At Noon, on the day of the solstice, June 21, 2014, geospatial professionals around the world and members of Land Surveyors United (a global support network for land surveyors) will be simultaneously recording survey grade GPS data from thousands of points around the globe for a third time, in order to gain a more accurate understanding of the earth's surface. This will be the third event of its kind; Survey Earth in a Day 3D!

If you are a long time member of the Creators Community, you have probably seen posts from previous years about Survey Earth in a Day.  This is of course the third year for the project.  And despite previous challenges which have come up, as a global community of professional land surveyors, we will be simultaneously remeasuring the surface of the entire earth in a single day.

Our primary goal is and has always been to bring greater global public awareness regarding the importance of land surveyors to society. As community manager of Land Surveyors United, my role  has been to bring together a true global network of surveyors, in order for them to have a place to find social support from the field. Before LSU, there was no such thing as a Global Surveyor Organization.  Today, with over 6600+ surveyors, that dream is alive and still kicking on Ning framework.

On Survey Earth in a Day, June 21st Land Surveyors will:

- Set up their GPS Equipment over a point on the Earths surface for which we have a known, official Latitude/Longitude and Elevation

-Gather measurement data from 24+ satellites into their data collectors

-Upload that data to the network for post-processing which we will then add to a map containing all other submissions.

---->  This year we will layer that mapping data on top of the past two years and compare the results.

For Non-Surveyors:

Most of us on NC forum are not land surveyors.  Many do not even know what a land surveyor does, despite the fact that they are among the most  important professionals involved when discussing ANY land ownership related scenario. So the explanation for why this sort of event is important is different than the reason why surveyors find it important.  Survey Earth in a Day is both an industry exercise as well as a public awareness event.

Basically, we all understand that GPS location data from phones and mobile devices is only accurate within meters of a geographic point on earth.  However, Survey Grade GPS (which is used to professionally measure land boundaries and property related points) is accurate within centimeters.  A Global network of thousands of professional land surveyors simultaneously measuring local locations around the globe at Noon will produce data which can be overlaid atop Google Earth for example and actually change- if not only a tiny bit- any ideas that we know about the accuracy of measurements related to the surface of the earth that we all currently agree on as a society.  Three years worth of data layered on top of one another can demonstrate how much the surface of earth is shifting year to year with great accuracy.

So, no cell phones.  Only Survey Grade GPS.

What I wrote 3 years ago in my first announcement, still holds true but with a few slight changes:

Planet earth has never been measured with great precision- in its entirety- from thousands of points, simultaneously, during the course of a single day. On Survey Earth Day, the geospatial professionals of the world will have a chance to change that.
On the day of the summer solstice June 21st  2014 at Noon June 20 2012 , geospatial professionals around the world and members of Land Surveyors United (a global support network for land surveyors) will be simultaneously recording survey grade GPS data from thousands of points around the globe, in order to gain a more accurate understanding of the earth's surface. The first 3rd annual Survey Earth in a Day event will be an ongoing annual social surveying education experiment, with a mission not only to learn more about the earth's surface but also monitor its changes over time, as a global community.Our results will change the knowledge we currently have of the shape of the earth and thus provide new information about our planet's surface for the benefit of all man-kind. Help the surveying industry and the surveyors in your region of the world by representing your area as we re-measure the entire globe in one single day!
If you are a geospatial professional with access to survey grade GPS equipment, you should consider helping us set a world's record, right from where you live and work! Only a surveyor can provide the kind of precision that will be needed to truly understand the shape of planet earth. Just imagine how much this can help our industry.

Survey Earth in a Day is hosted by Land Surveyors United network. http://surveyearth.com/

Follow Survey Earth in a Day on Twitter @surveyearth

I am looking forward to pushing Ning platform to the limits this year for Survey Earth in a Day 3D and hope you will all support this endeavor and accept the challenge of doing something similar for your own global networks.