Role and activities of the GGOS Bureau of Products and Standards

The Bureau of Products and Standards (BPS) supports IAGs Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) in its goal to provide observations and consistent geodetic products needed to monitor, map and understand changes in the Earths shape, rotation and mass distribution. In its present structure, the two Committees Earth System Modeling and Essential Geodetic Variables as well as the Working Group Towards a consistent set of parameters for the definition of a new GRS are associated with the BPS. A key objective of the BPS is to keep track and to foster homogenization of adopted geodetic standards and conventions across all IAG components as a fundamental basis for the generation of consistent geometric and gravimetric products. Towards this aim, an updated 2nd version of the BPS inventory of standards and conventions used for the generation of IAG products has been published in the Geodesists Handbook 2020. In the framework of the renewing of the GGOS website, the BPS supports the GGOS Coordinating Office in particular regarding the representation of geodetic products to make geodesy more visible to other disciplines and to society. Furthermore, the BPS contributes to updating of the IERS Conventions as Chapter Expert for Chapter 1 General definitions and numerical standards, and interacts with external stakeholders regarding standards and conventions, such as ISO, IAU, BIPM, CODATA, the UN GGIM Subcommittee on Geodesy and its recently established Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence (GGCE).