Charting the Course for GGOS Africa: Integrating Pan-African Geodetic Efforts for Global Impact.

Dr Aletha de Witt! ! Director: Radio Astronomy Projects ! Department of Science, Technology ! and Innovation (DSTI)" Dr Jack Radcliffe! ! Research Scientist! University of#Manchester! ! ! Charting the Course for ! GGOS Africa: Integrating " Pan-African Geodetic" Efforts for Global Impact" UN-GGCE Geodesy Capacity Development Workshop for Africa! 19–23 May 2025, Nairobi 2 Charting the Course for GGOS Africa Do we need a GGOS Africa? 3 Charting the Course for GGOS Africa Yes, we do!!! It’s time for Africa!! 4 Credit: Heritage Malta What is Geodesy? IAG Services for VLBI, GNSS, DORIS, and SLR GGOS is the organization responsible for the advancement of Geodesy. GGOS Core Sites colocate the major observation techniques https://ggos.org/ https://www.iag-aig.org/ https://ggos.org/ GGOS Affiliate is a national or regional organization that coordinates geodetic activities in that country or region 1998 - Birth of GGOS 2017 - Establish Affiliate GGOS-Japan 2021 - Establish Affiliate GGOS D-A-CH 2024 - Establish Affiliate GGOS IberAtlantic https://ggos.org/ 5 Credit: Heritage Malta The Current Geodetic Landscape in Africa 6 Credit: Heritage Malta The Current Geodetic Landscape in Africa GGOS Core Sites 7 Credit: Heritage Malta The Current Geodetic Landscape in Africa Hartebeesthoek Site, South Africa 8 Credit: Heritage Malta The Current Geodetic Landscape in Africa The 167 antennas (situated on 126 different sites) that participated in the observations used for ICRF3 ICRF3 Stations 9 Credit: Heritage Malta Africa: A Key to Global and Local Solutions The Global Geodesy Supply Chain Needs Africa •Geographic Coverage: balancing global ground station distribution and improving accuracy •Unique Geophysical data: Africa’s diverse landscape provides critical environmental and geophysical data • Improving Global Models: Improving global satellite systems, Earth observations, and climate models Lack of Geodetic Infrastructure in Africa 16 Progress to Date: GGOS Africa •Identification of Need: Recognition of the need for a Pan-African Institute or Organisation for Geodesy •Starting with South Africa: Establishment of a Geodesy Committee in South Africa led by DSTI (In Progress) •GGOS Implementation Plan 2024: Promote the establishment of GGOS Africa - Diagnose current situation and explore possibilities for implementation (2024) - Establishment of GGOS Africa Affiliate (2025) •Key Events: Geodesy Day at the UN Science Summit (September 2024) and AfAS Conference (March 2025) •Collaboration and Lessons Learned: - Leverage and collaborate with other STI projects in Africa, such as the SKA - Insights from SKA implementation and the rollout of high-performance computing in Africa •Secured Funding: Africa-UK Physics Partnership application for funding (approved March 2025) 17 Progress to Date: GGOS Africa Discussions between DSTI, SARAO, SANSA, DALRRD, and NGI to establish a South African ‘Geodesy Working Group’ SARAO Space Geodesy Programme participates in global space geodetic networks for VLBI, GNSS, DORIS, and SLR. one of only a few fundamental geodetic stations worldwide—and the only one in Africa SANSA participates in space science, Earth observation, and space weather monitoring activities. operates GNSS stations primarily for space weather research NGI, South Africa’s national mapping organisations operates TrigNet, South Africa’s national CORS network, which serves as South Africa’s official geodetic and cadastral reference system 18 Progress to Date: GGOS Africa 19 Progress to Date: GGOS Africa •Identification of Need: Recognition of the need for a Pan-African Institute or Organisation for Geodesy •Starting with South Africa: Establishment of a Geodesy Committee in South Africa led by DSTI (In Progress) •GGOS Implementation Plan 2024: Promote the establishment of GGOS Africa - Diagnose current situation and explore possibilities for implementation (2024) - Establishment of GGOS Africa Affiliate (2025) •Key Events: Geodesy Day at the UN Science Summit (September 2024) and AfAS Conference (March 2025) •Collaboration and Lessons Learned: - Leverage and collaborate with other STI projects in Africa, such as the SKA - Insights from SKA implementation and the rollout of high-performance computing in Africa •Secured Funding: Africa-UK Physics Partnership application for funding (approved March 2025) 20 Progress to Date: GGOS Africa •Identification of Need: Recognition of the need for a Pan-African Institute or Organisation for Geodesy •Starting with South Africa: Establishment of a Geodesy Committee in South Africa led by DSTI (In Progress) •GGOS Implementation Plan 2024: Promote the establishment of GGOS Africa - Diagnose current situation and explore possibilities for implementation (2024) - Establishment of GGOS Africa Affiliate (2025) •Key Events: Geodesy Day at the UN Science Summit (September 2024) and AfAS Conference (March 2025) •Collaboration and Lessons Learned: - Leverage and collaborate with other STI projects in Africa, such as the SKA - Insights from SKA implementation and the rollout of high-performance computing in Africa •Secured Funding: Africa-UK Physics Partnership application for funding (approved March 2025) 21 Progress to Date: GGOS Africa Geodesy Day at the United Nations Science Summit, New York, USA, September 2024 Geodesy Session at the African Astronomical Society (AfAS) Conference, Johannesburg, South Africa, March 2025 22 Progress to Date: GGOS Africa •Identification of Need: Recognition of the need for a Pan-African Institute or Organisation for Geodesy •Starting with South Africa: Establishment of a Geodesy Committee in South Africa led by DSTI (In Progress) •GGOS Implementation Plan 2024: Promote the establishment of GGOS Africa - Diagnose current situation and explore possibilities for implementation (2024) - Establishment of GGOS Africa Affiliate (2025) •Key Events: Geodesy Day at the UN Science Summit (September 2024) and AfAS Conference (March 2025) •Collaboration and Lessons Learned: - Leverage and collaborate with other STI projects in Africa, such as the SKA - Insights from SKA implementation and the rollout of high-performance computing in Africa •Secured Funding: Africa-UK Physics Partnership application for funding (approved March 2025) 23 Progress to Date: GGOS Africa GRAO, 32-m radio telescope GHANA AMT, Namibia SKA-MID Telescope, Botswana HPC, astro/geo training, co-located, and training instruments SKA Partner Countries in Africa TART telescope, Mauritius, Kenya, Zambia 24 Progress to Date: GGOS Africa Self-contained Geodetic GNSS reference stations with full weather systems. Solar powered and cellular communication. Option to add a variety of instruments. ~$53K (USD) - excluding installation cost. 25 Progress to Date: GGOS Africa •Identification of Need: Recognition of the need for a Pan-African Institute or Organisation for Geodesy •Starting with South Africa: Establishment of a Geodesy Committee in South Africa led by DSTI (In Progress) •GGOS Implementation Plan 2024: Promote the establishment of GGOS Africa - Diagnose current situation and explore possibilities for implementation (2024) - Establishment of GGOS Africa Affiliate (2025) •Key Events: Geodesy Day at the UN Science Summit (September 2024) and AfAS Conference (March 2025) •Collaboration and Lessons Learned: - Leverage and collaborate with other STI projects in Africa, such as the SKA - Insights from SKA implementation and the rollout of high-performance computing in Africa •Secured Funding: Africa-UK Physics Partnership application for funding (approved March 2025)