This award will provide funding to partially support the costs associated with planning, organizing, and executing a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) study entitled "National Requirements for Precision Geodetic Infrastructure", as well as the production of a NAS report to be prepared by the National Research Council (NRC) Board on Earth Sciences and Resources. This activity will provide critical focus on a fundamental component of earth science research that underpins research activity across an immensely broad disciplinary area but which is under threat simply because it has increasingly been taken for granted. The study will provide an assessment of the potential for continued scientific innovation that will be provided by improvements in precision that would be provided by improved geodetic infrastructure. This planning study is expected to take 17 months at a total cost of $460,000. The NSF contribution towards the study is $150,001. Funds have also been requested from National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Geological Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Naval Observatory, and U.S. Department of Transportation.
