Written by leading experts, this book provides a clear and comprehensive survey of the “status quo” of the interrelating process and cross-fertilization of structures and methods in mathematical geodesy. Starting with a foundation of functional analysis, potential theory, constructive approximation, special function theory, and inverse problems, readers are subsequently introduced to today’s least squares approximation, spherical harmonics reflected spline and wavelet concepts, boundary value problems, Runge-Walsh framework, geodetic observables, geoidal modeling, ill-posed problems and regularizations, inverse gravimetry, and satellite gravity gradiometry. All chapters are self-contained and can be studied individually, making the book an ideal resource for both graduate students and active researchers who want to acquaint themselves with the mathematical aspects of modern geodesy.

This Open Access handbook published at the IAMG's 50th anniversary, presents a compilation of invited path-breaking research contributions by award-winning geoscientists who have been instrumental in shaping the IAMG. It contains 45 chapters that are categorized broadly into five parts (i) theory, (ii) general applications, (iii) exploration and resource estimation, (iv) reviews, and (v) reminiscences covering related topics like mathematical geosciences, mathematical morphology, geostatistics, fractals and multifractals, spatial statistics, multipoint geostatistics, compositional data analysis, informatics, geocomputation, numerical methods, and chaos theory in the geosciences.

Surveying a Century Ago As it was based on the principles of geometry and trigonometry, surveying may be may be looked upon as a branch of practical mathematics. Hence, it was necessary that land surveyors and hydrographers should have a fair general knowledge, not only of these subjects, but also of all the subjects comprised by the term mathemat ics. In addition, the knowledge of mathematics required in ordinary chain surveying and levelling was not very extensive but in geodetical work, the highest mathematical ability and great organising power were required for a proper conception and supervision of the operations (Threlfall, 1940). Only small area of a few hundred square kilometres can be accurately mapped and surveyed without a frame work, since no difficulty is encountered because of Earth-curvature. In the past, especially in hydrography due to the type of work, surveying was carried out on the principles of ordinary practice, but in a very rough man ner, rapidity of execution being of paramount importance, the permissible error was sometimes large. The relative positions of the main surface features were obtained by aid of portable instruments, such as sextants and lead lines, tide poles, and logships. Sketching, just like military surveying was often filling in the smaller detail. In contrary, survey works done by the national mapping agencies (NMAs) were of a higher-level, and comprised the delimitation of boundaries as well as topographical surveys.

Carl Friedrich Gauss, the "foremost of mathematicians," was a land surveyor. Measuring and calculating geodetic networks on the curved Earth was the inspiration for some of his greatest mathematical discoveries. This is just one example of how mathematics and geodesy, the science and art of measuring and mapping our world, have evolved together throughout history. This text is for students and professionals in geodesy, land surveying, and geospatial science who need to understand the mathematics of describing the Earth and capturing her in maps and geospatial data: the discipline known as mathematical geodesy. Map of the World: An Introduction to Mathematical Geodesy aims to provide an accessible introduction to this area, presenting and developing the mathematics relating to maps, mapping, and the production of geospatial data. Described are the theory and its fundamental concepts, its application for processing, analyzing, transforming, and projecting geospatial data, and how these are used in producing charts and atlases. Also touched upon are the multitude of cross-overs into other sciences sharing in the adventure of discovering what our world really looks like. FEATURES • Written in a fluid and accessible style, replete with exercises; adaptable for courses on different levels. • Suitable for students and professionals in the mapping sciences, but also for lovers of maps and map making.

This book is an enlarged second edition of a monograph published in the Springer AGEM2-Series, 2009. It presents, in a consistent and unified overview, a setup of the theory of spherical functions of mathematical (geo-)sciences. The content shows a twofold transition: First, the natural transition from scalar to vectorial and tensorial theory of spherical harmonics is given in a coordinate-free context, based on variants of the addition theorem, Funk-Hecke formulas, and Helmholtz as well as Hardy-Hodge decompositions. Second, the canonical transition from spherical harmonics via zonal (kernel) functions to the Dirac kernel is given in close orientation to an uncertainty principle classifying the space/frequency (momentum) behavior of the functions for purposes of data analysis and (geo-)application. The whole palette of spherical functions is collected in a well-structured form for modeling and simulating the phenomena and processes occurring in the Earth's system. The result is a work which, while reflecting the present state of knowledge in a time-related manner, claims to be of largely timeless significance in (geo-)mathematical research and teaching.

Frontiers in Entropy Across the Disciplines presents a panorama of entropy emphasizing mathematical theory, physical and scientific significance, computational methods, and applications in mathematics, physics, statistics, engineering, biomedical signals, and signal processing.In the last century classical concepts of entropy were introduced in the areas of thermodynamics, information theory, probability theory, statistics, dynamical systems, and ergodic theory. During the past 50 years, dozens of new concepts of entropy have been introduced and studied in many disciplines. This volume captures significant developments in this arena. It features expository, review, and research papers by distinguished mathematicians and scientists from many disciplines. The level of mathematics ranges from intermediate level to research level. Each chapter contains a comprehensive list of references. Topics include entropy and society, entropy and time, Souriau entropy on symplectic model of statistical physics, new definitions of entropy, geometric theory of heat and information, maximum entropy in Bayesian networks, maximum entropy methods, entropy analysis of biomedical signals (review and comparison of methods), spectral entropy and its application to video coding and speech coding, a comprehensive review of 50 years of entropy in dynamics, a comprehensive review on entropy, entropy-like quantities and applications, topological entropy of multimodal maps, entropy production in complex systems, entropy production and convergence to equilibrium, reversibility and irreversibility in entropy, nonequilibrium entropy, index of various entropy, entropy and the greatest blunder ever.