The Michigan Height Modernization Project

The Height Modernization project improves the ability of GPS (Global Positioning Systems) technology to measure elevations.

The project is designed to increase the density of surveying monuments with elevation throughout the state. These monuments serve many purposes from construction to shipping, from flood management to shoreline protection and many other activities.

The Height Modernization project is a partnership between the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), NOAA’S National Geodetic Survey (NGS), and Ferris State University (FSU).

Project methodology and theoretical background (Click for Power-Point Presentation)

Why is the Height Modernization (HM) project important for Michigan?
In transportation applications the Height Modernization project will improve aircraft navigational aids to make approach-and-landing procedures safer.
Transportation applications		 In agricultural applications the Height Modernization project will enhance the ability of a tractor to navigate and perform farming work in a precision agriculture environment.
Agricultural applications
In engineering applications the Height Modernization project will allows professionals to measure how fast a piece of land is sinking (a process called subsidence). Because it precisely pinpoints the rise and fall of land surfaces, engineers will be able to precisely calculate water delivery and drainage systems, and reduce urban and agricultural runoff and water pollution.
Engineering applications		 In homeland security applications the Height Modernization will improve disaster preparedness and recovery projects. When floods occur in low-lying areas, major roadways can wash out or become impassable, making it impossible for people to reach higher ground. Height Modernization will help alleviate this problem by enabling emergency planners to monitor and predict potential flooding.
Homeland security applications

Reliable elevation data is essential for many aspects of our life.

In transportation applications the Height Modernization project will improve aircraft navigational aids to make approach-and-landing procedures safer.

In agricultural applications the Height Modernization project will enhance the ability of a tractor to navigate and perform farming work in a precision agriculture environment.

In engineering applications the Height Modernization project will allows professionals to measure how fast a piece of land is sinking (a process called subsidence). Because it precisely pinpoints the rise and fall of land surfaces, engineers will be able to precisely calculate water delivery and drainage systems, and reduce urban and agricultural runoff and water pollution.

In homeland security applications the Height Modernization will improve disaster preparedness and recovery projects. When floods occur in low-lying areas, major roadways can wash out or become impassable, making it impossible for people to reach higher ground. Height Modernization will help alleviate this problem by enabling emergency planners to monitor and predict potential flooding.

In economic terms, the Height Modernization will save the state of Michigan vast sums of money. It will replace expensive, labor-intensive agricultural and farming operations with new, more timely and cost-efficient GPS techniques.

It reduces engineering errors and disasters caused by changing land surfaces due to subsidence, movements of the Earth’s crust, floods, earthquakes, and other natural phenomena. It improves the accuracy of GPS surveying methods and thus enables efficient machine guided construction procedures.

 

Important Links:
Michigan Department of Transportation
National Geodetic Survey
Height Modernization Provides Safer Transportation
Height Modernization: A Short Q and A