GPS on Benchmarks Sept. 20, 2023

[John Williams, PLS]

As far as I've heard GPS on BM submissions end September 30, 2023--Tomorrow
I'm surprised there haven't been email reminders. If you have observations please submit ASAP. If anyone has addition updates please keep us posted as I'd like to keep adding a few to the database if time has been extended.
Sincerely,
JW

[Steve Martin]

Hi John,

I've posted on GPS on Benchmarks here before with limited response.

I was thinking about posting recently anyways, so thank you for beating me to it.

I do see your contributions to the program all along U. S. 395 and the Eastern Sierras and am glad to see all of the priority marks being cleared there.

This is unofficial, but NGS will continue to accept GPSonBMs submissions and use them for the Transformation Tool program until they actually pull a dataset from the NGS IDB, which is anticipated to be around the end of the year.

I'll be collecting several more in the next couple of months. We do not have a firm date on when they will pull the data, so the sooner you can submit the data, the better chance of it being used in the Transformation Tool NAVD88 to NAPGD2022.

A government shutdown will likely delay any work NGS is doing (much like last time). I'd print out any datasheets or information you need off the NGS web site today, in case it goes offline next week.

Steve Martin

[Edward M Reading]

Thanks for the update, Steve!

[Steve Martin]

Thanks Ed.

You and the whole Central Coast Chapter have set the example on what can be accomplished by working together!

[Steve Martin]

NGS has announced the final cut-off date to submit data for inclusion in NSRS2022 and the GPS on Benchmarks Transformation Tool program, February 29, 2024. https://content.govdelivery.com/account ... ns/37f5caf

California is about 53% complete on the goal of having 2 GPS observations on a benchmark at a 10km spacing (10km hexagons).

Riverside County just submitted a number of observations, Phillip Melcher continues to submit many, Caltrans District 2 recently submitted several, and Caltrans District 4 has been submitting data lately, along with others.

The Port of Oakland submitted an OPUS Projects project on their control network so that it will be published in the Modernized NSRS.

Thank You to all who have participated in the Transformation Tool program. There is still some time to make a difference for your region.

Check out the NGS GPSonBMs web map: https://noaa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webap ... fe5fb2f7f5

[Jim Frame]

I got in a couple of Priority B marks today. The nearest Priority A marks are 30 miles from me, so I probably won't get to any of them.

[Steve Martin]

30 miles is easy. It was 2 hours 20 minutes each way today. A priority B mark too. I've been working on GPSonBMs for over 2 years, so the easy ones around here are already done.

Glad to hear you are participating though Jim.
It sounds like to Yolo County settlement survey will come too late to be included in the NSRS2022 adjustment.

Try using the Population Priority layers in the NGS web application. Those Priority B marks might just be Priority A under Population Priority.

The Population Priority layers change a lot of the Priority A marks out in the desert to Priority B, and visa versa in populated areas.

[Jim Frame]

It sounds like to Yolo County settlement survey will come too late to be included in the NSRS2022 adjustment.

Even if schedule weren't an issue, I don't think the project will be bluebooked due to the additional cost involved in conventional bluebooking. The sites that have 2+ hour observations can be incorporated via OPUS-Projects, but that will only be a small subset of the network stations.