  In this paper we consider the asymptotic behavior of the Ginzburg- Landau
model for superconductivity in 3-d, in various energy regimes. We rigorously
derive, through an analysis via {\Gamma}-convergence, a reduced model for the
vortex density, and we deduce a curvature equation for the vortex lines. In a
companion paper, we describe further applications to superconductivity and
superfluidity, such as general expressions for the first critical magnetic
field H_{c1}, and the critical angular velocity of rotating Bose-Einstein
condensates.
