10.10.2016: The Laser Ranging is a cosmic-geodetic high-precision measuring method. Scientists use this method, which includes the involvement of satellites, for high-precision measurements of distances and heights on the Earth’s surface, investigations of the Earth’s gravity field, and for the calibration of microwave devices on satellites. Every second year, experts in the field of laser ranging meet for discussion and scientific exchange. This year, the meeting will for the first time be held on Potsdam Telegrafenberg, the cradle of scientific geodesy, from October 10 to 14. Organizer of the meeting is theGFZ section Global Geomonitoring and Gravity Field.

The science of geodesy deals with the measuring and imaging of the Earth’s surface. Besides the determination of its geometric figure, and there with its topography, this includes dealing with the Earth’s gravity field and its position in space. Since 1964 laser ranging via satellites is practiced.

The international workshop on laser ranging is a forum for the globally linked ground stations that communicate with the satellites. The GFZ also runs such a ground station on Telegrafenberg. Scientists from all over the world meet to exchange on new demands, developments, satellite missions, and results. This year’s workshop will mainly focus on the direct exchange between the station-teams. The topics to be discussed are, amongst others, the operation of the stations, options of quality control, and the prevention of systematic mistakes, as well as the common use of resources of other measuring techniques, like the global navigation via satellites, GNSS. (ak)

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