GPS in Support of LIS: Project Consoil, Dane County, Wisconsin

In the fall of 1987, the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) conducted the first phase of a global positioning system (GPS) survey in Dane County, Wisconsin, in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the CONSOIL Land Records Modernization Project, and Dane County. The primary objective was to provide the basis for a consistent, accurate, positional reference framework, integrated with the U.S. Public Land Survey System (PLSS), to support a land information system (LIS) currently being developed. Substantial local level efforts, for planning, reconnaissance, and other related activities, were required to support the NGS survey. A county wide network of 141 GPS stations was planned, with a higher density subnetwork, in a nine-section area, designed to serve as an experimental platform for continuing research. Many PLSS corners originally proposed as GPS receiver sites proved to be incompatible with observation requirements, necessitating placement of eccentric stations and thereby increasing conventional surveying requirements. Results of the first phase are presented, including the network adjustments performed by NGS. Benefits include the opportunities provided for continuing and future research related to LIS development and implementation.