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 This document has been superseded.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

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

Joe.Whitsitt

Typewritten Text

This document has been superseded.

Joe.Whitsitt

Typewritten Text

Joe.Whitsitt

Typewritten Text

The National Geodetic Survey Ten-Year PlanMission, Vision, and Strategy 2008-2018

Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.

Wyatt Earp

A witty saying proves nothing.

Voltaire

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

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

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.

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.

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


Vision

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.


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.

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.


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.


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.

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.


Achieving the Vision: Overview

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.


Achieving the Vision: 1 Modernize the Geometric (“Horizontal”) Datum

“NSRS2007”),thediscrepanciesbetweenthepassivenetworkandactivenetworkarenoteasilyrectified.Withoutanaccurateandperpetuallyupdatedthreedimensionalcrustalmotionmodel,therewillneverbecompletecoordinationbetweentheactiveandpassivecontrolofNAD83.

TheNAD83hasbeendefinedwiththesameparameterssinceitsinception,butithasbeenadjustedrepeatedlyover20years.Ithaspredominantlybeenaccessedthroughcoordinatesonpassivemarks,butmorerecentlythroughCORSandOPUS-GNSS.Unfortunately,asseeninthemostrecentadjustmentofNAD83(knownas


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


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

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


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.


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.


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

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.


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


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.


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


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.


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


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


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



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


RSD Developthecapabilityofusingdigitalcamerasforshorelinedelineationandbeginphasingoutfilmcameras.

GRD / RSD ResolvethefollowinggeodeticissuesforVDatuminsideCONUS:SupportGEOID03,GEOID99,futureGEOIDmodels,updatestoNAVD88andIGLD85inUTMandGeographicCoordinatetransformations.BeginworkonthesametasksforOCONUS,includingCaribbean,Hawaii,Alaska,andPacificTrustTerritories.

RSD ConductresearchonvariousremotesensingplatformsandtechnologiesandreporttotheDirectoraplanforwhichplatformandsensor(orcomplementarysuiteofsensors)willbethepredominantmethodofcoastalmappingforthenextdecade.

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,


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


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


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.


Table 4: Two-year Milestones Toward Evolving Core Capabilities


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.


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.


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


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.



Table 5: Two-year Milestones toward Increasing Agency Visibility


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).


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.


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

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.


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


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.


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


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


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.

OPUS-Leveling Anonlinegeodeticlevelingprocessingtool,whichwillallowausertoadjustgeodeticlevelingprojectsandreturncoordinates,thusallowingauseraccesstotheNSRS.

Orthometric Height Thedistancemeasuredupwardfromthegeoidalongthecurvedplumblineconnectedtoapointofinterest.

Physical Geodesy ThatbranchofgeodesyconcernedwiththedeterminationofcoordinateswhichhaveadirectdependenceonthegravityfieldoftheEarth.

Reference Ellipsoid Thesingularellipsoidofdefinedshape(deter-minedbytwoparameters)whichisusedinadatumforthedeterminationofgeodeticlatitudeandgeodeticlongitude.



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

Documents

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