MID-TERM REPORT IAG SECTION 1

 "POSITIONING"

President's Report

Alan Dodson, President

The University of Nottingham,

 Institute of Engineering Surveying & Space Geodesy (IESSG,

 University park

 Nottingham NG7 2RD

 Great Britain

The structure of Section I in the period 1999-2003, established during the IUGG General Assembly in Birmingham, is similar to that for the previous four-year period, in that it consists of one Commission, one Special Commission and four Special Study Groups. These are:

Commission X "Global and Regional Geodetic Networks"
                             President: Claude Bocher

 Special Commission 4 "Application of Geodesy to Engineering"
                             President: Heribert Kahmen

 SSG 1.179 "Wide Area Modelling for Precise Satellite Positioning"
                             Chair: Shaowei Han

SSG 1.180 "GPS as an Atmospheric Remote Sensing Tool"
                             Chair: Hans van der Marel
                             Co-Chair: (ionosphere) Susan Skone

SSG 1.181 "Permanent Regional Arrays"
                             Chair: Robert Weber

SSG 1.182 "Multipath Mitigation"
                             Chair: Mike Stewart

The Commissions and SSGs have all been very productive during the period 1999-2001, and details of their activity are reported below. In particular, there has substantial activity in the topic of SSG 1.180, where GPS is proving to be of significant importance in a number of atmospheric research and operational applications.

Section I has also played a major part in several scientific meetings during the last two years, of particular note perhaps were the Mobile Mapping Technology workshop in Cairo, Egypt in January 2001, and the symposium on Vertical Reference Systems in Cartagena, Colombia in February 2001. In addition the Section will be playing a full role in the forthcoming IAG Scientific Assembly in Budapest, and has several meetings planned for the period between then and the next IUGG General Assembly in 2003.

It is increasingly apparent that there has been growing interaction and overlap between the Sections of the IAG (Section I and Section II in particular) as well as between the Sections and the IAG services. This is no more apparent than in Section I with for example the subject of global and regional networks being of primary importance to both Commission X and the IGS.

The IAG review of its structure, which will be presented for discussion and approval at the forthcoming IAG Scientific Assembly in Budapest, in September 2001, addresses the growing importance of the IAG Services, whilst also redefining the Section/Commission structure in an attempt to recognise the changing geodetic scene. In the proposed structure the present five sections and their associated commissions and special commissions, will be abolished, to be replaced by four topic-related Commissions (each with a sub-structure of SSGs etc.). Under this new structure it is proposed that a Commission on “Positioning and Applications” be established, largely taking on the role of the current Section I, but recognising the growing involvement of geodesists in the application of geodesy.

Previously this application role in the field of engineering has been addressed through SC4. Under the new proposal, applications in a much wider sense will in future have more substantial recognition in the work of the IAG. Furthermore the IAG Services, such as the IGS, will have a more explicit role in IAG activities, as together with the new Commissions, they will form the main components of the new IAG structure.

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