Contact information:
Prof. Thomas A Herring
Room 54-820A, MIT
Phone (617) 253-5941;
Fax (617) 258-7401
Email: tah@mit.edu
Web page for Seminar: http://www-gpsg.mit.edu/~tah/12S56
Associate Advisors:
Elizabeth Maroon emaroon@mit.edu
Spencer Para sparr@mit.edu
Class meets 3:00-5:00 pm Mondays, Room
54-322.
Description |
The use of
Global Positioning System (GPS) in a wide variety of applications has
exploded in the last few years. Hikers, sailors, and aviators use the system
as a navigation aid but many others use GPS in ways that were not considered
during its design. Some of the most stringent uses come from meteorology,
where the system is used to track water vapor in the atmosphere, and from
geophysics, where it is used to measure continental drift, deformation
leading up earthquakes, and mean sea-level rise. In this seminar we explore
how positions on the Earth were determined before GPS; how GPS itself works
and the range of applications in which GPS is now a critical element. This
seminar is followed by a UROP in the spring semester where results from precise
GPS measurements will be analyzed and displayed on the web. Thomas Herring is Professor of Geophysics in the
Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. He uses GPS to measure
millimeter-level motions of the EarthÕs surface in California, Central Asia,
and China with the long-term aim of understanding earthquakes and other
deformation processes. He also
studies the EarthÕs atmosphere with GPS through the refraction of GPS
signals. |
Seminar Content and Schedule
|
Class |
Date |
Topic |
9/21/2009 |
Introduction to Seminar and what we want to
during the semester. Definitions of Latitude/Longitude and Height. Astronomical
Latitude and Longitude determination. Set to have measurements done on 9/22
(equinox) ideally. Write up needed for
next class (see exercises below) |
|
|
09/28/2009 |
We examine the results from Exercise #1 –
Determination of the latitude and longitude of MIT campus. http://www.tecepe.com.br/scripts/AlmanacPagesISAPI.isa This is an online almanac that looks like the nautical almanac |
09/28/2009- |
Discussion of results and techniques used to
measure positions geometrically. How do you measure position without gravity?
Geometric systems that use distance measurement. How to do this. How do you
make maps and what is significance. Exercise
2 is set. |
|
10/19/2009-10/26/2009 |
Start looking at how GPS works. Discuss student
measurements of Circle (results due 10/26). Look at EDM equipment |
|
|
11/02/2009 |
Fieldwork in the circle. Use the theodolite to
make the measurements. Students to reduce the results by the next class. No seminar 11/09/09. Exercise
3 is due 11/23/09 |
|
11/16/2009 |
Continued discussion of GPS methods. |
11/23/2009 |
Finish GPS discussions and visit by Lt Col Kurt Kuntzelman, USAF |
|
8 |
11/30/2008 |
GPS candy hunt. |
12/07/2009 |
UROP discussions |
Seminar exercises 2009:
Determine the latitude
and longitude of the MIT campus using a method of your own choice without
using GPS or a map (or any web resources that tell you the latitude and
longitude). Your submission
should include: |
(a) A discussion of your
method and why you choose it. |
(b) The data collected
during your measurements |
(c) Calculation of the
latitude and longitude |
|
Determine the
radius of the circle outside the Green building. There is a grass inner ring and a concrete outer ring. The
radius of the outer edge of the concrete ring should be determined. In the center of the circle is a
sprinkler head, use an indirect method (i.e., no by direct distance
measurement) to determine the distance from the sprinkler to the outer
concrete edge. |
EXERCISE 3: Due Monday November 23, 2009
Link to Data for Project 3: Will be posted Nov 03, 2009. The link above points to
the data collected in the circle during seminar 5. The results and student presentation of their results will
be Monday Nov 23. From the measurements made you are to determine: Solution: Web Page PDF Proj_3_09.m |