GEOMETRIC GEODESY

DEFINITION OF GEODESY .....

• dating back to the Sumarians 5000 years ago when man first became interested with his
surroundings.
• it all started with the concern of what is “my house’s immediate vicinity”
• later it expanded to the distances of markets and exchange places
• and with the development means of transportation, man became interested in his “whole world”
• the oldest among Earth Sciences
• came from the Greek words “geo” means earth and “desa” means to divide
• the classical definition of Geodesy is “ the science of measuring and portraying the Earth’s surface
• the contemporary definition of Geodesy is “the discipline that deals with the measurement and
representation of the Earth’s surface, including its gravity field, in a three -dimensional time varying
space

• the technical definition of Geodesy according to (Smith, 1997)

1. “It is the science that determines the figure of the earth and the interrelation of selected
points on its surface by either direct or indirect techniques” Definition of Geodesy
2. It is a branch of applied mathematics that includes observations for determining the size and
shape of the earth and defining coordinate systems for 3-dimensional positioning; the
variation of phenomena near to or on the surface such as gravity, tides, earth rotation,
crustal movement and deflection of the plumb line

Concepts of Geodesy

• All the definitions of geodesy will include three general ideas or concepts:

.....the size and shape of the earth

.....the gravity field of the earth
.....the positioning of points on the surface of the earth

BRANCHES/ SUBDIVISIONS OF GEODESY

Geometric Geodesy

--concerned with describing locations in terms of

geometry. Consequently, coordinate systems are
one of the primary products of geometrical
geodesy.

--concerned with the definition of the figure of the

Earth using the properties of an ellipsoid of
revolution and other related geometric concepts.

Physical Geodesy

--concerned with determining the Earth’s gravity field, which is necessary for establishing heights.

--concerned with the study of the Earth’s gravity field in order to determine its true size and shape.
Satellite Geodesy

– is concerned with using orbiting satellites to

obtain data for geodetic purposes.

--concerned with the using satellite positioning

systems in determining position and defining the
Earth’s size and shape.

Geodetic Astronomy

– concerned with the study of determining position

using measurements made by observing celestial
bodies

Integrated Geodesy - a relatively new branch

concerned with the unification of the physical and
geometric components of the Earth.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF GEODESY (The Story of Earth’s Size and Shape)

The greeks ( Homer) theorizing the earth as a “flat disc”

Then Anaximander a.ka. Anaximenes thought the earth as rectangular object

The Spherical Earth Model

• First Observation:

➢ The ancient seafarers, the Greeks and others, must already

have noticed that a boat coming in from the horizon is not
in full view all at once; its superstructures is visible long
before the hulls is seen

• Second Observation:

➢ Traveling north at night, the north pole star (Polaris)

appears to get higher in the sky, as

measured from the horizon up. In the figure above, angle 2 is

larger than angle 1.

•Third Observation:

➢ Traveling north by day, a man’s shadow at noon becomes

longer
➢

• After all the observations, they realized that the earth is curved, people jumped to the conclusion
that it is curved equally all over, like a sphere.

•The next question then arises:

“HOW BIG IS THAT SPHERE?”

• Before Eratosthenes,
• *Pythagoras ((~580-500 B.C.) and his school, as well as Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), among
others, expressed themselves for the spherical shape
• * The founder of scientific geodesy is Eratosthenes (276-195 B.C.) of Alexandria, who under
the assumption of a spherical earth deduced from measurements a radius for the earth
• * The principle of the arc measurement method developed by him was still applied in
modern ages

*Eratosthenes observations:

• First, he knew that there was a place called Syene (now Aswan) south of Alexandria, where the
sun’s rays reached the bottom of a deep well at noon of that same day.
• He knew how many days it tool a camel caravan to travel the distance between Syene and
Alexandria.
•He also knew some geometry

The Ellipsoidal Earth Model

• * In the 17th century, it was possible to measure distances and gravity precisely, enough to notice
that the curvature of the earth was not the same at different places.

