Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS): History, Applications, and Future Enhancements

Abstract

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Geodetic Survey (NGS) manages the National Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) system that comprises a network of over 1,350 sites, each containing a geodetic quality Global Navigation Satellite System receiver. This network is currently growing at a rate of about 15 sites per month. NGS collects, processes, and distributes data from these sites in support of high-accuracy three-dimensional positioning activities throughout the United States, its territories, and a few foreign countries. CORS data are also used by geophysicists, meteorologists, atmospheric and ionospheric scientists, and others in support of a wide variety of applications. This paper addresses the history of the CORS network, some of its applications, and plans for enhancing it within the next few years.