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IAG 150 Years pp 367–373Cite as

Practical Aspects of the Unification of Height System Realizations in Europe

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Part of the book series: International Association of Geodesy Symposia ((IAG SYMPOSIA,volume 143))

Abstract

Three different approaches for the unification of height reference frames have been used to compute datum offsets between national vertical reference frames in Europe: the oceanographic approach, the spirit leveling approach and the gravity field approach. All three methods are discussed and advantages and drawbacks are evaluated. A set of tide gauge locations is used to compute height datum offsets between national height reference frames in Europe based on all three approaches. The results agree on a level of 5–10 cm. In summary, the gravity field approach is the most flexible approach. The ESA satellite gravity mission GOCE ensures a uniform global level in the range of 1–2 cm. Hence, the gravity field approach is a suitable approach for future realizations of the European Vertical Reference Frame as well as for the establishment of a World Height System.

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Acknowledgements

This investigation has been performed within the Support to Science Element GOCE+ Height System Unification of the European Space Agency. We acknowledge the associate editor and the three reviewers for their comments to improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy, Richard-Strauss-Allee 11, 60598, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

    Axel Rülke

  2. Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy, Leipzig, Germany

    Gunter Liebsch, Martina Sacher & Uwe Schäfer

  3. Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

    Johannes Ihde

  4. National Oceanography Centre, Liverpool, UK

    Philip L. Woodworth

Authors
  1. Axel Rülke
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  2. Gunter Liebsch
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  3. Martina Sacher
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  4. Uwe Schäfer
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  5. Johannes Ihde
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  6. Philip L. Woodworth
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Axel Rülke .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Surveying Information, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW, Australia

    Chris Rizos

  2. c/o Editorial Board 190, Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

    Pascal Willis

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Rülke, A., Liebsch, G., Sacher, M., Schäfer, U., Ihde, J., Woodworth, P.L. (2015). Practical Aspects of the Unification of Height System Realizations in Europe. In: Rizos, C., Willis, P. (eds) IAG 150 Years. International Association of Geodesy Symposia, vol 143. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/1345_2015_168

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