The , or GSI, is the national institution responsible for surveying and mapping the national land of Japan. The former name of the organization from 1949 until March 2010 was Geographical Survey Institute; despite the rename, it retains the same initials. It is an extraordinary organ of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Its main offices are situated in Tsukuba City of Ibaraki Prefecture. It also runs a museum, situated in Tsukuba, the

Science Museum of Map and Survey The is a museum in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan that is dedicated to mapping and surveying. The museum was the first of its kind in Japan when it was opened by the Geographical Survey Institute of Japan The , or GSI, is the national institution re ...

Earthquake Precursor Prediction Research

Stationary MT monitoring systems have been installed in Japan since April 1996, providing a continuous recording of MT signals at the Mizusawa Geodetic Observatory and the Esashi Station of the GSI. These stations measure fluctuations in the earth's electromagnetic field that correspond with seismic activity. The raw geophysical time-series data from these monitoring stations is freely available to the scientific community, enabling further study of the interaction between EM events and earthquake activity. The MT time series data from the GSIJ earthquake monitoring stations is available online at http://vldb.gsi.go.jp/sokuchi/geomag/menu_03/mt_data.html The Authority is represented on the national Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction.Organizations with ties to CCEP
CCEP, accessed 2011-03-19

Japanese water height reference point

The is installed in a small building in front of the National Diet Building in Nagatacho Chiyoda, Tokyo. The building is called the . Construction of the building started on August 1890 and it was completed on December 24, 1891. It serves as a reference point for elevations in Japan ( vertical datum). The building cannot be entered, but there is a stone base with a description outside. Elevations of Japan are determined with reference to the mean sea level of

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous ...

(elevation 0 m). This is called or Tokyo Peil (TP for short, "Tokyo level"), where the word Peil comes from the Dutch language. The stone base monument of the datum has a crystal scale with a 0 which indicates above the mean sea level of

since October 21, 2011. 測量法施行令第2条第2項 Since it is difficult to refer to the altitude in Tokyo for remote islands, 37 islands have their own zero point. The heights of Okinawa z. B. are measured from the middle water level of Nakagusuku Bay ( 中城湾 , Nakagususku-wan ) and that of Miyake from the Ako Bay.

The GSI in fiction

The GSI featured in the novel '' Norwegian Wood'' by Haruki Murakami as the intended workplace of his roommate, "stormtrooper". At the time the novel was set, in the late sixties, the GSI was situated in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geospatial Information Authority Of Japan National mapping agencies Extraordinary organs (Japan) Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Maps of Japan Geographic data and information organizations Surveying organizations

Earthquake Precursor Prediction Research

Japanese water height reference point

The GSI in fiction

See also

References

External links