Bureau of Products and Standards
Implementation Plan 2020-2022
1

IMPLEMENTATION OVERVIEW

1.1

Introduction

The Bureau of Products and Standards (BPS) is a redefinition of the former Bureau for Standards andConventions, which was established as a GGOS component in 2009. This redefinition is a consequence ofa restructure of the GGOS organization in 2014. The work of the BPS is primarily focused on the IAG
Services and the products they derive on an operational basis for Earth monitoring making use of various
space geodetic observation techniques such as VLBI, SLR/LLR, GNSS, DORIS, altimetry, gravity satellite
missions, gravimetry, etc. The Bureau is built upon existing observing and processing systems of the IAG.
It supports the IAG in its goal to obtain products of highest possible accuracy, consistency, and temporaland spatial resolution, which should refer to a consistent reference frame, stable over decades in time. To
achieve this essential goal, it is a fundamental requirement that common standards and conventions areused by all IAG components for the analysis of the different geometric and gravimetric observations. The
BPS also concentrates on the integration of geometric and gravimetric parameters and the developmentof new products, required to address important geophysical questions and societal needs.
Charter of the Bureau of Products and Standards:
The main purpose of the BPS is to keep track of adopted geodetic standards and conventions across all
IAG components as a fundamental basis for the generation of consistent geometric and gravimetricproducts. The BPS shall act as contact and coordinating point regarding homogenization of standards and
IAG products. The IAG Services shall keep their full responsibility.
More specifically the charter of the BPS may be divided into two major topics/activities:(1) Standards: A key objective is the compilation of an inventory regarding standards and conventions
adopted by IAG and its components. This includes an assessment of the present status, theidentification of gaps and shortcomings concerning geodetic standards and the generation of the
IAG products, as well as the provision of recommendations. It is obvious that such an inventory
needs to be regularly updated since the IAG standards and products are continuously evolving.
The BPS shall also propose the adoption of new standards where necessary and propagate
standards and conventions to the wider scientific community and promote their use. In thiscontext, the BPS recommends the development of a new Geodetic Reference System GRS20XX
based on the best estimates of the major parameters related to a geocentric level ellipsoid.
(2) Products: The BPS shall take over a coordinating role regarding the homogenization of standards
and geodetic products. The present status regarding IAG Service products shall be evaluated,
including analysis and combination procedures, accuracy assessment with respect to GGOS
requirements, documentation and metadata information for IAG products. The Bureau shallinitiate steps to identify user needs and requirements for geodetic products and shall contributeto develop new and integrated products. The BPS shall also contribute to the development of the
GGOS Portal (as central access point for geodetic products), to ensure interoperability with IAG

1

Service data products and external portals (e.g., GEO, Copernicus, EOSDIS, EPOS, GFZ Data
Services).

1.2

Goals and Objectives

The role of the Bureau is to provide a forum for the IAG Services and other entities involved in standards
and products. In this context, the BPS shall act as contact and coordinating point to share and discuss plansand progress, and to develop and monitor multi-entity efforts to address GGOS requirements.
Primary objectives:(1) The BPS shall ensure that common standards and conventions are implemented and adopted by
all IAG components as a fundamental basis for the generation of consistent IAG products.
(2) The BPS shall act as contact and coordinating point for the IAG Services regarding homogenizationof standards and products, whereas the IAG Services shall keep their full responsibility and visibility
to manage their supporting data, products and information systems.
(3) The BPS shall take over a coordinating role and shall define procedures to ensure an overall
efficient use of resources. The primary focus of the BPS shall be on existing geodetic products andon the development of new products to meet the needs of scientific users and society in general.
The BPS also contributes to various objectives of the GGOS goals 1 and 2 of the strategic plan (see Table
1.2-1). These objectives are under the major responsibility of other GGOS entities. Thus, they are
considered as secondary objectives of the BPS (see implementation plans of the respective GGOS entities).
Table 1.2-1: Bureau of Products and Standards (BPS): Goals and Objectives Mapping (primary (✓✓) andsecondary (✓) goals). Please note that this table has been taken from the GGOS strategic plan 2014 and it
will be updated according to the next GGOS strategic plan. This holds in particular for the wording of
Objective 3.2, which needs to be reformulated.

