Precise Geodetic Infrastructure: National Requirements for a Shared Resource PReciSe Geodetic iNfRaStRuctuRe National Requirements for a Shared Resource Committee on the National Requirements for Precision Geodetic Infrastructure Committee on Seismology and Geodynamics Board on Earth Sciences and Resources Division on Earth and Life Studies THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS Washington, D.C. www.nap.edu Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This study was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Award No. NNX- 07AT39G, the National Science Foundation under Award No. EAR-0634914, the Department of Interior–U.S. Geological Survey under Award No. 06HQGR0183, the Department of Defense–National Geospatial-Intel- ligence Agency under Award No. HM158207P0006, the Department of Defense–United States Naval Observa- tory under Award No. NNG07HS32P (through NASA), and the Department of Commerce – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Geodetic Survey under Award No. NA08NOS4000319. The opin- ions, fndings, and conclusions or recommendations contained in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily refect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. Government. International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-15811-4 International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-15811-7 Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet http://www.nap.edu. Cover: Design by Francesca Moghari. Image courtesy of Sean Swenson, The National Center for Atmospheric Research. The image depicts the mean annual amplitude of terrestrial water storage for the period 2002-2010 derived from GRACE time-variable gravity field data. Copyright 2010 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. 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Precise Geodetic Infrastructure: National Requirements for a Shared Resource COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL REquIREMENTS FOR PRECISION GEODETIC INFRASTRuCTuRE J. BERNARD MINSTER (Chair), Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California ZUHEIR ALTAMIMI, Institut Géographique National, Paris France GEOFFREY BLEWITT, University of Nevada, Reno WILLIAM E. CARTER, University of Florida, Gainesville ANNY CAZENAVE, Centre National d’Études Spatiales, Toulouse, France HERB DRAGERT, Natural Resources Canada, Sidney, British Columbia THOMAS A. HERRING, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge KRISTINE M. LARSON, University of Colorado, Boulder JOHN C. RIES, University of Texas at Austin DAVID T. SANDWELL, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California JOHN M. WAHR, University of Colorado, Boulder Liaison from the Committee on Seismology and Geodynamics JAMES L. DAVIS, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, New York National Research Council Staff DAVID A. FEARY, Study Director LEA A. SHANLEY, Postdoctoral Fellow NICHOLAS D. ROGERS, Financial and Research Associate COURTNEY R. GIBBS, Program Associate ERIC J. EDKIN, Senior Program Assistant v Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Precise Geodetic Infrastructure: National Requirements for a Shared Resource COMMITTEE ON SEISMOLOGy AND GEODyNAMICS MICHAEL E. WYSESSION (Vice Chair), Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri J. RAMON ARROWSMITH, Arizona State University, Tempe EMILY E. BRODSKY, University of California, Santa Cruz JAMES L. DAVIS, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, New York STUART P. NISHENKO, Pacifc Gas and Electric, San Francisco, California PETER L. OLSON, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland NANCY L. ROSS, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg CHARLOTTE A. ROWE, Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico DAVID T. SANDWELL, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California BRIAN W. STUMP, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas National Research Council Staff DAVID A. FEARY, Study Director NICHOLAS D. ROGERS, Financial and Research Associate ERIC J. EDKIN, Senior Program Assistant vi Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Precise Geodetic Infrastructure: National Requirements for a Shared Resource BOARD ON EARTH SCIENCES AND RESOuRCES CORALE L. BRIERLEY (Chair), Brierley Consultancy, LLC, Highlands Ranch, Colorado KEITH C. CLARKE, University of California, Santa Barbara DAVID J. COWEN, University of South Carolina, Columbia WILLIAM E. DIETRICH, University of California, Berkeley ROGER M. DOWNS, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park JEFF DOZIER, University of California, Santa Barbara KATHERINE H. FREEMAN, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park WILLIAM L. GRAF, University of South Carolina, Columbia RUSSELL J. HEMLEY, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C. MURRAY W. HITZMAN, Colorado School of Mines, Golden EDWARD KAVAZANJIAN, JR., Arizona State University, Tempe ROBERT B. McMASTER, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis CLAUDIA INÉS MORA, Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico BRIJ M. MOUDGIL, University of Florida, Gainesville CLAYTON R. NICHOLS, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (retired), Ocean Park, Washington JOAQUIN RUIZ, University of Arizona, Tucson PETER M. SHEARER, University of California, San Diego REGINAL SPILLER, Allied Energy, Texas RUSSELL E. STANDS-OVER-BULL, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Billings, Montana TERRY C. WALLACE, JR., Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico HERMAN B. ZIMMERMAN, National Science Foundation (retired), Portland, Oregon National Research Council Staff ANTHONY R. de SOUZA, Director ELIZABETH A. EIDE, Senior Program Offcer DAVID A. FEARY, Senior Program Offcer ANNE M. LINN, Senior Program Offcer SAMMANTHA L. MAGSINO, Program Offcer MARK D. LANGE, Associate Program Offcer LEA A. SHANLEY, Postdoctoral Fellow JENNIFER T. ESTEP, Administrative and Financial Associate NICHOLAS D. ROGERS, Financial and Research Associate COURTNEY R. GIBBS, Program Associate JASON R. ORTEGO, Research Associate ERIC J. EDKIN, Senior Program Assistant TONYA E. FONG YEE, Senior Program Assistant vii Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Precise Geodetic Infrastructure: National Requirements for a Shared Resource Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Precise Geodetic Infrastructure: National Requirements for a Shared Resource Preface “Ubinam sum?”—where in the world am I?1 This question—albeit a rhetorical one—sums up a central issue dealt with in this report. Since the advent of the space age, we have seen remarkable improvements in positioning, navigation, and timing of approximately one order of magnitude each decade with no indication that this rate of progress is abating. So we now know how to answer that question better than ever. This is the object of precise global geodesy. But the underlying infrastruc- ture is at risk and its fragility a matter of serious concern. The committee was asked to describe and assess the range of benefts to the nation that are dependent on high-precision geodetic networks, review high-priority scientifc objectives that are dependent on geodetic networks, describe the infrastructure requirements for achieving these objec- tives and benefts, assess the opportunities for technological innovation that will arise from renewed investment in geodetic infrastructure, and recommend a national plan for the implementation of a precision geodetic infrastructure. The committee gathered information from the scientifc literature, numerous and extensive briefngs by federal, academic, non-proft, and industry researchers, in addition to previous studies and reports. What seemed to us at the beginning to be a rather straightforward task was revealed to be a surprisingly complex one. This is because there seems to be no end to the list of scientifc problems, technical endeavors, and societal activities that depend directly or indirectly on the global precise geodetic infrastructure. It was especially diffcult to avoid duplicating the discussion of the Global Geodetic Observing System in the very complete volume edited by Plag and Pearlman (2009). We have restricted our focus to what we defne in the report as “precise geodesy,” that is, measuring the position of any point on the Earth with millimeter accuracy, variations in the length of the day to a few millionths of a second, the orientation of Earth’s rotation axis in space to few billionths of a degree, and changes in the Earth’s gravity to a few parts per billion. 1Adapted from Cicero’s exclamation in his Catiline orations: “Ubinam gentium sumus?”—Where on Earth are we? (Cic. Cat. 1, 9) ix Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.