyatthecountylevel.NOAA’sconstituentsfortheGeodesyProgramcanreadilyidentifywithcounties.
However,U.S.countiesdifferinpopulation,size,landuse,andothercharacteristics,andNOAAisinvestigatingitsdifferinggeodeticneeds.NOAAwillvalidateacounty’scapacityforlocalpositioningthroughdirectcoordina-tionwithlocalities,suchasnewstationsfromthatcountysubmittedandloadedintotheNGSdatabase,orOPUSprojectacceptancebyNOAA.Byassessingtheuserneedsofcountysurveyors,counties,andtheirassociations,NOAAwillvalidatethattheGeodesyProgramismeetinglocalpositioningneeds.TheGeodesyGPRAmeasurewilltrackprogresstowardthesegoals.
Indicator
Thelevelofcapacityvariesacrossthenation.Thisvariationismeasuredasdeficient,suffi-cientlyenabled,andfullyenabledasfollows:
1. Deficientcapacitytoconductaccuratepositioning
a.IndicatescountyhasnotdemonstratedithastheNOAA-enabledinfrastructure,tools,andlocalcapacityneededforaccuratepositioning.Thisisindicatedbyfewerthan25OPUSsolutiongenerationsinagivencountyinthelastyearandnocapac-ityvalidation(suchasbyOPUSprojectsubmission).
b.Colorindicatoroncountymap—RedorBlank.
2. Substantially enabled capacitytoconductaccuratepositioning.
![Page 48: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/48.jpg)
The National Geodetic Survey40
a. IndicatescountyhasdemonstratedithastheNOAA-enabledinfrastructure,tools,andlocalcapacityneededforaccurateposition-ing.Thisisindicatedby25ormoreOPUSsolutiongenerationsinagivencountyinthelastyear.
b.Colorindicatoroncountymap—Yellow.
3. Fully Enabledtoconductaccuratepositioning.
a.Indicatescounty-validatedNOAA-enabledinfrastructure,tools,andlocalcapacityneededforaccuratepositioning.Thisisindicatedbyhavingthefourfollowingelements:
i.NGShasidentifiedacountydesignatedrepresentative;suchas:CountySurveyor,CountyEngineer,GISAdministrator,orequivalent.
ii.ThecountyparticipatesintheStateAdvisor/Coordinatorprogramorhasastatedesignatedequivalent.
iii.Countyhassubmittedaccepted“bluebook”datatoNGSthroughactivitiessuchas:levelingprojectsoftware,GPSprojectsandOPUS.
iv.Countycompletesacounty-based,accurate-positioningscorecard(CountyScorecard).
b.Colorindicatoroncountymap—Green.
Unit of Measure
Percentageofcounties.
Baseline
BytheendofFY2004,25%ofcountiesaresubstantiallyenabled(Yellow)byNOAAtoconductaccuratepositioning.ThisfigureisbasedonOnlinePositioningUserSystem(OPUS)useinFY04.OPUSusestatisticsisthemajorcomponentoftheGPRAmeasure.ThecapabilityforOPUS-GNSSforprojectsubmissionandothervalidationmethodsisstillunderdevelopment,thereforeasof2004,0%ofcountieswerefullyenabled(Green)byNOAAtoconductaccuratepositioning.
BasedonNOAAdatatodateandconsulta-tionwithstakeholders,25OPUSsolutionspercountyperyearisanappropriatethresholdvalue.NOAAhasfoundthatsurveyingprojectsinvolvingOPUScanbeexpectedtoproduceonetothreeOPUSsolutionsoverseveraldaysasmarksareverifiedorestablished,and25OPUSsolutionsrepresenteightto25individualsurveyingprojects.Numberofprojectsshowsasustainedactivityofuseovertime.PreliminarydiscussionsconcerningthisthresholdvaluewiththeNationalAssociationofCountySurveyorsfoundthatusagelowerthan25solutionswouldnotbeindicativeofconsistentOPUSuseandwouldindicateacountyhasnotdemonstratedlocalcapacityforaccuratepositioning.
