Colorado Height Modernization
Overview | Accomplishments | Regional Activities | Program Details | Contacts
Program Overview
Picture of Colorado Mountains.
Photo: Pamela Fromhertz, NOAA.
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Colorado Height Modernization Advisory Board (CoHMAB), a group of individuals, agencies and private enterprise consisting of a wide range of Colorado-based scientific, technical and professional representatives, recognize the need of Height Modernization in Colorado. Height Modernization will help improve Colorado’s ability to manage assets, respond to disasters and emergencies, mitigate flood impacts, potentially reduce homeowner’s flood insurance rates, and plan for the future using modern technologies such as GPS and geographic information systems (GIS). It can improve surveying, engineering, construction and mapping techniques by providing a more accurate 3-dimensional control network.
Accomplishments
The Colorado Height Modernization Program is creating a statewide Partnership Plan focused on outreach, education, communication, technical assistance or capacity building, and a needs assessment. Outreach materials will improve communication and collaboration, and technical workshops were hosted on both the east and west slopes in 2009. Finally, a statewide assessment will identify the health of Colorado’s existing vertical control network, identify the health of surrounding states’ ties to the vertical control network, and identify a Height Modernization plan for NGS First and Second Order Leveling activities, GPS Observations and gravity measurements.
Regional Activities
Colorado is part of both the Western and Central Regions. As such, it must tackle both the challenge in determining accurate elevation in mountainous areas and the needs of the plains in the eastern half of the state. Collaborating with neighboring states and improving ties between their vertical networks in is a priority of the Colorado Height Modernization Program.
Program Details
NGS Height Modernization Grant recipient
- Partner agency: Colorado Department of Transportation
- Principal Investigator: Daniel Smith, Colorado Department of Transportation
Project(s)
- GPS Height Modernization Project, Golden to Vail Pass, Colorado
Contact Information
For additional inquiries, contact the State Geodetic Advisor Program or the National Height Modernization Program directly. State geodetic advisors serve as liaisons between NOAA and regional or state organizations.
