Geodesy Committee

Introduction

The Geodesy Committee focuses on the elements of scientific research and development for ‘higher’ geodesy. The committee tries to make a close connection with global developments and the applied scientific domains that are currently being discussed in the Marine Geodesy and Land Subsidence and Sea Level Change committees. The Geodesy Committee is therefore the geodetic forum and scientific anchor point of the Netherlands and serves the entire field of work of the NCG across the board, working from an increasingly international perspective.

Depending on the topics discussed in the Geodesy committee, the committee can be expanded with other experts. It will therefore be a core team surrounded by a flexible shell of experts in other parts of the field. The staff of the Core Team is composed based on the background they represent. Representation from GeoBusiness will mainly be an issue in the flexible layer of experts.

Members

  • Ramon Hanssen (chair) – TU Delft
  • Bas Alberts – Rijkswaterstaat
  • Lennard Huisman – Geopinie
  • Roland Klees – TU Delft
  • Martin Salzmann – Cadastre
  • Peter Teunissen – TU Delft
  • Sandra Verhagen – TU Delft
  • George Vosselman – University of Twente

Incorporation Considerations

Considerations for the establishment of this committee were:

  1. It is essential for the Netherlands that there is a body that guarantees, develops and makes applicable geodetic knowledge. For the domain of ‘higher’ geodesy, the NCG and within it the Geodesy Committee are the overarching national body.
  2. The knowledge area is international (reference systems are now on the UN agenda) and connections with the IAG (global), EUREF (European), fellow committees within Europe and the NCG committees are important.
  3. Geodesy serves the entire field of work of the NCG. Reference systems are an essential foundation for geodesy and geo-information. This applies very much to marine geodesy, bottom movement and sea level variation. The connection with these themes is essential.
  4. Implementation in the geodetic field is organizing (Dutch Geodetic Infrastructure Cooperation (NSGI) and National Soil Movement Initiative). In the NSGI, the implementing organizations Rijkswaterstaat, Land Registry and the Hydrography Service work together based on their legal task for the geodetic infrastructure.
  5. There is a strong need to share (applied) scientific knowledge and make it accessible.