News and Activities
GGOS IberAtlantic (GGOS IA) functions as a regional node of GGOS, focusing on geodetic activities across the Iberian Peninsula and the Atlantic region. GGOS IA fosters collaboration among geodetic institutions while promoting scientific research and technological development tailored to the region’s unique geophysical characteristics.
GGOS Days 2024 – Meeting Summary
GGOS, 📅 Event UpdateThe Executive Committee of the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) organises every year the GGOS Days to update the geodetic community on recent achievements and current challenges faced by the various colleagues involved in achieving the strategic goals of GGOS. On this occasion, thanks to the kind invitation of the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, the GGOS Days 2024 were held as a hybrid meeting at the Wissenschaftsetage im Bildungsforum in Potsdam, Germany, on 10-11 October. Although the primary target audience of the GGOS Days are the members of the GGOS Governing Board and the Science Panel, the meeting is open to everyone. The GGOS Days 2024 were attended by 60 in-person participants, including 19 early career scientists (ECS), and 182 online participants, including 59 ECS. In total, 21 countries were represented.
43 presentations (12 online) were distributed in the following sessions:
More information is available at:
In addition to the technical sessions, a guided tour through the emblematic facilities of the GFZ was organised and a “come together” for all participating young scientists took place the day before the GGOS Days. This event was not limited to the GGOS Days, but also included the GGOS Topical Meeting on the Atmosphere (7-9 October) and the GRACE/GRACE-FO 2024 Science Team Meeting (4-8 October), which also took place in Potsdam. This informal “come together” meeting was sponsored by the IAG and was attended by around 45 young colleagues who had the opportunity to make contact, get to know each other, talk about their work and network. At this point, we would like to thank Ludwig Grunwaldt and Christoph Förste from GFZ for the warm welcome and interesting explanations during the visit to GFZ, as well as Julia Koch, PhD student at ETH Zurich, who, as GGOS Early Career Representative, organised the event with the young colleagues.
The GGOS Days 2024 would not have been possible without the support of many colleagues who take care of the GGOS activities, defined the topics of the meeting, chaired the sessions, gave presentations and participated in the discussions. Special thanks go to GFZ Potsdam for hosting the meeting and to the local organising committee: Kirsten Elger, Robert Heinkelmann, Nataliya Bobenko, Sascha Torkhov and Alexander Brauser. Their tireless work ensured a familiar and comfortable atmosphere throughout the meeting. Special thanks are also due to the home institutions of the GGOS Executive Committee members, who support our activities and give us the time we need to attend to GGOS business. This support is very much appreciated.
Laura Sánchez, Deutsches Geodätisches Forschungsinstitut of the Technical University of Munich (DGFI-TUM), President of GGOS
Anna Riddell, Geoscience Australia, Vice-president of GGOS
Martin Sehnal, Austrian Federal Office of Metrology and Surveying (BEV), Director of the GGOS Coordinating Office
Detlef Angermann, Deutsches Geodätisches Forschungsinstitut of the Technical University of Munich (DGFI-TUM) , Director of the GGOS-BPS
José Rodríguez, Instituto Geográfico Nacional of Spain, Director of the GGOS-BNO
GGOS Topical Meeting on the Atmosphere – Summary
GGOS, 📅 Event UpdateThe Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) convened geodetic and geophysical communities to participate in the GGOS Topical Meeting on the Atmosphere, held in Potsdam, Germany, 7-9 October 2024. The main objectives were a general brainstorming and in-depth discussions on the challenges and opportunities of integrating geodetic and geophysical technologies for a comprehensive monitoring of the lower atmosphere (i.e. troposphere and stratosphere), the mid atmosphere (mesosphere) and the upper atmosphere (incl. thermosphere, ionosphere and plasmasphere). This Topical Meeting was organised as a main activity of the project Characterisation of the Ionised Atmosphere in terms of Essential Variables granted by the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) for 2024/2025 with the support of the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA) and the IAG. The meeting was attended by 76 participants from 21 countries. 36 participants are early career scientists. Thanks to the generous support of the IUGG, the IAG and the IAG, travel grants were provided to six colleagues to enable them to attend the meeting.