• THIS MEANT THAT THE EARTH WAS NOT A SPHERE AT ALL!!!

French:

The French had measured distances in France, and they were convinced that the
earth was pointed towards the poles, like an egg

British:

The British had Newton's new theory of gravitation and they were just as
convinced that the earth was flattened at the poles, like a grapefruit

❖ An international dispute arose when the so-called “earth elongators’’ were pitted against
the “earth flatteners".
❖ The French Academy of Sciences decided in a magnificently simple way to solve the
argument by sending one expedition to Lappland in the north, and another to Peru near the
equator to measure and compare arcs.
❖ If a 1° arc in the north were shorter than a 1° arc near the equator, the French would be
right.
❖ If the arc in the north were longer, the British would be right.
❖ As it turned out, THE BRITISH WERE RIGHT!!!
❖ The earth was flatter at the poles.
❖ A flattened earth model or oblate ellipsoid has been used since
• If an ellipse is rotated about its minor axis, it forms an
ellipsoid of revolution

• The customary ellipsoidal earth model has its minor axis

parallel to the rotational axis of the earth.

• The size of such an ellipsoid is usually given by the length

of the two semi-axes or by the semi-major axis and the
flattening

The Geoidal Earth Model

❖ When the satellite data were analyzed further, it turned out

that the nearest point in a satellite's orbit, the perigee , was
always nearer to the earth when the satellite was over the
northern hemisphere than when it was over the southern
hemisphere. This indicates an asymmetry in the earth's shape.
❖ It is a little narrower in the north than in the south. !!!
❖ In ellipsoid, we obviously do not mean the shape produced by
the mountains and valleys, the topography.
❖ Since we can measure the elevations of places above mean
sea level (this is what is recorded on topographic maps), we can
discount them and inquire into the shape of what is left.
❖ That is, the sea-level surface itself, as if it were extended from
the sea shore into the land areas without those elevations above
it
❖ This sea-level surface is also called the GEOID.
❖ The shape of the geoid is what we mean by the Figure of the
Earth.

Orthometric height of a point is the distance

along a plumb line from the point to the geoid.
Geoid an imaginary surface that coincides with
mean sea level in the ocean and its extension
through the continents.
Ellipsoidal Height of a point of the Earth Surface
is the distance from the point to the ellipsoid.
Plumb line A line that corresponds to the
direction of gravity at a point on the earth's
surface; the line along which an object will fall
when dropped.
➢ The geoid with its irregular ups and downs
makes one think rather of an irregular potato
than a pear.
➢ To describe its shape, we use an ellipsoid as an
approximation, but we have to pick one of the
right size and shape.
➢ In the figure, an ellipsoid that fits very well, for
instance, in America, does not necessarily fit
in Europe.

Values for 11 different ellipsoids used as the basis for mapping in various parts of the world
 The Rotational Ellipsoid as Geometrical Figure of the Earth

THE GEODETIC EARTH MODEL

▪ It is used as a reference for the actual surface and external gravity field of the earth
▪ It should provide a good fit to the geoid and to the gravity field.
▪ The mathematical formation of the model should be simple and possibly permit calculations
by closed formulas
▪ The model should serve as a standard for applications not only in geodesy and cartography
but also in astronomy and geophysics; it should satisfy the demands and needs of these
disciplines too.

