An equipotential surface of Earth gravity, including the centrifugal potential, used as an idealized sea-level reference. geoid height responds to long-wavelength density anomalies and boundary deformation; local gravity and geoid height are related but distinct observables.
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The geoid is an equipotential surface that represents the mean sea level of the Earth's oceans, extended under the continents. It is a crucial concept in geophysics and is used to understand Earth's shape and gravity field. Unlike a geometric shape, such as a sphere or an ellipsoid, the geoid is an irregular surface resulting from variations in gravitational pull caused by factors like the distribution of mass within the Earth and the topography of the land and ocean floors.