Wednesday, March 31, 2010

NGS Improves Infrastructure for Precise Positioning in Alaska

The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) recently added seven Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) to improve the infrastructure for precise positioning in Alaska, for a total of 24 stations added in Alaska in the past month. These remote outposts of Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment, owned and operated by the Plate Boundary Observatory as funded by the National Science Foundation, are a subset selected by NGS for their grid-like distribution and for their expected stability and reliability of operation in the harsh Alaskan landscape. Observations collected and later distributed over the Internet from GPS equipment like these allow faster and more accurate surveying and mapping, providing an estimated $758 million per year in benefits to the U.S. economy. For more information, contact Mike Cline.