U.S. National Geodetic Survey: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
→‎Directors (1919-1968): adding image of 5th Director of USC&GS -- Adm. Karo
 
(426 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|U.S. federal surveying and mapping agency}}
{{Unreferenced|date=May 2008}}
{{Distinguish|Office of Coast Survey|National Ocean Service|United States Coast and Geodetic Survey|United States Geological Survey}}
[[Image:jp498-20060613-DSC 0084.jpg|thumb|right|Survey marker at peak of Isle of Springs, Maine]]
{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2020}}


The '''National Geodetic Survey''' and the '''Office of Coast Survey''' are the two successor agencies in the [[United States]] to the '''U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey'''. It was first established by President [[Thomas Jefferson]] in 1807 as the '''Survey of the Coast'''. Progress moved ahead slowly and haltingly during the first 25 years. Not until [[August 29]], [[1811]] did Mr. [[Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler|F. R. Hassler]] sail for [[Europe]] to obtain the proper instruments. He remained in [[Europe]] during the [[War of 1812]], then he returned to the [[United States]] on [[August 16]], [[1815]] with the proper instruments.
The '''National Geodetic Survey''' ('''NGS''') is a [[List of federal agencies in the United States|United States federal agency]] based in [[Washington, D.C.]] that defines and manages a national coordinate system, providing the foundation for transportation and communication, mapping and charting, and a large number of science and engineering applications. Since its founding in 1970, it has been part of the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA), a division within the [[United States Department of Commerce]].


[[File:DarienCTUSCoastAndGeodeticSurvey1965Marker11042007.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Closeup of a United States Coast and Geodetic Survey marker embedded in a large rock in front of the Noroton Volunteer Fire Department in [[Darien, Connecticut|Darien]], [[Connecticut]]]]
Mr. Hassler's plans were to employ triangulation to establish his system. Work began in the vicinity of [[New York City]] in 1816. The first base line was measured and verified in [[1817]]. A new [[Act of Congress]] interfered with the work of Mr. Hassler in 1818. The army and navy were placed at the forefront of the Survey which generated a lull in activity which lasted from 1818 to 1832. Little work was produced until another [[Act of Congress]] was passed on [[July 10]], [[1832]]. It re-empowered the original [[Act of Congress|Act]] of 1807. Mr. Hassler was re-appointed as the superintendent, and field work was resumed in April, 1833.
[[File:Geodeticsurveypicwickenburg.jpg|thumb|upright=1|A survey marker in [[Wickenburg, Arizona|Wickenburg]], [[Arizona]]]]
[[File:East_Falls_Church_Station_survey_marker.jpg|thumb|upright=1|A metro survey marker at [[East Falls Church station]] in [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington County]], [[Virginia]]]]


==History==
The Coast survey was without a superintendent during the 14 years from 1818 to 1832 when the army was the primary authority. The Navy Department was given the control of the survey from 1834 to 1836, but the Treasury department resumed the administration of the survey on [[March 26]], [[1836]]. Hassler died in 1843.
⚫
{{See|United States Coast and Geodetic Survey}}


The National Geodetic Survey{{'}}s history and heritage are intertwined with those of other NOAA offices. It traces its history to the Survey of the Coast, which was formed in 1807 as the first scientific agency of the [[Federal government of the United States|United States federal government]]. It became the United States Coast Survey in 1836 and the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1878, the latter name change reflecting the increasing role of [[geodesy]] in its work. Upon the creation of NOAA in 1970, the Coast and Geodetic Survey was abolished and its responsibilities were split among various agencies and offices of NOAA. The Coast and Geodetic Survey′s former geodetic responsibilities were placed under the new National Geodetic Survey in NOAA's National Ocean Survey (later renamed the [[National Ocean Service]]).
[[Image:DarienCTUSCoastAndGeodeticSurvey1965Marker11042007.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Closeup of a Geodetic Survey marker]]


In 2009, former [[NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps|National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps]] [[Commissioned officer|officer]] Juliana P. Blackwell was named Director of the National Geodetic Survey, becoming the first woman to head either NGS or any of its ancestor organizations.
Professor [[Alexander Dallas Bache]] became superintendent of the Survey in 1843. Earlier in his life, he had established the first magnetic observatory. During his years as superintendent, he expanded the Survey southward along the Atlantic coast into the [[Florida Keys]]. He instituted regular and systematic observations of the tides and the [[Gulf Stream]], and investigated magnetic forces and directions.


