This volume contains a selection of 99 papers from the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) quadrennial General Assembly, held in Perugia, Italy, from July 2 to 13, 2007, in conjunction with the XXIV General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG). There were 225 oral and 474 poster presentations made at the five IAG Symposia, which covered the following research themes: Reference Frames, Gravity Field, Earth Rotation and Geodynamics, Positioning and Applications, The Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS).
The Symposia focused on Earth observation and the there pillars of geodesy (geometry, Earth rotation, gravity field), and the presented topics spanned a broad and multidisciplinary spectrum of theory and applications. It was clearly evident that, with the recent advances in space missions such as GRACE, geodesy can now contribute to the detection of large-scale temporal phenomena and hence to the solution of important problems of society related to monitoring our environment and understanding global change. Therefore, the title of this volume, "Observing our Changing Earth", was chosen to reflect this fact, as well as to agree with the general theme of the 2007 IUGG General Assembly, "Earth: Our Changing Planet".
At the XXIV General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), held July 2 13, 2007 in Perugia, Italy, the International As- ciation of Geodesy (IAG) also had its quadrennial General Assembly. The IAG - organized and contributed to several Union Symposia, as well as to Joint Symposia with other Associations. It also organized ve Symposia of its own, one dedicated to eachofitsfourCommissionsanda fthonededicatedtotheGlobalGeodeticObse- ing System (GGOS). This volume contains the proceedings of these ve Symposia, which are listed below: Symposium GS001: Reference Frames Convener: H. Drewes Co-convener: A. Dermanis Symposium GS002: Gravity Field Convener: C. Jekeli Co-conveners: U. Marti, S. Okubo, N. Sneeuw, I. Tziavos, G. Vergos, M. Vermeer, P. Visser Symposium GS003: Earth Rotation and Geodynamics Convener: V. Dehant Co-convener: Chengli Huang Symposium GS004: Positioning and Applications Convener: C. Rizos Co-convener: S. Verhagen Symposium GS005: The Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) Conveners: M. Rothacher Co-conveners: R. Neilan, H. -P. Plag The Symposia were organized based on the structure of the IAG (i. e. , one per Commission) and covered the there pillars of geodesy, namely geometry, Earth ro- tion, and gravity eld, plus their applications. The inclusion of the Symposium on GGOS which is no longer a project but a major component of the IAG integrated all geodetic areas and highlighted the importance of multidisciplinarity in, and for, geodetic research.
The Symposia focused on Earth observation and the there pillars of geodesy (geometry, Earth rotation, gravity field), and the presented topics spanned a broad and multidisciplinary spectrum of theory and applications. It was clearly evident that, with the recent advances in space missions such as GRACE, geodesy can now contribute to the detection of large-scale temporal phenomena and hence to the solution of important problems of society related to monitoring our environment and understanding global change. Therefore, the title of this volume, "Observing our Changing Earth", was chosen to reflect this fact, as well as to agree with the general theme of the 2007 IUGG General Assembly, "Earth: Our Changing Planet".
At the XXIV General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), held July 2 13, 2007 in Perugia, Italy, the International As- ciation of Geodesy (IAG) also had its quadrennial General Assembly. The IAG - organized and contributed to several Union Symposia, as well as to Joint Symposia with other Associations. It also organized ve Symposia of its own, one dedicated to eachofitsfourCommissionsanda fthonededicatedtotheGlobalGeodeticObse- ing System (GGOS). This volume contains the proceedings of these ve Symposia, which are listed below: Symposium GS001: Reference Frames Convener: H. Drewes Co-convener: A. Dermanis Symposium GS002: Gravity Field Convener: C. Jekeli Co-conveners: U. Marti, S. Okubo, N. Sneeuw, I. Tziavos, G. Vergos, M. Vermeer, P. Visser Symposium GS003: Earth Rotation and Geodynamics Convener: V. Dehant Co-convener: Chengli Huang Symposium GS004: Positioning and Applications Convener: C. Rizos Co-convener: S. Verhagen Symposium GS005: The Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) Conveners: M. Rothacher Co-conveners: R. Neilan, H. -P. Plag The Symposia were organized based on the structure of the IAG (i. e. , one per Commission) and covered the there pillars of geodesy, namely geometry, Earth ro- tion, and gravity eld, plus their applications. The inclusion of the Symposium on GGOS which is no longer a project but a major component of the IAG integrated all geodetic areas and highlighted the importance of multidisciplinarity in, and for, geodetic research.