2

1.3 BPS Authority, Governance Structure, Management Structure, andImplementation Approach
1.3.1 BPS Authority
The BPS shall take over the responsibility to define the policies and procedures for the
management and coordination activities as well as for the other tasks specified in its charter.
Besides the BPS staff, the Bureau also includes the chairs of the associated GGOS entities (thetwo Committees, see Section 1.3.3 and appendix D) as well as the nominated representativesof the IAG Services and other entities involved in standards and conventions (see Tab. 1.3.1)
to formulate the tasks and to design the necessary procedures in the field of standards andgeodetic products.
The Bureau is authorized to conduct its management and coordination tasks as given in this
implementation plan. This includes the specification of tasks and a time schedule for the BPS
activities. The BPS is also responsible to setup procedures to measure the progress of the workwith respect to the implementation plan and to undertake actions to resolve potential
deficiencies. The overall procedures for the operation of the Bureau activities including theinteractions with the contributing components shall be managed in an efficient way to avoid
an overload of bureaucracy.
Concerning the interactions between the different GGOS components, the authorities andresponsibilities should be defined in the overall GGOS framework and coordinated by the
GGOS Coordinating Office. The GGOS Coordinating Board acts as central oversight anddecision-making body. If actions and decisions have to be taken that involve entities outside
GGOS such as the IAG Services, their respective governing bodies and for general issues also
the IAG Executive Committee should be consulted prior to execution.

1.3.2 Governance Structure
The governance structure is specified in the GGOS Coordinating Office Implementation Plan.

1.3.3 Management Structure
ALLOCATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES
The basic configuration of resources (man-power) for the BPS is composed by the staff
members of Deutsches Geodätisches Forschungsinstitut, Technische Universität München(DGFI-TUM), and the Ingenieurinstitut für Astronomische und Physikalische Geodäsie (IAPG),
Technical University Munich, within the Forschungsgruppe Satellitengeodäsie (FGS). This
consortium includes in addition the Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie (BKG),Frankfurt am Main, and the Institut für Geodäsie und Geoinformation (IGG) of the University
Bonn.
The present BPS staff members are Detlef Angermann (director), Thomas Gruber (deputy
director), Michael Gerstl, Urs Hugentobler and Laura Sánchez (all from Technical University
Munich), as well as Robert Heinkelmann (GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences
Potsdam) and Peter Steigenberger (German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Oberpfaffenhofen).

3

In its current structure, the following GGOS entities are associated with the BPS:▪

Committee “Contributions to Earth System Modelling” (Chair: Maik Thomas)▪

Committee “Definition of Essential Geodetic Variables (EGVs)” (Chair: Richard Gross)▪

Working Group “Towards a consistent set of parameters for the definition of a new
GRS establishment of the GGRF” (Chair: Urs Marti)

According to its charter, the work of the BPS requires a close interaction with the IAG Analysis
and Combination Centers regarding the homogenization of standards and products. The IAG
Services and the other entities involved in standards and geodetic products nominate theirrepresentatives to the BPS and they are associated members of the BPS.
The Bureau comprises the staff members, the chairs of the associated GGOS components (thetwo committees and the working group as listed above) as well as the representatives of the
IAG Services and other entities involved in standards (see Tab. 1.3-1). Regarding thedevelopment of standards, there is a direct link with the IERS Conventions Center, the IAU,
BIPM, CODATA, ISO, and the UN-GGIM Subcommittee on Geodesy.
The GGOS Committees “Contributions to Earth System Modelling” and “Definition of Essential
Geodetic Variables (EGVs)” as well as the Working Group “Towards a consistent set ofparameters for the definition of a new GRS” have formulated a charter and work plan, which
are included in this implementation plan (see Appendix D).

OVERSEEING AND COORDINATING THE DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS
Together with the associated GGOS entities, the BPS will develop a task plan and define/setup
procedures to oversee and coordinate day-to-day operations. The staff members of the BPS
will arrange face-to-face meetings on a very flexible basis due to short distances. Other
communication tools are telecons, e-mails and phone calls to coordinate the day-to-day
operations, the monitoring of the schedule as well as a redefinition of tasks andresponsibilities in case of need.

REPORTING OF TECHNICAL AND/OR SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS AND CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT
The reporting of technical and/or scientific progress against schedule, as well as alignment of
this progress is part of the communication plan (see Table 1.3-2). The coordination andmanagement among all GGOS entities is given in the implementation plan of the GGOS
Coordinating Office.

4

Table 1.3-1: Resources of the BPS.
Position

Resource

Entity Contributing

BPS Director, Co-Director
BPS Team
Geometry, TRF, satellite
orbitsEarth rotation, CRF
Gravity, height systems

Detlef Angermann, Thomas Gruber

DGFI, IAPG (both TUM)
TUM
+ GFZ, DLR/GSOC

Detlef Angermann, Urs Hugentobler,
Peter Steigenberger
Michael Gerstl, Robert Heinkelmann
Thomas Gruber, Laura Sánchez

Committee “Contributions to
Earth System Modeling“

Chair: Maik Thomas

GFZ (Germany)

Committee “Definition of
Essential Geodetic Variables(EGVs)“

Chair: Richard Gross

NASA/JPL (USA)JWG “Towards a consistent
set of parameters for thedefinition of a new GRS”

Chair: Urs Marti

Swisstopo (Switzerland)

IERS Conventions Centre

Director: Nick Stamatakos

USNO (USA)IERS Analysis Coordinator

Tom Herring (former IERS AC)

