The geoid is a hypothetical surface on the Earth which would approximate the mean sea level in absence of winds and tides. It is an equipotential surface computed by taking Earth’s gravity and rotation alone into effect, if oceans and the atmosphere were in equilibrium. Unlike the reference ellipsoid, geoid is an iregular surface which varies from place to place in terms of highs (positive) or lows (negative). This undulating surface provides a great tool for understanding the Earth’s interior because geoid anomalies can be attributed to the uneven mass distribution inside the Earth.
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