Introduction to

Geodesy

GE 151 Introduction to Geodesy

Lecturer: Rosario O. Ang
Department of Geodetic Engineering
Geodesy... the oldest among the earth science

dating back to the Sumarians 5000 years

ago when man first became interested
with his surroundings.
it all started with the concern of what is
my house s immediate vicinity
later it expanded to the distances of
markets and exchange places
and with the development of means of
transportation, man became interested in
his whole world .
Lecture 2 Geometric Geodesy
Definitions of Geodesy
Geodesy came from the Greek words
geo ad desa means. earth and
to divide .
Webster defines geodesy as..
that branch of applied mathematics which
determines by observation and measurement the exact
positions points and the figure and areas of large portion
of the earth s surface, the size and shape of the earth,
and the variations in the terrestrial gravity

Lecture 2 Geometric Geodesy

Definitions of Geodesy

The classical definition of geodesy is

the science of measuring and portraying the Earth s
surface (F. R. Helmert, 1880)

The contemporary definition of geodesy

is
the discipline that deals with the measurement and
representation of the Earth s surface, including its
gravity field, in a three-dimensional time varying space
-(Vanicek & Krakiwsky, 1986)
Lecture 2 Geometric Geodesy
Concepts of Geodesy
All the definitions of geodesy will include three
general ideas or concepts:
. the size and shape of the earth
. the gravity field of the earth
. the positioning of points on the surface
of the earth
In its modern definition it also include
measurement and modeling of the geodynamic
phenomena such as polar motion, Earth rotation
and crustal deformation

Lecture 2 Geometric Geodesy

Geodesy and the other earth sciences

Lecture 2 Geometric Geodesy

 Branches of Geodesy

PHYSICAL GEOMETRIC
GEODESY GEODESY

GEODESY

GEODETIC SATELLITE
ASTRONOMY GEODESY

Lecture 2 Geometric Geodesy

Practice and Profession of Geodesy
Universities and Government Institutions
STUDY AND RESEARCH

Private Institutions/Practitioners
APPLICATIONS

Lecture 2 Geometric Geodesy

In the Philippines
University of the Philippines - Training
Center for Applied Geodesy and
Photogrammetry (UP TCAGP)

Coast and Geodetic Survey Department

(CGSD) National Mapping and Resource
Information Authority (NAMRIA)

Lecture 2 Geometric Geodesy

The Professionals
1. Theoretical geodesist Ph. D. or
Master s in Geodesy, Mathematics or
Geophysics

2. Applied Geodesist Geodetic/Geomatics

Engineers

3. Survey Technician

Lecture 2 Geometric Geodesy

The Geodetic Community

IUGG

IAG

IGB IERS IGS

Lecture 2 Geometric Geodesy

 The Story of Earth s Size and Shape the
mother of Geometric Geodesy
It was the shape that comes first.
began with the Greeks (Homer)
theorizing the earth as a flat
disc
then Anaximander a.k.a.
Anaximenes thought the earth as
a rectangular object
Next was the view of earth as
sphere but exactly when the
notion of a spherically shaped
earth first came into existence is
not known.
However, recorded history reveals
that as early as the sixth century
B.C., a Greek philosopher by the
name of Pythagoras believed the
earth was not flat but round.
Lecture 2 Geometric Geodesy
 The Story of Earth s Size and Shape the
mother of Geometric Geodesy
Three centuries later,
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
considered the idea of a
round earth as he
studied the movement of
planets.
From his observations,
particularly those of
lunar eclipses, he
concluded that the earth
was indeed spherical in
shape.
Lecture 2 Geometric Geodesy
 The Story of Earth s Size and Shape the
mother of Geometric Geodesy
after the shape, the size came in..
the first approximation of the
earth s circumference was
proposed by Plato at 40,000 miles
then Archimedes approximate it at
30,000 miles
Meanwhile around 250 B.C., in
Egypt, a Greek scholar and
philosopher, Erathosthenes, set
out for a more explicit
measurement of the size of the
earth

Lecture 2 Geometric Geodesy

 The Story of Earth s Size and Shape the
mother of Geometric Geodesy
Eratosthenes developed
a simple method for
calculating the earth s
circumference.
Using a knowledge of
the sun s position
relative to the earth and
some principles of
geometry, he calculated
the earth s equatorial
circumference to be
25,000 miles.

Lecture 2 Geometric Geodesy

 The Story of Earth s Size and Shape the
mother of Geometric Geodesy
but the search for better
figure that defines the
shape of the earth
continues.
In the 17th century, the
theory that earth is not a
perfect sphere arises.
However, these resulted
to an intense controversy
between the French and
the English
The English claimed that
the earth must be
flattened but the French
defended their claim for
an egg-shape earth
Lecture 2 Geometric Geodesy
 The Story of Earth s Size and Shape the
mother of Geometric Geodesy
To settle the issue the French
Academy of Sciences, in 1735,
sent out an expedition to confirm
the correctness of the claims.
The measurements of the
expedition in Peru conclusively
proved the earth to be flattened.

But the story does not end there

The pear-shaped earth was
introduced in view of the
gravitational influence on the
surface
And lastly, the potato-shaped
earth was introduced to consider
the uneven distribution of masses
on the surface of the earth
Lecture 2 Geometric Geodesy
References:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (1985), Geodesy for the Layman
Fifth Edition (online), US Department of
Commerce.
Rockville, Md (1973), Basic Geodesy (online),
US Department of Defense, Defense Mapping
School, reprint by NOAA US Department of
Commerce (1977)\
Vanicek, Ptr (2001), An Online Tutorial on
Geodesy (online), AcademicPress 2001,
University of New Brunswick, Canada.

Lecture 2 Geometric Geodesy