MIT (USA)

IGS RepresentativeUrs Hugentobler (BPS staff member)

FESG/TUM (Germany)ILRS Analysis Coordinator

Erricos Pavlis

UMBC/NASA (USA)IVS Analysis CoordinatorJohn Gipson

GSFC/NASA (USA)IDS Representatives

Frank Lemoine, John Ries, Jean-Michel
Lemoine, Hugues CapdevilleGSFC, CSR (USA), CNES
(France)

IGFS Chair

Riccardo Barzaghi

Politecnico, Milano (Italy)

BGI Chair

Sylvain Bonvalot

IRD (France)

ISG Chair

Mirko Reguzzoni

Politecnico, Milano (Italy)

ICGEM Chair

Franz Barthelmes

GFZ (Germany)

IDEMS Chair

Kevin M. Kelly

ESRI (USA)IGETS Chair

Hartmut Wziontek

BKG (Germany)

Gravity community
representative

Jürgen Kusche

Univ. Bonn (Germany)

IAG Representative to ISO/TC
211

Detlef Angermann (BPS staff)

DGFI-TUM (Germany)

IAU Commission A3

James L. Hilton

USNO (USA)

Chair of Control Body for ISO
Geodetic Registry

Chair: Mike Craymer
Vice-Chair: Larry Hothem

NRCan (Canada)USA

5

Table 1.3-2: BPS Communications Plan. The table identifies the communications
requirements of the BPS

Communic
ation Type

PurposeMedium FrequencyAudience

Owner

Deliverables

GGOS
Consortium
meeting

Interactions
GGOS/IAG

Face-toface orOnlineAnnually

Consortium
members,
invitees

GGOS
President

Presentations, report of
GGOS entities, minutes

GGOS CBmeeting

Review status,
strategic
issuesFace-toface orOnlineTwice peryear (EGU,
GGOS
Days)

CB
members,
invitees

GGOS
President

Reports of GGOS entities,
minutes

GGOS EC
telecons

Discussion of
day-to-day
business

Telecons

Monthly

GGOS EC
members

GGOS
President

Minutes, action items

BPS staff
membermeetings(internal)

Managementof BPS day-today business

Face-toFace in
Munichor Online

Every 2-3
months

BPS staff
members

BPS
Director

Minutes, action items

Reports of
BPS andassociatedentities

Monitoring
progressn/aTwice peryear

BureauBoard
members
and invitees

BPS
Director

Progress reports, minutes,
action items

BPS
meetings

Manage BPS
business

Face-toface or
telecons

Varying

Entitymembers
and invitees

BPS
Director

Reports, minutes, action
items

1.3.4 Implementation Approach
The Bureau comprises the BPS staff members, the chairs of the associated GGOS entities andthe representatives of the IAG Services as well as other entities involved in standards. Thisconfiguration of the BPS ensures a close interaction among GGOS entities and IAG Services. A
communication plan (see Tab. 1.3-2) has been defined and setup for a regular exchange of
information. Regarding the development of standards, there is a direct link with the IERS
Conventions Centre, the IAU, BIPM, CODATA, ISO, and the UN-GGIM Subcommittee on
Geodesy. A link to the newly established UN-GGIM Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence(GGCE) will be established. The implementation approach of the BPS also considers user needs
and requirements for geodetic products as well as the development of new products, which
will require novel combination approaches. For these activities the BPS will bring together the
existing resources of IAG Services, and should also involve other GGOS entities (e.g., the Focus
Areas and the Science Panel). Concerning the requirements regarding infrastructure (e.g.,space geodetic networks) there will be a close cooperation with the GGOS Bureau of Networks
and Observations (BNO).
At present, we do not see any dependency on outside resources or approvals and also makeor-buy decisions and trade studies are not relevant for the BPS.

6

1.4

Stakeholder Definition

The stakeholder definition and advocacy strategies are overall tasks of GGOS (seeimplementation plans of the GGOS Coordinating Board and the GGOS Coordinating Office).

Table 1.4-1: BPS Stakeholders and Advocacy Strategies
STAKEHOLDERS

ADVOCACY STRATEGIESINTERNALSTAKEHOLDERS
GGOS Coordinating Board
GGOS Coordinating Office
GGOS Science Panel
IAG Services

The advocacy strategies are specified in the implementation
plan of the GGOS Coordinating Office (see also thecommunication plan given in Table 1.3-2).

EXTERNALSTAKEHOLDERSCEOSGEOSpace Agencies
United Nations
Universities
National Mapping andGeodetic Agencies
IAU
ISO
CODATA
UN-GGIM SCoG
GGCE

The advocacy strategies are specified in the implementation
plan of the GGOS Coordinating Office.

