Intrinsic Geodesy

The science of Geodesy has undergone far-reaching changes in the last half century. The impact of new technology, from electromag netic distance measurements to the use of artificial satellites, has been great, and is still largely to be felt. These changes have forced the practitioners of the ancient art of Earth measurement to alter their way of thinking about the space that surrounds us, something fundamentally more difficult than absorbing a new technology. A key influence in this modem change in geodetic thinking has been the work of Antonio Marussi, in his scientific publications from 1947 onwards, through his students and collaborators at the Uni versity of Trieste, and in the series of symposia on three-dimensional Geodesy which he organised with his great friend and collaborator, Martin Hotine. His influence on the latter, stemming from their first meeting at the General Assembly of the International Association of Geodesy in Oslo in 1948, was remarkable in itself, leading as it did to the ultimate publication of Hotine's Mathematical Geodesy in 1969.

This volume contains selected papers by Torben Krarup, one of the most important geodesists of the 20th century. The collection includes the famous booklet "A Contribution to the Mathematical Foundation of Physical Geodesy" from 1969, the unpublished "Molodenskij letters" from 1973, the final version of "Integrated Geodesy" from 1978, "Foundation of a Theory of Elasticity for Geodetic Networks" from 1974, as well as trend-setting papers on the theory of adjustment.

Just as in the era of great achievements by scientists such as Newton and Gauss, the mathematical theory of geodesy is continuing the tradition of producing exciting theoretical results, but today the advances are due to the great technological push in the era of satellites for earth observations and large computers for calculations. Every four years a symposium on methodological matters documents this ongoing development in many related underlying areas such as estimation theory, stochastic modelling, inverse problems, and satellite-positioning global-reference systems. This book presents developments in geodesy and related sciences, including applied mathematics, among which are many new results of high intellectual value to help readers stay on top of the latest happenings in the field.

This book contains a selection of peer-reviewed papers presented at the VIII Hotine-Marussi Symposium on Mathematical Geodesy in Rome, 17-21 June, 2013. The scientific sessions focused on global reference systems, geodetic data analysis, geopotential modelling, gravity field mapping as well as digital terrain modelling. A special chapter is dedicated to understand the generation of Flash.

The Hotine-Marussi Symposium is the core meeting of a “think thank”, a group scientists in the geodetic environment working on theoretical and methodological subjects, while maintaining the foundations of geodesy to the proper level by corresponding to the strong advancements improved by technological development in the field of ICT, electronic computing, space technology, new measurement devices etc. The proceedings of the symposium cover a broad area of arguments which integrate the foundations of geodesy as a science. The common feature of the papers therefore is not on the object, but rather in the high mathematical standards with which subjects are treated.

Differential geodesy is concerned with the geometry of the gravity field of the Earth, which is of fundamental importance to both theoretical geodesy and geophysics. This monograph presents a unified treatment of the foundations of differential geodesy as proposed originally by Antonio Marussi and Martin Hotine in their work. The principal features of the Marussi-Hotine approach to theoretical aspects are given in the first five chapters (based on leg calculus), while the last five chapters are devoted to the fundamental ideas of the Marussi and Hotine theory. The text includes practical problems and is intended for use by research geodesists, graduate students in geodesy, and theoretical geophysicists.

Due to steadily improving experimental accuracy, relativistic concepts – based on Einstein’s theory of Special and General Relativity – are playing an increasingly important role in modern geodesy. This book offers an introduction to the emerging field of relativistic geodesy, and covers topics ranging from the description of clocks and test bodies, to time and frequency measurements, to current and future observations. Emphasis is placed on geodetically relevant definitions and fundamental methods in the context of Einstein’s theory (e.g. the role of observers, use of clocks, definition of reference systems and the geoid, use of relativistic approximation schemes). Further, the applications discussed range from chronometric and gradiometric determinations of the gravitational field, to the latest (satellite) experiments. The impact of choices made at a fundamental theoretical level on the interpretation of measurements and the planning of future experiments is also highlighted. Providing an up-to-the-minute status report on the respective topics discussed, the book will not only benefit experts, but will also serve as a guide for students with a background in either geodesy or gravitational physics who are interested in entering and exploring this emerging field.

Apart from Hotine's work on Mathematical Geodesy, several previously unpublished reports are collected in this monograph, complemented by extensive comments on these contributions and a complete bibliography of Hotine by the editor.