The National Spatial Reference System: the Common Foundation of Surveying and GIS

Presenter: Brian Shaw

Presenter’s Bio:

Brian Shaw is a Geodesist at NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey serving as the Rocky Mountain Regional Advisor. He began his career at NGS in 2002 after earning a BS in Computer Science with minors in Mathematics, Geography and History from Radford University in Virginia. In 2005 he earned an MS in Geographic Information Systems from the University of Redlands elevating him to the NGS geospatial go-to person. Brian emphasizes how GIS depends on geodesy as a frame of reference for location and is the foundation of positioning. Educating geodetic and geospatial professionals about the importance of datums and how they are critical to consistent coordinates, especially when aligning and comparing disparate data for making important decisions.

Session Time:

May 8, 2024 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 AM

Location:

White room

Session Abstract:

NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey (NGS) defines, maintains, and provides access to the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS), which is a common foundation for geospatial data that serves as the basis for civilian surveying and mapping in the United States. Changes in technology and a better understanding of the dynamic earth have made it necessary to improve the NSRS to be of better use for modern applications. Currently, NGS is in the process of modernizing the NSRS, updating the existing horizontal datums with a suite of geometric reference frames and the vertical datums with a gravimetrically-derived geopotential datum. Part of the modernization process involves updating NGS products and services to support users of the Modernized NSRS. Such updates include coordinate conversions and transformations, geodetic control, GNSS data processing, the Continuous Operating Reference Station (CORS) network, aerial imagery, and the many tools and datasets that make the NSRS possible. An entirely new State Plane Coordinate System is also being developed.

For both the existing and future NSRS, the goal of NGS is the same: to best meet the diverse positioning needs of the entire U.S. geospatial community that includes surveyors and GIS professionals. Learn how NGS is striving towards this goal during this session.