==Purpose and function==
As the American continent was progressively explored, inhabited and enclosed, the bureau took responsibility for survey of the interior. In 1878 it reorganized as the '''Coast and Geodetic Survey''' (C&GS). Since 1970, the '''National Geodetic Survey''' has been part of the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] within the [[United States Department of Commerce]].
The National Geodetic Survey is an office of NOAA's [[National Ocean Service]]. Its core function is to maintain the [[National Spatial Reference System]] (NSRS), "a consistent coordinate system that defines latitude, longitude, height, scale, gravity, and orientation throughout the United States".<ref name="What_We_Do">{{cite web |url=http://geodesy.noaa.gov/INFO/WhatWeDo.shtml |work=National Geodetic Survey Website |access-date=May 27, 2013 |title=National Geodetic Survey – What We Do}}</ref> NGS is responsible for defining the NSRS and its relationship with the [[International Terrestrial Reference System and Frame|International Terrestrial Reference Frame]] (ITRF). The NSRS enables precise and accessible knowledge of where things are in the United States and its territories.


The NSRS may be divided into its geometric and physical components. The official geodetic datum of the United States, [[North American Datum|NAD83]] defines the geometric relationship between points within the United States in three-dimensional space. The datum may be accessed via NGS's network of survey marks or through the [[Real-time kinematic|Continuously Operating Reference Station]] (CORS) network of [[Global Positioning System|GPS]] reference antennas. NGS is responsible for computing the relationship between NAD83 and the ITRF. The physical components of the NSRS are reflected in its height system, defined by the vertical datum [[North American Vertical Datum of 1988|NAVD88]]. This datum is a network of [[orthometric height]]s obtained through spirit [[Levelling|leveling]]. Because of the close relationship between height and Earth's gravity field, NGS also collects and curates terrestrial [[gravity]] measurements and develops regional models of the [[geoid]] (the level surface that best approximates sea level) and its slope, the [[Vertical deflection|deflection of the vertical]]. NGS is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the NSRS over time, even as the [[North American Plate|North American plate]] rotates and deforms over time due to crustal strain, [[post-glacial rebound]], [[subsidence]], elastic deformation of the crust, and other geophysical phenomena.
During the [[nineteenth century]], the remit of the Survey was rather loosely drawn and it had no competitors in federally funded scientific research. Various Superintendents developed its work in fields as diverse as [[astronomy]], [[cartography]], [[meteorology]], [[geodesy]], [[geology]], [[geophysics]], [[hydrography]], [[navigation]], [[oceanography]], [[exploration]], [[pilotage]], [[tides]] and [[topography]].


NGS will release new datums in 2022.<ref>{{cite web |title=New Datums |url=https://geodesy.noaa.gov/datums/newdatums/index.shtml |website=National Geodetic Survey |access-date=March 21, 2017}}</ref> The North American Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2022 (NATRF2022) will supersede NAD83 in defining the geometric relationship between the North American plate and the ITRF.<ref name="geodesy.noaa.gov">{{cite web |author=US Department of Commerce, NOAA, National Geodetic Survey |title=Naming Conventions, New Datums |url=https://geodesy.noaa.gov/datums/newdatums/naming-convention.shtml |website=geodesy.noaa.gov |language=EN-US}}</ref> United States territories on the Pacific, Caribbean, and Mariana plates will have their own respective geodetic datums. The North American-Pacific Geopotential Datum of 2022 (NAPGD2022) will separately define the height system of the United States and its territories, replacing NAVD88.<ref name="geodesy.noaa.gov"/> It will use a geoid model accurate to 1 centimeter (0.4") to relate orthometric height to ellipsoidal height measured by GPS, eliminating the need for future leveling projects. This geoid model will be based on airborne and terrestrial gravity measurements collected by NGS's GRAV-D program as well as satellite-based gravity models derived from observations collected by [[GRACE and GRACE-FO|GRACE]], [[Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer|GOCE]], and [[Satellite geodesy|satellite altimetry]] missions.<ref>{{cite web |author=US Department of Commerce, NOAA, National Geodetic Survey |title=xGEOID16 Evaluation Computation |url=https://beta.ngs.noaa.gov/GEOID/xGEOID16/ |website=beta.ngs.noaa.gov |language=EN-US}}</ref>
From 1836 until the establishment of the [[National Institute of Standards and Technology|National Bureau of Standards]] in 1901, the Survey was responsible for [[weights and measures]] throughout the US.


