You are observing the construction of a bridge that will be initiated on the two banks of a river simultaneously, in such a way that the works will eventually meet in the middle of the river. You wonder, how do they make sure that the construction on the two sides will stay aligned with the …[Read More]
Imagine determining the position of a point on Earth with millimeter precision using radio signals from celestial objects billions of light-years away. This may sound like science fiction, but it is exactly what Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) allows scientists to do. What is VLBI? Long before satellites and digital maps, people looked to the …[Read More]
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are best known for positioning, navigation, and monitoring Earth surface motions with high precision (see two of our previous posts on GNSS here and here). But did you know that the same satellite signals can also provide information about snow, soil moisture, or sea level, without installing any additional instruments? …[Read More]
During winter, mountains gain mass because of snow covering the peaks. In spring, the snow melts and flows downstream until it reaches the ocean or evaporates into the atmosphere to reach back on the surface as rain or snow. The global water cycle is very complex and essential for life on our planet. Did you …[Read More]
Summer vacations are finally here! Like every year, many of us are ready to travel and explore new and exciting destinations. And of course, the GPS on our phones will be an indispensable travel companion! Did you know that GPS (or GNSS) positioning is one of the traditional geodetic techniques? Come along to discover how …[Read More]
When we think of Earth’s rotation, it is tempting to imagine a perfectly smooth spin. But in reality, Earth’s rotation is irregular and dynamic, and is influenced by forces inside and outside of our planet. To describe the changing orientation of the Earth in space over time Earth Orientation Parameters (EOPs) are measured with fundamental …[Read More]
In the previous post of this series, we learned how we can use satellite radar altimetry to retrieve highly accurate estimates of global sea level changes. If only reading “sea level” triggers your climate anxiety – we got you covered! In this post we will introduce you to three more applications of radar altimetry, where …[Read More]
In a previous post, Thomas Frederikse briefly explained how geodesy is used to observe sea level change. In this part of Bits & Bites, Bene delves deeper into the topic. Rising sea levels are one of the consequences of climate change that already impacts people in low-lying coastal regions, and the future prospects are not …[Read More]
We introduce you to our new blog series Bits & Bites of Geodesy. In this blog post series, we aim to communicate small chunks of geodetic fun facts that are easy to digest. In short, posts meant for everyone, facts about geodetic measurement techniques, challenges, and concepts are presented. These bite-sized articles will unravel the …[Read More]
