Scientific rationale and development of the global geodetic observing system

Abstract

Before addressing GGOS issues we briefly introduce the modern understanding of geodesy and we review the development of geodesy as a science. This background is required to understand the motivation behind the development the International Association of Geodesy's Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS). The article then reviews the development of GGOS since the 1998 IAG Section II Symposium in Munich, which may be viewed as the GGOS date of birth. It introduces the GGOS mission and summarizes the milestones of the GGOS establishment. The current state of GGOS implementation is presented and the next steps of the GGOS deployment are discussed.