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Standards (history)
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TheNorth American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) is thevertical datum fororthometric heights established for vertical controlsurveying in theUnited States based upon the General Adjustment of the North American Datum of 1988.[1]
It superseded theNational Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29),[2] previously known as the Sea Level Datum of 1929.
NAVD 88, along withNorth American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83, ahorizontal datum), is set to be replaced in 2025 with anew geometric reference frame and geopotential datum, based onGPS and gravimetric geoid models.[3]
NAVD 88 was established in 1991 by the minimum-constraintadjustment ofgeodeticleveling observations inCanada, theUnited States, andMexico. It held fixed the height of the primarytide gaugebenchmark, referenced to theInternational Great Lakes Datum of 1985 localmean sea level (MSL) height value, atRimouski,Quebec,Canada. Additional tidal bench mark elevations were not used due to the demonstrated variations insea surface topography, i.e., that MSL is not the sameequipotential surface at all tidal bench marks.[1]
North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) consists of a leveling network on the North American Continent, ranging from Alaska, through Canada, across the United States, affixed to a single origin point on the continent.[1]
In 1993 NAVD 88 was affirmed as the official vertical datum in theNational Spatial Reference System (NSRS) for the Conterminous United States and Alaska.[4] (see Federal Register Notice (FRN)). Although many papers on NAVD 88 exist, no single document serves as the official defining document for that datum.[1]
The definition of NAVD 88 uses theHelmert orthometric height, which calculates the location of thegeoid (which approximates MSL) from modeled local gravity.[citation needed] The NAVD 88 model is based on then-available measurements, and remains fixed despite later improved geoid models.[citation needed]
Since NGVD 29 used a simple model of gravity based on latitude to calculate the geoid and did not take into account other variations,[citation needed] elevation difference between points in a local area in it and NAVD 88 will show negligible change from one datum to the other, even though the elevation of both does change between datums.[citation needed]
Based on the more recent surveying techniques and data, it was determined that NAVD 88 is both biased (by about 0.5 meters (1 ft 8 in)) and tilted (about 1 meter (3 ft 3 in) coast to coast).[5] To improve theNational Spatial Reference System (NSRS), the National Geodetic Service will replace the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) and the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) with a new geometric reference frame and geopotential datum in 2025.[3][6]
The new reference frames will rely primarily on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), as well as on a gravimetric geoid model resulting from NOAA's Gravity for the Redefinition of the American Vertical Datum (GRAV-D) Project. These new reference frames are intended to be easier to access, and maintain, than NAD 83 and NAVD 88, which rely on physical survey marks that deteriorate over time.[3]