CORS Users Forum
Hilton Garden Inn
Savannah, Georgia
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
1:30 PM – 5:00 PM
NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey (NGS)–in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Coast Guard–is organizing a CORS (Continuously Operating Reference Station) Users Forum for Tuesday afternoon, September 22, 2009. This Forum will be an integral part of the Civil GPS Service Interface Committee (CGSIC) meeting, September 21-22, 2009, to be held at the Hilton Garden Inn, 5711 Abercorn Street, Savannah, GA. Also, the Institute of Navigation’s GNSS Conference will convene September 22-25, 2009 in the Savannah Convention Center (http://www.ion.org/).
Attendance at the CGSIC meeting is free, but attendees are asked to register online at http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/cgsic/meetings/49thmeeting/meeting_registration_2009.htm
The CORS network is comprised of numerous subnetworks operated by about 200 organizations. Collectively, these networks include more than 1,350 sites–each containing a geodetic quality, dual-frequency GPS receiver. The CORS network is growing at a rate of about 200 sites per year – many with updated GNSS capabilities, such as receiving GLONASS observables. NGS and its partners collect, process, and distribute data from the CORS sites on a continuous basis in support of numerous activities including land surveying, navigation, GIS development, remote sensing, weather forecasting, satellite tracking and geophysics.
This year’s Forum will feature a panel of speakers discussing the guidelines being prepared to help those who operate a real-time GNSS network (RTN) as well as those who use RTN positioning services. A team of more than 60 people are involved in developing these guidelines. This team includes current RTN administrators (both public and private), representatives from several GNSS manufacturers, and NGS employees.
The purpose of the Forum is to provide users with the latest information about CORS, its partners, its tools and its support for real time positioning, while hearing from these users about their experiences and what NGS can do to improve its products and services.
Tentative Agenda
1:30 Welcome – Richard Snay, NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey
1:35 CORS/OPUS: Overview and Status – Giovanni Sella, NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey
1:50 PANEL SESSION: Guidelines for Real Time GNSS Networks (RTN)
Site Considerations – Dan Martin, NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey
Planning & Design – Gavin Schrock, Washington State Reference Network
Administration – Gary Thompson, North Carolina Geodetic Survey
Best Methods for Users – Bill Henning, NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey
2:50 Break
3:05 Question & Answer Session with Speakers
3:50 Interactive Sessions within Small Discussion Groups
Group 1. CORS/OPUS
Group 2. RTN Site Considerations and RTN Planning & Design
Group 3. RTN Administration and RTN Best Practices for Users
5:00 End of Forum