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Scientists present the most accurate model of the Earth's globe to date
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
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As reported on the official website of the European Space Agency ESA, to create the map, scientists used data obtained by the GOCE apparatus, a satellite for studying the gravitational field and constant ocean currents. Highly sensitive accelerometers were installed on board this apparatus, which allowed the apparatus to obtain data on the Earth's gravitational field. It took GOCE about two years to collect the data.
Based on the data obtained, the researchers created a three-dimensional model of the geoid. In addition, according to the scientists, the new data will help them, in particular, in compiling the most accurate maps of sea currents to date.
The concept of the geoid was first introduced by Gauss in the 19th century as a mathematical form of the Earth. The figure represents the equipotential surface of the Earth's gravitational field. The surface of the planet would have this shape if there were no currents in the world's oceans (that is, the water was motionless relative to the surface), tides, and the surface of the continents were covered with a network of deep narrow channels that would connect different oceans and allow one to determine the sea level at a given point on the continent. At the same time, the real shape of the Earth, generally speaking, differs significantly from the geoid.
The GOCE apparatus was launched on March 17, 2009, by the Russian carrier rocket Rokot from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. It is noteworthy that the probe is equipped with ion engines - collecting xenon from the surrounding space, it ionizes it with the help of electric discharges (electricity, in turn, is produced by solar batteries), in order to then use it as a working fluid.
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