THE LEVEL ELLIPSOID

▪ It possesses a simple geometry Coordinate Systems

that refer to it approximate the “natural” coordinate
system sufficiently well
▪ The ellipsoid’s mass and rotation provide a “normal
gravity field”, which can be calculated if the ellipsoid
surface is defined to be in equilibrium

Let us first recall the Ellipse

▪ Ellipse is the set of all points in a plane such that the sum of their distances from two fixed
point is constant
▪ The fixed point are known as
foci
Ellipse General Equation:

Example 1:

Given the equation of the curve 𝟗𝒙𝟐 + 𝟐𝟓𝒚𝟐 + 𝟓𝟒𝒙 − 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝒚 − 𝟒𝟒 = 𝟎 , find the following:

a. Center d. Length of Lactus Rectum

b. Vertices e. Perimeter
c. Foci f. Area
 PARAMETERS OF ROTATIONAL ELLIPSOID

ELLIPSOID

▪ Formed by taking an ellipse and rotating it about its minor axis.

▪ The minor axis coincides with the earth’s spin axis.
▪ The major axis sweeps out the equatorial plane as the ellipse is rotated

Paramaters of an Ellipsoid;

FLATTENING

▪ Flattening is a measure of the compression of a circle or

sphere along a diameter to form an ellipse or an
ellipsoid of revolution respectively
▪ It is sometimes called ellipticity or oblateness
▪ There are two variants of flattening

ECCENTRICITY

▪ Eccentricity is a ratio describing the shape of a conic section; the ratio of the distance
between the foci to the length of the major axis

ANGULAR ECCENTRICITY ( α )

▪ The angle at P1 between the minor

axis and a line drawn from P, to
either F2 or F1.

LINEAR ECCENTRICITY

▪ the distance between its center and either of its two foci. The
eccentricity can be defined as the ratio of linear eccentricity to the
semi-major a.
 CELESTIAL SPHERE

THE CELESTIAL SPHERE

▪ The rising and setting points of celestial bodies (sun, moon, stars, and planets) are
determined by their positions on the celestial sphere.
▪ The celestial sphere is an imaginary sphere with the earth at its center
▪ The sky overhead is the half of the sphere we see from earth appearing as a dome (even
though the sky extends infinitely into space)
▪ The other half of the sphere is below the circle of the horizon

BUT WHY A CELESTIAL SPHERE EXIST?

▪ The distance from the earth to the nearest star is more than 109 earth radii, thus the
dimensions of the earth can be considered negligible compared to the distances to the stars.
▪ For example, the closest star is estimated to be 4 light years (40x1012 km) from the earth
(Centauri), while others are 30 light-years
▪ As a consequence of those great distances, stars considered to be moving at near the
velocity of light, are perceived by an observer on earth to be moving very little.
▪ Therefore, the relationship between the earth and stars can be closely approximated by
considering the stars all to be equidistant from the earth and lying on the surface of a
celestial sphere, the dimension of which is so large that the earth, and indeed the solar
system, can be considered to be a dimensionless point at its center
▪ Although this point may be considered dimensionless, relationships between directions on
the earth and in the solar system can be extended to the celestial sphere.
PARTS of CELESTIAL SPHERE

North & South Celestial Poles – line up with the earth’s rotational axis
Celestial equator - lines up with the earth’s equator
Zenith – point in the sky that is directly above the observer. This point changes as the
observer change latitudes on Earth
Nadir – a point beneath the observer.
Hour Circle – great circle containing the poles, and it thus perpendicular to the celestial
equator
Celestial Meridian – an hour circle which is the observer’s vertical pane, containing the poles
passing through the zenith
Celestial Parallel– a small circle parallel to the celestial equator
Celestial horizon - a plane that is normal to the local astronomic vertical and contains the
observer
Vertical Circle – plane normal to the horizon passing through the zenith

Astronomic Triangle

➢ If at any instant we select a point S (star) on the celestial sphere, then the celestial meridian
and the hour and vertical circles form a spherical triangle.
➢ Its vertices are the zenith (Z), the north celestial pole (NCP) and star S

Astronomic Triangle or PZS Triangle

➢ The sides of the PZS triangle are segments of great circles passing through any two of the
vertices.
 Polar Distance  Coaltitude  Colatitude

