Thursday, March 27, 2014

NGS Collaborates with NASA to Conduct Survey

In collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a survey team from NOAA's National Geodetic Survey (NGS) completed a local site survey at the Kokee Park Geophysical Observatory (KPGO) on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. Due to its remote location and the co-location of three space geodesy technique instruments at the site, KPGO is an especially important component of the International Earth Rotation & Reference Systems Service (IERS) tracking network. The IERS uses information measured during local site surveys and observations from other space geodesy techniques to compute realizations of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF)—the global coordinate system. This survey will contribute to future ITRF realizations, which is important in monitoring plate tectonics, measuring regional subsidence or uplift, providing consistency between navigation systems, and determining the rate of sea level rise, among other critical applications.

For more information, contact: Kendall Fancher