Summary
January 18, 2011: Introduction to geodesy. Geodesy is the science of measuring the Earth's shape, gravity field, and rotation. Geodesy is a very old science, and four main phases can be identified based on the view of the Earth's shape and dynamics and the main target of research. The current phase is characterized by a dynamic view of the Earth system and a transition from a Newtonian to a relativistic theory. Geodesy can be pictured by its three pillars Earth shape, Earth gravity field, and Earth rotation. these pillars are inherently linked and observations of these three pillars allow the determination of the reference frames required for geodesy. Modern geodetic techniques are impacted by many Earth system processes and this opens for a number of new applications of geodesy in all earth sciences.
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