POLAR DISTANCE

➢ is a segment of the hour circle of the celestial body. It is the arc length of the side of the PZS
Triangle from the celestial north pole to the celestial body (the PS side)
➢ It is determined by applying the celestial body’s declination to 90°.
➢ In other word if the declination is north (+), the polar distance equals 90° minus the
declination; if the declination is south (-), the polar distance equals 90°plus the declination

COALTITUDE

➢ arc length of the side of the PZS triangle from the celestial body to the observer’s zenith.
➢ Determine colatitude by subtracting the vertical angle (altitude) of the celestial body from
90°
➢ This vertical angle must be corrected for refraction and parallax for sun observations and
corrected for refraction for star observations. The resultant angle is side ZS of the PZS
triangle and is referred to as the zenith angle of the celestial body

The three angles formed by the intersection of the three sides of the PZS triangle are:

1. Parallactic Triangle

2. Hour Angle (time angle)

3. Zenith Angle
 1. PARALLACTIC ANGLE – the interior angle at the celestial body formed by the intersection of
the polar distance side (PS side) and the coaltitude side (ZS side)
2. HOUR ANGLE– the interior angle at the celestial North Pole formed by the intersection of
the polar distance side (PS side) and the colatitude side (PZ side)
3. AZIMUTH OR ZENITH ANGLE– the interior angle at the zenith formed by the intersection of
the coaltitude side (ZS side) and the colatitude side (PZ side)

If any three elements of the PZS triangle are known, the other three elements
of the PZS triangle can be determined by spherical trigonometry. In the end,
the element that must be solved is the azimuth angle. This angle is necessary
to establish a true azimuth on the ground.

SPHERICAL TRIANGLE

➢ It is a triangle bounded by arc of great circles of a sphere

➢ For spherical triangles, sides a, b and c are in angular units and angles A,B, and C are also in
angular units

TWO KINDS OF SPHERICAL TRIANGLE:

RIGHT SPHERICAL TRIANGLE – spherical triangle with only one included angle equal to 90
degrees
OBLIQUE SPHERICAL TRIANGLE – spherical triangle with none of its included angle is 90
degrees or two or three of its included angles are 90 degrees

SOLUTION FOR RIGHT SPHERICAL TRIANGLE

• Any right spherical triangle can be solved by following the

Napier’s rules. The rules are aided with the Napier’s circle.
In Napier’s circle, the sides and angle of the triangle are
written in consecutive order (not including the right
angle), and complimentary angles are taken for quantities
opposite the right angle.
NAPIER’s RULE :

SOLUTION FOR OBLIQUE SPHERICAL TRIANGLE SOLUTION FOR OBLIQUE SPHERICAL TRIANGLE

Example: Solve for the spherical triangle whose parts are a=73° , b= 62°, C=90°.

CELESTIAL COORDINATE SYSTEMS

• Celestial coordinate systems are used to define the positions of stars on the celestial sphere.
• Positions are defined by directions only
• There are two methods to describe the positions:
o By a set of curvilinear coordinates
o By a unit vector in 3 dimensional space expressed as a function of the curvilinear
coordinates

1. HORIZON SYSTEM

➢ This system is used to describe the position of a celestial body in a system peculiar to a
topographically located observer
➢ Primary reference plane – celestial horizon
➢ Secondary reference plane – celestial meridian
 ▪ Direction of the celestial body S is defined by:
➢ Altitude (a) – angle between the celestial horizon & the point S measured in the plane of
the vertical circle ( 0°- 90°)
o Zenith distance – complimentary angle z = 90 – a
o Azimuth (A) – angle between the observer’s celestial meridian and the vertical
circle through S measured in a clockwise direction (north to east) in plane of the
celestial horizon ( 0°- 360°)