7

2

GGOS Bureau of Products and Standards Baselines

PROJECT BASELINES CONSIST OF A SET OF REQUIREMENTS:
The work of the BPS fundamentally depends on a long-term stable and adequate geodetic
infrastructure, comprising, e.g., global terrestrial networks of observatories, Earth observing
satellites, data infrastructure, analysis and combination centers of the IAG Services, as well as
the GGOS Portal as central access point to IAG products. Regarding the infrastructural issues
there is a close interaction with the GGOS Bureau of Networks and Observations.

TECHNICAL OR SCIENTIFIC CONTENT THAT FORMS THE BPS:
The major contribution of the BPS is to support IAG in its goal to provide highly accurate andconsistent geodetic products based on unified standards and conventions. The Bureau should
address the user needs and requirements for geodetic products and should contribute todevelop new products from an integration of geometric and gravimetric observations.

EXECUTION AND REPORTING:
The BPS will regularly measure the progress of the work with respect to the activities and theschedule defined in the implementation plan and will report to the other GGOS entities andto IAG as specified in the GGOS communications plan.

2.1

Requirements Baseline

The requirements addressed in this baseline are those requirements of a technical nature thatwill require a technical verification and validation. They represent “the high level activities
that GGOS together with the IAG must ensure” (GGOS 2020, p. 224). Other activities pursued
in support of meeting objectives and their overarching goals are presented as part of Section
2.2 (Schedule Baseline). Table 2.1-1 shows only those requirements whose oversight has been
allocated to the BPS—the totality of functional and operational requirements can be found in
the Coordinating Board implementation plan. It also shows the allocation of thoserequirements to an IAG service or other entity. These requirements may be rewritten at alater stage to ensure they meet requirement definition standards.
There are the following general requirements:▪

The BPS activities strongly depend on a stable geodetic infrastructure, including global
terrestrial networks of observatories (Bureau of Networks and Observations), data
infrastructure, analyses and combination centers providing IAG Service products.

▪

The Science Panel should support the BPS to assess the user requirements regarding
existing products and the need for new products.

8

Table 2.1-1: BPS Requirement Allocation (Source: GGOS2020 Book, Chapter 7.7).

REQUIREMENTREQUIREMENT AND INTERPRETATIONREFERENCE

GGOS

IAG

ALLOCATIONSERVICE (OROTHER
ENTITY)

ALLOCATION
Functional Specifications for GGOS

Determination, maintenance, and access to the global terrestrial reference frame

ITRF-001DER

Provision of the reference frame through a dynamic Earthreference model — The terrestrial reference frame will be
provided by an operational dynamical Earth reference model
which will assimilate observations of variations in the Earth’s
geometry (in particular, for a reference polyhedron), theshape of the ice and ocean surfaces, the gravity field, andEarth rotation. Moreover, the reference model will also
assimilate auxiliary observations, in particular meteorologicalobservations. This dynamic Earth reference model will allow
the prediction of reference trajectories for any point on Earthwith temporal resolution of 1 hour and a sub-kilometer spatial
resolution. The stability of the model in terms ofgeokinematics will be that of the reference polyhedron, i.e.,
sub-millimeter per year.

BPS

IERS

ITRF-002ORI

Tie between RFO and CM — The deviation between thereference frame origin of the terrestrial reference frame andthe center of mass of the Earth system will be smaller than
1 mm at any time.

BPS

IERS

ITRF-003PRE

Precision of reference coordinates — The precision of
coordinates of the points of the reference polyhedron of the
ITRF will be better than 1 mm in the horizontal and 3 mm in
the vertical component at any time.

BPS

IERS

ITRF-004SCA

Scale of the reference frame — The scale of the reference
frame will be accurate to 0.1 ppb and stable to 0.01 ppb/yr.

BPS

IERS

BPS

IERS

BPS

ISG

Earth rotation
ERP-001EOP

Earth Orientation Parameters — Earth Orientation Parameters
will be determined with an accuracy of 1 mm, a temporal
resolution of 1 hour, and a latency of 1 week; near real-time
determinations of the Earth Orientation Parameters will be
determined with an accuracy of 3 mm.
Earth’s gravity field

GRAV-001GEOID

Accuracy of the static geoid — The static geoid will be
provided with an accuracy of 1 mm, a long-term stability of
0.1 mm/yr and a spatial resolution of 10 km.

9GRAV-002VAR

Accuracy of the time variable gravity field — The time variablegeoid will be provided with an accuracy of 1 mm, a long-term
stability of 0.1 mm/yr, a spatial resolution of 50 km, a
temporal resolution of 10 days, and a latency of 0.5 months.

BPS

IGFS

Earth system monitoring: mass transport and mass redistribution

ESM-001SSH

Sea surface height variations — The sea surface heightvariations will be determined globally with an instantaneous
local accuracy of 10 mm, a temporal resolution of 10 days, aspatial resolution of 10 km, a latency of 5 days, and a local
secular accuracy of 0.5 mm/yr.

