The Danish Geodata Agency (GST) ( da, Geodatastyrelsen), (previously National Survey and Cadastre of Denmark ( da, Kort & Matrikelstyrelsen, short KMS)), is the Danish state owned central agency responsible for
surveying
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
,
mapping and
land registering of all of
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
,
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
, the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
and all waters associated with these. Geodatastyrelsen is an agency under the
Danish Ministry of the Environment
Ministry of the Environment of Denmark ( da, Miljøministeriet) is the Denmark, Danish ministry in charge of almost all matters concerning Environmental policy, environmental issues in Denmark. The head office is in Copenhagen.
Created in 1971 as ...
.
The overall goal of Geodatastyrelsen is to supply and ensure that everyone in the Danish society has access to reliable and accurate maps and information on all parts of the Realm.
Until 31 December 2004, KMS was a
Sector research institute for the Ministry of the Environment in the fields of
seismology
Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...
,
geodynamic
Geodynamics is a subfield of geophysics dealing with dynamics of the Earth. It applies physics, chemistry and mathematics to the understanding of how mantle convection leads to plate tectonics and geologic phenomena such as seafloor spreading, mo ...
and
geodesy
Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...
.
The
seismology
Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...
part was detached on 1 July 2004 and moved under the responsibility of
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland
The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland ( da, Danmarks og Grønlands Geologiske Undersøgelse, GEUS) is the independent sector research institute under the Danish Ministry of Climate and Energy. GEUS is an advisory, research and survey i ...
(GEUS). On 1 January 2005, the
geodesy
Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...
part was detached and together with
Danish Space Research Institute Danish Space Research Institute (DSRI) ( Danish: ''Dansk Rumforskningsinstitut'', short ''DRI'' or ''DRKI'') was the space agency of Denmark from 1966 to 2005. It was a Danish sector research institute formed in 1966 under the Danish Ministry for E ...
it formed
Danish National Space Center.
History
KMS was officially formed on 1 January 1989 by combining
Geodætisk Institut
Geodætisk Institut (1928–1987) was a Danish state-run cartographic institute.
It was created by law number 82, of 31 March 1928, combining Generalstabens Topografiske Afdeling and Den danske Gradmaaling, two institutions that did somewhat ov ...
,
Søkortarkivet and
Matrikeldirektoratet, in an effort to strengthen mapping in Denmark. The political decision was conceived in a Royal resolution of 10 September 1987. The definition of its responsibilities is described in law #749 of 7 December 1988. Initially it was located under the
Ministry of Housing, but in 2001 it was moved to the Ministry of the Environment.
On 1 January 2013, the agency changed its name to Danish Geodata Agency.
In 2014, the Danish government (through the GST) launched a full 1:1 recreation of the country of Denmark in Minecraft. The game map was based on real, official measurements made public by the Danish Geodata Agency. The reason was to "use the appeal of gaming to draw the public’s attention to geographical data" and an "invitation to teachers and schools to use the data in geography, math, science and history lessons". This, of course, drew attention of cyber vandals who attacked the server by blowing up areas of the map, destroying buildings and planting American flags. It is unclear exactly why.
Chris Hammeken, chief press officer at the Danish Geodata Agency, responded with "Minecraft is about building and rebuilding.
..Only a minor area was destroyed.
..It was the players who cleaned up the damage, replacing it with green grass and flowers the following morning." Regardless of the attacks ‒ which have since been fixed ‒ the replica appears to have been a success. On 1 January 2016, the Agency changed into the Agency for Data Supply and Efficiency, and links in English regarding “Denmark in Minecraft” were removed, although individual sections could still be downloaded elsewhere.
See also
*
List of national mapping agencies
References
External links
General information on the "basic data programme"Danish Geodata Agency (Official Homepage)
{{authority control
Survey and Cadastre
National mapping agencies
1989 establishments in Denmark
Environmental agencies in Denmark