Strengthen Outreach and Engagement

By José Antonio Tarrío Mosquera

The University of Santiago de Chile formally entered SIRGAS (Sistema de Referencia Geodésico para las Américas) in 2016 as a data center, installing the USCL GNSS station (which today is about to become the IGS network station). That small geodetic milestone of the University opened a path of knowledge in Geodesy and GNSS little exploited before in the institution.

In some parts of the world, having free and open GNSS data is complex, making it difficult for students to work, interact and learn about GNSS and Geodesy. Before the pandemic, this aspect was solved by capturing data in the field, but from 2020 to mid-2021, geodetic campaigns were not an option. Since then, the IGS role in our GNSS classes has been essential, turning its data and products and its website into central tools for Geodesy subjects.

IGS has data and products to process with free software, unlimited access to the CDDIS, data from the reference frame, precise orbits of the MGEX project, etc.; This it has made it possible for teaching to increase its level of proximity to GNSS technology from a theoretical point of view initially and then practice using all that information. Álvaro Aranda, one of our students, indicates, “The fact of having free access to a platform that is being updated daily with GNNS information associated with the various stations attached to the IGS in the continent, in addition to data that includes the orbital movement of the satellites belonging to multiple constellations, allow the user to find reliability in the information, and specifically because it is a service that contributes with seriousness and unity to the international community, also find everything necessary to process GNSS observations freely. IGS has been able to combine all the necessary data and products in a simple and orderly way, which makes the use of their products come first for us as professionals and students ” A very relevant opinion is that of Jesarella Inzunza and Catalina Cáceres, former students and, today teachers and professionals of our SIRGAS processing and analysis center, who indicate “IGS, by providing official and accurate data for free, allows teachers to give them the knowledge necessary for students to perform geodetic work correctly and accurately. Likewise, IGS provides important knowledge to students and teachers, providing a quality knowledge base worldwide“.

Chile is an eminently seismic country, but thanks to the IGS, the pandemic, and the earthquakes haven’t had a negative impact on our GNSS teaching.