Overview of EUREF

EUREF is the IAG Reference Frame Sub-Commission for Europe, integrated in the Sub-Commission 1.3, Regional Reference Frames, under Commission 1 – Reference Frames, following the implementation of the new IAG structure at the IUGG (International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics) General Assembly held in Sapporo, 2003. The Sub-Commission EUREF was founded in 1987 at the IUGG General Assembly held in Vancouver.

EUREF deals with the definition, realization and maintenance of the European Reference Frame - the geodetic infrastructure for multinational projects requiring precise geo-referencing (e.g. three-dimensional and time dependent positioning, geodynamics, precise navigation, geo-information) - in close cooperation with the IAG components (Services, Commissions, and Inter-commision projects) and EuroGeographics, the consortium of the National Mapping Agencies (NMA) in Europe.

EUREF has been developing a set of activities related to the establishment and maintenance of ETRS89 (European Terrestrial Reference System) and EVRS (European Vertical Reference System). A key instrument in maintaining ETRS89 is the EUREF Permanent Network (EPN), covering the European continent, whose stations observe continuously with high accuracy GPS/GLONASS receivers.

The forum where the activities are discussed and decisions are taken is the annual symposium, organized since the EUREF foundation, in 1987. The last symposia have been attended by more than 120 participants coming from more than 30 member countries in Europe. Current activities are governed by the Technical Working Group.

The results of EUREF are available in the symposia proceedings. Besides the presented papers, the proceedings contain the resolutions and documentation (in preparation) for some of the most important activities and database maintenance.