Bits and pieces | May 2007
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Bicentennial
Ted Doyle, NOAA Team Lead for the Remote Sensing Division's Applications Branch, presents to Kevin Malone and Dan London this 200th birthday commemorative metal disk, fabricated in the style of the ground survey markers used by NOAA in their geodetic work.
Celebrating 200 years of science, service, and stewardship
During the 2007 GXP International User Conference in March, GXP paid tribute to NOAA. This year NOAA commemorates the 200th anniversary of the agency’s Coast and Geodetic Survey (C&GS) division. Founded in 1807 (as the Survey of the Coast) by Thomas Jefferson, the agency provided nautical charts to the maritime community for safe passage into American ports and along the coastline. Its mission increased to include surveys of the interior as the nation expanded westward and it was renamed C&GS in 1878.
NOAA was formed in 1970 from three agencies: the Coast and Geodetic Survey (C&GS), the Weather Bureau, and the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries. The National Ocean Service was created as a line office of NOAA and the part responsible for geodetic functions was named the National Geodetic Survey (NGS). A long-time user of BAE Systems’ SOCET SET software, NGS is responsible for geodetic surveying, control networks, and other tasks that provide the fundamental framework for mapping.