HOUR ANGLE SYSTEM

▪ Primary reference plane – celestial equator

▪ Secondary reference plane – hour circle containing the zenith (observer’s celestial meridian)
▪ Direction of the celestial body S is defined by:
▪ Declination (δ) – angle between the celestial equator & the point S measured in the plane of
the hour circle through S ( 0°- 90°)
▪ Polar distance – complement of the declination p = 90 – δ
▪ Hour angle (h) – angle between the hour circle of S & the observer’s celestial meridian, & is
measured from 0 h to 24h in a clockwise direction in the plane of the celestial equator

RIGHT ASCENSION SYSTEM

▪ It is the most important celestial system as it is in this system that star coordinates are
Published
▪ It also serves as the connection between terrestrial , celestial, and orbital coordinate
systems
▪ Primary reference plane – celestial equator
▪ Secondary reference plane – equinoctial colure (the hour circle passing through NCP and SCP
and the vernal and autumnal equinoxes
▪ Direction of the celestial body S is defined by:
o Right Ascension (α ) – angle between the hour circle of S and the equinoctal colure,
measured from the vernal equinox to the east (counterclockwise) in the plane of the
celestial equator from 0 h to 24h
o Declination (δ) – angle between the celestial equator & the point S measured in the
plane of the hour circle through S ( 0°- 90°)
ECLIPTIC SYSTEM

▪ It is the celestial coordinate system that is closest to being inertial, that is, motionless with
respect to the stars
▪ However, due to the effect of the planets on the earth-sun system, the ecliptic plane is
slowly rotating (at '0".5 per year) about a slowly moving axis of rotation.
▪ Primary reference plane – ecliptic
▪ Secondary reference plane – ecliptic meridian of the vernal equinox (contains the north and
south ecliptic poles, the vernal and autumnal equinoxes
▪ Direction of the celestial body S is defined by:
o Ecliptic Latitude (ß) – angle measured in the ecliptic meridian plane of S, between
the ecliptic and the normal OS
o Ecliptic Longitude (λ)– angle measured eastward in the ecliptic plane between the
ecliptic meridian of the vernal equinox and the ecliptic meridian of S

The most important

characteristics of the
coordinate systems, (2-10)
(2-11) (2-12) expressed in
terms of curva1inear
coordinates, are given in
Table 2-1.

The most important

characteristics of the
cartesian coordinate systems
are shown in Table 2-2
(Note: ~ and u in Table 2-2
denote the curvilinear
coordinates measured in the
primary reference plane and
perpendicular to it
respectively).
HOW DO WE DETERMINE A POSITION ON THE ELLIPSOID?

• X,Y, Z Coordinates/ Cartesian Coordinates

• Geodetic Coordinates/ Ellipsoidal Coordinates

X,Y, Z Coordinates

➢ We first consider a rotational ellipsoid whose center is at O.

➢ We define the OZ axis to be the rotational axis of the ellipsoid
➢ The OX axis lies in the equatorial plane and intersects the meridian PEP1 which is taken as
the prime or initial meridian from which longitudes will be measured
➢ The OY axis is in the equatorial plane, perpendicular to the OX axis such that OX, OY, and OZ
form a right-handed coordinate system
➢ An arbitrary point Q or Q’ (on or off the surface of the ellipsoid) may then be defined by its
X,Y,Z coordinates

The equation of the surface of the ellipsoid is given by :

Geodetic Latitude (φ) – angle between the line normal to the point and
the equatorial plane
Geocentric Longitude (ѱ) – the angle between the line connecting the
center of the ellipse to the point and the equatorial plane
– obtained by projecting the ellipse on the geocentric circle having a
radius equal to the semi-major axis, a
MEMORIZE !!!!!!

NORMAL SECTIONS ON THE ELLIPSOID

➢ Consider first a normal to the surface of the ellipsoid at some point.

