The National Geodetic Survey (NGS), an office of NOAA's National Ocean Service, manages a network of Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) that provide Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data consisting of carrier phase and code range measurements in support of three dimensional positioning, meteorology, space weather, and geophysical applications throughout the United States, its territories, and a few foreign countries. Surveyors, GIS users, engineers, scientists, and the public at large that collect GPS data can use CORS data to improve the precision of their positions. CORS enhanced post-processed coordinates approach a few centimeters relative to the National Spatial Reference System, both horizontally and vertically.
District 1 was one of the first offices in the State of North Carolina to use GPS surveying technology in the late ‘90s. During this time, setting up a route location survey would take nearly 30 minutes and required the use of a bulky radio and car battery whereas our current technology uses the CORS and a cell phone to connect in as little as 2 minutes from exiting the vehicle. As you can imagine, GPS technology saves hundreds of hours of labor per year resulting in a smaller survey crew and significant cost reductions for the taxpayers in the State.
Resident Engineer David B. Otts, PE, will give a brief description of the CORS station and how NCDOT utilizes it, along with a demonstration of their GPS-based surveying technology. He is also willing to answer any questions he can.