United Nations Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence

Welcome from Svalbard in Norway! I am nearly 79 degrees north of the equator in the breathtaking Arctic. I am visiting the Ny-Ålesund Geodetic Observatory which is one of the most important places in the world. As part of this visit, the Norwegian Mapping Authority joined the Multilaterial Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening the Global Geodesy Supply Chain. From this Observatory, scientists constantly track signals from satellites and deep space to measure the changes in Earths shape, tilt angle, the speed at which it spins, and its exact position in space. But why do we need to constantly measure this information? Many people don’t realise it but the Earth is so dynamic. It is constantly moving. For satellite services to be accurate and reliable, you always need to know where the satellite is and where the user is on Earth. Any error in the satellite position or the Earths position translates into errors in your location on the ground or it means a satellite service doesn’t work. From satellite navigation and aviation, to telecommunications, banking systems and electricity grids; modern economies and critical infrastructure depend on accurate and reliable information about the “place in space” of satellites and the Earth at all times. This can only be done thanks to Geodesy. It is the most amazing science you’ve never heard of and it is powering our planet!

🌍🇸🇬𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 Today at Geo Connect Asia 2025, SLA officially signed a Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMOU) with the United Nations Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence (UN-GGCE) and close to 40 participating member states and organisations—uniting efforts to strengthen global geodetic infrastructure that underpins critical positioning, navigation and timing services worldwide. This collaboration supports Singapore’s vision of being a safe, sustainable, and smart nation—enabling smarter climate monitoring, coastal protection strategies, and future-ready infrastructure development. While rising sea levels have dominated climate discourse, land motion—especially subsidence—remains an often-overlooked factor. Without long-term land motion data, we risk underestimating the real extent of climate vulnerabilities, particularly for a low-lying, highly urbanised island state like Singapore. In response, SLA is embarking on the first nationwide compilation of long-term land motion data. This foundational geospatial initiative will support key agencies like Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), PUB, Singapore's National Water Agency, and Centre for Climate Research Singapore in predictive and preventive climate resilience planning. It will also inform the monitoring of infrastructure stability, settlement of reclaimed land, and impacts from underground construction. The MMOU reflects Singapore’s bold commitment to international cooperation, and ensures that we have the tools, data and partnerships needed to build long-term urban and climate resilience. #StrongerTogether #GeoConnectAsia2025 #UNGGCE #LandMotion #SeaLevelRise #GeospatialForGood #Geodesy

Norway signed the Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding on strengthening the global geodesy supply chain this week in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. «Sincere thanks to Norway, very strong supporters of global geodesy for a long time. Without the support from Norway we really would have struggled to get the centre established. You’re a Founding Partner of the UN-GGCE and member of the Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding on strengthening the global geodesy supply chain. It really goes to show what a great role Norway is playing in global geodesy.» Nicholas Brown

[PARA FALANTES DE PORTUGUÊS] 🌍 O Centro de Excelência Global em Geodésia das Nações Unidas (UN-GGCE) convida os profissionais de topografia e geodésia que trabalham para, ou em colaboração com, agências governamentais dos Estados Membros na região das Américas a participarem no seu Workshop de Desenvolvimento de Capacidades em Geodésia, a realizar-se em Santiago, Chile. Este workshop ajudará os participantes a compreender como colaborar com colegas do governo na transição para um Sistema de Referência Geoespacial (GRS) moderno. 💶 A Nota Conceptual anexa fornece mais informações sobre os objetivos do workshop, a agenda provisória, o público-alvo e o processo de candidatura. 👀 Importa salientar que este workshop é destinado a profissionais de topografia e geodésia que trabalham para, ou em colaboração com, agências governamentais dos Estados Membros na região das Américas. 📌 CANDIDATE-SE AQUI: https://lnkd.in/eZsb6ejY

[PARA HABLANTES DE ESPAÑOL] 🌍 El Centro de Excelencia Geodésico Global de las Naciones Unidas (UN-GGCE) invita a los profesionales de topografía y geodesia que trabajan para, o en colaboración con, agencias gubernamentales de los Estados Miembros en la región de las Américas a participar en su Taller de Desarrollo de Capacidades en Geodesia, que se celebrará en Santiago, Chile. Este taller ayudará a los participantes a comprender cómo colaborar con colegas del gobierno para avanzar hacia un Sistema de Referencia Geoespacial (GRS) moderno. 💶 La Nota Conceptual adjunta proporciona más información sobre los objetivos del taller, la agenda provisional, el público destinatario y el proceso de solicitud. 👀 Cabe señalar que este taller está dirigido a profesionales de topografía y geodesia que trabajan para, o en colaboración con, agencias gubernamentales de los Estados Miembros en la región de las Américas. 📌 POSTÚLESE AQUÍ: https://lnkd.in/eZsb6ejY

