Regional Reference Frame Sub-Commission for Europe
Encyclopedia
Regional Reference Frame
Sub-Commission for Europe
(EUREF) is the sub-commission of the International Association of Geodesy
(IAG
), part of the Sub-Commission 1.3 (Regional Reference Frame
s), under IAG
Commission 1 (Reference Frame
s).
EUREF deals with the definition, realization and maintenance of the European Geodetic Reference Frame. The goal of EUREF is to establish a unified geodetic datum (ETRS89
) and a consistent network of reference stations (EPN) throughout Europe
. EUREF was founded in 1987 at the IUGG General Assembly held in Vancouver
.
and join their national networks of reference stations into a common European network. The mandate of EUREF is to foster and coordinate the activities of the member countries, which are financed and managed on the national level. EUREF realizes and maintains ETRS89
, the European geodetic datum, which is to become a single datum used for geodetic applications in all the member countries. A key instrument in maintaining ETRS89
is the EUREF Permanent Network (EPN), a network of reference stations which covers the European continent. EUREF is also working on the European Vertical Reference System (EVRS), which goal is to determine a unified dm-level accurate geoid
model and gravity-referenced height system throughout Europe
. EUREF coordinates its activities with EuroGeographics.
. The last symposia have been attended by more than 120 participants coming from about 30 member countries of Europe
. The results of EUREF are available in the symposia proceedings
, which contain the presented scientific papers as well as national reports, resolutions and documentation. Current ctivities are governed by the Technical Working Group (TWG), which is elected at the symposia and is meeting two/three times a year to manage current activities. The minutes of the TWG meetings are published annually together with the symposia proceedings.
European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 (ETRS89)
ETRS89
is a Cartesian ECEF
geodetic datum, in which Eurasian Plate
as a whole is static. Within Europe
, coordinates and map
s based on ETRS89
are stable because temporal variations due to the continental drift
are minimized. ETRS89
coincided with the global ITRS
datum in 1989, hence the name. ETRS89
and ITRS
diverge due to the continental drift
at a speed about 2.5 cm per year.
(NAP
). The geopotential numbers and normal heights of the nodal points are available for the participating countries under the name UELN 95/98 which is now given the name EVRF2000.
Reference frame
Reference frame may refer to:*Frame of reference, in physics*Reference frame , frames of a compressed video that are used to define future frames...
Sub-Commission for Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
(EUREF) is the sub-commission of the International Association of Geodesy
International Association of Geodesy
International Association of Geodesy is an international organization of geodesists, founded in 1940. There are 4 commissions to IAG:*Reference Frames*Gravity Field*Geodynamics and Earth Rotation*Positioning & Applications...
(IAG
International Association of Geodesy
International Association of Geodesy is an international organization of geodesists, founded in 1940. There are 4 commissions to IAG:*Reference Frames*Gravity Field*Geodynamics and Earth Rotation*Positioning & Applications...
), part of the Sub-Commission 1.3 (Regional Reference Frame
Reference frame
Reference frame may refer to:*Frame of reference, in physics*Reference frame , frames of a compressed video that are used to define future frames...
s), under IAG
International Association of Geodesy
International Association of Geodesy is an international organization of geodesists, founded in 1940. There are 4 commissions to IAG:*Reference Frames*Gravity Field*Geodynamics and Earth Rotation*Positioning & Applications...
Commission 1 (Reference Frame
Reference frame
Reference frame may refer to:*Frame of reference, in physics*Reference frame , frames of a compressed video that are used to define future frames...
s).
EUREF deals with the definition, realization and maintenance of the European Geodetic Reference Frame. The goal of EUREF is to establish a unified geodetic datum (ETRS89
European Terrestrial Reference System 1989
The European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 is a ECEF geodetic Cartesian reference frame, in which the Eurasian Plate as a whole is static...
) and a consistent network of reference stations (EPN) throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. EUREF was founded in 1987 at the IUGG General Assembly held in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
.
Mission
EUREF is driven by a voluntary agreement of scientific organisations and national geodetic/geographic agencies of the member countries, who are willing to replace their legacy national geodetic datums with a unified European Reference FrameReference frame
Reference frame may refer to:*Frame of reference, in physics*Reference frame , frames of a compressed video that are used to define future frames...
and join their national networks of reference stations into a common European network. The mandate of EUREF is to foster and coordinate the activities of the member countries, which are financed and managed on the national level. EUREF realizes and maintains ETRS89
European Terrestrial Reference System 1989
The European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 is a ECEF geodetic Cartesian reference frame, in which the Eurasian Plate as a whole is static...
, the European geodetic datum, which is to become a single datum used for geodetic applications in all the member countries. A key instrument in maintaining ETRS89
European Terrestrial Reference System 1989
The European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 is a ECEF geodetic Cartesian reference frame, in which the Eurasian Plate as a whole is static...
is the EUREF Permanent Network (EPN), a network of reference stations which covers the European continent. EUREF is also working on the European Vertical Reference System (EVRS), which goal is to determine a unified dm-level accurate geoid
Geoid
The geoid is that equipotential surface which would coincide exactly with the mean ocean surface of the Earth, if the oceans were in equilibrium, at rest , and extended through the continents . According to C.F...
model and gravity-referenced height system throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. EUREF coordinates its activities with EuroGeographics.
