Debriefing the Geospatial Summit NGS Monthly Webinar Series

Debriefing the Geospatial Summit NGS Monthly Webinar Series September 10, 2015

Outline & Presenters Reviewing the Geospatial Summit –Brett Howe and Christine Gallagher Responding to Feedback / Tracking Progress since April –Dru Smith and Joe Evjen Live poll questions –Neil Weston and Christine Gallagher Questions from the audience

2015 Geospatial Summit Attendees: 200+ in person 125+ via webinar 40+ states and Canada. Now Online: videos, presentations, and final report. http: //www. geodesy. noaa. gov/2015 Geospatial. Summit/

Summit Attendees Overall, how satisfied were you with the event? (n=123) Attendance by sector (n=392)

Feedback from Stakeholders Attendees expressed need for: • User-friendly transformation tools or routines, built into a modern programming language. • Major commercial GPS, geoprocessing, and GIS vendors to integrate these transformation tools. • Consistent communication with NGS, whether through bi-annual summits or more regular webinars. • More training and tutorials, covering specifics about datum transformations, but also geodesy basics. Attendees requested: Formal publication describing the differences between NAD 83 / NAVD 88 and the new datums / reference frames. Attendees recommended: NSPS distribute sample language to update state legislation that references NAD 83.

“Take-aways” from Summit NGS plans to: 1. Adopt formal project plans and communications plans to outline all related activities between 2015 and adopting the new reference frames. Constituents are encouraged to: 1. Provide feedback and continue to engage with NOAA and NGS through summits and other efforts. 2. Determine the frequency of recurring large summits, to be supplemented by other communication efforts. 2. Engage with professional societies to best take advantage of their communication networks that translate to the state and local levels. 3. Communicate as policies are adopted by NGS regarding the definition or access to the new reference frames. 3. Take ownership of this project of transitioning to the new datums, tackling challenges related to data management and existing processes. 4. Continued improvement to the Geodetic Toolkit, in anticipation of a geospatially enabled database with robust transformation tools. 4. Volunteer and share your data when the opportunities arise.

Progress since April • NGS has begun a new project entitled “Geometric Transformation Consistency”, scheduled to conclude in the summer of 2016, with the following goals: 1) Removal of all inconsistencies between GEOCON and NADCON 2) Correcting various missteps in the creation of NADCON 3) Providing a seamless transformation from USSD through NAD 83(2011/MA 11/PA 11) without resorting to grids for individual states or separate pieces of software 4) Properly documenting the entire process 5) Making the entire suite of transformation tools available online via the New Geodetic Toolkit

Progress since April • NGS has expanded the New Datums (truly “New Reference Frames”) website. 1) “Track our progress” button now contains 1) Major milestones 2) Quarterly updates, beginning in September 2015

Progress since April • Dynamic Heights from GPS • For IGLD 2020 (replacing IGLD 85) • Project Manager: Dr. Daniel Roman – Projected Completion: October 2016 • Mathematical connection between IGSxx and New Geometric RF • To determine which mathematical model will be used to connect the foundational IGS frame and the new frame (or frames) of the modernized NSRS • Project Manager: Dr. Neil Weston – Projected Completion: April 2016

Progress since April • Build an NSRS Database • The NGS IDB was built for time-invariant coordinates derived from terrestrial survey techniques (traverse, leveling and monumented gravity data). Since then, all space-geodesy observations (GNSS, etc) have been forced into a database incapable, at its very core, of fully housing all of the scientific information contained in such observations. A new NSRS database will be built, preserving the best of the NGS IDB and discarding the assumptions of the past, in order to serve the new reference frames. • Project Manager: Krishna Tadepalli – Projected Completion: October 2020

Progress since April • Geoid Monitoring Service • To monitor and measure geoid changes at decadal and larger scales and apply them to the new geopotential reference frame • Project Manager: Dr. Theresa Damiani – Projected Completion: September 2017

Progress since April • OPUS-Projects to NGS IDB • To develop a valid replacement for GPS bluebooking, using OPUS-Projects at its core. • Project Manager: Dr. Mark Schenewerk – Projected Completion: July 2016

Questions? View today’s Recorded Webinar (video will be posted within 1 -2 weeks): http: //www. ngs. noaa. gov/web/science_edu/webinar_series/ View Summit Materials: http: //www. geodesy. noaa. gov/2015 Geospatial. Summit/