Jane and John woke up in different parts of the same town. 

They had similar plans for the day: drive to the coast and go fishing with friends. Does this sound like a typical day?

It seems simple, but there is complex science, planning and math behind the scenes.

Let's take a closer look at how location data can make ...or break your day!

During last night's rainstorm, Jane's house stayed high and dry. 

That's because her builder hired a surveyor who used up-to-date flood maps and accurately measured the position and height of the house.

Models and tools allow the surveyor to compute an elevation within a few centimeters.

There's currently a project to collect gravity data to improve these models even more!

John's builder didn't look at flood maps before building.

John's house flooded and now he faces expensive cleanup bills.

Jane drove into town, passing through highway construction, which was going smoothly.

There have been major highway projects here over the years, completed by many different companies.

However, the teams use consistent reference frames for their design, planning and mapping so everything lines up.

John also drove into town, but along a different route.

At a bump in the road, he lost a hubcap, the second one this year.

The contractor who most recently worked on the road used out-of-date coordinates and the new road didn't quite line up with the old one.

The county and the contractor are still arguing over who will pay to fix it.

Jane met her friends at the dock.

It was a foggy day, so they packed extra clothes.

Using her GPS and up-to-date nautical charts that show where the shoreline is located, Jane navigated out to her favorite fishing hole.

Despite running late, John arrived at the dock, met his friends, and departed shortly after Jane.

His nautical charts were old, but he knew the area well.

Unfortunately, the shoreline had shifted in last year's big storm, and John ran aground in the fog.

He spent the afternoon waiting for a rising tide to lift his boat off a sandbar.

NOAA collects information and images to define the shoreline, ultimately supporting safe navigation.

Accurate shoreline information helps ships and boats make it safely in and out of port.

So while Jane's day seemed simple and smooth, geodesy and coastal mapping made it possible!

John's day shows what can happen when we use inaccurate or out-of-date data.

NOAA does both geodesy and coastal mapping.

NOAA's National Geodetic Survey defines reference frames that support accurate positioning/elevation information to help build in the right place and at the right elevation; and a national shoreline to support safe navigation.

And more!

We improve location science, better locations improve your life.