Review of the Problem of the Earth Shape
The determination of the shape of the Earth has been one of the fundamental problems geodesy was supposed to solve; it has been and possibly still is the <b>main geodetic problem</b>. It is thus appropriate for geodesists to look at this problem periodically, and this is what the authors...
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Geomatics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7418/5/2/24 |
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| author | Petr Vaníček Pavel Novák Marcelo Santos |
| author_facet | Petr Vaníček Pavel Novák Marcelo Santos |
| author_sort | Petr Vaníček |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The determination of the shape of the Earth has been one of the fundamental problems geodesy was supposed to solve; it has been and possibly still is the <b>main geodetic problem</b>. It is thus appropriate for geodesists to look at this problem periodically, and this is what the authors of this paper aim to do. About 50 years ago, geodesists started using satellites as a new and very powerful tool. Many problems that were either impossible to solve or that presented almost unsurmountable hurdles to solutions have now been solved relatively simply, so much so that in the eyes of some people, satellites can solve all geodetic problems, and attempts are being made to show that this is indeed the case. We feel that the time has come to show that even satellites have their limitations, the main one being that for them to remain in their orbit, they must fly quite high, typically at several hundred kilometres. The gravitational field of the Earth (and that of any celestial body) smoother as one gets higher and higher. In other words, the gravitational field at the satellite orbit altitude loses detailed information that one can see at the surface of the Earth. In this contribution, we shall try to explain what satellites have contributed to the study of the shape of the Earth and what issues remain to be sorted out. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-442dc396bfde433f82a374a19fa97325 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2673-7418 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geomatics |
| spelling | doaj-art-442dc396bfde433f82a374a19fa973252025-08-20T03:24:33ZengMDPI AGGeomatics2673-74182025-06-01522410.3390/geomatics5020024Review of the Problem of the Earth ShapePetr Vaníček0Pavel Novák1Marcelo Santos2Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, CanadaNTIS—New Technologies for the Information Society, University of West Bohemia, 301 00 Plzeň, Czech RepublicDepartment of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, CanadaThe determination of the shape of the Earth has been one of the fundamental problems geodesy was supposed to solve; it has been and possibly still is the <b>main geodetic problem</b>. It is thus appropriate for geodesists to look at this problem periodically, and this is what the authors of this paper aim to do. About 50 years ago, geodesists started using satellites as a new and very powerful tool. Many problems that were either impossible to solve or that presented almost unsurmountable hurdles to solutions have now been solved relatively simply, so much so that in the eyes of some people, satellites can solve all geodetic problems, and attempts are being made to show that this is indeed the case. We feel that the time has come to show that even satellites have their limitations, the main one being that for them to remain in their orbit, they must fly quite high, typically at several hundred kilometres. The gravitational field of the Earth (and that of any celestial body) smoother as one gets higher and higher. In other words, the gravitational field at the satellite orbit altitude loses detailed information that one can see at the surface of the Earth. In this contribution, we shall try to explain what satellites have contributed to the study of the shape of the Earth and what issues remain to be sorted out.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7418/5/2/24shape of the Earthgeodesyheightssatellite solutions of Earth’s gravity field |
| spellingShingle | Petr Vaníček Pavel Novák Marcelo Santos Review of the Problem of the Earth Shape Geomatics shape of the Earth geodesy heights satellite solutions of Earth’s gravity field |
| title | Review of the Problem of the Earth Shape |
| title_full | Review of the Problem of the Earth Shape |
| title_fullStr | Review of the Problem of the Earth Shape |
| title_full_unstemmed | Review of the Problem of the Earth Shape |
| title_short | Review of the Problem of the Earth Shape |
| title_sort | review of the problem of the earth shape |
| topic | shape of the Earth geodesy heights satellite solutions of Earth’s gravity field |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7418/5/2/24 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT petrvanicek reviewoftheproblemoftheearthshape AT pavelnovak reviewoftheproblemoftheearthshape AT marcelosantos reviewoftheproblemoftheearthshape |