McMurdo Station GPS Survey System - Available Equipment

Equipment Available

A geodetic system consisting of dual-frequency base station and roving receivers, capable of centimeter-level accuracy, is available at McMurdo Station. The base station operates year-round, and roving equipment is available during the austral summer season.

Centimeter-level accuracy can be realized over 100 kilometers away from the station by collecting and post-processing data. Software for GPS data processing is available from UNAVCO. Also, real-time kinematic (RTK) broadcasts provide real-time capability within a five kilometer line-of-sight radius of McMurdo. The RTK signal is broadcast at 418 MHz, with CMR+ format at 9600 baud.

Base station data (low-rate) are available online from the UNAVCO Archive (site MCMD). During the austral summer season high-rate data files are downloaded and archived by UNAVCO, however in general the higher sample rate data are recorded on the receiver only and are not archived. Due to the limited storage space for high-rate data on the receiver, any group requiring high-rate GPS data from this station should make a formal request as soon as possible by emailing archive-gpsunavco.org.

UNAVCO also operates several other GPS base stations in the McMurdo region in support of PI projects, and data from these stations available through the UNAVCO archive. Contact projectsunavco.org for further information.

The following GPS equipment is available for use at McMurdo Station:
	Trimble NetR8 Base Station Geodetic GPS base station for data collection and RTK broadcasting. An equipment inventory is maintained on this page.
	Roving Systems UNAVCO can provide geodetic GPS survey systems that allow centimeter accuracy in real-time (RTK) or through data collection and post-processing. Roving receivers such as the Trimble R7, as well as all ancillary equipment such as power systems, enclosures, survey controllers, and cabling are available. Roving equipment must be requested in advance of the field season.
	Data Processing Software Trimble Business Center data processing software, along with other GPS utilities, are supported by UNAVCO at McMurdo Station.

Last modified: 2019-12-24  02:12:46  America/Denver