Determination of the Geoid Present and Future

Rapid growth of geodetic information provided by the Global Positioning System (GPS) and stringent requirements for a precise geoid in ocean areas for ocean circulation models have spurred interest in geoid studies. As a result, the International Geoid Commission was formed to provide a focus for this important geoid research. Determination of the Geoid: Present and Future is the result of the first meeting of the Commission, held at the Instituto di Topografia, Fotogrammetria e Geofisica at the Politecnico di Milano, June 1990. Six major topics are presented: Global Geopotential Models: Present and Future; Role of Topography in Geoid Computations; the Geoid and the Global Positioning System; the State of Computation of National or Regional Geoids; Software and Data Improvements for Geoid Computations; and Recent Developments in the GEOMED (Determination of the Geoid in the Mediterranean) Project.