MeasureFY 2004
(baseline) 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Percentage of U.S. counties rated as substan-tially enabled or fully enabled with accurate positioning capacity
25% 28% 39% 49% 60% 75% 82% 92%
Target
![Page 49: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/49.jpg)
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 41
oftheNOAAcapabilitytobuildoutsidelocalcapacityforaccuratepositioning:
n Deficient capacitytoconductaccuratepositioning—RedorBlank.
n Substantially enabledcapacitytoconductaccuratepositioning—Yellow.
n F ully Enabledtoconductaccuratepositioning—Green.
Targets vs Actuals
n By20��,92%ofallU.S.countieshavesubstantialinfrastructure,tools,andcapacityinplaceforaccuratepositioning(i.e.,scoreofYelloworGreen).
n Ultimatetarget:�00%ofU.S.countiesarefullyqualified,NOAA-enabledGeodeticCommunities(i.e.,scoreofGreen).
Components Defining Ranking
Percentageofcountieshavingdemonstratedcapacityforaccuratepositioning—ameasure
RankingFY 2004
(baseline) 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Yellow 25.34% 28% 37% 44% 52% 62% 62% 62%
Green 0% 0% 2% 5% 8% �3% 20% 30%
Total GPRA (Greenand/orYellow) 25.34% 28% 39% 49% 60% 75% 82% 92%
RankingFY 2004
(baseline) 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Yellow 25.34% 32.2% 42.73% TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
Green 0% 0% 2.0�% TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
Total GPRA (Greenand/orYellow) 25.34% 32.2% 43.25% TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
Targets
Actual
![Page 50: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/50.jpg)
![Page 51: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/51.jpg)
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 43
Appendix C Glossary
Geodetic HeightThedistancemeasuredpositivelyoutwardfromthereferenceellipsoidalongthenormaltothereferenceellipsoidtothepointofinterest.Assuchitisageometric,notphysical,coordinate.
Geodetic Latitude Theangleformedbytheequatorialplaneandtheperpendiculartothereferenceellipsoidwhichpassesthroughthepointofinterest.Assuchitisageometric,notphysical,coordinate.
Geodetic Longitude Theangleformedbytheprimemeridianplaneandtheplanewhichcontainsthesemiminoraxisofthereferenceellipsoidandthepointofinterest.Assuchitisageometric,notphysical,coordinate.
Geometric Geodesy ThatbranchofgeodesyconcernedwiththedeterminationofcoordinateswhichhavenodirectdependenceonthegravityfieldoftheEarth.(e.g.Earth-centered,Earth-fixedCartesiancoordinates,orgeodeticlatitude,geodeticlongitudeandgeodeticheight)
Dynamic Height Anumberrepresentingthedifferencebetweengravitypotentialatthegeoidandatapointofinterest,scaledintounitsoflengththroughanarbitrarilychosenconstant.
Ellipsoid(al) Heightsee Geodetic Height
Equipotential Surface AclosedsmoothsurfaceofEarth’sgravityfieldformedbyalocusofpointsallhavingthesamegravitypotential.Hastheinterestingproper-tiesofnotintersectinganyotherequipotentialsurfaceandalsohavingthelocaldirectionofgravityeverywhereperpendiculartoitself.
Geocenter Thecoordinateofthecenterofareferenceframe,oftenassociatedwiththecenterofmassoftheEarth.
Geoid TheoneequipotentialsurfaceofEarth’sgravityfieldwhichbestfitsglobalmeansealevelinaleastsquaressense.
Gravity Potential TheamountofpotentialenergyduetoboththegravitationalattractionofEarth’smassesandspinoftheEarth.
OPUS TheNGSOnlinePositioningUserService.Thisisagenerictermforthesuiteofsoftwarepackageswhichallowusersofvariousgeodeticmethodologies(includingGNSSandlevel-ing)toprocesstheirdataandaccesstheNSRSthroughtheinternet.(ThiswasoriginallythenameofaGPSprocessingservicerunbyNGS,butthatserviceisnowcalled“OPUS-Original”)
OPUS-GNSS AsuiteofonlineGNSSprocessingtools,whichwillallowausertoinputvariousGNSSdata(multiplereceivers,multiplesignals,multipleconstellations,staticordynamic)andhavethedataprocessedandadjustedandcoordinatesreturnedviaemail,andhastheabilitytosharesaidresultswiththeworld,thusallowingtheuseraccesstotheNSRS.
