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Reflecting on Four Decades of Impact: New Publication on the History of UNAVCO

Tags: geodesy

We are excited to announce a new publication in the AGU journal Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists that provides a comprehensive retrospective chronicling UNAVCO’s four-decade history supporting geodesy and the geosciences. The article, A History of UNAVCO: Four Decades of Advancing Geodesy, was written by current EarthScope staff, former UNAVCO leadership, and long-time community members who helped shape and guide the organization from its earliest days.

The article traces UNAVCO’s origins from a small university GPS consortium in 1984 to its evolution into a world-leading geodetic facility operator. It highlights the community-driven model that defined the organization’s approach, the innovative work behind landmark initiatives like the Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO), the transition to operating the NSF GAGE Facility, and decades of collaborative fieldwork, training, and education. The piece also reflects on the 2023 merger of UNAVCO and IRIS to form EarthScope Consortium, ensuring UNAVCO’s legacy continues into the next era of geophysics research and education.

The full article is open access and available to all. Read it here to revisit the milestones, people, and ideas that shaped the history of UNAVCO.

This article also marks the start of a short series on the EarthScope website revisiting and highlighting the activities of the NSF SAGE and GAGE facilities. Stay tuned for our next feature, which will spotlight the Network of the Americas (NOTA) and commemorate the conclusion of the NSF GAGE Facility.

Three geoscientists conduct a GPS survey beside a steaming hydrothermal pool at Yellowstone National Park in 1989. A tripod-mounted GPS antenna is set up on a rocky outcrop. From left to right: Chuck Meertens, Rick Hutchinson, and Bob Smith stand near yellow equipment cases at the water’s edge.
Chuck Meertens (left), Rick Hutchinson (center), and Bob Smith (right) during a GPS survey at Yellowstone, 1989.
Three field engineers install the first Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) GPS station at P295 Chimney Rock Ranch in Lake Nacimiento, California, on January 9, 2004. One person kneels beside a power drill while another steadies a metal tripod over a hole. A third person stands nearby wearing a UNAVCO shirt. Tools and a yellow generator are visible, with rolling hills and blue sky in the background.
Installation of the first PBO GPS at Chimney Rock Ranch in Lake Nacimiento, CA in January 2004. Pictured are Steve Bornstein, Ed Arnitz, and Mike Jackson. Photo: Christian Walls/UNAVCO.
Participants in a UNAVCO Education & Outreach (E&O) short course sit at a long table working with laptops and printed materials. In the foreground, a participant examines a binder while a small gumdrop-and-toothpick model of a GPS station—nicknamed “gumdrop GPS”—sits nearby. Other attendees engage with data sheets and models, illustrating hands-on learning about geodetic motion.
Participants in a UNAVCO Education & Outreach (E&O) short course use “gumdrop GPS” to model GPS motion.
Six people sit and stand around a table during a farewell event for UNAVCO’s first GPS receiver, the TI-4100, on July 25, 2014. Vintage GPS equipment and technical manuals are spread across the table, along with a decorated cake that reads “UNAVCO Farewell TI-4100.” A GPS antenna setup is visible in the background, with topographic maps on the walls.
On July 25, 2014, UNAVCO bid farewell to its first GPS receiver, the TI-4100, before its departure to the Smithsonian Museum of American History. (Photo: Beth Bartel/UNAVCO).
A large group of UNAVCO staff and community members gather for a celebratory group photo at the UNAVCO office in Boulder, Colorado, in October 2022. Smiling participants fill a tiered classroom space, some holding drinks, marking the organization’s legacy ahead of its merger into EarthScope Consortium.
Group photo of UNAVCO staff and community members celebrating UNAVCO at its Boulder, CO office in October 2022 (Photo: Scott Johnson/UNAVCO).