Definition
Developed in the 1970s by the US Department of Defense (DOD) and managed as a shared global utility by the US Air Force, the Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system that allows the determination of precise location, time, and velocity anywhere on earth (US Government, GPS 2017). Coastal scientists often use GPS receivers to collect field data for later analysis and mapping using standard or specialized software including [see in this volume] Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The major components of the GPS consist of the space segment, the control segment, and the user segment.
The space segment includes a constellation of radio signal-transmitting satellites complete with computers and atomic clocks. They orbit the earth in 12 h from an altitude of 20,200 km (12,550 miles), sending signals in less than 70 ms (0.06 s) (Trimble Navigation 2017). A full constellation consists of 24...
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Bibliography
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Boeser, S.M. (2017). Global Positioning Systems (GPS). In: Finkl, C., Makowski, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Coastal Science . Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_154-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_154-2
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