NOAA Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) Network

About this dataset

The National Geodetic Survey (NGS), an office of NOAA's National Ocean Service, manages a network of Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) that provide Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data consisting of carrier phase and code range measurements in support of three dimensional positioning, meteorology, space weather, and geophysical applications throughout the United States, its territories, and a few foreign countries. This is called the NOAA CORS Network (NCN) Surveyors, GIS users, engineers, scientists, and the public at large that collect GPS or GNSS data can use NOAA's CORS data to improve the precision of their positions. CORS enhanced post-processed coordinates approach a few centimeters relative to the National Spatial Reference System, both horizontally and vertically. The NCN network is a multi-purpose cooperative endeavor involving government, academic, and private organizations. The sites are independently owned and operated. Each agency shares their data with NGS, and NGS in turn analyzes and distributes the data free of charge. As of February 2025, the NCN provides data from approximately 2,000 active sites. NCN data holdings to include decommissioned stations, comes to a total of 2,908 sites. These sites are contributed by over 230 different organizations, and the network continues to expand. The DOI referenced is for the archived NCN data holdings.