EUROPEAN TERRESTRIAL REFERENCE SYSTEM 89 (ETRS89)

Definition

The European Terrestrial Reference System 89 (ETRS89) was adopted in 1990 in Firenze, Italy, following the EUREF Resolution 1 that states: "The IAG Subcommision for the European Reference Frame recommends that the system to be adopted by EUREF will be coincident with the ITRS at the epoch 1989.0 and fixed to the stable part of the Eurasian Plate and will be known as European Terrestrial Reference System 89 (ETRS89)".

Realization

Following its definition, ETRS89 is linked to the ITRS through a similarity transformation as described in EUREF Technical Note 1. It can be realized through several ways, and specifically:

• Using ITRS realizations: for each frame labelled ITRFyy a corresponding frame in ETRS89 can be defined and labelled ETRFyy following the procedure described in EUREF Technical Note 1, where the ITRS-to-ETRS89 transformation parameters are available. European ITRFyy station positions (GNSS, VLBI, SLR and DORIS) and velocities were transformed into their corresponding ETRFyy which were published so far:
  • ETRF89
  • ETRF90
  • ETRF91
  • ETRF92
  • ETRF93
  • ETRF94
  • ETRF96
  • ETRF97
  • ETRF2000
  • ETRF2005
  • ETRF2014
  • ETRF2014 (SINEX file)
  • ETRF2020
  • ETRF2020 (SINEX file)

  After the release of ITRF2005, the EUREF Governing Board (EUREF-GB), formerly Technical Working Group (TWG), recommended not to use the ETRF2005 and rather to adopt the ETRF2000 as a conventional frame of the ETRS89 system.

  After the release of ITRF2014, noting the improved accuracy and stability of the origin and scale parameters of the ITRF2014 and the significance of an improved ETRS89 realization based on the ITRF2014, the 2017 EUREF Resolution No. 1, urges the EUREF-GB to make available all the defining parameters of the ETRF2014 with an origin coinciding with that of ITRF2014 and to provide the full series of transformation parameters between ITRF and ETRF versions in an updated technical memo. The same resolution also recognizes the diverse requirements regarding national implementations of ETRS89, and respects the different countries’ decisions on adopting their preferred ETRS89 realizations including the recommended ETRF2000.

  After the release of ITRF2020, noting the improved accuracy and stability of the origin and scale parameters of the ITRF2020 and recognizing the significance of the proposed ETRF2020 as an improved ETRS89 realization based on the ITRF2020, the 2023 EUREF Resolution No. 1 urges the EUREF-GB to make available all the defining parameters of the ETRF2020 with an origin coinciding with that of ITRF2020 and to provide the full series of transformation parameters between ITRF and ETRF versions in an updated release of EUREF Technical Note 1.

• Using GNSS data of a campaign or permanent stations, together with recent ITRFyy station coordinates and IGS precise products (orbits and clocks), following the procedure described in EUREF Technical Note 1.

Links

• EUREF web site
• ITRF web site