BPS

PSMSL

ESM-001GSL

Global sea surface changes — The globally average sea
surface height changes will be determined with an
instantaneous accuracy of 1 mm, a temporal resolution of 10days, a latency of 10 days, and a secular accuracy of
0.1 mm/yr.

BPS

PSMSL

ESM-002CRY

Cryosphere mass balance — The variations in the surface
elevation for the large ice sheets will be determined with an
instantaneous local accuracy of 20 mm, a temporal resolutionof 10 days, a spatial resolution of 10 km, a latency of 20 days,
and a local secular accuracy of 0.2 mm/yr.

BPS

PSMSL

ESM-003WCY

Mass transport in the global water cycle — The masstransport in atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and terrestrialhydrosphere will be determined to an accuracy of anequivalent of 10 mm water cover with a temporal resolutionof 10 days, a spatial resolution of 400 km, and a latency of 0.5
months.

BPS

PSMSL

Determination, maintenance, and access to the celestial reference frame
ICRF-001DET

Determination of the Celestial Reference Frame — The ICRF
will be defined by the coordinates of a number ofextragalactic radio sources distributed throughout the sky.
The coordinates of the ICRF sources will be accurate to 25
microarcseconds and stable to 3 microarcseconds/yr.

BPS

IERS

GGOS-Ops-5

Operate a dynamic Earth reference model assimilating
comprehensive observations of variations in Earth’s geometry,gravity field and rotation.

BPS

TBD

GGOS-Ops-6

Document the procedures, standards, and conventions used
to generate the products.

BPS

None

GGOS-Ops-8

Ensure continuity, accuracy, and consistency of observations
and products as the networks and data reduction procedures
evolve.

BPS

GGCE,
IAG
Services

Operational Specifications for GGOS

10

2.2

Schedule Baseline

The scheduled activities of the Bureau of Products and Standards are shown in Fig. 2.2-1. The
activities are divided into three main categories: Coordination activities, specific tasks of the
BPS and outreach activities.
2020
1
Strategic Planning Phases
Development Implementation Plan
New Implementation Plan

2 3 4 5 6
for 2020-2022

7

2021
8

9 10 11 12

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

2022
8

9 10 11 12

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9 10 11 12

for 2023-2024
X

Communication & Coordination Activities
EC Monthly Telecon
CB Semiannual Meetings (EGU, GGOS Days)
Consortium Annual Meeting
BPS Meetings (external)
BPS Meetings (internal)

x

x

x

x

x

x
x
x
x

x

x

x

x

Specific Tasks - Products and Standards
2nd version BPS inventory
Revision BPS inventory
Publication BPS inventory in Geodesist's HB
Resolving deficiencies (with IAG Services)
Updating and extending BPS inventoryClassification and description of products
Gap analysis regarding productsInteraction with IAG Services
Interaction with IAU, UN-GGIM, GGCE, ISO, …
Rewriting IERS Conventions (Chapter 1)
Submission revised Chapter 1 (to IERS CC)

x

x
x
x
x
x

X

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x
x
x
x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x
x
x
x
x

x

x

x

x

x

x
x

x

x

x
x

x

x

x

x
x
x
x
x

x

x

x

x

Outreach Activities
BPS input for new GGOS website
Geodetic products for new GGOS website
BPS input for GGOS outreach material
Preparation UAW and GGOS Days 2021
Co-convener of GGOS sesssions
Publications and presentations

Fig. 2.2-1: Overview and schedule of BPS activities.

2.2.1 Coordination of BPS activities
Beside the coordination of the Bureau activities in the field of standards and geodetic
products, the BPS also contributes to some general GGOS coordination activities (performed
under the responsibility of the GGOS Coordination Office, see CO Implementation Plan). The
coordination activities comprise the organization of internal Bureau meetings of the BPS staff
members and (external) BPS meetings with the Board members and invitees. Furthermore,
the work of the BPS requires a close interaction with the IAG Analysis and Combination
Centers regarding the homogenization of geodetic products as well as with other entities
involved in standards and conventions. Tab. 1.3-1 shows the associated members of the BPS,
representing the IAG Services, IAU and other entities. The link to the IERS Conventions Centeris strengthened by the nomination of the BPS director as Chapter Expert for Chapter 1 of the
IERS Conventions “General definitions and numerical standards”. Furthermore, thenomination of the BPS director as the IAG representative to ISO/TC 211 and to the UN-GGIM
GGRF Working Group “Data Sharing and Development of Geodetic Standards” ensures a link
to ISO and UN-GGIM. Fig. 2.2-1 displays the schedule of the coordination activities.

