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NGS Collaborates Internationally on North American Geoid Model

Friday August 21, 2020

For the first time, geodetic models of Canada, Mexico, and the United States will be combined into a new experimental geoid model (xGEOID20). Agreement on a North American geoid model will allow global navigation satellite systems like GPS to be used for determining mean sea level heights, which will help prevent flooding in coastal communities. Scientists at NGS, along with the Canadian Geodetic Survey (CGS) and the National Institute of Statistics and Geography of Mexico (INEGI), have been working closely together through monthly online meetings and technical discussions. NGS and CGS completed their geoid models. Scientists at INEGI have contributed additional gravity data over Mexico and are working on their geoid models. The independent datasets will be evaluated and the final model agreed upon by the group. The next step is to focus on the geoid differences - what's causing differences and how to minimize them.

For more information, contact: Yan Wang