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]
Earth observation
Bits and Bites of Geodesy – Trilateration on Vacation: How GNSS Locates You
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]
Bits and Bites of Geodesy – From Wobble to Wander: Tracking Earth’s Shifting Rotation Axis
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]
Bits and Bites of Geodesy – Satellite altimetry: What else can we do with it?
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]
High resolution terrestrial water storage changes from combination of GRACE and models
The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission (2002-2017) consisted of two satellites at ~500 km altitude separated by 200 km, following each other in the same orbit. The distance between the two GRACE satellites changes because of the gravitational pull of the masses beneath the satellites. As such, mass changes at or near …[Read More]
Calculating postglacial sea-level change within few seconds: a statistical emulator for GIA
Sea-level change serves as a direct indicator of climate change with profound implications for coastal areas. Since 1900, the global mean sea level (GMSL) has risen over 20 cm, leading to beach erosion, delta inundation, and increased flooding worldwide. Over glacial cycles spanning tens of thousands of years, interactions between ocean and continental-scale ice sheets …[Read More]
Reshaping Earth: GIA and its far-reaching effects
As the Geodesy blog team (we are growing, horaay!), we wanted to create a space for researchers to talk about their work/papers in a more simplified language. For the first post in this series, we said “Wouldn’t it be cool if we learn more about Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) models?” then we realised that we …[Read More]
Geodesists on Tour: On a Campaign in the Arctic with a Giraf(f)e in the Aircraft
Way too early on a Saturday morning in late June 2023 I woke up and started my travel to a small airport in Akureyri, North-East Iceland. This is the location of an Icelandic charter company called Norlandair that we used for our airborne geophysical surveys and logistic operations in the Arctic. For a few months …[Read More]
Women in Geodesy: Kristel Chanard
I hope you are ready to be inspired because we have another exciting interview, with Kristel Chanard, our Outstanding Early Career Scientist Awardee of 2022. I promise that her answers will encourage you to pursue a career in science or continue to that! Her answers remind us again that we need to make geosciences more …[Read More]
Women in Geodesy: Sara Bruni
Are you ready to hear from another woman in geodesy? We pass the mic to our Outstanding Early Career Scientist Awardee of 2018, someone who is currently carrying out her scientific works outside of academia. We are not going to take that much of your time and leave the stage to her. Would you like …[Read More]