Geodesy: Earth's Shape and Coordinates

This lecture introduces the science of geodesy, focusing on Earth's shape and geometry. It covers units used in topography and geodesy, coordinate systems, geodetic references, and map projections. The lecture explains how Earth, despite being approximately spherical, is actually an ellipsoidal shape due to flattening at the poles, with variations in topography illustrated using a model. It also discusses the challenges of defining a global coordinate system, considering Earth's dynamic surface due to plate tectonics.