2.2.2 Specific tasks of the BPS

11

The tasks of the BPS are to▪

act as contact and coordinating point for homogenization of IAG standards andproducts;▪

keep track of adopted geodetic standards and conventions across all IAG components,
and initiate steps to close gaps and deficiencies;▪

interact with external stakeholders in the field of standards and conventions (e.g.,
IAU, ISO, BIPM, CODATA, UN-GGIM, GGCE, …);▪

act as IAG representative to ISO/TC 211 and to the UN-GGIM GGRF Working Group“Data Sharing and Development of Geodetic Standards”;▪

contribute to the UN GGIM Subcommittee on Geodesy (SCoG) and its newly
established Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence (GGCE), mainly to the Working
Group "Data Sharing and Development of Geodetic Standards";▪

regularly update the inventory on standards and conventions used for the generationof IAG products to incorporate the latest developments in these fields;▪

contribute to the re-writing/revising of the IERS Conventions, mainly in the function
as Chapter Expert for Chapter 1 “General definitions and numerical standards“;▪

focus on the integration of geometric and gravimetric observations, and to support
the development of integrated products (e.g., GGRF, IHRF, atmosphere products);▪

contribute to the Committee on the Definition of Essential Geodetic Variables (EGV),
such EGVs could then serve as a basis for a gap analysis to identify requirements
concerning observational properties and networks, accuracy, spatial and temporal
resolution and latency;▪

contribute to the newly established Working Group "Towards a consistent set ofparameters for the definition of a new GRS";▪

contribute to the GGOS DOI Working Group, focusing on Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
for geodetic data and products to improve discoverability of data sets and to ensurethat data providers receive proper credit for their published data.

Please note that most of these specific BPS tasks are long-term activities. Some of them are
divided into sub-tasks (see Fig. 2.2-1).
The activities of the two associated GGOS Committees “Contributions to Earth System
Modeling” and “Definition of Essential Geodetic Variables”, as well of the GGOS Working
Group “Towards a consistent set of parameters for the definition of a new GRS” are provided
in Appendix D.

12

2.2.3 Outreach activities
The BPS supports the outreach activities of the GGOS Coordinating Office (see CO
Implementation Plan). This holds in particular for the design of the BPS contents and the
products part as input for the new GGOS website as well as for contributions to other GGOS
outreach material such as the GGOS brochure. Furthermore, the work of the BPS is presented
at scientific conferences (e.g., IAG Symposia, EGU, AGU) and workshops (e.g. UAW, GGOS
Days), and published in scientific journals. The BPS also supports the organization of GGOS
sessions at scientific conferences.

2.3

Resources

The work force requirement for the activities of the BPS is estimated to be in the order ofabout one full-time position per calendar year, composed by the seven BPS staff members of
DGFI-TUM, IAPG, FESG, GFZ and GSOC/DLR (see sect. 1.3.3) and by other representatives of
the BPS (e.g., Committee and WG chairs, associated members).
Infrastructure requirements, including computer servers and other supporting technologies(e.g., for tele- or videoconferences) are be provided by the host institutions.

3

CHANGE LOG

Table 3-1: GGOS Bureau of Products and Standards Implementation Plan Change Log
VERSION

RELEASE DATESYNOPSIS OF RELEASE

X.Y
1.0
2.0

[YYMMDD]
1408011503263.0
4.0150528161019

5.0
6.0
7.0

170315200918210118[Synopsis goes here]
First draft version
Second draft version for review of GGOS CB in Vienna(April 2015)
Revised version (May 2015)
Implementation Plan 2017-2018, first draft version,
discussed during GGOS days 2016
Implementation Plan 2017-2018, revised version
Implementation Plan 2020-2022, first draft
Implementation Plan 2020-2022, revised version

13

4

APPENDICES

Appendix A Abbreviation
BIPM

Bureau International de Poids et Mesures

BKG

Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie, Frankfurt/Main

BNO

Bureau of Networks and Observations

BPS

Bureau of Products and Standards

CB

Coordinating Board

CEOS

Committee on Earth Observations Satellites

CO

Coordinating Office

CODATA

Committee on Data for Science and Technology

CNES

Center National d’Etudes Spatiales

CRF

Celestial Reference Frame

DGFI-TUM

Deutsches Geodätisches Forschungsinstitut der Technischen Universität
München

DLR

Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt

DOI

Digital Object Identifier

DORIS

Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite

EC

Executive Committee

EGV

Essential Geodetic Variables

EOP

Earth Orientation Parameter

FESG

Forschungseinrichtung Satellitengeodäsie, Technische Universität München

FGS

Forschungsgruppe Satellitengeodäsie

GEO

Group on Earth Observation

GEOSS

Global Earth Observation System of Systems

GFZ

Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, German Research Centre for Geosciences

