Arne Bjerhammar
Encyclopedia
Arne Bjerhammar was a Swedish geodesist
. He was professor at Royal Institute of Technology
(KTH) in Stockholm
. He was born in Båstad
, Scania
in the south of Sweden.
His research covered many fields of geodesy. As a result of his doctor’s dissertation
“A contribution to the methods of optical distance measuring, specially with regard to
the problems of automatic plotting“ and for his refinement of the modulation system
of the Swedish EDM instrument Geodimeter he became one in the record of Swedish
inventors. However, many geodesists (and mathematicians) know him for the first
time for his new matrix algebra with generalized matrix inverses, published in 1955
(in Swedish) and 1957 (in English). Seven years later, fascinated by M.S.
Molodensky’s new approach to solve the basic problems of physical geodesy, he
presented his original idea of analytical downward continuation of the gravity
anomaly to an internal sphere (“the Bjerhammar sphere”). Among other areas of interest are his original proposals of recovering the
Earth’s gravity field by using the energy integral for satellites (1967) and by the
theory of general relativity using atomic clocks (1975 and 1985) as well as his studies
on the correlation between the gravity field and the Fennoscandian land uplift
phenomenon in the 1970-ties. He is the author of about 200 scientific articles,
including 2 textbooks, many of the articles published as internal KTH reports. He
chaired the IAG study group on Statistical Methods in Geodesy (1963-1967).
His sabbatical leaves can be summarized as the stays as a Visiting Scientist at The
Research Institute for Geodetic Sciences in Alexandria, USA, in 1967-1968, at
Stuttgart University (as an A-v-Humbold scholar) in 1982, National Geodetic Survey
in Washington, D.C., in 1984 and at Ohio State University in 1985-1986.
He developed a method used to determine the geoid
in gravimetric data, as well as a system for electro-optical measuring of distances. Moreover, he has done research about the Fennoscandia
n post-glacial rebound
.
His research was followed by national and international recognition, confirmed by
several prizes and rewards such as the German Gauss medal (1969), The Great Prize
of KTH (1982), IAG’s Levallois medal (1987) and the Rossby Prize of the Swedish
Geophysical Society (1988). He has also been awarded Nordstjärneorden by his
Majesty the King of Sweden. In 1988 he became an honorary doctor of the Technical
University of Graz.
Geodesy
Geodesy , also named geodetics, a branch of earth sciences, is the scientific discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the Earth, including its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space. Geodesists also study geodynamical phenomena such as crustal...
. He was professor at Royal Institute of Technology
Royal Institute of Technology
The Royal Institute of Technology is a university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH was founded in 1827 as Sweden's first polytechnic and is one of Scandinavia's largest institutions of higher education in technology. KTH accounts for one-third of Sweden’s technical research and engineering education...
(KTH) in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. He was born in Båstad
Båstad
Båstad is a locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 4,793 inhabitants in 2005.-Geography:The town of Båstad is located in a sheltered bay with the Hallandian ridge stretching behind it...
, Scania
Scania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
in the south of Sweden.
His research covered many fields of geodesy. As a result of his doctor’s dissertation
“A contribution to the methods of optical distance measuring, specially with regard to
the problems of automatic plotting“ and for his refinement of the modulation system
of the Swedish EDM instrument Geodimeter he became one in the record of Swedish
inventors. However, many geodesists (and mathematicians) know him for the first
time for his new matrix algebra with generalized matrix inverses, published in 1955
(in Swedish) and 1957 (in English). Seven years later, fascinated by M.S.
Molodensky’s new approach to solve the basic problems of physical geodesy, he
presented his original idea of analytical downward continuation of the gravity
anomaly to an internal sphere (“the Bjerhammar sphere”). Among other areas of interest are his original proposals of recovering the
Earth’s gravity field by using the energy integral for satellites (1967) and by the
theory of general relativity using atomic clocks (1975 and 1985) as well as his studies
on the correlation between the gravity field and the Fennoscandian land uplift
phenomenon in the 1970-ties. He is the author of about 200 scientific articles,
including 2 textbooks, many of the articles published as internal KTH reports. He
chaired the IAG study group on Statistical Methods in Geodesy (1963-1967).
His sabbatical leaves can be summarized as the stays as a Visiting Scientist at The
Research Institute for Geodetic Sciences in Alexandria, USA, in 1967-1968, at
Stuttgart University (as an A-v-Humbold scholar) in 1982, National Geodetic Survey
in Washington, D.C., in 1984 and at Ohio State University in 1985-1986.
He developed a method used to determine the geoid
Geoid
The geoid is that equipotential surface which would coincide exactly with the mean ocean surface of the Earth, if the oceans were in equilibrium, at rest , and extended through the continents . According to C.F...
in gravimetric data, as well as a system for electro-optical measuring of distances. Moreover, he has done research about the Fennoscandia
Fennoscandia
Fennoscandia and Fenno-Scandinavia are geographic and geological terms used to describe the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Kola Peninsula, Karelia and Finland...
n post-glacial rebound
Post-glacial rebound
Post-glacial rebound is the rise of land masses that were depressed by the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, through a process known as isostasy...
.
His research was followed by national and international recognition, confirmed by
several prizes and rewards such as the German Gauss medal (1969), The Great Prize
of KTH (1982), IAG’s Levallois medal (1987) and the Rossby Prize of the Swedish
Geophysical Society (1988). He has also been awarded Nordstjärneorden by his
Majesty the King of Sweden. In 1988 he became an honorary doctor of the Technical
University of Graz.