Colombia towards a new Vertical Reference System

Abstract

The General Assembly of the United Nations, in February 2015, issued the resolution 69/266, which promotes the Global Geodetic Reference Framework for Sustainable Development. The International Association of Geodesy (IAG) issued the resolution #1 on July of 2015 describing the characteristics for the definition and realization of an International Heading Reference System (IHRS), promoting the improvement and compatibility of Space Systems Navigation and the determination of the positioning, including Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), and universal access to them.

In this way Colombia, with the direction of the Geographic Institute Agustín Codazzi (IGAC) as guiding agency of geodesy in the country, the Internal Group of Work (GIT) in Geodesy, concentrates its current efforts in improving and adjusting leveling networks, gravity nets and positioning networks, aiming toimprove its vertical system. The tasks associated with the improvement consist in granting closure to the circuits that compose the different current measurement networks, apply an adjusment in block , connect the three different measurement networks, perform the calculation of geopotential numbers and associated physical heights.

The determination of an updated national geoid model with greater precision is necessary for the definition of a new national vertical reference system, which allows to define local parameters that enable the connection between vertical systems of neighbour countries and their implementation to IHRS and IHRF.