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This book is a teaching textbook in geodesy for university
students and professional practitioners. Geodesy is the study and
practice of making precise measurements over long distances or
over large areas on or near the earth’s surface. The use of
electromagnetic energy and satellite systems has revolutionized
the provision of geodetic services and products. This rapid
technological change has pushed the need for a working knowledge
of geodesy from the halls of graduate school to the field and
office of the geomatics professional.
The responsible use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and
the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) concepts and
software to provide services and products desired by society demand
an understanding of fundamental geodetic theory. Geodetic theory
involves models such as the ellipsoid and geoid; reference frames
and coordinate transformations; datums and datum conversions;
gravity and potential; ellipsoid heights, geoid heights, and
orthometric heights; and the traditional reduction of observations.
This textbook contains over 100 drawings and figures to
graphically demonstrate basic concepts and relationships. Most
chapters contain several sample problems completely solved to
demonstrate the application of basic theory. The need for a second
edition became apparent with the National Readjustment of 2007 to
the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83 NSRS2007). New material
focuses on the impact of the National Readjustment of 2007 and the
Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Geodetic Accuracy
Standards. However, the focus of this textbook remains the same—that
of providing an introduction to the fundamental geodetic concepts
and principles. These concepts and principles are central to
applying GPS technologies to geodetic positioning.
Dr. James A. Elithorp earned a Ph.D. in Geomatics Engineering
(1999) and a Masters of Science in Surveying Engineering (1996)
from Purdue University; the Bachelors of Science in Surveying
(1994) from the Oregon Institute of Technology; the Masters Public
Administration (1980) from California State University,
Sacramento, and the Bachelor of Arts in Government (1970) from
Sacramento State College.
Dr. Elithorp taught geomatics courses at Purdue University for
one year before leaving to develop the four year degree Geomatics
program for the State of Alabama at Troy University. He served as
director of the Troy University program for six years before leaving
to accept the challenge of providing an online Land Surveying/Geomatics
program for the State of Nevada at Great Basin College in 2005. Dr.
Elithorp is currently serving as the program supervisor of this
successful online program provided by Great Basin College whose main
campus is located in Elko, Nevada.
Dennis D. Findorff graduated with a Master of Science in
Surveying Engineering (1994) from Purdue University. He earned a
Bachelor of Science in Construction Engineering Technology (1982)
from Montana State University. Mr. Findorff is a registered
professional land surveyor and professional engineer. He was a
professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and Geomatics at
Oregon Institute of Technology for nine years before resigning in
2003 to pursue pastoral ministry.
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