Structure
The activities of EUREF are discussed and decisions are taken at the annual symposiumSymposium
In ancient Greece, the symposium was a drinking party. Literary works that describe or take place at a symposium include two Socratic dialogues, Plato's Symposium and Xenophon's Symposium, as well as a number of Greek poems such as the elegies of Theognis of Megara...
. The last symposia have been attended by more than 120 participants coming from about 30 member countries of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The results of EUREF are available in the symposia proceedings
Proceedings
In academia, proceedings are the collection of academic papers that are published in the context of an academic conference. They are usually distributed as printed books either before the conference opens or after the conference has closed. Proceedings contain the contributions made by researchers...
, which contain the presented scientific papers as well as national reports, resolutions and documentation. Current ctivities are governed by the Technical Working Group (TWG), which is elected at the symposia and is meeting two/three times a year to manage current activities. The minutes of the TWG meetings are published annually together with the symposia proceedings.
European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 (ETRS89)European Terrestrial Reference System 1989The European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 is a ECEF geodetic Cartesian reference frame, in which the Eurasian Plate as a whole is static...
ETRS89European Terrestrial Reference System 1989
The European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 is a ECEF geodetic Cartesian reference frame, in which the Eurasian Plate as a whole is static...
is a Cartesian ECEF
ECEF
ECEF stands for Earth-Centered, Earth-Fixed, and is a Cartesian coordinate system, and is sometimes known as a "conventional terrestrial" system. It represents positions as an X, Y, and Z coordinate. The point is defined as the center of mass of the earth, hence the name Earth-Centered...
geodetic datum, in which Eurasian Plate
Eurasian Plate
The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia , with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the Chersky Range in East Siberia...
as a whole is static. Within Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, coordinates and map
Map
A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....
s based on ETRS89
European Terrestrial Reference System 1989
The European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 is a ECEF geodetic Cartesian reference frame, in which the Eurasian Plate as a whole is static...
are stable because temporal variations due to the continental drift
Continental drift
Continental drift is the movement of the Earth's continents relative to each other. The hypothesis that continents 'drift' was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596 and was fully developed by Alfred Wegener in 1912...
are minimized. ETRS89
European Terrestrial Reference System 1989
The European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 is a ECEF geodetic Cartesian reference frame, in which the Eurasian Plate as a whole is static...
coincided with the global ITRS
International Terrestrial Reference System
The International Terrestrial Reference System describes procedures for creating reference frames suitable for use with measurements on or near the Earth's surface. This is done in much the same way that a physical standard might be described as a set of procedures for creating a realization of...
datum in 1989, hence the name. ETRS89
European Terrestrial Reference System 1989
The European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 is a ECEF geodetic Cartesian reference frame, in which the Eurasian Plate as a whole is static...
and ITRS
International Terrestrial Reference System
The International Terrestrial Reference System describes procedures for creating reference frames suitable for use with measurements on or near the Earth's surface. This is done in much the same way that a physical standard might be described as a set of procedures for creating a realization of...
diverge due to the continental drift
Continental drift
Continental drift is the movement of the Earth's continents relative to each other. The hypothesis that continents 'drift' was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596 and was fully developed by Alfred Wegener in 1912...
at a speed about 2.5 cm per year.
European Vertical Reference System (EVRS)
EVRS is a zero-tidal gravity-related height reference system. The EVRS is realized by the geopotential numbers and normal heights of nodal points of the United European Levelling Network 95/98 (UELN 95/98) extended for Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania in relation to the Normaal Amsterdams PeilNormaal Amsterdams Peil
Normaal Amsterdams Peil or Amsterdam Ordnance Datum is a vertical datum in use in large parts of Western Europe. Originally created for use in the Netherlands, it was adopted by Prussia in 1879 under the name Normalnull, and in 1955 by other European countries.Mayor Johannes Hudde of Amsterdam in...
(NAP
Normaal Amsterdams Peil
Normaal Amsterdams Peil or Amsterdam Ordnance Datum is a vertical datum in use in large parts of Western Europe. Originally created for use in the Netherlands, it was adopted by Prussia in 1879 under the name Normalnull, and in 1955 by other European countries.Mayor Johannes Hudde of Amsterdam in...
). The geopotential numbers and normal heights of the nodal points are available for the participating countries under the name UELN 95/98 which is now given the name EVRF2000.
Projects
There are several projects under development at EUREF.- EUREF Permanent Network (EPN) is the main project of EUREF and a backbone in the maintenance of the European Terrestrial Reference System 1989European Terrestrial Reference System 1989The European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 is a ECEF geodetic Cartesian reference frame, in which the Eurasian Plate as a whole is static...
. - European Combined Geodetic Network (ECGN)European Combined Geodetic NetworkEuropean Combined Geodetic Network is a research project aimed at high accuracy geoid determination. The purpose of ECGN is to connect the height systems obtained via geometric positioning by GNSS with gravity-referenced heights with a cm-level accuracy...
is a research project aimed at high accuracy geoid determination. - EUVN Densification Action studies discrepancies between EUVN (European United Vertical Network) and the gravimetric geoid.
- Unified European Levelling Network (UELN) manages the development of the European levelling network.
- ETRS89 velocity field model studies residual local movements of the Eurasian PlateEurasian PlateThe Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia , with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the Chersky Range in East Siberia...
relative to ETRS89European Terrestrial Reference System 1989The European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 is a ECEF geodetic Cartesian reference frame, in which the Eurasian Plate as a whole is static...
.