➢ A particular plane will cut the surface of the ellipsoid forming a curve which is known as the
normal section
➢ At each point there exist an infinite number of normal section as there exist an infinite
number of planes that contain the normal line.
➢ However, at each point, there exist two mutually perpendicular normal sections whose
curvature will be maximum and minimum.
➢ These normal sections is called the principal normal sections
On the ellipsoid the two principal normal sections are:

1. The Meridian or Meridional Normal Section - a plane passing through the point and the two
poles.
2. The Prime Vertical Normal Section – a plane passing through the point and perpendicular to
the meridian at that point

RADIUS OF CURVATURE OF A NORMAL

SECTIONS

-In order to find the radius of curvature of any

normal section at any arbitrary direction, we
may utilize Euler’s formula:

COMPARING M and N......

▪ We can see that M and N are minimum at points on the equator

▪ At the poles M and N are equal with value equal to a/(1-f).
▪ If we take the ratio of M and N, we will find that
▪ Thus, 𝑁 ≥ 𝑀where equality holds at the poles.

RADIUS OF CURVATURE OF NORMAL SECTIONS AT ANY AZIMUTH

▪ The maximum and minimum radii of curvature of any point P on the surface of an ellipsoid
or rotation lie in the meridian and prime vertical planes. In some instances, geodetic
computations require the radius of curvature in a plane other than the principal ones.
▪ The Normal Section in some azimuth α has a radius of curvature at any point P designated as
Rα.
▪ It is solved using Euler’s Theorem and is also called Euler’s radius of curvature.

RADIUS OF CURVATURE OF NORMAL SECTIONS AT ANY

AZIMUTH
Facts:

RADII OF SPHERICAL APPROXIMATION TO THE EARTH OR MEAN RADIUS OF THE EARTH AS A SPHERE

▪ In some applications, it is convenient to let the earth be a sphere rather than an ellipsoid.
▪ It is necessary to find a suitable radius, R, of the sphere to be used.
Space Rectangular Coordinates

▪ Now we consider the computation of the X,Y, Z coordinates of a point located at a

geometric/ ellipsoidal height, h, above the reference ellipsoid. The geometric height is
measured along the ellipsoidal normal.
GEODESIC CURVE

▪ A curve that gives the shortest distance, on a surface, between any two points.
▪ If the surface is a plane, the geodesic is a straight line; if the surface is a sphere, the geodesic
is a great circle.
▪ On the ellipsoid, the geodesic is a curve having a double curvature and is thus not a plane
curve.
▪ The geodesic, or geodetic line, between any two points on the surface of an ellipsoid, is the
unique surface· curve between the two points.
▪ At every point along the geodesic, the principal radius of curvature vector is coincident with
the ellipsoidal normal.
▪ The geodesic, between two points, is the shortest surface distance between these two
points. The position of the geodesic with respect to the direct and inverse normal sections is
shown in Figure in next slide.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF GEODESIC

SPHERES

▪ *Geodesics are used in the airline industry for long flights. The shortest distance between
two points on the surface of the earth is not a straight line but a geodesic curve. There is not
a line that is straight per se, but any of these lines is the shortest distance between two
points on the surface of the earth. At every point along the geodesic, the principal radius of
the curvature vector is coincident with the ellipsoidal normal.
▪ The only line of latitude that is a geodesic is the equator.
▪ These curves (geodesic) are the fastest, most efficient routes of travel across the world.
▪ This is the easiest-to-understand example of a geodesic. The geodesics on a sphere are
known as great circles
▪ On the earth, these are the lines of longitude, the north-south lines that run around the
earth as well as the equator.

Ellipsoid

▪ The earth as we know is not a perfect sphere, so the routes that airlines take can be
modelled more accurately. These are, of course not completely correct because the plane
will not be flying on the curve forever. It must account for the wind and other physical
effects as well. The flight path would look like a small section of the curve.
▪ In general, however, the planes will follow these curves to reach their destinations in a
timely manner. The difference between these and the sphere is that there are not the great
circles that go around the ellipse. In fact, some of the geodesic curves look downright
strange.
▪ This ellipse has even more deviation from the sphere and this shows how interesting these
curves can get.