The last significant modernization of the NSRS resulted in the creation of the original North American Datum of 1983 (54 FR 25318) and the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (58 FR 34245). 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 (i.e., terrestrial, line-of-sight) geodetic measurement techniques. Over the years, minor corrections to and expansion of the NSRS occurred; however, no significant update was possible until now.
Through modern geodetic surveying technology, extensive data collection initiatives, and advances in scientific knowledge, a more accurate, modern NSRS is possible. The new frames and datum shall be known as 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,” and may be referred to as “NATRF2022,” “PATRF2022,” “CATRF2022,” “MATRF2022,” and “NAPGD2022,” respectively. The new reference frames will rely primarily on GNSSs, such as the GPS, as well as on a gravimetric geoid model resulting from the Gravity for the Redefinition of the American Vertical Datum (GRAV-D) Project. The modernized NSRS will be easier to access and maintain than the existing NSRS, which relies on physical survey marks that deteriorate over time. The modernized NSRS will define new, more accurate, and more regularly updated geodetic coordinates (i.e., latitude, longitude, ellipsoid height, orthometric height, acceleration of gravity, deflections of the vertical, and others). Coordinates will be estimated within these frames and datum at regular reference epochs from all historic survey data available to NGS, beginning with 2020.00.
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