NGS provides a number of other public services.<ref name="What_We_Do"/> It maps changing shorelines in the United States and provides aerial imagery of regions affected by natural disasters, enabling rapid damage assessment by emergency managers and members of the public. The Online Positioning and User Service (OPUS) processes user-input GPS data and outputs position solutions within the NSRS. The agency offers other tools for conversion between datums.
==Survey leadership==
[[Image:US-NOAA-200thLogo.svg|right|thumb|230px|Logo celebrating the 200th anniversary of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey]]
===Superintendents (1816-1919)===
* 1. [[Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler]], ([[1816]]&ndash;[[1818]] and [[1832]]&ndash;[[1843]]);
* 2. [[Alexander Dallas Bache]], ([[1843]]&ndash;[[1865]]);
* 3. [[Benjamin Peirce]], ([[1867]]&ndash;[[1874]]);
* 4. [[Carlile Pollock Patterson]], ([[1874]]&ndash;[[1881]]);
* 5. [[Julius Erasmus Hilgard]], ([[1881]]&ndash;[[1885]]);
* 6. [[Frank Manly Thorn]], ([[1885]]&ndash;[[1889]]);
* 7. [[Thomas Corwin Mendenhall]], ([[1889]]&ndash;[[1894]]);
* 8. [[William Ward Duffield]], ([[1894]]&ndash;[[1897]]);
* 9. [[Henry Smith Pritchett]], ([[1897]]&ndash;[[1900]]);
* 10. [[Otto Hilgard Tittmann]], ([[1900]]&ndash;[[1915]]);
* 11. [[Colonel E. Lester Jones|Ernest Lester Jones]], ([[1915]]&ndash;[[1919]]);

===Directors (1919-1968)===
[[Image:Admiral_KARO_NOAA_obit.jpg|thumb|right|Vice Admiral H. Arnold Karo served as the 5th head of USC&GS.]]
* 1. [[Colonel E. Lester Jones|Ernest Lester Jones]], ([[1919]]&ndash;[[1929]]);
* 2. [[Raymond Stanton Patton]], ([[1929]]&ndash;[[1937]]);
* 3. [[Robert Francis Anthony Studds]], ([[1938]]&ndash;[[1955]]);
* 4. [[Henry Arnold Karo]], ([[1955]]&ndash;[[1965]]);
* 5. [[James C. Tison, Jr.]], ([[1965]]&ndash;[[1968]]);

== Ships of the Survey ==
*{{warship|USC&GS|Bache}}
* [[Hassler (vessel)|''Hassler'']]
*{{warship|USC&GS|Gedney}}
* {{warship|USC&GS|Guide}} <!-- technically not "warships" but template works here -->
* {{warship|USC&GS|Oceanographer}}
* {{warship|USC&GS|Pathfinder}}
*{{warship|USC&GS|Silliman}}

==Superintendents of Weights and Measures==
*[[Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler]] (c. [[1818]]-1843) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_International_Encyclopedia]
*[[Joseph Saxton]], ([[1843]]&ndash;[[1873]]);


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Height Modernization]]
* [[Height Modernization]]
* [[Surveying]]
* [[Topography]]


==References==
⚫
{{ES_Government}}
{{reflist|2}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/ National Geodetic Survey website]
* {{oweb|https://geodesy.noaa.gov/}}

*[http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/uscgs.htm Timeline] at [[Arlington National Cemetery]] website
⚫
{{ES_Government|state=collapsed}}
*[http://www.peakbagging.com/Benchmark.htm Explanation of survey monuments]
* See an 1858 map [http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-2473 ''Preliminary chart of entrance to Brazos River, Texas / from a trigonometrical survey under the direction of A. Bache ; triangulation by J.S. Williams ; topography by J.M. Wampler ; hydrography by the parties under the command of E.J. De Haven & J.K. Duer.''], hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History].
* See an 1853 map [http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-2481 ''Preliminary chart of San Luis Pass, Texas / from a trigonometrical survey under the direction of A.D. Bache ; triangulation by James S. Williams ; topography by J.M. Wampler ; hydrography by the party under the command of H.S. Stellwagen ; engg. by E. Yeager & J.J. Knight ; redd. drng. by E. Freyhold.''], hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History].
* See an 1854 map [http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-2480 ''Preliminary survey of the entrance to the Rio Grande, Texas / topography by W.E. Greenwell ; hydrography by the party under the command of J. Wilkinson ; drng. by W.E. Greenwell ; engd. by C.A. Knight & F.W. Benner.''], hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History].


