BPSGGOS Bureau of

Products and Standards

Tasks

The tasks of the Bureau of Products and Standards are to:

  • act as contact and coordinating point for homogenization of IAG standards and products;
  • keep track of adopted geodetic standards and conventions across all IAG components, initiate steps to close gaps and deficiencies, and provide recommendations to resolve inconsistencies;
  • regularly update the inventory of standards and conventions used for the generation of IAG products to incorporate the latest developments;
  • interact with IAG Services, the IERS Conventions Centre and external stakeholders in the field of standards and conventions (e.g., IAU, ISO, OGC, CODATA, UN-GGIM);
  • act as IAG representative to the ISO Technical Committee (ISO/TC 211);
  • propagate standards and conventions to the wider community and promote their use;
  • foster the development of advanced methodologies for the combination of geometric and gravimetric observations and the generation of integrated products required for Earth sciences and societal needs, in collaboration with IAG Services and GGOS Focus Areas;
  • contribute to the definition of Essential Geodetic Variables (EGVs), which are observed variables that are crucial to characterize the geodetic properties of the Earth and that are needed to understand the dynamics of the Earth system in all components and their interactions, in close collaboration with the Committee on the definition of EGVs, the GGOS Science Panel and representatives of the other IAG components;
  • contribute to promote geodetic products to other disciplines and to society by creating user-friendly product descriptions and videos, in collaboration with the GGOS Coordinating Office, the IAG Services and the UN-GGCE;
  • contribute to the mapping of the global geodesy supply chain for the generation of geodetic products, in collaboration with the UN-GGCE and the IAG Services;
  • contribute to GGOS outreach activities (e.g., social media posts, videos about geodesy and geodetic products), in collaboration with the GGOS Coordinating Office;
  • support the GGOS Coordinating Office in the development of the GGOS portal as a unique search and access point (one-stop shop) for geodetic data and products;
  • organize internal BPS meetings (every two months) and external Bureau meetings (twice per year);
  • contribute to organizational GGOS business and coordination activities within IAG and with external stakeholders;
  • represent BPS activities and outcomes at conferences and workshops, and publish BPS results in scientific and other journals.