Revised 12/17/97

SITE INFORMATION

Current Site Name:
Location:
Site Number:
Geographic Region:
Tectonic Plate:
  Fort Davis
Fort Davis, TX
33A
North America
North American
     
General Site Description:  

The VLBA station is located approximately 180 miles southwest of El Paso, Texas on the southern edge of the Fort Davis mountains and 8 miles northwest of the town of Fort Davis. A fixed 26-meter polaris antenna (HRAS 085), located at the George R. Agassiz station (GRAS), was operational until 1991. It has since been dismantled.

The VLBA antenna is 300 meters southeast of where HRAS was located.

Measurements supporting the determination of plate motion, plate stability, polar motion/earth rotation, regional deformation, and intercomparison of measurement techniques.

     
Local Geology:   Not Available
     
Site Topo Map:   USGS 1:25000 Sheet Casket Mountain Quadrangle

Revised 03/09/98

CONTACT INFORMATION

Current Site Name:
Location:
Site Number:
  Fort Davis
Fort Davis, TX
33A
     
Site Ownership:   USA (National Science Foundation)
Site Management:   National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) through Associated Universities Incorporated
     
Scheduling:
Address:


Telephone:
Fax:
E-mail:
  Barry Clark
NRAO/AOC
P.O. Box O
Socorro, NM 87801
505 835 7268
505 835 7027
bclark@nrao.edu
     
Contact Person:
Address:


Telephone:
Fax:
E-mail:
  Gary Tobias
NRAO Fort Davis VLBA Station
P.O. Box 2008
Fort Davis, TX 79734
915 426 3517
915 426 3185
vlbafd@nrao.edu
     
Related Links:   NRAO VLBA Home Page
Photo of Ft. Davis (courtesy of NRAO)

Revised 12/17/97

MONUMENT INFORMATION

Current Site Name:
Location:
Site Number:
Number of Observing Monuments:
Surveyed into National Network?
  Fort Davis
Fort Davis, TX
33A
4
Yes
     

Monument Number:
Type of Monument:
Monument Inscription:

Systems using Monument:

Latitude:
Longitude:
Elevation:
Height above Ellipsoid:
Geodetic Coordinate Source/Date:
Geodetic Coordinate Datum/Ellipsoid:
Elevation Datum:

Source of Monument Geodetic Survey
Ties:

Comments:

 

4010-S 1993
0.457 Meter Diameter Stainless Steel Plate
Fort Davis VLBA Site GPS Station Mark JPL 4010-S 1993
GPS

N 30° 38' 06.26916"
W 103° 56' 36.99422"
1617.13 meters
1594.436 meters
ATSC / 12-DEC-97
IERS / ITRF94
NGVD 1927


ATSC

None

Differential Coordinates from 4010

Monument
Number
Monument
Inscription
X Y Z

7613
-------

NONE (VLBA Reference Pt.)
HRAS 85

-114.809
-313.720
15.815
186.571
0.832
149.436
         
Monument
Number
Monument
Inscription
North East Up

7613
-------
NONE (VLBA Reference Pt.)
HRAS 85
-5.560
182.327
-115.237
-349.433
11.021
-14.607

Revised 12/17/97

MONUMENT INFORMATION

Current Site Name:
Location:
Site Number:
Monument Number:
  Fort Davis
Fort Davis, TX
33A
4010-S 1993
     
Monument Description:  

The station is located approximately 180 miles southeast of El Paso, Texas in the Davis Mountians and 8 miles northwest of the town of Fort Davis.

The station mark is a punchmark in the center of an etched triangle on the top of a 0.457 meter diameter stainless steel plate. The plate is set flush in the top of a 0.762 meter diameter concrete monolith that projects 0.5 meters above the ground. The stainless steel plate is etched "Fort Davis VLBA Site GPS Station Mark JPL 4010-S 1993 NASA FLINN Site North American High Precision Fiducial Network Blewitt and Clark Space Geodetic Pioneers JPL/GSFC Collaboration".

The mark is set approximately 33 meters North of a wood post/wire fenceline and 50 meters East of a large dirt berm that extends around the Northeast perimeter of the NRAO VLBA antenna fenceline.

