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.
REFAG 2022 – Call for papers
Com1, 📅 Event UpdateREFAG 2022 – Call for papers
Scientific Committee
C. Kotsakis, J-P. Boy, U. Hugentobler, X. Collilieux, C. Bruyninx, Z. Malkin, Z. Altamimi, P. Rebischung, D.
Angermann, G. Wang, M. Lidberg, J.A. Tarrio, M. Craymer, D. Roman, B. Miyahara, M. Howarth
Local Organizing Committee
C. Kotsakis, M. Chatzinikos, Α. Bai, S. Psycha, G. Maltis, A. Pliatsika, D. Velissaridou, K. Griva
Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of the local organizing committee, I am honored to invite you to the IAG International
Symposium on Reference Frames for Applications in Geosciences (REFAG 2022) which is organized by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki under the scientific coordination of Commission 1 of the International Association of Geodesy. The symposium will be held in Thessaloniki, Greece on October 17-20, 2022.
REFAG 2022 carries on the tradition of previous IAG dedicated symposia on Reference Frames, aiming to bring together leading experts from academia, public authorities and private sector with young scientists and students, to discuss current achievements and future prospects of geodetic reference frames and their scientific and societal impact.
All details about the symposium, its scientific programe and venue are available at the symposium
website: refag2022.org.
Scientific Programme
The primary scope of REFAG 2022 is to address today’s theoretical concepts of reference systems and their practical implementation by space geodetic techniques and their combinations, underlying limiting factors and novel approaches for future improvements, as well as their impact to Earth sciences and their applications. In particular, contributions from the following areas are strongly encouraged:
The scientific program of the symposium will cover all topics related to the activities of IAG Commission and its subgroups, including also other initiatives and projects which endorse the role of geodetic reference frames towards scientific exploration, sustainable development, climate monitoring and satellite navigation.
GGOS – UAW 2022
The Unified Analysis Workshop (UAW) 2022 will be held successively with the REFAG 2022 Symposium in October 21-23, 2022. The UAW 2022 is co-organized by the IAG’s Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) and the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) for the purpose of discussing issues that are common to all space-geodetic measurement techniques. For more details, see the workshop’s website: https://ggos.org/event/unified-analysis-workshop-uaw-2022/.
Venue
The symposium will be held at the Electra Palace Hotel, which is located at the heart of downtown
Thessaloniki (https://www.electrahotels.gr/hotels/electra-palace-thessaloniki/).
October is usually a period of high tourist acitivity for Thessaloniki, therefore an early registration and
accomodation booking is highly recommended. More details about accomodation options and special
prices for REFAG 2022 registrants are given at the symposium website.
Abstracts, presentations and papers
Deadline for abstract submission is June 20, 2022; both the guidelines and the submission portal are
available on the REFAG 2022 website. A non-refundable processing fee of 40 Euro is required for each
abstract submission.
Each abstract will be reviewed by the Scientific Committee and its eventual acceptance will be notified by e-mail to the corresponding author by July 20, 2022.
Upon abstract submission, the corresponding author will have to indicate the preference for oral or poster presentation. However, the final decision on the form of presentation will be taken by the Scientific Committee during the abstract review.
Guidelines for the full paper submission for peer-review and related formatting instruction will be available through the REFAG 2022 website. Accepted papers will be published by Springer as a volume of the official IAG Symposia series, see the link https://www.springer.com/series/1345.
Registration fee
The following types of registration fees are available:
An additional 70 Euro fee will be charged to regular and young researcher registration in case of late registration (after July 25, 2022). The registration fee can be paid by bank transfer or by a credit card according to the information published on the REFAG 2022 website, and it includes:
The REFAG 2022 is an official IAG meeting. Young scientistists from IAG member countries may apply for the IAG Travel Award to assist them in presenting results of their research. For more details, please see https://iag.dgfi.tum.de/fileadmin/IAG-docs/Rules_for_Travel_Awards.pdf.
Social programme
The scientific programme will be complemented with a social one, including an optional social dinner in one of Thessaloniki’s fine restaurants.
COVID19
The symposium is planned as a standard meeting with on-site attendance. In case of Covid-related travel restrictions, it will be possible to switch to a hybrid form (in this case, the registration fees for those attending online will be 50% of the standard ones). However, the physical form of the symposium will be strongly preferred.
We look forward to welcoming you in Thessaloniki!
C. Kotsakis (on behalf of SOC and LOC) March 2022
Author: C. Kotsakis
Geodetic Observation:
GGOS, Project QuGe, 🌍 Geodesy NewsMeasure Heights with Clocks
Clocks, more precisely optical atomic clocks, can be used for geodetic observations. This could become a very important operational technique in the future.
When frequencies generated by clocks at different sites are compared at this level of precision (10-18), the comparison contains the relativistic gravitational frequency redshift due to the different height (and gravity potential) of the sites, as described by General Relativity.
Chronometric Leveling
This can be used to determine height differences by converting frequency differences. The results of chronometric leveling are comparable to the determination of height and potential differences by classical methods such as first order spirit leveling or the gravimetric GNSS/geoid approach. In 2019, in a very promising experiment using the world’s best transportable optical atomic clocks, chronometric leveling has been demonstrated to an accuracy of 4 cm over a height difference of 450 m.
Please read more in our new GGOS Observation description about Optical Atomic Clocks …
Measure Heights with Clocks
IAG Statement on Ukraine
IAG, 📰 General NewsFor the past 150 years, the International Association of Geodesy has been an enduring and politically neutral forum for dialogue and collaboration for geodetic scientists and engineers around the world, through its various research bodies and technical services. IAG aligns with the recent statement of the International Science Council, which “warns against the severe outcomes that conflict will have on the research and academic community. Our capacity to work collaboratively on global challenges, and on cutting edge research such as Arctic and space research, is only equal to our capacity to maintain strong collaboration amidst geopolitical turmoil. Ultimately the isolation and exclusion of important scientific communities is detrimental to all.”
IAG is committed to continue advancing the equal participation and collaboration among geodesists of all peaceful nations, towards the development of geodetic applications and innovations for the benefit of our fragile global community. Our greatest desire is for peace, and we stand united with others worldwide calling for an immediate end to this violent attack.
Author: IAG Executive Committee