SIRGAS: the core geodetic infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean

COMUNICACIÓN CIENTÍFICA PRESENTADA EN ASAMBLEA CIENTÍFICA CONJUNTA DE LA ASOCIACIÓN INTERNACIONAL DE GEODESIA Y LA ASOCIACIÓN INTERNACIONAL DE SISMOLOGÍA Y FÍSICA DEL INTERIOR DE LA TIERRA (IAG-IASPEI 2017), 30 de julio - 4 de agosto de 2017, Kobe, Japón. SIRGAS reference frame The primary objective of SIRGAS (Sistema de eferencia Geocéntrico para las Américas) is the determination and maintenance of a reliable reference frame in Latin America and the Caribbean as a densification of the ITRF and as a regional realisation of the ITRS. The SIRGAS reference frame is currently composed of 418 continuously operating GNSS stations (Fig. 1). It comprises two hierarchy levels: a core network (SIRGAS-C) providing the primary link to the global ITRF; and national reference networks (SIRGAS-N) improving the geographical density of the reference stations to ensure the accessibility to the reference frame at national and local levels. Given that most of the existing ITRF stations in South America are affected by the strong seismic activity in this region, further stations located in Europe, Africa, Oceania and North America are included in SIRGAS to increase the availability of fiducial point