Revised 12/17/97

MONUMENT INFORMATION

Current Site Name:
Location:
Site Number:
  Fort Davis
Fort Davis, TX
33A
     

Monument Number:
Type of Monument:

Monument Inscription:
Systems using Monument:

Latitude:
Longitude:
Elevation:
Height above Ellipsoid:
Geodetic Coordinate Source/Date:
Geodetic Coordinate Datum/Ellipsoid:
Elevation Datum:

 

7216
Intersection of polar axis and plane containing
declination axis
None
85-Foot Fixed VLBI Antenna

N 30° 38' 12.18811"
W 103° 56' 50.11324" meters
1616.84 meters
1595.125 meters
ATSC / 12-DEC-97
IERS ITRF94 (1993)
NGVD 1929

The antenna is also referenced as HRAS 085. For monument listed below see the McDonald site information. The antenna was dismantled in 1991.

Differential Coordinates from 7216

Monument
Number
Monument
Inscription
X Y Z

7080
7086
7206
7850
7851
7897
7900
-------
-------
-------
-------

7080 1988
MOBLAS 1979
NONE (LURE 107 1985)
7850 1988
7851 1988
TLRS 7897
HARVARD RM 5 1980
HARVARD 1977
HARVARD RM 3 1977
HARVARD RM 4 1977
HARVARD RM 6 1977

-5810.066
-5914.394
-6570.298
-5797.193
-5798.469
-6589.754
-16.973
-9.523
7.463
19.117
7.151
3621.343
3496.572
3267.552
3631.619
3632.239
3298.504
-39.906
-5.261
-45.391
-36.689
-28.827
4362.423
4031.860
3579.242
4384.345
4384.856
3585.888
-95.340
-39.038
-93.375
-75.025
-74.133

Revised 12/17/97

MONUMENT INFORMATION

Current Site Name:
Location:
Site Number:
  Fort Davis
Fort Davis, TX
33A
     

Monument Number:
Type of Monument:
Monument Inscription:
Systems using Monument:

Latitude:
Longitude:
Elevation:
Height above Ellipsoid:
Geodetic Coordinate Source/Date:
Geodetic Coordinate Datum/Ellipsoid:
Elevation Datum:

 

7613
Intersection of Elevation & Azimuth Axes
None
25-Meter VLBA Antenna

N 30° 38' 06.08864"
W 103° 56' 41.32055"
1628.16 meters
1606.439 meters
ATSC / 16-DEC-97
IERS ITRF94 (1993)
NGVD 1929

Differential Coordinates from 7613

Monument
Number
Monument
Inscription
X Y Z

4010
4011
7216
7900
-------
-------
-------
-------

JPL 4010-S 1993
-------
NONE-HRAS REF PT.
HARVARD NO. 5 (1977)
FT DAVIS VLBA RM1
FT DAVIS VLBA RM2
FT DAVIS VLBA RM3
HARVARD 1977

114.809
-5989.547
-201.877
-218.850
30.634
134.964
-100.763
-211.392
-15.815
3788.636
158.812
118.906
66.331
-36.462
1.906
153.556
-0.832
4541.724
155.894
60.555
83.640
-23.561
-67.010
116.857
         
Monument
Number
Monument
Inscription
North East Up

4010
-------
-------
-------

JPL 4010-S 1993
FT DAVIS VLBA RM1
FT DAVIS VLBA RM2
FT DAVIS VLBA RM3

5.561
108.5323
-21.7301
-69.0893
115.236
13.7461
139.7730
-98.2524
-11.024
-19.1225
-9.5431
-14.8435

Revised 12/17/97

MONUMENT INFORMATION

Current Site Name:
Location:
Site Number:
Monument Name:
  Fort Davis
Fort Davis, TX
33A
7613
     
Monument Description:  

The station is located approximately 180 miles southeast of El Paso, Texas on the southern edge of the Davis mountains, and 8 miles northwest of the town of Fort Davis, Texas.

The station mark is a point represented by the perpendicular intersection of a plane through the elevation axis with the azimuth axis of the NRAO VLBA (Very Long Baseline Array) antenna. The point is not accessible and cannot be occupied. No survey disk or mark designates the point. It should be noted that the antenna elevation axis is offset by 2.134 meters (7 feet) from the antenna azimuth axis.

Reference mark 1 is a punch mark in the center of the rounded top of a 0.012 meter diameter stainless steel rod. It is set approximately 0.3 meters below the ground surface in a greased 0.025 meter diameter pvc pipe. The mark and greased pvc pipe are set in the center of a 0.14 meter diameter pvc pipe that is held in place with concrete. An aluminum logo cover has been cemented to the top of the 0.14 meter diameter pvc pipe and covers the mark. The cover is set flush with the ground surface. The aluminum cover is stamped "FT. DAVIS VLBA RM1 JAN 90". The mark is set approximately 22.5 meters southeast of the centerline of a gravel road and is located at a distance of 109.4 meters and at a geodetic azimuth of 07 degrees from SGP Station 7613.

