Revolution in geodesy and surveying
Beutler, Gerhard
This keynote address is organized in three parts (sections). The first part briefly discusses the development of geodesy and surveying in the pre-space age. The review reminds us that geodesy and surveying always weree intimately related through their tools and methods. The second and central part deals with the revolution of our science and professions, which was initiated by the space age. In essence a new branch of science, that of space geodesy, was born. It became, e.g., possible to define and maintain global terrestrial reference frames with cm-accuracy and to monitor Earth rotation with unprecedented accuracy and time resolution. The deployment and civil use of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), had a deep impact on both, geodesy and surveying. The International GPS Service (IGS), working under the auspices of IAG, was of particular importance for both, FIG and IAG. Its development and achievements are reviewed in some detail. The third part of this address is based on the recognition that after all the revolutionary space geodesy developments the professions and sciences represented in FIG and IAG are again very closely related. It makes therefore sense to explore ways of intensifying the good relationships between the two sister organizations.
Event: FIG Working Week 2004 : Breathing the Olympic Spirit
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