geodesy

American  

[jee-od-uh-see] / dʒiˈɒd ə si /

Also geodetics

noun

1. the branch of applied mathematics that deals with the measurement of the shape and area of large tracts of country, the exact position of geographical points, and the curvature, shape, and dimensions of the earth.

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geodesy British  

/ dʒɪˈɒdɪsɪ, ˌdʒiːəʊˈdɛtɪks /

noun

1. the branch of science concerned with determining the exact position of geographical points and the shape and size of the earth

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geodesy Scientific  

/ jē-ŏd′ĭ-sē /

1. The scientific study of the size and shape of the Earth, its field of gravity, and such varying phenomena as the motion of the magnetic poles and the tides.

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Other Word Forms

• geodesist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of geodesy

1560–70; < French géodésie < Greek geōdaisía, equivalent to geō- geo- + daí ( ein ) to divide + -sia, variant of -ia -ia (generalized from stems ending in t )

Explanation

Geodesy is the scientific discipline that applies mathematics to precisely measure the earth, including things like its shape, gravity, and orientation in space. People who work in the field of geodesy may be called geodesists or geodetic surveyors. They make sophisticated measurements that take into consideration factors like the curvature of the earth. Although geodesy and traditional land surveying (typically done to determine property boundaries or locations for buildings) overlap, geodetic surveyors use more sophisticated tools, such as GPS satellite systems and laser scanners, and focus on a more global, rather than local, perspective. They construct 3D models of the planet and how it changes.

Example Sentences

The researchers hail from all manner of different fields, including ecology, plant sciences, soil sciences, computer science, robotics, geodesy and agricultural economics.

From Science Daily • May 6, 2024

There are already facilities at the Technical University of Munich, and they’ll be merged into an interdisciplinary center for aviation, aerospace, and geodesy, which is the discipline for measuring Earth.

From The Verge • Oct. 20, 2018

“We should be pretty safe for now,” says Martin Vermeer, a professor of geodesy at Aalto University in Helsinki, when talking about the effects of sea level rise in his home country.

From Slate • Aug. 7, 2017

Many other coastal nations, including Japan and Chile, are working to monitor the movements of the ocean bottom, an effort known as sea-floor geodesy.

From Nature • Jun. 20, 2017

Geometrical geodesy, which was based on astronomical-geodetic methods, could give information only concerning the external form of the figure of the earth.

From Development of Gravity Pendulums in the 19th Century Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, Papers 34-44 On Science and Technology, Smithsonian Institution, 1966 by Lenzen, Victor Fritz