D Jack F. Radcliffe
UK SKAO Regional Cen e Science Communi y Di ec o
Lead - he GGOS-A ica p ojec
Laying he ounda ions o GGOS-A ica
Key con ibu o s:
A. De Wi (DSTI)
P. Baki (Technical Uni e si y o Kenya)
R. Bo ha (SARAO/Ha RAO)
JACK F. RADCLIFFE
01/10/2025
SOUTH AFRICAN GEODESY WORKING GROUP - WORKSHOP #1
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Geodesy & i s hidden impac
Geodesy s udies he Ea h’s dynamic size, shape, and g a i a ional ield, playing a c ucial ole in
many scien i ic disciplines wi h a - eaching socie al impac s.
Needed o any hing needing geospa ial in o ma ion including:
• Ag icul u e
•A ia ion And D ones
• Biodi e si y, Ecosys ems And Na u al Capi al
• Clima e Se ices
•Consume Solu ions, Tou ism And Heal h
• Ea h Sys em Science
•Eme gency Managemen And Humani a ian Aid
•Ene gy And Raw Ma e ials
•En i onmen al Moni o ing
• Fishe ies And Aquacul u e
• Fo es y
•In as uc u e
•Insu ance And Finance
•Ma i ime And Inland Wa e ways
•Rail
•Road And Au omo i e
• Space & As onomy
• Time Measu emen And Synch oniza ion
• U ban De elopmen And Cul u al He i age
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Ea h's geoid as seen by GOCE
JACK F. RADCLIFFE
01/10/2025
SOUTH AFRICAN GEODESY WORKING GROUP - WORKSHOP #1
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(Space) geodesy
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Pa ame e
VLBI
GNSS
DORIS
SLR
ICRF
Nu a ion
Pola mo ion
UT1
Leng h-o -day
Subdaily ERPs
ERP ocean ide ampli udes
Coo dina es/ eloci ies
(ITRF)
Geocen e
G a i a ional ield
Sa elli e o bi s
LEO sa elli e o bi s
Ionosphe e
T oposphe e
Time synch onisa ion
C edi : UN-GGCE
JACK F. RADCLIFFE
01/10/2025
SOUTH AFRICAN GEODESY WORKING GROUP - WORKSHOP #1
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Global Geode ic Obse ing Sys em (GGOS)
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A GGOS Affilia e is a na ional o
egional o ganisa ion ha
coo dina es geode ic ac i i ies in
ha coun y o egion.
Miles ones:
• 1998 - Bi h o GGOS
•2017 - Es ablish Affilia e GGOS-
Japan
•2021 - Es ablish Affilia e GGOS
D-A-CH
•2024 - Es ablish Affilia e GGOS
Ibe A lan ic
• 2025 - GGOS-A ica(?)
GGOS is he o ganisa ion esponsible o he ad ancemen o geodesy. GGOS Co e Si es
co-loca e he majo obse a ion echniques.
GGOS s uc u e
JACK F. RADCLIFFE
01/10/2025
SOUTH AFRICAN GEODESY WORKING GROUP - WORKSHOP #1
/ 15
Do we need a GGOS-A ica?
The global and egional si ua ion in A ica
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DORIS
SLR
GNSS
VLBI
The dis ibu ion o VLBI, SLR, GNSS, and DORIS s a ions in A ica ha con ibu ed o ITRF2020–u2023.
C edi : Al amimi e al., 2020 (le ) and h ps://i .ign. / ( igh ).
JACK F. RADCLIFFE
01/10/2025
SOUTH AFRICAN GEODESY WORKING GROUP - WORKSHOP #1
/ 15
Do we need a GGOS-A ica?
Dispa i y be ween global and egional in as uc u e & co e s a ions
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Dis ibu ion o known GNSS geode ic and e e ence
ecei e s in and a ound A ica. Some ecei e s/ne wo ks
a e p i a ely owned and da a is no eely a ailable. NOAA/
CORS and NIGNET we e shu down 2017 and 2020. C edi :
Baki e al., 2023 .