[FOR ENGLISH SPEAKERS] 🌍 The United Nations Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence (UN-GGCE) invites surveying and geodetic professionals working for, or with, Member State government agencies in the Americas region to participate in its Geodesy Capacity Development Workshop, to be held in Santiago, Chile. This workshop will assist participants in understanding how to collaborate with government colleagues to transition to a modern Geospatial Reference System (GRS). 💶 The attached Concept Note provides more information on the workshop objectives, provisional agenda, target audience and the application process. 👀 Please note, this workshop is focused on surveying and geodetic professionals working for, or with, Member State government agencies in the Americas region. Workshop for the Arab States region is currently under development and will take place later in 2025. Further information on those workshops will be provided in the coming months. 📌 APPLY HERE: https://lnkd.in/eZsb6ejY

🌍 Great news! The Federal Office of Metrology and Surveying (BEV) of #Austria is now an official Partner of the United Nations Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence UN-GGCE: https://lnkd.in/dC--uWFf Nicholas Brown, Head of the UN-GGCE, acknowledged #BEV as Austria’s national geodetic authority and a valued partner in advancing global #geodesy. This partnership highlights BEV’s contributions to strengthening the global geodetic infrastructure — critical for applications like satellite navigation, disaster risk management, and autonomous driving. 🔍 Through its work with 🛰️ #GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) and 📡 #VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry), BEV plays a key role in maintaining highly accurate continental and global #ReferenceFrames 🌐. BEV also hosts the Coordination Office of #GGOS 🌏 — the Global Geodetic Observing System (IAG + GGOS Geodesy) — supporting #EarthObservation efforts to better understand our planet’s changes, including those driven by climate change. This recognition reinforces the importance of #geodesy in achieving sustainable development goals and ensuring global cooperation in Earth monitoring. 🔗 Read more in the official BEV announcement (in German):

The science of geodesy is critical for accurate measurements needed to track and understand sea level change, vertical land motion, ice mass loss, ocean currents and atmospheric circulation.    Geodetic satellites, such as GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment), track changes in Earth's gravity field and the redistribution of mass, which helps quantify ice mass change in polar regions. This data is critical for assessing the contribution of melting ice to sea level change.   “Geodetic data, including gravity measurements, are essential for understanding mass redistribution on Earth's surface due to ice melt, ocean dynamics, and land hydrology changes, all of which are influenced by climate change.” – IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), 2021.   For satellites serving the climate science community to operate accurately and reliably, their ‘place in space’ and Earth’s ‘place in space’ need to be observed and analysed constantly. This information is provided through the global geodesy supply chain. Read more in our new Policy Brief:   #Glaciers2025 #WorldGlaciersDay #OceanDecade #Geodesy #StrongerTogether  

Geoscience Australia (GA) is a valued Partner of the UN-GGCE. Through GA’s infrastructure operations, technical skills and experiences, and international engagement efforts, GA is a globally significant contributor to the global geodesy supply chain.      GA funds and operates a wide range of geodetic ground observatories, including the Yarragadee Geodetic Observatory and provides data to the IAG Services.      “The UN-GGCE Partner status enables us to highlight and support our leadership, advocacy and commitment to the global geodetic supply chain. We seek to maximize the benefits of Partner status by promoting and influencing public support for the UN-GGCE and its goals within Australia, our region and our partners, supporting global outcomes.”  Martine Woolf  Positioning Australia Branch Head, Space Division, Geoscience Australia     The UN-GGCE is grateful for the contributions being made by GA and we look forward to a long and prosperous partnership together. #StrongerTogether. 

We’re on to it! Working together to implement the 1st Joint Development Plan for Global Geodesy. 💙 🗺️ This includes discussion, consultation and consensus building on a range of topics including, developing global geodesy governance options and designing a robust global geodesy supply chain. 📡 🛰️   Last week the UN-GGCE hosted the Third Meeting of the United Nations Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence International Advisory Committee and the Fifth Plenary Meeting of United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) Subcommittee on Geodesy at the UN Campus in Bonn, Germany.   It was a wonderful week. Thanks to all!   #StrongerTogether