GGCE

Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence

GIAC

GGOS Interagency Committee

GGIM

Global Spatial Information Management

GGOS

Global Geodetic Observing System

GGRF

Global Geodetic Reference Frame

GNSS

Global Navigation Satellite System

IAG

International Association of Geodesy

IAPG

Institut für Astronomische und Physikalische Geodäsie, TU München

IAU

International Astronomical Union

ICRFInternational Celestial Reference FrameIDSInternational DORIS Service

IERS

International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service

IGFS

International Gravity Field Service

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IGG

Institut für Geodäsie und Geoinformation, Universität Bonn

IGSInternational GNSS Service

ILRS

International Laser Ranging Service

ISO

International Organization for Standardization

ITRF

International Terrestrial Reference Frame

IVSInternational VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry

LLR

Lunar Laser Ranging

SCoG

Subcommittee on Geodesy (UN-GGIM)

SLRSatellite Laser Ranging

TRF

Terrestrial Reference FrameUN

United Nations

UN-GGIMUN Committee on Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management

VLBI

Very Long Baseline Interferometry

WG

Working GroupAppendix B Glossary
Table B-1: Terms and Definitions
TERM[Term goes here]

DEFINITION[Definition goes here]

Appendix C References
ANGERMANN D., GRUBER T., GERSTL M., HEINKELMANN R., HUGENTOBLER, U., SÁNCHEZ L.,
STEIGENBERGER P.: GGOS BUREAU OF PRODUCTS AND STANDARDS: INVENTORY OF STANDARDS ANDCONVENTIONS USED FOR THE GENERATION OF IAG PRODUCTS. THE IAG GEODESIST’S HANDBOOK 2016, J
GEOD 90(10): 1095-1156, DOI:10.1007/S00190-016-0948-Z, 2016.
PLAG, H.P AND M. PEARLMAN (EDITORS): GLOBAL GEODETIC OBSERVING SYSTEM – MEETINGREQUIREMENTS OF A GLOBAL GEODETIC SOCIETY ON A CHANGING PLANET IN 2020, SPRINGER 2009, DOI:
10.1007/S10291-007-0067-7.

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Appendix D GGOS Entities associated with the BPS
D.1. GGOS Committee "Contributions to Earth System Modelling"(Maik Thomas)

PurposeThe GGOS Committee on “Earth System Modeling” tends to promote the development ofphysically consistent modular Earth system modeling tools that are simultaneously applicable
to all geodetic parameter types (i.e., Earth rotation, gravity field and surface geometry) andobservation techniques. Hereby, the committee contributes to:•the interpretation of geodetic monitoring data and, thus, to a deeper understandingof dynamical and complex interacting processes in the Earth system responsible forthe observed variations;•the establishment of a link between the geodetic products delivered by GGOS andnumerical process models;•a consistent combination and integration of observed geodetic parameters derived
from various monitoring systems and techniques;•

the utilization of geodetic products for the interdisciplinary scientific community.

Objectives
The overall long-term goal is the development of a physically consistent modular numerical
Earth system model for homogeneous processing, interpretation and prediction of geodetic
parameters with interfaces allowing the introduction of constraints provided by geodetic timeseries of global surface processes, rotation parameters and gravity variations. This ultimate
goal implicates the following objectives:•

development of Earth system model components considering interactions andrelationships between surface deformation, Earth rotation and gravity field variations
as well as interactions and physical fluxes between relevant compartments of the
Earth system;•

promotion of homogeneous processing of geodetic monitoring data (de-aliasing,
reduction) by process modeling to improve analyses of geodetic parameter sets;•

contributions to the interpretation of geodetic parameters derived from different
observation techniques by developing strategies to separate underlying physicalprocesses;•

contributions to the integration of geodetic observations based on different
techniques in order to promote validation and consistency tests of various geodetic
products.

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Activities
Major current activities focus on:•

the implementation of generalized modules for the realistic consideration ofinteractions of near-surface fluids with the geosphere arising, e.g., from surfaceloading and self-attraction;•

implementation of interfaces to geodetic monitoring data based on Kalman andparticle filter approaches in order to constrain and improve stand-alone model
approaches and to prove consistency of various geodetic monitoring products;•

feasibility studies for the provision of error and uncertainty estimates of model
predictions of geodetic parameters (Earth rotation, gravity field, surface deformation)
due to imperfect model physics, initialization, and external forcing.

Important in-progress activities and future efforts focus on:•

evaluation of opportunities to constrain dynamically coupled model systems withgeodetic data products by applying Kalman filter and inversion techniques;•application of forward modeling and inversion methods in order to improve modelbased predictions of geodetic quantities and to invert geodetic observations for theunderlying causative processes.

