HR: 1400h
AN: G33B-05    [Abstracts]
TI: Moving to a Modernized Height Reference System in Canada: Rationale, Status and Plans
AU: * Veronneau, M
EM: marcv@nrcan.gc.ca
AF: Natural Resources Canada, 615 Booth Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0E9, Canada
AU: Huang, J
EM: jianhuan@nrcan.gc.ca
AF: Natural Resources Canada, 615 Booth Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0E9, Canada
AB: A modern society depends on a common coordinate reference system through which geospatial information can be interrelated and exploited reliably. For height measurements this requires the ability to measure mean sea level elevations easily, accurately, and at the lowest possible cost. The current national reference system for elevations, the Canadian Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1928 (CGVD28), offers only partial geographic coverage of the Canadian territory and is affected by inaccuracies that are becoming more apparent as users move to space- based technologies such as GPS. Furthermore, the maintenance and expansion of the national vertical network using spirit-levelling, a costly, time consuming and labour intensive proposition, has only been minimally funded over the past decade. It is now generally accepted that the most sustainable alternative for the realization of a national vertical datum is a gravimetric geoid model. This approach defines the datum in relation to an ellipsoid, making it compatible with space-based technologies for positioning. While simplifying access to heights above mean sea level all across the Canadian territory, this approach imposes additional demands on the quality of the geoid model. These are being met by recent and upcoming space gravimetry missions that have and will be measuring the Earth`s gravity field with increasing and unprecedented accuracy. To maintain compatibility with the CGVD28 datum materialized at benchmarks, the current first-order levelling can be readjusted by constraining geoid heights at selected stations of the Canadian Base Network. The new reference would change CGVD28 heights of benchmarks by up to 1 m across Canada. However, local height differences between benchmarks would maintain a relative precision of a few cm or better. CGVD28 will co-exist with the new height reference as long as it will be required, but it will undoubtedly disappear as benchmarks are destroyed over time. The adoption of GNSS technologies for positioning should naturally move users to the new height reference and offer the possibility of transferring heights over longer distances, within the precision of the geoid model. This transition will also reduce user dependency on a dense network of benchmarks and offer the possibility for geodetic agencies to provide the reference frame with a reduced number of 3D control points. While the rationale for moving to a modernized height system is easily understood, the acceptance of the new system by users will only occur gradually as they adopt new technologies and procedures to access the height reference. A stakeholder consultation indicates user readiness and an implementation plan is starting to unfold. This presentation will look at the current state of the geoid model and control networks that will support the modernized height system. Results of the consultation and the recommendations regarding the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders involved in implementing the transition will also be reported.
DE: 1214 Geopotential theory and determination (0903)
DE: 1229 Reference systems
SC: Geodesy [G]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly