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Geodesy
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Geodesy(/didsi/),[1]alsoknownasgeodeticsorgeodetics
engineeringabranchofappliedmathematics[2]andearthsciences,is
thescientificdisciplinethatdealswiththemeasurementandrepresentation
oftheEarth(oranyplanet),includingitsgravitationalfield,inathree
dimensionaltimevaryingspace.Geodesistsalsostudygeodynamical
phenomenasuchascrustalmotion,tides,andpolarmotion.Forthisthey
designglobalandnationalcontrolnetworks,usingspaceandterrestrial
techniqueswhilerelyingondatumsandcoordinatesystems.

Contents
1
2
3
4

Definition
History
Geoidandreferenceellipsoid
Coordinatesystemsinspace
4.1 Coordinatesystemsintheplane
5 Heights
6 Geodeticdata
6.1 Anoteonterminology
7 Pointpositioning
8 Geodeticproblems
8.1 First(direct)geodeticproblem
8.2 Second(inverse)geodeticproblem
9 Geodeticobservationalconcepts
10 Geodeticmeasurements
11 Unitsandmeasuresontheellipsoid
12 Temporalchange
13 Famousgeodesists
13.1 Mathematicalgeodesistsbefore1900
13.2 Twentiethcentury
13.3 Unlisted
14 Seealso
15 References
16 Furtherreading
17 Externallinks

Anoldgeodeticpillar(1855)at
Ostend,Belgium

AMunicharchivewithlithography
platesofmapsofBavaria

Definition
GeodesyfromtheGreekwordorgeodaisia(literally,"divisionoftheEarth")isprimarily
concernedwithpositioningwithinthetemporallyvaryinggravityfield.Somewhatobsoletenowadays,geodesyin
theGermanspeakingworldisdividedinto"HigherGeodesy"("Erdmessung"or"hhereGeodsie"),whichis
concernedwithmeasuringtheEarthontheglobalscale,and"PracticalGeodesy"or"EngineeringGeodesy"
("Ingenieurgeodsie"),whichisconcernedwithmeasuringspecificpartsorregionsoftheEarth,andwhich
includessurveying.Such"geodetic"operationsarealsoappliedtootherastronomicalbodiesinthesolarsystem.
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TheshapeoftheEarthistoalargeextenttheresultofitsrotation,whichcausesitsequatorialbulge,andthe
competitionofgeologicalprocessessuchasthecollisionofplatesandofvolcanism,resistedbytheEarth'sgravity
field.Thisappliestothesolidsurface,theliquidsurface(dynamicseasurfacetopography)andtheEarth's
atmosphere.Forthisreason,thestudyoftheEarth'sgravityfieldiscalledphysicalgeodesybysome.

History
Geoidandreferenceellipsoid
ThegeoidisessentiallythefigureoftheEarthabstractedfromitstopographicalfeatures.Itisanidealized
equilibriumsurfaceofseawater,themeansealevelsurfaceintheabsenceofcurrents,airpressurevariationsetc.
andcontinuedunderthecontinentalmasses.Thegeoid,unlikethereferenceellipsoid,isirregularandtoo
complicatedtoserveasthecomputationalsurfaceonwhichtosolvegeometricalproblemslikepointpositioning.
Thegeometricalseparationbetweenthegeoidandthereferenceellipsoidiscalledthegeoidalundulation.Itvaries
globallybetween110m,whenreferredtotheGRS80ellipsoid.
Areferenceellipsoid,customarilychosentobethesamesize(volume)asthegeoid,isdescribedbyitssemimajor
axis(equatorialradius)aandflatteningf.Thequantityf=(ab)/a,wherebisthesemiminoraxis(polarradius),is
apurelygeometricalone.ThemechanicalellipticityoftheEarth(dynamicalflattening,symbolJ2)canbe
determinedtohighprecisionbyobservationofsatelliteorbitperturbations.Itsrelationshipwiththegeometrical
flatteningisindirect.Therelationshipdependsontheinternaldensitydistribution,or,insimplestterms,thedegree
ofcentralconcentrationofmass.
The1980GeodeticReferenceSystem(GRS80)positeda6,378,137msemimajoraxisanda1:298.257flattening.
ThissystemwasadoptedattheXVIIGeneralAssemblyoftheInternationalUnionofGeodesyandGeophysics
(IUGG).ItisessentiallythebasisforgeodeticpositioningbytheGlobalPositioningSystemandisthusalsoin
widespreaduseoutsidethegeodeticcommunity.
Thenumerousothersystemswhichhavebeenusedbydiversecountriesfortheirmapsandchartsaregradually
droppingoutofuseasmoreandmorecountriesmovetoglobal,geocentricreferencesystemsusingtheGRS80
referenceellipsoid.

Coordinatesystemsinspace
Thelocationsofpointsinthreedimensionalspacearemostconvenientlydescribedbythreecartesianor
rectangularcoordinates,
and .Sincetheadventofsatellitepositioning,suchcoordinatesystemsare
typicallygeocentric:the axisisalignedwiththeEarth's(conventionalorinstantaneous)rotationaxis.
Priortotheeraofsatellitegeodesy,thecoordinatesystemsassociatedwithageodeticdatumattemptedtobe
geocentric,buttheiroriginsdifferedfromthegeocentrebyhundredsofmetres,duetoregionaldeviationsinthe
directionoftheplumbline(vertical).Theseregionalgeodeticdata,suchasED50(EuropeanDatum1950)or
NAD27(NorthAmericanDatum1927)haveellipsoidsassociatedwiththemthatareregional'bestfits'tothe
geoidswithintheirareasofvalidity,minimisingthedeflectionsoftheverticalovertheseareas.
ItisonlybecauseGPSsatellitesorbitaboutthegeocentre,thatthispointbecomesnaturallytheoriginofa
coordinatesystemdefinedbysatellitegeodeticmeans,asthesatellitepositionsinspacearethemselvescomputed
insuchasystem.
Geocentriccoordinatesystemsusedingeodesycanbedividednaturallyintotwoclasses:
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1.Inertialreferencesystems,wherethecoordinateaxesretaintheirorientationrelativetothefixedstars,or
equivalently,totherotationaxesofidealgyroscopesthe axispointstothevernalequinox
2.Corotating,alsoECEF("EarthCentred,EarthFixed"),wheretheaxesareattachedtothesolidbodyofthe
Earth.The axislieswithintheGreenwichobservatory'smeridianplane.
Thecoordinatetransformationbetweenthesetwosystemsisdescribedtogoodapproximationby(apparent)
siderealtime,whichtakesintoaccountvariationsintheEarth'saxialrotation(lengthofdayvariations).Amore
accuratedescriptionalsotakespolarmotionintoaccount,aphenomenoncloselymonitoredbygeodesists.

Coordinatesystemsintheplane
Insurveyingandmapping,importantfieldsofapplicationofgeodesy,twogeneraltypesofcoordinatesystemsare
usedintheplane:
1.Planopolar,inwhichpointsinaplanearedefinedbyadistance fromaspecifiedpointalongarayhaving
aspecifieddirection withrespecttoabaselineoraxis
2.Rectangular,pointsaredefinedbydistancesfromtwoperpendicularaxescalled and .Itisgeodetic
practicecontrarytothemathematicalconventiontoletthe axispointtotheNorthandthe axistothe
East.
Rectangularcoordinatesintheplanecanbeusedintuitivelywithrespecttoone'scurrentlocation,inwhichcase
the axiswillpointtothelocalNorth.Moreformally,suchcoordinatescanbeobtainedfromthreedimensional
coordinatesusingtheartificeofamapprojection.ItisnotpossibletomapthecurvedsurfaceoftheEarthontoa
flatmapsurfacewithoutdeformation.Thecompromisemostoftenchosencalledaconformalprojection
preservesanglesandlengthratios,sothatsmallcirclesaremappedassmallcirclesandsmallsquaresassquares.
AnexampleofsuchaprojectionisUTM(UniversalTransverseMercator).Withinthemapplane,wehave
rectangularcoordinates and .InthiscasetheNorthdirectionusedforreferenceisthemapNorth,notthelocal
North.Thedifferencebetweenthetwoiscalledmeridianconvergence.
Itiseasyenoughto"translate"betweenpolarandrectangularcoordinatesintheplane:let,asabove,directionand
distancebe and respectively,thenwehave

Thereversetransformationisgivenby:

Heights
Ingeodesy,pointorterrainheightsare"abovesealevel",anirregular,physicallydefinedsurface.Therefore,a
heightshouldideallynotbereferredtoasacoordinate.Itismorelikeaphysicalquantity,andthoughitcanbe
temptingtotreatheightastheverticalcoordinate ,inadditiontothehorizontalcoordinates and ,andthough
thisactuallyisagoodapproximationofphysicalrealityinsmallareas,itquicklybecomesinvalidforregional
considerations.
Heightscomeinthefollowingvariants:
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1.Orthometricheights
2.Normalheights
3.Geopotentialheights
Eachhasitsadvantagesanddisadvantages.Bothorthometricandnormalheightsareheightsinmetresabovesea
level,whereasgeopotentialnumbersaremeasuresofpotentialenergy(unit:ms2)andnotmetric.Orthometric
andnormalheightsdifferintheprecisewayinwhichmeansealevelisconceptuallycontinuedunderthe
continentalmasses.Thereferencesurfacefororthometricheightsisthegeoid,anequipotentialsurface
approximatingmeansealevel.
Noneoftheseheightsisinanywayrelatedtogeodeticorellipsoidialheights,whichexpresstheheightofapoint
abovethereferenceellipsoid.Satellitepositioningreceiverstypicallyprovideellipsoidalheights,unlesstheyare
fittedwithspecialconversionsoftwarebasedonamodelofthegeoid.

Geodeticdata
Becausegeodeticpointcoordinates(andheights)arealwaysobtainedinasystemthathasbeenconstructeditself
usingrealobservations,geodesistsintroducetheconceptofageodeticdatum:aphysicalrealizationofacoordinate
systemusedfordescribingpointlocations.Therealizationistheresultofchoosingconventionalcoordinatevalues
foroneormoredatumpoints.
Inthecaseofheightdata,itsufficestochooseonedatumpoint:thereferencebenchmark,typicallyatidegaugeat
theshore.ThuswehaveverticaldataliketheNAP(NormaalAmsterdamsPeil),theNorthAmericanVertical
Datum1988(NAVD88),theKronstadtdatum,theTriestedatum,andsoon.
Incaseofplaneorspatialcoordinates,wetypicallyneedseveraldatumpoints.Aregional,ellipsoidaldatumlike
ED50canbefixedbyprescribingtheundulationofthegeoidandthedeflectionoftheverticalinonedatumpoint,
inthiscasetheHelmertTowerinPotsdam.However,anoverdeterminedensembleofdatumpointscanalsobe
used.
Changingthecoordinatesofapointsetreferringtoonedatum,sotomakethemrefertoanotherdatum,iscalleda
datumtransformation.Inthecaseofverticaldata,thisconsistsofsimplyaddingaconstantshifttoallheight
values.Inthecaseofplaneorspatialcoordinates,datumtransformationtakestheformofasimilarityorHelmert
transformation,consistingofarotationandscalingoperationinadditiontoasimpletranslation.Intheplane,a
Helmerttransformationhasfourparametersinspace,seven.

Anoteonterminology
Intheabstract,acoordinatesystemasusedinmathematicsandgeodesyis,e.g.,inISOterminology,referredtoas
acoordinatesystem.InternationalgeodeticorganizationsliketheIERS(InternationalEarthRotationand
ReferenceSystemsService)speakofareferencesystem.
Whenthesecoordinatesarerealizedbychoosingdatumpointsandfixingageodeticdatum,ISOusesthe
terminologycoordinatereferencesystem,whileIERSspeaksofareferenceframe.Adatumtransformationagainis
referredtobyISOasacoordinatetransformation.(ISO19111:Spatialreferencingbycoordinates).

Pointpositioning
Pointpositioningisthedeterminationofthecoordinatesofapointonland,atsea,orinspacewithrespecttoa
coordinatesystem.Pointpositionissolvedbycomputationfrommeasurementslinkingtheknownpositionsof
terrestrialorextraterrestrialpointswiththeunknownterrestrialposition.Thismayinvolvetransformations
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betweenoramongastronomicalandterrestrialcoordinatesystems.
Theknownpointsusedforpointpositioningcanbetriangulation
pointsofahigherordernetwork,orGPSsatellites.
Traditionally,ahierarchyofnetworkshasbeenbuilttoallowpoint
positioningwithinacountry.Highestinthehierarchywere
triangulationnetworks.Theseweredensifiedintonetworksof
traverses(polygons),intowhichlocalmappingsurveying
measurements,usuallywithmeasuringtape,cornerprismandthe
familiarredandwhitepoles,aretied.
GeodeticControlMark(exampleofadeep

Nowadaysallbutspecialmeasurements(e.g.,undergroundorhigh
benchmark)
precisionengineeringmeasurements)areperformedwithGPS.The
higherordernetworksaremeasuredwithstaticGPS,usingdifferential
measurementtodeterminevectorsbetweenterrestrialpoints.Thesevectorsarethenadjustedintraditionalnetwork
fashion.AglobalpolyhedronofpermanentlyoperatingGPSstationsundertheauspicesoftheIERSisusedto
defineasingleglobal,geocentricreferenceframewhichservesasthe"zeroorder"globalreferencetowhich
nationalmeasurementsareattached.
Forsurveyingmappings,frequentlyRealTimeKinematicGPSisemployed,tyingintheunknownpointswith
knownterrestrialpointsclosebyinrealtime.
Onepurposeofpointpositioningistheprovisionofknownpointsformappingmeasurements,alsoknownas
(horizontalandvertical)control.Ineverycountry,thousandsofsuchknownpointsexistandarenormally
documentedbythenationalmappingagencies.Surveyorsinvolvedinrealestateandinsurancewillusethesetotie
theirlocalmeasurementsto.

Geodeticproblems
Ingeometricgeodesy,twostandardproblemsexist:

First(direct)geodeticproblem
Givenapoint(intermsofitscoordinates)andthedirection(azimuth)anddistancefromthatpointtoa
secondpoint,determine(thecoordinatesof)thatsecondpoint.

Second(inverse)geodeticproblem
Giventwopoints,determinetheazimuthandlengthoftheline(straightline,arcorgeodesic)thatconnects
them.
Inthecaseofplanegeometry(validforsmallareasontheEarth'ssurface)thesolutionstobothproblemsreduceto
simpletrigonometry.Onthesphere,thesolutionissignificantlymorecomplex,e.g.,intheinverseproblemthe
azimuthswilldifferbetweenthetwoendpointsoftheconnectinggreatcircle,arc,i.e.thegeodesic.
Ontheellipsoidofrevolution,geodesicsmaybewrittenintermsofellipticintegrals,whichareusuallyevaluated
intermsofaseriesexpansionforexample,seeVincenty'sformulae.
Inthegeneralcase,thesolutioniscalledthegeodesicforthesurfaceconsidered.Thedifferentialequationsforthe
geodesiccanbesolvednumerically.
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Geodeticobservationalconcepts
Herewedefinesomebasicobservationalconcepts,likeanglesandcoordinates,definedingeodesy(andastronomy
aswell),mostlyfromtheviewpointofthelocalobserver.
Theplumblineorverticalisthedirectionoflocalgravity,orthelinethatresultsbyfollowingit.
Thezenithisthepointonthecelestialspherewherethedirectionofthegravityvectorinapoint,extended
upwards,intersectsit.Morecorrectistocallita<direction>ratherthanapoint.
Thenadiristheoppositepoint(orrather,direction),wherethedirectionofgravityextendeddownward
intersectsthe(invisible)celestialsphere.
Thecelestialhorizonisaplaneperpendiculartoapoint'sgravityvector.
Azimuthisthedirectionanglewithintheplaneofthehorizon,typicallycountedclockwisefromtheNorth
(ingeodesyandastronomy)orSouth(inFrance).
Elevationistheangularheightofanobjectabovethehorizon,Alternativelyzenithdistance,beingequalto
90degreesminuselevation.
Localtopocentriccoordinatesareazimuth(directionanglewithintheplaneofthehorizon)andelevation
angle(orzenithangle)anddistance.
TheNorthcelestialpoleistheextensionoftheEarth's(precessingandnutating)instantaneousspinaxis
extendedNorthwardtointersectthecelestialsphere.(SimilarlyfortheSouthcelestialpole.)
Thecelestialequatoristheintersectionofthe(instantaneous)Earthequatorialplanewiththecelestial
sphere.
Ameridianplaneisanyplaneperpendiculartothecelestialequatorandcontainingthecelestialpoles.
Thelocalmeridianistheplanecontainingthedirectiontothezenithandthedirectiontothecelestialpole.

Geodeticmeasurements
Thelevelisusedfordeterminingheightdifferences
andheightreferencesystems,commonlyreferredto
meansealevel.Thetraditionalspiritlevelproduces
thesepracticallymostusefulheightsabovesealevel
directlythemoreeconomicaluseofGPSinstruments
forheightdeterminationrequirespreciseknowledgeof
thefigureofthegeoid,asGPSonlygivesheights
abovetheGRS80referenceellipsoid.Asgeoid
knowledgeaccumulates,onemayexpectuseofGPS
heightingtospread.
Thetheodoliteisusedtomeasurehorizontaland
verticalanglestotargetpoints.Theseanglesare
referredtothelocalvertical.Thetacheometer
additionallydetermines,electronicallyorelectro
optically,thedistancetotarget,andishighly
automatedtoevenroboticinitsoperations.The
methodoffreestationpositioniswidelyused.

ProjectmanagerStephenMerkowitztalksabouthiswork
withNASA'sSpaceGeodesyProject,includingabrief
overviewofthefourfundamentaltechniquesofspace
geodesy:GPS,VLBI,SLR,andDORIS.

Forlocaldetailsurveys,tacheometersarecommonlyemployedalthoughtheoldfashionedrectangulartechnique
usingangleprismandsteeltapeisstillaninexpensivealternative.Realtimekinematic(RTK)GPStechniquesare
usedaswell.DatacollectedaretaggedandrecordeddigitallyforentryintoaGeographicInformationSystem
(GIS)database.

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GeodeticGPSreceiversproducedirectlythreedimensionalcoordinatesinageocentriccoordinateframe.Sucha
frameis,e.g.,WGS84,ortheframesthatareregularlyproducedandpublishedbytheInternationalEarthRotation
andReferenceSystemsService(IERS).
GPSreceivershavealmostcompletelyreplacedterrestrialinstrumentsforlargescalebasenetworksurveys.For
Planetwidegeodeticsurveys,previouslyimpossible,wecanstillmentionSatelliteLaserRanging(SLR)and
LunarLaserRanging(LLR)andVeryLongBaselineInterferometry(VLBI)techniques.Allthesetechniquesalso
servetomonitorEarthrotationirregularitiesaswellasplatetectonicmotions.
Gravityismeasuredusinggravimeters.Basically,therearetwokindsofgravimeters.Absolutegravimeters,which
nowadayscanalsobeusedinthefield,arebaseddirectlyonmeasuringtheaccelerationoffreefall(forexample,
ofareflectingprisminavacuumtube).Theyareusedforestablishingtheverticalgeospatialcontrol.Most
commonrelativegravimetersarespringbased.Theyareusedingravitysurveysoverlargeareasforestablishing
thefigureofthegeoidovertheseareas.Mostaccuraterelativegravimetersaresuperconductinggravimeters,and
thesearesensitivetoonethousandthofonebillionthofEarthsurfacegravity.Twentysomesuperconducting
gravimetersareusedworldwideforstudyingEarthtides,rotation,interior,andoceanandatmosphericloading,as
wellasforverifyingtheNewtonianconstantofgravitation.
Inthefuturegravity,andaltitude,willbemeasuredbyrelativistictimedilationmeasuredbystrontiumoptical
clocks.

Unitsandmeasuresontheellipsoid
Geographicallatitudeandlongitudearestatedintheunitsdegree,minuteofarc,andsecondofarc.Theyare
angles,notmetricmeasures,anddescribethedirectionofthelocalnormaltothereferenceellipsoidofrevolution.
Thisisapproximatelythesameasthedirectionoftheplumbline,i.e.,localgravity,whichisalsothenormaltothe
geoidsurface.Forthisreason,astronomicalpositiondeterminationmeasuringthedirectionoftheplumblineby
astronomicalmeansworksfairlywellprovidedanellipsoidalmodelofthefigureoftheEarthisused.
Onegeographicalmile,definedasoneminuteofarcontheequator,equals1,855.32571922m.Onenauticalmile
isoneminuteofastronomicallatitude.Theradiusofcurvatureoftheellipsoidvarieswithlatitude,beingthe
longestatthepoleandtheshortestattheequatorasisthenauticalmile.
Ametrewasoriginallydefinedasthe10millionthpartofthelengthofameridian(thetargetwasnotquite
reachedinactualimplementation,sothatisoffby200ppminthecurrentdefinitions).Thismeansthatone
kilometreisroughlyequalto(1/40,000)*360*60meridionalminutesofarc,whichequals0.54nauticalmile,
thoughthisisnotexactbecausethetwounitsaredefinedondifferentbases(theinternationalnauticalmileis
definedasexactly1,852m,correspondingtoaroundingof1000/0.54mtofourdigits).

Temporalchange
Ingeodesy,temporalchangecanbestudiedbyavarietyoftechniques.PointsontheEarth'ssurfacechangetheir
locationduetoavarietyofmechanisms:
Continentalplatemotion,platetectonics
Episodicmotionoftectonicorigin,esp.closetofaultlines
PeriodiceffectsduetoEarthtides
Postglaciallandupliftduetoisostaticadjustment
Massvariationsduetohydrologicalchanges
Variousanthropogenicmovementsdueto,forinstance,petroleumorwaterextractionorreservoir
construction.
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ThescienceofstudyingdeformationsandmotionsoftheEarth'scrustandthesolidEarthasawholeiscalled
geodynamics.Often,studyoftheEarth'sirregularrotationisalsoincludedinitsdefinition.
Techniquesforstudyinggeodynamicphenomenaontheglobalscaleinclude:
satellitepositioningbyGPSandothersuchsystems,
VeryLongBaselineInterferometry(VLBI)
satelliteandlunarlaserranging
Regionallyandlocally,preciselevelling,
precisetacheometers,
monitoringofgravitychange,
Interferometricsyntheticapertureradar(InSAR)usingsatelliteimages,etc.

Famousgeodesists
Mathematicalgeodesistsbefore1900
Pythagoras580490BC,ancientGreece[3]
Eratosthenes276194BC,ancientGreece
Hipparchusca.190120BC,ancientGreece
Posidoniusca.13551BC,ancientGreece
ClaudiusPtolemy83c.168AD,RomanEmpire
(RomanEgypt)
AlMa'mun786833,Baghdad
(Iraq/Mesopotamia)
AbuRayhanBiruni9731048,Khorasan
(Iran/SamanidDynasty)
MuhammadalIdrisi11001166,(Arabia&
Sicily)
Regiomontanus14361476,(Germany/Austria)
AbelFoullon15131563or1565,(France)
PedroNunes15021578(Portugal)
GerhardMercator15121594(Belgium&
Germany)
Snellius(WillebrordSnelvanRoyen)15801626,
Leiden(Netherlands)
ChristiaanHuygens16291695(Netherlands)
PierreBouguer16981758,(France&Peru)
PierredeMaupertuis16981759(France)
AlexisClairaut17131765(France)
JohannHeinrichLambert17281777(France)
RogerJosephBoscovich17111787,(Rome/
Berlin/Paris)
InoTadataka17451818,(Tokyo)
GeorgvonReichenbach17711826,Bavaria
(Germany)
PierreSimonLaplace17491827,Paris(France)
AdrienMarieLegendre17521833,Paris
(France)
JohannGeorgvonSoldner17761833,Munich
(Germany)
GeorgeEverest17901866(England&India)
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GeorgeEverest17901866(England&India)
FriedrichWilhelmBessel17841846,
Knigsberg(Germany)
HeinrichChristianSchumacher17801850
(Germany&Estonia)
CarlFriedrichGauss17771855,Gttingen
(Germany)
FriedrichGeorgWilhelmStruve17931864,
DorpatandPulkovo(RussianEmpire)
J.H.Pratt18091871,London(England)
FriedrichH.C.Paschen18041873,Schwerin
(Germany)
JohannBenediktListing18081882(Germany)
JohannJacobBaeyer17941885,Berlin
(Germany)
SirGeorgeBiddellAiry18011892,Cambridge
&London
KarlMaximilianvonBauernfeind18181894,
Munich(Germany)
WilhelmJordan18421899,(Germany)
HervFaye18141902(France)
GeorgeGabrielStokes18191903(England)
CarlosIbezeIbezdeIbero18251891
Barcelona(Spain)
HenriPoincar18541912,Paris(France)
AlexanderRossClarke18281914,London
(England)
CharlesSandersPeirce18391914(United
States)
FriedrichRobertHelmert18431917,Potsdam
(Germany)
HeinrichBruns18481919,Berlin(Germany)
LorndEtvs18481919(Hungary)

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Twentiethcentury
JohnFillmoreHayford,18681925,(US)
AlfredWegener,18801930,(Germanyand
Greenland)
WilliamBowie,18721940,(US)
FriedrichHopfner,18811949,Vienna,(Austria)
TadeuszBanachiewicz,18821954,(Poland)
FelixAndriesVeningMeinesz,18871966,
(Netherlands)
MartinHotine,18981968,(England)
YrjVisl,18891971,(Finland)
VeikkoAleksanteriHeiskanen,18951971,
(FinlandandUS)
KarlRamsayer,19111982,Stuttgart,(Germany)
HaroldJeffreys,18911989,London,(England)
ReinoAnteroHirvonen,19081989,(Finland)
MikhailSergeevichMolodenskii,19091991,
(Russia)
MariaIvanovnaYurkina,19232010,(Russia)

MariaIvanovnaYurkina,19232010,(Russia)
GuyBomford,18991996,(India?)[4]
HellmutSchmid,19141998,(Switzerland)
WilliamM.Kaula,19262000,LosAngeles,
(US)
JohnA.O'Keefe,19162000,(US)
ThaddeusVincenty,19202002,(Poland)
WillemBaarda,19172005,(Netherlands)
IreneKaminkaFischer,19072009,(US)
ArneBjerhammar,19172011,(Sweden)
KarlRudolfKoch1935,Bonn,(Germany)
HelmutMoritz,1933,Graz,(Austria)
PetrVanek,1935,Fredericton,(Canada)
ErikGrafarend,1939,Stuttgart,(Germany)

Unlisted
Thislistisincompleteyoucanhelpbyexpandingit(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geodesy&a
ction=edit).

Seealso
Fundamentals
GeodynamicsGeomaticsCartographyGeodesicsonanellipsoidPhysicalgeodesyAdjustmentof
observations
Concepts
DatumDistanceFigureoftheEarthGeoidGeodeticsystemGeog.coord.systemHorizontal
positionrepresentationMapprojectionReferenceellipsoidSatellitegeodesySpatialreferencesystem
Geodesycommunity
Internationalorganizations
InternationalAssociationofGeodesy(IAG)EuropeanPetroleumSurveyGroup(EPSG)
InternationalFederationofSurveyors(FIG)InternationalGeodeticStudentOrganisation(IGSO)
Governmentalagencies
USANOAANGSNGAUSGS
Technologies
GNSSGPSSpacetechniques
Standards
ED50ETRS89NAD83NAVD88SAD69SRIDUTMWGS84
History
HistoryofgeodesyNAVD29
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Other
SurveyingMeridianarcLnrtsphere

References
1.OED
2.MerriamWebsterDictionary(http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/geodesy)
3.DEFENSEMAPPINGAGENCYTECHNICALREPORT80003(http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/PUBS_LIB/Geodesy4Laym
an/TR80003A.HTM)
4.[1](http://www.bomford.net/IrishBomfords/Chapters/Chapter26/childpages/GuyBomfordTribute.htm)

Furtherreading
F.R.Helmert,MathematicalandPhysicalTheoriesofHigherGeodesy,Part1(http://geographiclib.sf.net/ge
odesicpapers/helmert80en.html),ACIC(St.Louis,1964).ThisisanEnglishtranslationofDie
mathematischenundphysikalischenTheorieenderhherenGeodsie,Vol1(Teubner,Leipzig,1880).
F.R.Helmert,MathematicalandPhysicalTheoriesofHigherGeodesy,Part2(http://geographiclib.sf.net/ge
odesicpapers/helmert84en.html),ACIC(St.Louis,1964).ThisisanEnglishtranslationofDie
mathematischenundphysikalischenTheorieenderhherenGeodsie,Vol2(Teubner,Leipzig,1884).
B.HofmannWellenhofandH.Moritz,PhysicalGeodesy,SpringerVerlagWien,2005.(Thistextisan
updatededitionofthe1967classicbyW.A.HeiskanenandH.Moritz).
W.Kaula,TheoryofSatelliteGeodesy:ApplicationsofSatellitestoGeodesy,DoverPublications,2000.
(Thistextisareprintofthe1966classic).
VanekP.andE.J.Krakiwsky,Geodesy:theConcepts,pp.714,Elsevier,1986.
Torge,W(2001),Geodesy(3rdedition),publishedbydeGruyter,ISBN3110170728.
ThomasH.Meyer,DanielR.Roman,andDavidB.Zilkoski."Whatdoesheightreallymean?"(Thisisa
seriesoffourarticlespublishedinSurveyingandLandInformationScience,SaLIS.)
"PartI:Introduction"(http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/thmeyer_articles/2)SaLISVol.64,No.4,
pages223233,December2004.
"PartII:Physicsandgravity"(http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/thmeyer_articles/3)SaLISVol.65,
No.1,pages515,March2005.
"PartIII:Heightsystems"(http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/nrme_articles/2)SaLISVol.66,No.2,
pages149160,June2006.
"PartIV:GPSheighting"(http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/nrme_articles/5)SaLISVol.66,No.3,
pages165183,September2006.

Externallinks
Geodeticawarenessguidancenote,GeodesySubcommittee,GeomaticsCommittee,International
AssociationofOil&GasProducers(http://www.ogp.org.uk/pubs/37301.pdf)
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