Regional

Reference Frame In physics and astronomy, a frame of reference (or reference frame) is an abstract coordinate system, whose origin, orientation, and scale have been specified in physical space. It is based on a set of reference points, defined as geometric ...

Sub-Commission for

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

(EUREF) is the sub-commission of the

International Association of Geodesy The International Association of Geodesy (IAG) is a constituent association of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics focusing on the science which measures and describes the Figure of the Earth, Earth's shape, its rotation and gravity ...

(IAG), part of the Sub-Commission 1.3 (''Regional

s''), under IAG Commission 1 (''

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 The European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 (ETRS89) is an ECEF (Earth-Centered, Earth-Fixed) geodetic Cartesian reference frame, in which the Eurasian Plate as a whole is static. The coordinates and maps in Europe based on ETRS89 are not ...

) and a consistent network of reference stations ( EPN) throughout

. EUREF was founded in 1987 at the

IUGG The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG; , UGGI) is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to the scientific study of Earth and its space environment using geophysical and geodetic techniques. The IUGG is a me ...

General Assembly held in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

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 Frame 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

, the European

geodetic datum A geodetic datum or geodetic system (also: geodetic reference datum, geodetic reference system, or geodetic reference frame, or terrestrial reference frame) is a global datum reference or reference frame for unambiguously representing the positi ...

, which is to become a single datum used for geodetic applications in all the member countries. A key instrument in maintaining

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 The geoid ( ) is the shape that the ocean surface would take under the influence of the gravity of Earth, including gravitational attraction and Earth's rotation, if other influences such as winds and tides were absent. This surface is exte ...

model and gravity-referenced height system throughout

. EUREF coordinates its activities with EuroGeographics.

Structure

The activities of EUREF are discussed and decisions are taken at the annual

symposium In Ancient Greece, the symposium (, ''sympósion'', from συμπίνειν, ''sympínein'', 'to drink together') was the part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, o ...

. The last symposia have been attended by more than 120 participants coming from about 30 member countries of

. The results of EUREF are available in the symposia

proceedings In academia and librarianship, conference proceedings are a collection of academic papers published in the context of an academic conference or workshop. Conference proceedings typically contain the contributions made by researchers at the confer ...

, which contain the presented scientific papers as well as national reports, resolutions and documentation. Current activities are led by the Governing Board (GB), formerly Technical Working Group (TWG), which is elected at the symposia and is meeting three times a year to manage current activities. The minutes of the GB meetings are published online together with the symposia proceedings.

European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 (ETRS89)

is a Cartesian

ECEF The Earth-centered, Earth-fixed coordinate system (acronym ECEF), also known as the geocentric coordinate system, is a cartesian spatial reference system that represents locations in the vicinity of the Earth (including its surface, interior ...

, in which Eurasian Plate as a whole is static. Within

coordinate In geometry, a coordinate system is a system that uses one or more numbers, or coordinates, to uniquely determine and standardize the position of the points or other geometric elements on a manifold such as Euclidean space. The coordinates are ...

s and

map A map is a symbolic depiction of interrelationships, commonly spatial, between things within a space. A map may be annotated with text and graphics. Like any graphic, a map may be fixed to paper or other durable media, or may be displayed on ...

s based on

are stable because temporal variations due to the

continental drift Continental drift is a highly supported scientific theory, originating in the early 20th century, that Earth's continents move or drift relative to each other over geologic time. The theory of continental drift has since been validated and inc ...

are minimized.

coincided with the global ITRS datum in 1989, hence the name.

and ITRS diverge due to the

at a speed about 2.5 cm per year.

European Vertical Reference System (EVRS)

EVRS is a zero-tidal gravity-related height reference system. It is realized by the geopotential numbers and normal heights of the United European Leveling Network (UELN). EVRS heights are computed in certain intervals from the latest measurements of the UELN participating countries. So far, three realizations of EVRS have been published: EVRF2000, EVRF2007 and EVRF2019."EVRS"
Web page Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie. Accessed May 2020"

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 1989 The European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 (ETRS89) is an ECEF (Earth-Centered, Earth-Fixed) geodetic Cartesian reference frame, in which the Eurasian Plate as a whole is static. The coordinates and maps in Europe based on ETRS89 are not ...

. *'' European Combined Geodetic Network (ECGN)'' 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 Plate relative to

References

{{Reflist

External links

EUREF home page
International geodesy organizations Pan-European scientific organizations