Geodesy-trends and prospects

A report with the above title recently has been completed by the Committee on Geodesy of the National Research Council [1]. The Committee included members from the fields of geodesy, geophysics, physics and engineering, and the chairman was Professor William M. Kaula of UCLA. An important part of the charge to the Committee was to review and make recommendations concerning scientific and technological advances in modern geodesy and related fields, and planning for space-borne instrumentation pertinent to geodesy in the 1980's. Some of the recommendations of the Committee in the areas of crustal movement measurements and needs for the development of new geodetic instruments are discussed briefly.