History of the IERS
The International Earth Rotation Service (IERS) was established in 1987 by the International Astronomical Union and the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics and it began operation on 1 January 1988. It replaced the International Polar Motion Service (IPMS) and the earth-rotation section of the Bureau International de l'Heure (BIH); the activities of BIH on time are continued at Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). Since 1 January 2001 the IERS has got a new structure. In 2003 it was renamed to International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service.
IERS timeline:
Texts and documents on the history and prehistory of IERS:
The Foundation Phase and Establishment of the International Latitude Service at the end of the 19th Century (PDF, 725KB), by Andreas Haka
Past and current IERS officers:
- IERS Directing Board, 1988-2000
- IERS Directing Board, 2001-2021
- Components of the IERS and their officers, 1988-2000
- Components of the IERS and their officers, 2001-2021
- IERS officers, 1988-2021
- IERS officers by country, 1988-2021
Former IERS components:
- ITRS Combination Centre, NRCan, 2002-2012
- Combination Research Centres, 2001-2008
- Working Group on Combination, 2004-2008
- Working Group on Prediction, 2005-2009
- Working Group on the Second Realization of the ICRF, 2007-2014
- Working Group on Combination at the Observation Level, 2009-2016
- Working Group on Site Coordinate Time Series Format, 2012-2020
- GGFC Special Bureau for the Core, 2001-2009
- GGFC Special Bureau for the Mantle, 2001-2009
- GGFC Special Bureau for Tides, 2001-2009
- GGFC Special Bureau for Gravity/Geocenter, 2001-2009
- GGFC Special Bureau for Loading, 2002-2009
Historical documents:
Historical documentation on the scientific and administrative activities of the BIH (1911-1987), of the MERIT Project (1978-1987), and of the first phase of IERS (1988-1997) is available at the Paris Observatory Library archive.
Contact: La.Bibliotheque@obspm.fr
