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Geodetic Boundary Value Problems

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Encyclopedia of Geodesy

Definition

The geodetic boundary value problems (GBVPs) deal with special partial differential equations for the determination of the Earth’s figure and gravity field by using observables collected on the Earth’s surface and its vicinity.

Introduction

Stokes (1849) established a theory that uses gravity data to determine the Earth’s figure (the geoid ) and the gravity field above the Earth’s surface. Approximations and assumptions of constant density of the topographic masses are made; thus, the theory is not perfectly rigorous. To avoid the constant density assumption, Molodensky et al. (1962) proposed a method that started a new direction and set up the foundation for the contemporary GBVPs. Various types of GBVPs have been proposed (Backus, 1968; Krarup, 1969; Sanso, 1979; Bjerhammar and Svensson, 1983; Heck, 1983; Holota, 1983a; 1983b; Sacerdote and Sanso, 1983; Grafarend et al., 1985; Sacerdote and Sanso, 1985; Heck, 1988; Sanso, 1988; Witsch, 1988; Heck, 1991; Holota, 1997;...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Geodetic Survey, Silver Spring, MD, USA

    Yan Ming Wang

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  1. Yan Ming Wang
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Correspondence to Yan Ming Wang .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Geodetic Institute, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

    Erik Grafarend

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Wang, Y.M. (2016). Geodetic Boundary Value Problems. In: Grafarend, E. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geodesy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02370-0_42-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02370-0_42-1

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