Geodesy

The text is again illustrated by a large number of figures. Many of the figures depict fundamental geodetic relations, while others show examples of recent instrumentation and geodetic data processing results. The latter case required a thorough revision of the figures and a revision of the associated passages of the text. Among the new examples for geodetic instruments we have geodetic GPS receivers, altimeter satellites, absolute and relative gravimeters, total stations, and digital levels. The results include the International Celestial and Terrestrial Reference Frames, The World Geodetic System 1984 (status 2000), the geopotential model EGM96, the gravimetric geoids for the U.S.A. and for Europe, and the classical and modern networks in those regions, as well as examples of recent geodetic contributions to the investigation of geodynamics.

The primary purpose of the book is to serve as a basic textbook oriented towards students of geodesy, geophysics, surveying engineering, cartography, and geomatics, as well as students of terrestrial and space navigation. The book is also a valuable reference for geoscientists and engineers facing geodetic problems in their professional tasks.

The contents of the book are based in part on lecture courses given at the University of Hannover, Germany and on guest lectures given abroad. The author is indebted to individuals and organizations for providing illustrations; due credit is given in the figure captions. He thanks M.Sc.