Contributions covered topics from
56 contributions, 36 oral and 20 posters, were distributed in the following sessions:
More information at
In addition to the technical sessions, a guided tour through the emblematic facilities of the GFZ was organised and a “come together” for all participating young scientists took place. This event was not only restricted to the GGOS Topical Meeting on the Atmosphere, but also included the GRACE/GRACE-FO Science Team Meeting 2024, which took place at GFZ from 4 to 8 October, and the GGOS Days 2024, which followed the Topical Meeting on October 10 and 11. This informal “come together” meeting was sponsored by the IAG and was attended by about 45 young colleagues who had the opportunity to get to know each other, to talk about their work, and to network. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Ludwig Grunwaldt and Christoph Förste from GFZ for the warm welcome and interesting explanations during the visit to GFZ, as well as Julia Koch, PhD student at ETH Zurich, who, as GGOS Early Career Representative, organised the event with the young colleagues.
The GGOS Topical Meeting on the Atmosphere was only possible thanks to the support of numerous colleagues who defined the topics of the meeting, chaired the sessions, gave presentations and participated in the discussions. Special thanks go to GFZ Potsdam for hosting the meeting and to the local organising committee: Kirsten Elger, Robert Heinkelmann, Nataliya Bobenko, Sascha Torkhov and Alexander Brauser. Their tireless work ensured a familiar and comfortable atmosphere throughout the meeting. Special thanks are also due to the IUGG, whose support enabled the meeting to be held free of charge for all participants, thus facilitating the attendance of many colleagues, especially early career scientists. Finally, we would like to thank the Deutsches Geodätisches Forschungsinstitut of the Technical University of Munich (DGFI-TUM) and the Austrian Federal Office of Metrology and Surveying (BEV) for hosting and supporting the GGOS Presidency and the GGOS Coordinating Office, respectively.
Laura Sánchez, DGFI-TUM, President of GGOS
Michael Schmidt, DGFI-TUM, Lead of the GGOS Focus Area “Geodetic Space Weather Research”
UN Science Summit – Africa Rising | Report Geodesy Day
GGOS, Other, 📅 Event UpdateReport on the Geodesy Day at the United Nations General Assembly Science Summit 2024
Africa Rising: Shaping our Common Future through Geodesy. Implementing UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/69/266 “A Global Geodetic Reference Frame for Sustainable Development”
The Science Summit at the UN General Assembly 79 took place from 10 to 27 September 2024 as a hybrid meeting (online and face-to-face in New York City) and coincided with the UN Summit of the Future, which placed a special emphasis on the Africa Science Leadership Coalition, to promote African leadership in science policy decision-making.
The agenda covered a wide range of topics such as multilateral research cooperation, neuroscience and society, water research and innovation, strengthening the central role of science in society, resilient ecosystems and communities with science, transforming knowledge into practical services, and barriers to international science cooperation with a focus on data sharing and management. Amidst all these exciting topics, the 2024 Science Summit hosted a Geodesy Day on 27 September. The one-day session was entitled Africa Rising: Shaping our Common Future through Geodesy. Implementing UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/69/266 “A Global Geodetic Reference Frame for Sustainable Development”. The main objective of the event was to integrate the African perspective to address unique challenges and contributions by recognising the central role of the global geodesy supply chain in tackling global challenges such as climate change, urbanisation and sustainable resource management, as well as to align geodetic science with policymaking and to advance research through multidisciplinary cooperation within and between African countries. The event was attended by 209 participants and facilitated discussions between Member States, international organisations, and geospatial experts.
The Geodesy Day was organised by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) of South Africa (Aletha de Witt) with the support of the UN Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence – UN-GGCE (Nicholas Brown and Anne Jørgensen) and the Global Geodetic Observing System – GGOS (Laura Sánchez). The opening keynotes highlighted the contribution of geodesy to sustainable development and how geodesy provides the essential reference layer for public infrastructure, as well as the hidden risks that threaten critical infrastructure and sustainable development, with a focus on Africa. Two panel discussions then extended and complemented the views presented in the keynote speeches. The first panel focused on achievements and ongoing challenges since the adoption of the UN Resolution on the GGRF. The second panel discussion focused on African perspectives on the 1st Joint Development Plan for Global Geodesy to sustain the global geodesy supply chain. In the afternoon, the workshop Sustaining the Global Geodesy Supply Chain in Africa provided further insights into the challenges and opportunities of a robust geodetic infrastructure in Africa.
According to the session outcomes, the main opportunities may be summarised as follows:
Laura Sánchez (DGFI-TUM, Germany), Aletha de Witt (DSI, South Africa)
October 2024