In a Federal Register Notice (FRN) filed on 10/8/2024, NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey (NGS) provides an updated timeline for rolling out the modernized National Spatial Reference System (NSRS).
NGS will roll out components of the modernized NSRS at beta.ngs.noaa.gov, where they can be publicly tested through 2026. The testing will continue for at least 6 months after the final component is released on the Beta website. In 2026, NGS expects the modernized NSRS to be approved by the Federal Geodetic Control Subcommittee (FGCS). The current NSRS will be replaced with the modernized NSRS within a few months of this decision.
The main component of the modernization effort is the replacement of the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) and the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). These datums were defined before the widespread use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and were determined using classical, terrestrial geodetic measurement techniques. These datums will be replaced by the North American Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2022, the Pacific Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2022, the Caribbean Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2022, the Mariana Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2022 and the North American-Pacific Geopotential Datum of 2022 (NATRF2022, PATRF2022, CATRF2022, MATRF2022 and NAPGD2022). The new reference frames will rely primarily on GNSS/GPS, as well as a gravimetric geoid model resulting from the Gravity for the Redefinition of the American Vertical Datum (GRAV-D) Project.
According to the FRN:
- NGS plans to roll out components of the modernized NSRS in 2025 or 2026 at beta.ngs.noaa.gov for public testing. The testing will continue for at least six months after the final component is released.
- In the meantime, the current NSRS (NAD 83 and NAVD 88) will remain the official NSRS of the United States.
- Once testing is complete, and all modernized NSRS components appear to be stable and correct, the Federal Geodetic Control Subcommittee (FGCS) will be asked to vote to approve the modernized NSRS. This is expected to occur in 2026.
- If FGCS approves the modernized NSRS, NGS will publish an FRN announcing a several-month process of transitioning all modernized NSRS components to the official website at geodesy.noaa.gov.
More details about the implications of the NSRS modernization for Wisconsin can be found on the WSRS2022 page.