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The Height of Kilimanjaro: new techniques to solve old problems

By: Rui Fernandes
From: Univ. Beira Interior
At: Complexo Interdisciplinar, Anfiteatro
[2009-10-07] 12:00

Kilimanjaro was always present in the imaginary of everyone. This mountain, besides to be the highest point of Africa and highest walkable mountain in the world, is also known due to its unique characteristics: a volcanic cone (almost) perfect in the middle of the African savanna and the (almost) eternal snows nearby the equator. In October 2008, an expedition, coordinated by several Portuguese researchers in collaboration with colleagues of other 5 countries (in particular Tanzania, where Kilimanjaro is located), was carried out with the objective to determine the rigorous altitude of this mountain using techniques of Space Geodesy - combination of GPS measurements with gravimetric observations. In this presentation, we describe the scientific goals of this expedition and the difficulties that occurred during the preparation and execution. It is also presented and analyzed the results obtained.