Known GNSS ecei e s in A ica GNSS ecei e s con ibu ing o GGOS
C edi : h ps://i .ign. /
C edi : GGOS
GGOS co e-si es (ha e all 4 echniques co-loca ed)
JACK F. RADCLIFFE
01/10/2025
SOUTH AFRICAN GEODESY WORKING GROUP - WORKSHOP #1
/ 15
The GGOS-A ica p ojec
• UK Resea ch and Inno a ion (UKRI) & Science and Technologies Facili ies Council (STFC) p o ided 2-y
seed unding (~270k GBP) h ough he A ica-UK physics pa ne ship collabo a i e esea ch p ojec s
und o s a building he ounda ions o GGOS-A ica.
• P ojec om 02/2025–02/2027 and is a collabo a ion o he ollowing ins i u es:
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JACK F. RADCLIFFE
01/10/2025
SOUTH AFRICAN GEODESY WORKING GROUP - WORKSHOP #1
/ 15
Ou ision and goals
Ou ision:
We in end o es ablish GGOS-A ica and suppo bo h new and exis ing
geode ic ini ia i es h oughou A ica, he eby p omo ing de elopmen s
a global, egional, and na ional le els.
*No a eplacemen o ongoing ini ia i es (e.g., AFREF) bu ins ead a
o um o ne wo k, uni y and c ea e common goals in ad ancing geode ic
ini ia i es ac oss he con inen .
Ou goals:
1. Assessing A ica's geode ic in as uc u e and esou ces.
2. De eloping s a egic in as uc u e plans using simula ions.
3. T aining ea ly-ca ee A ican geodesis s h ough wo kshops and
collabo a ions.
4. Es ablishing GGOS-A ica o help coo dina e geode ic ac i i ies.
5. Raising awa eness among policymake s abou he ole o geodesy in
sus ainable de elopmen .
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Mo e in o ma ion a he p ojec websi e: h ps://www.jb.man.ac.uk/GGOS-A ica/
JACK F. RADCLIFFE
01/10/2025
SOUTH AFRICAN GEODESY WORKING GROUP - WORKSHOP #1
/ 15
In as uc u e assessmen and planning
•In as uc u e and capaci y assessmen : De ailed in en o y o exis ing geode ic and compu a ional
in as uc u e and ope a ional s a us, and coun y-le el geospa ial e e ence sys ems and capaci y (su eys
and si e isi s, UN-GGCE Fac books, UN:GGIM-A ica/AFREF).
•Simula ion models and geospa ial analysis: Analyse cu en in as uc u e gaps and p edic he impac o
and bes loca ions o new geode ic in as uc u e.
•S a egic in as uc u e de elopmen plan: Ou lines ecommended loca ions o new in as uc u e and
iden i ies p io i ies o in as uc u e enhancemen and human capi al de elopmen .
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Remo e GeoS a ions
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JACK F. RADCLIFFE
01/10/2025
SOUTH AFRICAN GEODESY WORKING GROUP - WORKSHOP #1
/ 15
Summa y
• The A ica-GGOS p ojec has been ounded o accele a e he imp o emen o geode ic in as uc u e,
capabili ies and human capi al ac oss he A ican con inen .
• To achie e his, wo k has begun on he ollowing ini ia i es:
-An unde s anding o he cu en gaps in geode ic in as uc u e ac oss he con in en
-Founding o he official GGOS-A ica affilia e o ganisa ion.
- Close collabo a ion and inpu om all s akeholde s om go e nmen o academia, and ins i u ions ac oss
A ica, such as AFREF, RCMRD e c. and in e na ional ins i u ions such as he UN and GGOS/IAG/IUGG.
-Sus ained, s able unding o con inue GGOS-A ica.
I you wish o join he ini ia i e, eel ee o con ac jack. adcliffe [a ] manches e .ac.uk
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