Trimble Selected for
UNAVCO's EarthScope PBO Network
(26 February 2004) UNAVCO Inc
has selected Trimble to provide 875 Trimble NetRS Global Positioning System
(GPS) reference station receivers over five years. The reference station
receivers will be used as part of the Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) network,
a major component of the EarthScope Program sponsored by the National Science
Foundation (NSF).
The EarthScope facility is a
multi-purpose array of geodetic and seismic instruments and a borehole
observatory that will greatly expand the observational capabilities of the
Earth sciences to lead to advancements in understanding the structure,
evolution and dynamics of the North American continent. This is made possible
by theoretical, computational, and technological advances in geophysics,
satellite geodesy, information technology, drilling technology and downhole
instrumentation.
The EarthScope observational facility provides a
framework for broad, integrated studies across the Earth sciences, including
research on fault properties and the earthquake process, crustal strain
transfer, magmatic and hydrous fluids in the crust and mantle, plate boundary
processes, large-scale continental deformation, continental structure and
evolution, and composition and structure of the deep-Earth. In addition,
EarthScope offers a centralised forum for Earth science education at all levels
and an excellent opportunity to develop cyber infrastructure to integrate,
distribute and analyse diverse data sets.
The Plate Boundary
Observatory (PBO) is a geodetic observatory designed to study the
three-dimensional strain field resulting from the Earth's tectonic movements
across the active boundary zone between the Pacific and North American plates
in the western United States. The observatory consists of arrays of GPS
receivers and strainmeters, which will be used to make precise deformation
measurements to determine the strain field on timescales from days to decades,
supporting geologic investigations to examine the strain field over longer time
scales.
When completed, the observatory will provide data and data
products from 875 Trimble NetRS reference station GPS receivers, 100 portable
GPS receivers, 175 borehole strainmeters, and 5 laser strainmeters. One hundred
of the permanent GPS stations will form a backbone network at a station spacing
of 200 kilometers. The remaining 775 permanent GPS stations will cluster around
specific scientific targets such as fault zones and volcanoes. One hundred and
seventy five borehole strainmeters arranged in clusters of 4-6 instruments will
complement the GPS networks.
The Trimble NetRS receiver is the latest
in a long line of GPS reference station and infrastructure solutions from
Trimble. The Trimble NetRS features the company's new R-track technology, which
includes the capability of tracking the new Civil Signal (L2C), scheduled to be
available on certain GPS satellites in 2004. It is designed for use with
Trimble's scalable infrastructure solutions and as a Continuously Operating
Reference Station (CORS) for geodetic, survey, high accuracy GIS and monitoring
applications.
The Trimble NetRS GPS receiver is a powerful, dependable
receiver designed for a range of high precision and monitoring applications.
The receiver offers ease of use, low power consumption, R-track technology for
L2C signal tracking, Ethernet connectivity, advanced data management
capability, and a rugged design, all of which makes it an extremely flexible
product, ideal for Trimble's portfolio of scalable infrastructure
solutions.
With Internet Protocol as the primary communications
mechanism, the Trimble NetRS GPS receiver can be accessed and fully controlled
remotely using standard tools, such as web browsers or FTP clients, or using
Trimble infrastructure software. The Trimble NetRS is built on a Linux
framework, which allows for extension and customisation that is simply not
possible with proprietary operating systems. Network management features of the
Trimble NetRS include the ability to store one receiver's data configuration to
a file and restore it to the same receiver at a later date or clone the
information to other receivers within a network.
(source: Trimble
Navigation)