17D.2. GGOS Committee "Definition of Essential Geodetic Variables"(Richard Gross)
Objectives
The GGOS BPS Committee on Essential Geodetic Variables was established in 2018 in order todefine a list of Essential Geodetic Variables and to assign requirements to them. Essential
Geodetic Variables (EGVs) are observed variables that are crucial (essential) to characterizing
the geodetic properties of the Earth and that are key to sustainable geodetic observations.
Examples of EGVs might be the positions of reference objects (ground stations, radio sources),
Earth orientation parameters, ground- and space-based gravity measurements, etc. Once alist of EGVs has been determined, requirements can be assigned to them. Examples ofrequirements might be accuracy, spatial and temporal resolution, latency, etc. These
requirements on the EGVs can then be used to assign requirements to EGV-dependent
products like the terrestrial and celestial reference frames. The EGV requirements can also be
used to derive requirements on the observing systems that are used to observe the EGVs. And
the list of EGVs can serve as the basis for a gap analysis to identify observations needed to
fully characterize the geodetic properties of the Earth. During GGOS Days 2017 it was agreed
that a Committee within the GGOS Bureau of Products and Standards should be establishedin order to define the list of Essential Geodetic Variables and to assign requirements to them.
This Committee was subsequently established in 2018 and consists of representatives of the
IAG Services, Commissions, Inter-Commission Committees, and GGOS Focus Areas.
Tasks
The tasks of the Committee on Essential Geodetic Variables are to:▪

Develop criteria for choosing from the set of all geodetic variables those that areconsidered essential▪

Develop a scheme for classifying EGVs▪

Within each class, define a list of EGVs▪

Assign requirements to each EGV▪

Document each EGV including its requirements, techniques by which it is observed,
and point-of-contact for further information about the EGV▪

Perform a gap analysis to identify potential new EGVs▪

Define a list of geodetic products that depend on each EGV▪

Assign requirements to the EGV-dependent products▪

Hold workshops to engage the geodetic community in the process of defining EGVs,
determining their dependent products, and assigning requirements to them18Members

19D.3. Working Group "Towards a consistent set of parameters for the definition of a new
GRS"(Urs Marti)
Terms of Reference
The Geodetic Reference System 1980 GRS80 is still the conventional system for mostapplications in Geodesy and other Earth sciences. It was defined through the fourparameters a (semi-major axis), J2 (Dynamical Form Factor), GM (geocentric Gravitational
Constant) and ω (Angular Rotation Velocity). It represents the scientific status of the 1970ies
and in its concept, the tidal systems and relativistic theories are not considered. Since its
adaptation, various inconsistencies have been introduced into geodetic standards andapplications, such as new values for GM or a in the IERS conventions. In 2015, aconventional value for the gravitational potential at sea level W0 was adopted in an IAG
resolution, which is in contradiction to the definition of GRS80.
This WG will publish a new set of defining parameters for a modern GRS based on todays
knowledge and calculate all the necessary derived parameters in a consistent way. It will
study the necessity to work towards an IAG resolution to replace GRS80 as the conventional
system and provide transformation procedures between the two systems. It will study aswell the necessity to define and adopt a conventional global gravity field model for standard
applications in geodesy, navigation and related topics.
This JWG is assigned to the GGOS Bureau of Products and Standards (BPS) and works
together with representatives of IAG Commissions 1 and 2, the Inter-CommissionCommittee on Theory (ICCT), the International Gravity Field Service (IGFS), the International
Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) and the Committee on Essential
Geodetic Variables (EGV).
This JWG will focus its activities on the coordination of the geometric reference frame, theglobal height system, the global gravity network and their temporal changes. The applicationof Earth orientation parameters and tidal models and the underlying standard and reference
models has to be brought into consistency.
Objectives and activities
The main objectives and activities of this working group are:▪

Calculate consistent parameters of a new mean Earth ellipsoid and derived
quantities▪

Study the necessity to replace the global reference system GRS80 as theconventional system▪

Advance the realization of a conventional global reference gravity field model(combined and satellite only)▪

Assist the working group for establishing the International Height Reference System(IHRS) in the realization▪

Integrating and combining the global gravity network with other techniques▪

Study the influence of earth orientation parameters, tidal models and relativistic
effects on the realization of a consistent global reference frame in geometry, heightand gravity▪

Foster the free exchange of geodetic data and products

20Members
Urs Marti (Switzerland), Chair
Detlef Angermann (Germany), Chair of GGOS BPS, IERS
Richard Gross (USA) IAG Vice President, Committee on EGVIlya Oshchepkov (Russia), GRS, Gravity Networks and Height Systems
Christopher Kotsakis (Greece), Commission 1
Jonas Ågren (Sweden), Commission 2
Ulrich Meyer (Switzerland) COST-G
Riccardo Barzaghi (Italy), IGFS
Jaakko Mäkinen (Finland), Tidal Systems
Pavel Novak (Czech Republic), ICCTLaura Sánchez (Germany), IHRF
Hartmut Wziontek (Germany), IGRF
John Nolton (USA), GRS
Robert Heinkelmann (Germany), IAU
Sergei Kopeikin (USA), relativistic effects
Erricos Pavlis (USA), ILRS

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