{{Authority control}}
⚫
[[Category:Geodesy]]
⚫
[[Category:National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|National Geodetc Survey]]


[[Category:Exploration of North America]]
⚫
[[de:U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey]]
⚫
[[Category:Geodesy organizations]]
[[Category:Geographic data and information organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Government agencies established in 1970]]
⚫
[[Category:National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|National Geodetic Survey]]

Latest revision as of 04:42, 11 May 2024

Not to be confused with Office of Coast Survey, National Ocean Service, United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, or United States Geological Survey.

The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is a United States federal agency based in Washington, D.C. that defines and manages a national coordinate system, providing the foundation for transportation and communication, mapping and charting, and a large number of science and engineering applications. Since its founding in 1970, it has been part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a division within the United States Department of Commerce.

Closeup of a United States Coast and Geodetic Survey marker embedded in a large rock in front of the Noroton Volunteer Fire Department in Darien, Connecticut
A survey marker in Wickenburg, Arizona
A metro survey marker at East Falls Church station in Arlington County, Virginia

History[edit]

Further information: United States Coast and Geodetic Survey

The National Geodetic Survey's history and heritage are intertwined with those of other NOAA offices. It traces its history to the Survey of the Coast, which was formed in 1807 as the first scientific agency of the United States federal government. It became the United States Coast Survey in 1836 and the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1878, the latter name change reflecting the increasing role of geodesy in its work. Upon the creation of NOAA in 1970, the Coast and Geodetic Survey was abolished and its responsibilities were split among various agencies and offices of NOAA. The Coast and Geodetic Survey′s former geodetic responsibilities were placed under the new National Geodetic Survey in NOAA's National Ocean Survey (later renamed the National Ocean Service).

In 2009, former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps officer Juliana P. Blackwell was named Director of the National Geodetic Survey, becoming the first woman to head either NGS or any of its ancestor organizations.

Purpose and function[edit]

The National Geodetic Survey is an office of NOAA's National Ocean Service. Its core function is to maintain the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS), "a consistent coordinate system that defines latitude, longitude, height, scale, gravity, and orientation throughout the United States".[1] NGS is responsible for defining the NSRS and its relationship with the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF). The NSRS enables precise and accessible knowledge of where things are in the United States and its territories.

The NSRS may be divided into its geometric and physical components. The official geodetic datum of the United States, NAD83 defines the geometric relationship between points within the United States in three-dimensional space. The datum may be accessed via NGS's network of survey marks or through the Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) network of GPS reference antennas. NGS is responsible for computing the relationship between NAD83 and the ITRF. The physical components of the NSRS are reflected in its height system, defined by the vertical datum NAVD88. This datum is a network of orthometric heights obtained through spirit leveling. Because of the close relationship between height and Earth's gravity field, NGS also collects and curates terrestrial gravity measurements and develops regional models of the geoid (the level surface that best approximates sea level) and its slope, the deflection of the vertical. NGS is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the NSRS over time, even as the North American plate rotates and deforms over time due to crustal strain, post-glacial rebound, subsidence, elastic deformation of the crust, and other geophysical phenomena.

NGS will release new datums in 2022.[2] The North American Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2022 (NATRF2022) will supersede NAD83 in defining the geometric relationship between the North American plate and the ITRF.[3] United States territories on the Pacific, Caribbean, and Mariana plates will have their own respective geodetic datums. The North American-Pacific Geopotential Datum of 2022 (NAPGD2022) will separately define the height system of the United States and its territories, replacing NAVD88.[3] It will use a geoid model accurate to 1 centimeter (0.4") to relate orthometric height to ellipsoidal height measured by GPS, eliminating the need for future leveling projects. This geoid model will be based on airborne and terrestrial gravity measurements collected by NGS's GRAV-D program as well as satellite-based gravity models derived from observations collected by GRACE, GOCE, and satellite altimetry missions.[4]

NGS provides a number of other public services.[1] It maps changing shorelines in the United States and provides aerial imagery of regions affected by natural disasters, enabling rapid damage assessment by emergency managers and members of the public. The Online Positioning and User Service (OPUS) processes user-input GPS data and outputs position solutions within the NSRS. The agency offers other tools for conversion between datums.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "National Geodetic Survey – What We Do". National Geodetic Survey Website. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  2. ^ "New Datums". National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  3. ^ a b US Department of Commerce, NOAA, National Geodetic Survey. "Naming Conventions, New Datums". geodesy.noaa.gov.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ US Department of Commerce, NOAA, National Geodetic Survey. "xGEOID16 Evaluation Computation". beta.ngs.noaa.gov.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=U.S._National_Geodetic_Survey&oldid=1223297068"