Welcome to the International Association of Geodesy
The International Association of Geodesy (IAG) is a scientific association in the field of geodesy. It promotes scientific cooperation and research in geodesy on a global scale and contributes to it through its various research bodies. It is a constituent association of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG). IAG has a long and distinguished history that goes back to 1862, the year, in which the "Mitteleuropäische Gradmessung" was established. This organization was formed to promote scientific work in geodesy in Central Europe, following a proposal made a year earlier by J.J. Baeyer (1861). In 1867, the name of the organization was changed to "Europäische Gradmessung", because by then countries from all of Europe had joined the organization. In 1886, the name was changed to "Internationale Erdmessung", emphasizing the need for international cooperation to solve the scientific tasks of geodesy. The French and English translations of this name resulted in the current name "International Association of Geodesy (IAG)". Thus, the IAG as an international scientific organization goes back to 1886 and is one of the oldest international associations of this kind.
The Mission of the Association is the advancement of geodesy. IAG implements its mission by furthering geodetic theory through research and teaching, by collecting, analyzing, modelling and interpreting observational data, by stimulating technological development and by providing a consistent representation of the figure, rotation and gravity field of the Earth and planets, as well as their temporal variations.