Gravity Field and Figure of the Earth

The shape of the Earth has always been a question of importance to humanity, with philosophical and religious aspects as well as practical ones, especially for the early seafarers. Today, the figure of the Earth is determined with high accuracy using gravity measurements from space and on Earth. Such measurements also indicate local and temporal variations of gravity on Earth in space and time. These allow conclusions to be drawn about variations in the density and structure of the deep subsurface and about geodynamic processes.