Geodesy
Definition

In English, geodesy refers to the science of measuring and representing geospatial information, while geomatics encompasses practical applications of geodesy on local and regional scales, including surveying.

In German, geodesy can refer to either higher geodesy (höhere Geodäsie or Erdmessung, literally "geomensuration") — concerned with measuring Earth on the global scale, or engineering geodesy (Ingenieurgeodäsie) that includes surveying — measuring parts or regions of Earth.

For the longest time, geodesy was the science of measuring and understanding Earth's geometric shape, orientation in space, and gravitational field; however, geodetic science and operations are applied to other astronomical bodies in our Solar System also.

To a large extent, Earth's shape is the result of rotation, which causes its equatorial bulge, and the competition of geological processes such as the collision of plates, as well as of volcanism, resisted by Earth's gravitational field. This applies to the solid surface, the liquid surface (dynamic sea surface topography), and Earth's atmosphere. For this reason, the study of Earth's gravitational field is called physical geodesy.
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