NGS NEWS

NGS Reaches Major Milestone with NSRS Modernization: Core Beta Products and Tools Made Available for Public Testing

Test the tools to access and use the modernized NSRS

NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey (NGS) has reached an important milestone in the modernization of the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) with the public beta release of its core supporting products and tools. These beta products are now available through the NGS Beta website for stakeholder evaluation and feedback.

We encourage surveyors, engineers, GIS professionals, mapping agencies, software developers, researchers, and other members of the geospatial community to explore these tools, test them using real-world workflows, and provide feedback. Your input will help refine these products and improve their usability prior to their official release.

Please note: The products available on the NGS Beta website are preliminary releases for testing and evaluation only. They should not be used for operational or authoritative purposes.The descriptions below supersede previous updates or information shared in NSRS Modernization blueprint documents, plans, or presentations. These products and their status will be described on the Track Our Progress webpage.

1. The Data Delivery System (DDS) serves as the primary gateway for discovering, visualizing, and accessing geodetic data and products in the modernized NSRS. It integrates a modernized NGS Map, with two new products—Geodetic Station Pages, and Geodetic Mark Pages—into a consistent, API-driven experience for accessing geodetic control information and products. Geodetic Station Pages replace the current NOAA CORS Network (NCN) station pages and provide access to station metadata, reference epoch coordinates, updated CORS coordinate functions (CCFs), and related geodetic products. Geodetic Mark Pages replace the current ASCII datasheets with interactive pages that provide access to mark metadata, reference epoch coordinates, and related geodetic products. 
2. The NGS Coordinate Conversion and Transformation Tool (NCAT) has been updated to support coordinate conversions and transformations involving both the current and modernized NSRS. NCAT supports horizontal coordinate transformations using NADCON, vertical datum transformations using VERTCON, coordinate conversions, and expanded geopotential calculations, including conversions between ellipsoid and orthometric heights.  Additionally, support for international reference frames is available through 14-parameter Helmert transformations. Finally, support for estimating the changes of coordinates between two epochs has also been added.
3. OPUS-Static has been updated to process static Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) observations directly in the modernized NSRS using multi-constellation data. Solutions are provided in any of the four 2022 terrestrial reference frames, as well as in the International Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2020 (ITRF2020), and includes State Plane Coordinate System of 2022 (SPCS2022) coordinates, where available, and orthometric heights referenced to the North American-Pacific Geopotential Datum of 2022 (NAPGD2022), where available. OPUS-Share functionality remains available during the beta testing period, allowing users to share solutions. Solutions shared through the beta system are temporary and will not be retained nor migrated to the operational system when beta testing concludes.

Over the coming weeks, NGS will hold a series of public webinars providing detailed information about each product and the impacts of NSRS modernization on geospatial workflows.

We encourage you to evaluate these beta products, compare them with your existing workflows, and submit comments, questions, or bug reports to ngs.feedback@noaa.gov. Community feedback is essential to ensuring the modernized NSRS and its supporting tools meet the needs of the geospatial community before their official release.

Products found on the NGS beta website are preliminary releases that are for testing and evaluation only; they are not final products nor do they contain any authoritative NGS data or tools. To provide feedback on any of the content on this site, please email ngs.feedback@noaa.gov.