[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 143 (Friday, July 24, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 44864]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16068]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Upcoming Changes to the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS)

AGENCY: The Office of the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), National 
Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
(NOAA), Department of Commerce (DOC).

ACTION: Notice of upcoming changes.

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SUMMARY: The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is in the process of 
modernizing the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) and plans to 
replace all three North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) frames and all 
vertical datums, including the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 
(NAVD 88), with four new terrestrial reference frames and one new 
geopotential datum to which all geodetic coordinates and derived 
coordinates within the NSRS will be referenced. The new reference 
frames will rely primarily on Global Navigation Satellite Systems 
(GNSS), such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), as well as on a 
gravimetric geoid model resulting from the Gravity for the Redefinition 
of the American Vertical Datum (GRAV-D) Project. The modernized NSRS 
will be easier to access and maintain than the existing NSRS, which 
relies on physical survey marks that deteriorate over time and will 
result in new, more accurate, time-tagged geodetic coordinates (i.e., 
latitude, longitude, ellipsoid height, orthometric height, acceleration 
of gravity, deflections of the vertical, and others) at all geodetic 
control points within the NSRS. Additionally, coordinates will be 
estimated within these frames and datum at five-year reference epochs 
from the time-tagged coordinates, beginning with 2020.00. Initial 
completion and rollout of the NSRS modernization is expected to occur 
between 2022 and 2025, with additional support tools and services 
rolled out in subsequent years.

DATES: The modernization of the NSRS will occur between 2022 and 2025, 
with the release of additional tools and services occurring between 3 
and 5 years later.

ADDRESSES: National Geodetic Survey, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver 
Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Dru Smith, NSRS Modernization 
Manager, by email at [email protected], phone at (240) 533-9654, or 
mail at NOAA/NOS/NGS 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The modernization of the NSRS is designed to 
improve the accuracy of federal geodetic control. For over 200 years, 
NGS and its predecessor agencies, dating back to the founding of the 
Survey of the Coast in 1807, have been the stewards of the geodetic 
infrastructure--the NSRS--of the United States. As technology and 
scientific knowledge advance, NGS occasionally modernizes the NSRS. 
This announcement reflects part of the latest modernization effort.
    The last significant modernization of the NSRS resulted in the 
creation of the original North American Datum of 1983 (54 FR 25318) and 
the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (58 FR 34245). These datums 
were defined before the widespread use of GPS and GNSS and were 
determined using classical geodetic measurement techniques. Over the 
years, minor corrections to and expansion of the NSRS occurred; 
however, no significant update was possible until now. Through modern 
geodetic surveying technology, extensive data collection initiatives, 
and advances in scientific knowledge, a more accurate, modern NSRS is 
possible. The new frames and datum shall be known as the ``North 
American Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2022,'' the ``Pacific 
Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2022,'' the ``Caribbean Terrestrial 
Reference Frame of 2022,'' the ``Mariana Terrestrial Reference Frame of 
2022,'' and the ``North American-Pacific Geopotential Datum of 2022;'' 
and may be referred to as ``NATRF2022,'' ``PATRF2022,'' ``CATRF2022,'' 
``MATRF2022,'' and ``NAPGD2022,'' respectively. In order to accustom 
users to a time-dependent NSRS, NGS will also be estimating, and 
providing to the public, coordinates on geodetic control points at 
five-year reference epochs.
    Additional information regarding the modernization of the NSRS may 
be found at https://geodesy.noaa.gov/datums/newdatums/index.shtml.

    Authority: Coast and Geodetic Survey Act of 1947, 33 U.S.C. 883a 
et seq.

Juliana P. Blackwell,
Director, National Geodetic Survey, National Ocean Service, National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-16068 Filed 7-23-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JE-P