OPUS-Original AnonlineGPSprocessingtool,withPAGESasthecoreprocessingengine,whichtakesasingle2hourstaticGPSdatasetandreturnscoordi-natesviaemail,thusallowingauseraccesstotheNSRS.ItisoneofthemanytoolsintheOPUS-GNSSsuite.
![Page 52: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/52.jpg)
OPUS-Leveling Anonlinegeodeticlevelingprocessingtool,whichwillallowausertoadjustgeodeticlevelingprojectsandreturncoordinates,thusallowingauseraccesstotheNSRS.
Orthometric Height Thedistancemeasuredupwardfromthegeoidalongthecurvedplumblineconnectedtoapointofinterest.
Physical Geodesy ThatbranchofgeodesyconcernedwiththedeterminationofcoordinateswhichhaveadirectdependenceonthegravityfieldoftheEarth.
Reference Ellipsoid Thesingularellipsoidofdefinedshape(deter-minedbytwoparameters)whichisusedinadatumforthedeterminationofgeodeticlatitudeandgeodeticlongitude.
The National Geodetic Survey44
![Page 53: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/53.jpg)
Ten-Year Plan Mission, Vision, and Strategy 2008–2018 45
Appendix D Acronyms
ACSM AmericanCongressonSurveyingandMapping
AGU AmericanGeophysicalUnion
ASCE AmericanSocietyofCivilEngineers
ASPRS AmericanSocietyforPhotogrammetry&RemoteSensing
CONUS ConterminousUnitedStates
CO-OPS CenterforOperationalOceanographicProductsandServices
CORS ContinuouslyOperatingReferenceStation
DOC DepartmentofCommerce
ESC ExecutiveSteeringCommittee
FACA FederalAdvisoryCommitteeAct
FGCS FederalGeodeticControlSubcommittee
FGDC FederalGeographicDataCommittee
FIG FédérationInternationaledesGéomètres
GEOSS GlobalEarthObservationSystemofSystems
GGOS GlobalGeodeticObservingSystem
GNSS GlobalNavigationSatelliteSystems
GPRA GovernmentPerformanceandResultsAct
GPS GlobalPositioningSystem
GRD GeosciencesResearchDivision
GSD GeodeticServicesDivision
IAG InternationalAssociationofGeodesy
IERS InternationalEarthRotationandReferenceSystemService
IGS InternationalGNSSService
IOCM IntegratedOceanandCoastalMapping
ION InstituteofNavigation
ITRF InternationalTerrestrialReferenceFrame
IUGG InternationalUnionofGeodesyandGeophysics
LIDAR LightDetectionandRanging
NAD �3 NorthAmericanDatumof�983
NAVD �� NorthAmericanVerticalDatumof�988
NGS NationalGeodeticSurvey
NOAA NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration
NOS NationalOceanService
NSRS NationalSpatialReferenceSystem
NWLON NationalWaterLevelObservationNetwork
OAD ObservationandAnalysisDivision
OCONUS OutsideofCONUS
OMB OfficeofManagementandBudget
OPUS OnlinePositioningUserService(SeeGlossaryformoredetails)
PNTCO Position,NavigationandTimingCoordinationOffice
PSC ProductsandServicesCommittee
RSD RemoteSensingDivision
RTK Real-TimeKinematic
SDD SystemsDevelopmentDivision
SRSD SpatialReferenceSystemDivision
TRB TransportationResearchBoard
![Page 54: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/54.jpg)
![Page 55: The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan This … Vision and Strategy 2008-2018 The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year Plan. This document has been superseded. The National ... Special](https://reader031.vdocuments.net/reader031/viewer/2022022513/5aecb1607f8b9ab24d905994/html5/thumbnails/55.jpg)