Teaching Geodesy

Geodesy involves the measurement and monitoring of the size and shape of the Earth, including its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional, time varying space. It includes topics such as global positioning system (GPS), airborne or terrestrial lidar (TLS), gravity, Earth's mass distribution, plate motion, sea level, soil moisture, snow fall, vegetation change, subsidence, isostasy, fault strain, glacial movement, volcanic deformation, landslides, and more. Technological advances in geodesy are advancing the way we make measurements and observations, leading to a better understanding of Earth processes. Integrating geodesy into the undergraduate curriculum aids students' understanding of the process of science, including how measurements are made, and can teach valuable skills in using cutting-edge instrumentation, tools, and data-sets.

Resources for the classroom, lab and field

• Teaching activities involving geodesy, contributed by faculty members.
  
• Course descriptions contributed by faculty for courses involving geodesy, including course syllabi and goals.
• Internet resources, including visualizations and papers, related to geodesy.
  

Past Workshops

2010 Teaching Geodesy in the 21^st Century workshop - A follow-on to the 2007 On the Cutting Edge Geophysics workshop, this workshop focused on applications of geodesy to different subdisciplines of Earth science. During the workshop, participants worked together to develop interactive, engaging learning material for students, and helped identify aspects of geodesy to be included in introductory college level geology education. (learn more about the follow-on workshop series from On the Cutting Edge).

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