Eric D. Colburn, PLS

Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News-U.S. Geological Survey Awarded JAVAD GNSS up to $3.9M Contract

The Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, has awarded contract G10PC00160 resulting from competitive solicitation 10WRSS0010 to JAVAD GNSS, Inc. of San Jose, CA.

The contract is an Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity contract for various configurations of GPS/GNSS receivers and antennas with a five (5) year ordering period and a $3.9M ceiling.

Protested, Reopened, and Competitively Awarded Read the rest of this entry →

Mt. Everest from Space. Photo Credit: NASA

China and Nepal Agree to Disagree on Height of Mount Everest

I came across an interesting article at the end of last week about how China and Nepal agreed to disagree on the exact height of Mount Everest. The Nepalese and Chinese governments negotiated last week to solve the 150 year old question, but in the end could not come to a unified conclusion regarding the height of the world’s highest peak.  The crux of the disagreement, apparently, is an age old problem to professional land surveyors, cartographers and governments alike – Where is here? Or more seriously, what defines the top of a mountain?

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Just a few land surveying photographs and images from the USGS I thought were interesting. I hope you enjoy them, too.

Professional Land Surveyor Source

USGS

High Standard Alidade

Cast Bronze Benchmark

Leather Boots The soles of made of heavy-duty rubber with metal studs

USGS Director McNutt a Leader in U.S. Delegation at International Conference

3D Black Hills, South Dakota, USA

Free, easily accessible U.S. satellite data enables any citizen, scientist, or analyst who can use the information to contribute to a shared vision of the challenges facing our planet.

That’s the message the newly-appointed director of the U.S. Geological Survey, Dr. Marcia McNutt, plans to deliver when representatives of 80 governments and over 50 participating organizations convene at the international Group on Earth Observations (GEO-VI) meeting, November 16-17, in Washington, D.C.

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EDMAP: Training the Next Generation of Geoscientists

Geologic maps record the distribution of rock and soil materials at Earth’s surface and help decision makers identify and protect valuable resources, avoid risks from natural hazards, and make wise land use choices.

Randy Orndorff, Associate Program Coordinator for the USGS National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, talks about the grant for the academic component of the USGS NCGMP called EDMAP. He explains the importance of the EDMAP program, describes some of the benefits for involved university students and professors, and describes how to apply for the grant.

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Professional Land Surveyor News: USGS Offers $500,000 in Grants to Map the Nation

Professional Land Surveyor Source: USGS

—Applications due Nov. 12, 2009—

The U.S. Geological Survey will award up to $500,000 in grants and cooperative agreements for universities to help produce geologic maps for the nation.

Interested professors can apply online to the EDMAP grant program under funding opportunity No. 10HQPA0004. Applications are due Nov. 12, 2009, at 3 p.m. ET

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Professional Land Surveyor Source: USGS

Landsat 5, the quarter-century-old satellite workhorse, is back in its traces.

When the historically reliable earth observation satellite began tumbling in space on the morning of August 13, engineers from the USGS Landsat Flight Operations Team immediately started processes to protect the satellite and to restore capability.

The spacecraft was stabilized quickly and recovery operations initiated. During the following two days, the sensor was not used and no data were collected.  By August 17, the systems were back in order and full capability was restored.

Landsat 5 continues to collect data. In fact, the one-millionth download of free Landsat data – the counting started after a policy of free downloads began in October 2008 – was a clear Landsat 5 image acquired August 17 of the Grand Canyon in the southwestern U.S.

The cause of the anomaly is still being investigated.

Further information about the Landsat program, including satellite status, can be found at http://landsat.usgs.gov.

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Professional Land Surveyor Source

USGS

The price of the popular USGS 1:24,000 scale topographic quadrangle map – often called a “topo” or a “quad” – will go up $2 per sheet to $8 beginning today March 16, 2009. Larger format (“poster”) maps will go up $3 per sheet to $10. These prices were last increased 7 years ago.

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