Geodesy Cartoons

Discover Geodesy with a Smile

The Geodesy Cartoons present complex geodetic topics in a clear, engaging way, showing how geodesy helps us understand our dynamic Earth and its relevance to everyday life.

What is Geodesy?

Positioning, Navigation, GNSS

3-204 First Fix – It’s All About Location

Reference Frame, Coordinate System

3-186 Perfecting the Global Reference Frame

Plate Motion, Continental Drift

3-98 When the Earth Moves Geodesy in Action

Land Surveying & Cadastre

1-199a What Are Surveyors Actually Doing

Height Systems & Levelling

2-182 Geodesy Measuring Gravity, Defining Height

Gravity Measurements & Geoid

2-219 From Newton’s Apple to Satellite Gravity

3-233 Have I lost weight or has the ice mass

Earth Rotation and Orientation

Global Change Monitoring, Sea-Level-Rise

Mapping, Model, Cartography

1-100 Mapping Earth’s Moves with Geodesy

Space Geodetic Observation Techniques

2-285 GNSS – Built on and used by Geodesy

ALL Observation Techniques

ALL Geodetic Products

How It Started and Grew

The Geodesy Cartoon initiative was launched in 2024 by the GGOS Coordinating Office (CO), initiated by Martin Sehnal (BEV, Austria). The first concepts were developed together with Laura Sánchez and Detlef Angermann (DGFI-TUM, Germany), and the initial three cartoons were illustrated by Riccardo Barzaghi.

The project gained significant momentum with the Geodesy Cartoon Competition (2025–2026), where the global geodesy community contributed enthusiastically. 274 cartoons were submitted, turning the initiative into a truly collaborative outreach effort.

Credit and Use

Each Geodesy Cartoon is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license. This allows anyone to share, distribute, and adapt (e.g. translate into other languages) the cartoons for any purpose, provided that proper credit is given to the respective cartoonist / illustrator and to the official geodesy cartoon website: geodesy.science/cartoon. There are no restrictions on who may use the cartoons, where they may be shared (online, print), or how often they may be distributed.

If you need any cartoon in a higher resolution or if you have any further questions, please contact us…

How You can Contribute

Do you have an idea that explains geodesy in a creative way? We welcome new cartoons that highlight geodetic science, observation techniques, or products in an engaging and accessible manner. If you would like to contribute, please contact the GGOS Coordinating Office and become part of this growing outreach effort. Your drawing might soon be featured on this page and shared with the geodesy community (1,370 mailing list subscribers and more than 9,000 social media followers)!