Abstract

An NGS Illustrated Guide to Geodesy for GIS Professionals
Track: Surveying
Authors: Michael Dennis

Geodesy provides the framework to reliably combine, analyze, manage, and manipulate spatial data in GIS, especially high-accuracy data. But geodesy often seems overly technical and inaccessible to users. To counter that, geodetic principles are explained conceptually, with emphasis on visualization (maps!). Topics include geodetic and vertical datums, map projections, GPS, accuracy, metadata, and how NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey (NGS) provides the foundation for geospatial data in the US.