Reference mark 2 is a standard NASA-GSFC brass disk set flush and epoxied into bedrock approximately 0.4 meters below the ground surface. The disk is stamped "FT. DAVIS VLBA RM2 JAN 90". The disk is set in the center of a 0.14 meter diameter pvc pipe that is held in place with concrete. An aluminum logo cover has been cemented to the top of the pvc pipe and is flush with the ground surface. The mark is set approximately 1.4 meters north of a wooden pole/barbed wire fenceline, and is located at a distance of 141.4 meters and at a geodetic azimuth of 99 degrees from SGP Station 7613.

Reference mark 3 is a standard NASA-GSFC brass disk set flush and epoxied into bedrock approximately 0.4 meters below the ground surface. The disk is stamped "FT. DAVIS VLBA RM3 JAN 90". The disk is set in the center of a 0.14 meter diameter pvc pipe that is held in place with concrete. An aluminum logo cover has been cemented to the top of the pvc pipe and is flush with the ground surface. The mark is set approximately 20 meters northeast of the corner of a wooden pole/barbed wire fenceline and is located at a distance of 120.1 meters and at a geodetic azimuth of 235 degrees from SGP Station 7613.

     
Archive of Site Survey Data:   The survey field records; photographs; computations and adjustments are currently archived by the NASA-SLR Survey Section, Allied Signal Technical Services Corporation.

Revised 12/17/97

MONUMENT INFORMATION

Current Site Name:
Location:
Site Number:
  Fort Davis
Fort Davis, TX
33A
     

Monument Number:
Type of Monument:
Monument Inscription:
Systems using Monument:

Latitude:
Longitude:
Elevation:
Height above Ellipsoid:
Geodetic Coordinate Source/Date:
Geodetic Coordinate Datum/Ellipsoid:
Elevation Datum:

Comments:

 

7900
Standard Brass Reference Monument
Harvard RM 5 1977
Mobile VLBI

N 30 38' 08.81660"
W 103 56' 50.37055"
1605.104 meters
1583.384 meters
ATSC / 16-DEC-97
IERS ITRF94 (1993)
NGVD 1929

This reference monument was occupied by a mobile VLBI during a special VLBI experiment in October 1988.

Differential Coordinates from 7900

Monument
Number
Monument
Inscription
X Y Z

7080
7086
7206
7850
7851
7897
-------
-------
-------
-------

CDP STATION 7080 1988
MOBLAS CDP 7086 (1979)
NONE (LURE 107 1985)
CDP STATION 7850 (1988)
CDP STATION 7851 (1988)
TLRS 7897
HARVARD 1977
HARVARD RM 3 1979
HARVARD RM 4 1980
HARVARD RM 6 1980

-5793.092
-5897.421
-6553.325
-5780.219
-5781.496
-6572.781
7.450
24.436
36.090
9.822
3661.249
3536.478
3307.458
3671.525
3672.145
3338.409
34.645
-5.484
3.217
11.079
4457.763
4127.200
3674.582
4479.685
4480.196
3681.227
56.292
1.970
20.320
21.206

Revised 12/17/97

SITE SKETCH

Current Site Name:
Location:
Site Number:
  Fort Davis
Fort Davis, TX
33A

Fort Davis Site Sketch

Revised 12/17/97

HORIZON PROFILE

Current Site Name:
Location:
Site Number:
  Fort Davis
Fort Davis, TX
33A

Revised 12/17/97

OCCUPATION HISTORY

Current Site Name:
Location:
Site Number:
  Fort Davis
Fort Davis, TX
33A

SLR Occupations

Monument
Number
Occupying
System
Occupation
Designator
Starting
Date
Ending
Date

No Previous Occupations

VLBI Occupations

Monument
Number
Occupying
System
Occupation
Designator
Starting
Date
Ending
Date

7216 HRAS 085 72167201 11-Apr-80 31-Dec-90
7613 VLBA 76139801 01-Jan-90 ---
7900 MV-3 79005301 08-Oct-88 10-Oct-88

GPS Occupations

Monument
Number
Starting
Date
Ending
Date
Network

MKEA 27-Sep-97 --- IGS

Footprint Surveys

Survey Starting
Date
Source

Footprint 17-May-92 U. of Texas