Exercise 3 Written Report

Exercise 3

Global Positioning System M. Abad, A. P. Abeleda, C. G. Arce, and A. C. Capuchino Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, University of Santo Tomas, España, Manila, Philippines Introduction The Global Positioning System (GPS) has been used for a wide range of purposes and become invaluable in field sciences such as ecology, forestry, limnology, etc. It is a world-wide navigation system that was first used for military operations and was then adapted for use in other fields. It uses accurate, stable atomic clocks in satellites and on the ground to provide world-wide position and time determination (Ashby, 2003). The work of scientists and ecologists has been more extensive since the arrival of this navigation system. They were able to make repeating observations on the very same location as the coordinates of location of sampling stations were recorded. Defining the borders of particular areas which is of interest to them as preparation for further studying and mapping is also made possible with the GPS. And, it is also used to have an idea of the spatial distribution of different organisms be it in aquatic or terrestrial communities. In order to prepare the students for a more profound use of the GPS for future field experiments, locations around UST where assigned for each group to determine their coordinates using the hand-held GPS receivers. Materials and Methods The group was given four different locations (TARC lobby, guard post at Dapitan gate near the Commerce building, right side of the grandstand, and in front of the St. Albertus Magnus building) in which they were to determine the coordinates using the Garmin GPSmap76CSx receivers. Equipped with two AA batteries, one hand-held GPS receiver was provided to the

group with the time of departure and arrival to the laboratory recorded. The data sheet with the locations and their corresponding coordinates was handed to the instructors. Results and Discussion 1. TARC lobby Location: N 1436.628’ E 12059.239’ Altitude: 48 ft.

2. Guard post at Dapitan gate near St. Raymund’s building Location: N 14 36.698’ E 120 59.308’ Altitude: 23 ft.

3. In front of St. Albertus Magnus building Location: N 14 36.629’ E 120 59.466’ Altitude: 51 ft.

4. Right side of grandstand near Beato Angelico building Location: N 14 36.473’ E 120 59.353’ Altitude: 53 ft.

Conclusion The group was able to locate the coordinates of the four different locations: TARC lobby, guard post at Dapitan gate near St. Raymund’s building, in front of St. Albertus Magnus building and right side of grandstand near Beato Angelico building learning how to use the Garmin GPSmap76CSx receivers which may be equipped in future studies. References Ashby, N. (2003). Relativity in the global positioning sytem. Living Reviews in Relativity, 6(1). doi: 10.12942/lrr-2003-1. Retrieved from http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-20031.