Project Goal

The purpose of this project is to enhance and further develop the ability of NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey (NGS) to serve the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) to the general public.

The NSRS; “…comprises a consistent, accurate, and up-to-date national shoreline; a network of continuously operating reference stations (CORS) which supports 3-dimensional positioning activities; a network of permanently marked points; and a set of accurate models describing dynamic, geophysical processes that affect spatial measurements.”

Retrieved July 2006 from http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/INFO/OnePagers/One-Pager_NSRS.pdf

Recently, NGS began a prototype Web service designed to better assist GIS users. This new Web service will more efficiently deliver the position of geodetic markers in GIS-compatible formats. These positions constitute the geodetic control layer of GIS projects. Previously, users had to download this information from the NGS Web site and transfer it into a GIS application. This prototype service, however, allows positioning information to be retrieved through the GIS software, substantially saving time. The Web service will also simplify the effort of using accurate geodetic control information by automatically updating the GIS data as the geodetic control data is updated.

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Business Problem Solved

Utilizing Web mapping services, users and developers can link directly to the NSRS during an ArcMap session for example. The current method is to visit the NGS website (http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/datasheet.prl) and download benchmark data in shapefile format. The challenge is to now have a direct or live link from a users or developers GIS to the permanently marked database at the National Geodetic Survey. One of the stakeholder groups consulted for this project was the NGS State Advisors (http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/ADVISORS/AdvisorsIndex.shtml. Their input proved invaluable as we progressed through this project. The State Advisors are an important link through which local surveyors and customers provide direct input to NGS products and services.

Technology Implemented

A variety of systems and databases were utilized to facilitate the implementation of this project. Maintaining the nation’s geodetic framework has been the mission of the National Geodetic Survey for 200 years, which has necessitated a constant technological evolution. The database which stores the benchmark data is in Sybase. There is currently a program that extracts the data from Sybase, through ArcSDE into an Oracle Database which is then accessed, via ArcSDE, by ArcGIS Server.

Development Team Biography

The NGS GIS Coordinator is the Project Manager working in concert with the NGS IT Staff who provides the technical support.