Blueprint Documents: Policy Decisions

Read publications and watch webinars that describe technical decisions about the definition of the new reference frames.

• Blueprint for the Modernized NSRS, Part 1: Geometric Coordinates  (1.2 MB)

  Publication outlines technical and policy decisions about replacing NAD 83.

• Watch Webinar discussing Blueprint Part 1 (7/13/2017)

• Blueprint for the Modernized NSRS, Part 2: Geopotential Coordinates  (2.4 MB)

  Publication discusses the planned replacement of all vertical datums of the NSRS.

• Watch Webinar discussing Blueprint Part 2 (2/1/2018)

• Blueprint for the Modernized NSRS, Part 3: Working in the Modernized NSRS  (5.9 MB)

  Publication addresses how geospatial professionals can expect to work within the newly-modernized NSRS when NAD 83 and NAVD 88 are replaced.

• Watch Webinar discussing Blueprint Part 3 (3/11/2021)

• Progress Toward a Modernized NSRS (Webinar)

  Four new terrestrial reference frames and a geopotential datum will replace the many disparate pieces of the current NSRS (including NAD 83 and NAVD 88). Watch a February 2024 webinar with Dr. Dru Smith, NSRS Modernization Manager at NGS, to hear the latest updates and schedule for the modernized NSRS.