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(LOD) is considered to be approximately consistent with that for the wobble of
polar motion. There are still many aspects and arguments about the aforemen-
tioned issues in geophysics. Modern geodesy has established and implemented
many programs around the world for monitoring the Earth's rotation and accu-
mulated a massive amount of observed data. Combined with more information
on geophysics, meteorology, and oceanography, it is possible to gain a new
understanding of the above-mentioned issues about the Earth's structure and
dynamics or even make breakthroughs by precise analysis.
3. A more refined gravity field will be provided through a series of satellite gravity
survey programs and a larger scale survey of land and marine gravity. This
geodetic finding will provide important data for analyzing and understanding the
Earth's structure and dynamics.
4. Applied space geodetic techniques (particularly satellite ocean altimetry) could
monitor changes in the sea surface with high accuracy and determine the sea
surface topography and its changes. Such information can be used to study
meteorological and oceanographic issues like global warming, atmospheric
and oceanic circulations, etc.
As a dynamic system, the Earth witnesses extremely complex dynamic pro-
cesses. With its unique theoretical system and survey methods, geodesy provides
quantitative and qualitative data concerning dynamic processes on all kinds of
spatial and temporal scales and reveals the essence of dynamic processes in
combination with other relevant disciplines of geosciences.
1.2.4 Applications of Geodesy in Resource Development,
Environmental Monitoring, and Protection
Resource exploitation, especially energy development, is a pressing issue for
today's rapid economic growth. Topographic maps of various scales and precise
gravity data are indispensable basic data for the exploration of both land and marine
resources. For instance, in the early 1980s, the Doppler satellite network established
in Tsaidam Basin, northwest China, and the gravity survey there provided precise
geodetic data for the exploration and development of the oil field. Geodesy is
especially important for the exploration and development of undersea continental
shelf oil-gas fields. The satellite radar altimetry data combined with gravity surveys
by offshore ships and leveling between coastal tide stations can provide the marine
geoid, sea surface topography, and a gravity anomaly map with high precision and
resolution in offshore areas. The application of radio-positioning on the sea surface,
particularly the GPS marine positioning together with the sonar subsea positioning,
can establish the three-dimensional (3-D) marine geodetic control network and
draw subsea large-scale topographic maps. The marine geodetic data coupled with
marine geophysical data such as marine geomagnetic surveys and drilling rock
specimen sampling enable estimation of the conformation and reserves of oil and
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