The modernized National Spatial Reference System (NSRS2022) is moving closer to implementation. The latest news from the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is that the rollout of the new reference system will likely occur in mid-2027.
The Wisconsin Spatial Reference System 2022 Task Force (WSRS2022) — established in 2019 to help guide the implementation in Wisconsin — has been inactive for the last couple of years awaiting developments from NGS. Over the last few months, however, WSRS2022 has begun a “reboot” in anticipation of the rollout. Many members of the Task Force have since moved on, but any previous members interested in participating in the reboot are encouraged to reach out to me as co-Chair of the Task Force.
Look for more information on this website as the reboot process moves forward.
Meanwhile, at the national level, the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) has been working on educational efforts to ensure surveyors are familiar with the new reference system. The links below are for two documents written by Dick Kleinmann (Wisconsin), Mike Banta (Arizona) and Linda Foster (past NSPS president). These documents may be valuable to other organizations affected by NSRS modernization, including public agencies and private companies.
NSRS2022: A Basic Understanding
DOTs and the Modernized National Spatial Reference System
The NSPS website “Surveyors Prepare: Datums are Changing!” is another helpful resource from NSPS.
The NGS’s website “New Datums: Replacing NAV88 and NAD 83” also contains useful information.
Details of the activities of WSRS2022 in Wisconsin can be found here.
Migration to the new reference system will have its challenges. Unlike NAD 83, NSRS2022 accounts for plate tectonic movement, which means geographic coordinates will be dependent on time. Tools to align data collected at different times (“epochs”) will be required to build internally consistent geospatial databases. Physical survey monuments will fade in importance next to Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS). In addition, all coordinates will immediately “shift” when the new reference system goes live, because NAD 83 is not geocentric and is off by about 2.24 meters relative to the earth’s true center of mass. A new State Plane Coordinate System (SPCS2022) will also be rolled out, replacing Wisconsin’s long-standing WISCRS and providing a new statewide zone analogous to Wisconsin Transverse Mercator (WTM).
Stay tuned for further developments!