In 2022 the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) will replace NAD 83 and NAVD 88 with new horizontal and vertical reference systems known as the North American Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2022 (NATRF2022) and the North American-Pacific Geopotential Datum of 2022 (NAPGD2022). These changes will have significant effects on surveying, mapping and GIS across Wisconsin.
To help the community prepare for these changes, Alan Vonderohe, Professor Emeritus at UW-Madison, has written a short book on the subject. The book is intended for a broad audience who seek to better understand he upcoming changes and their possible effects on work activities and products. The book is conversational and non-technical in nature.
Chapter One addresses reference frames and how they are established. Chapter Two builds upon reference frames and discusses NATRF2022. Chapter Three delves into gravity and how it behaves on Earth, forming the basis for elevations. Chapter Four builds upon concepts presented in Chapter Three to describe the NAPGD2022.
The book is available here.
Dr. Vonderohe is co-chairing the Technical Focus Group of WSRS2022, the Wisconsin Spatial Reference System 2022 Task Force, a broad-based group organized to address how the National Geodetic Survey’s plans for its new 2022 datums will impact the Wisconsin geospatial community. Learn more about WSRS2022 activities here.