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Representing
TheShapeoftheEarth
Geoids
Ellipsoids
Datums
Coordinate Systems
Projections
TheShapeoftheEarth
3waystomodelit
Topographicsurface
theland/airinterface
complex(rivers,valleys,etc)anddifficulttomodel
Geoid
atheoretical,continuoussurfacefortheearthwhichisperpendicularateverypoint
tothedirectionofgravity(surfacetowhichplumblineisperpendicular)
approximatesmeansealevelinopenoceanwithouttides,wavesorswell
satelliteobservation(after1957)showedittobequiteirregularbecauseoflocal
variationsingravity.
Spheresandspheroids(3dimensionalcircleandellipse)
mathematicalmodelswhichcanbeusedtoapproximatethegeoidandprovidethe
basisforaccuratelocation(horizontal)andelevation(vertical)measurement
sphere(3dimensionalcircle)withradiusof6,370,997mconsideredcloseenough
forsmallscalemaps(1:5,000,000andbelow e.g.1:7,500,000)
spheroid(3dimensionalellipse)shouldbeusedforlargerscalemapsof1:1,000,000
ormore(e.g.1:24,000)
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Spheroid,Ellipsoid,andGeoid
Spheroid isasolidgeneratedbyrotatinganellipseabouteitherthemajor
orminoraxis
Ellipsoid isasolidforwhichallplanesectionsthroughoneaxisareellipses
andthroughtheotherareellipsesorcircles
Ifanytwoofthethreeaxesofthatellipsoidareequal,thefigurebecomesa
spheroid(ellipsoidofrevolution)
Ifallthreeareequal,itbecomesasphere
Geoid istheequipotentialgravitysurfaceoftheearthatmeansealevel.
Atanypointitisperpendiculartothedirectionofgravity
Reference: Smith, James R., Introduction to Geodesy: The history and concepts of modern geodesy. John Wiley & Sons, 1997
WhatisanOblateEllipsoid(Spheroid)?
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WhichSpheroidtouse?
Hundredshavebeendefineddependingupon:
Availablemeasurementtechnology
Areaoftheglobe
e.g NorthAmerica,Africa
Mapextent
country,continentorglobal
Mostcommonlyencounteredare:
basisforUSGS7.5Quads
a=6,378,206.4mb=6,356,583.8m
Politicalissues
e.g WarsawpactversusNATO
ArcGISsupports26different
spheroids!
conversionsviamathformulae
Clarke1866forNorthAmerica
GRS80(GeodeticRef.System,1980)
currentNorthAmericamapping
a=6,378,137mb=6,356,752.31414m
WGS84(WorldGeodeticSurvey,1984)
currentglobalchoice
a=6,378,137b=6,356,752.31
LatitudeandLongitude:locationonthespheroid
Longitude meridians
Prime meridian is zero: Greenwich, U.K.
International Date Line is 180 E&W
1 degree=69.17 mi at Equator
53.06 mi at 40N/S
0 mi at 90N/S
Latitude parallels
equator is zero
1 degree=68.70 mi at equator
69.41 mi at poles
(1 mile=1.60934km=5280 feet)
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LatitudeandLongitude
Themostcomprehensiveandpowerfulmethod
ofgeoreferencing
Metric,standard,stable,unique
Usesawelldefinedandfixedreferenceframe
BasedontheEarthsrotationandcenterofmass,and
theGreenwichMeridian
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Definition of longitude. The Earth is seen here from above the North Pole, looking
along the Axis, with the Equator forming the outer circle. The location of Greenwich
defines the Prime Meridian. The longitude of the point at the center of the red cross is
determined by drawing a plane through it and the axis, and measuring the angle
between this plane and the Prime Meridian.
DefinitionofLatitude
RequiresamodeloftheEarthsshape
TheEarthissomewhatelliptical
TheNSdiameterisroughly1/300lessthantheE
Wdiameter
Moreaccuratelymodeledasanellipsoidthana
sphere
Anellipsoidisformedbyrotatinganellipseabout
itsshorteraxis(theEarthsaxisinthiscase)
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The(Brief)HistoryofEllipsoids
BecausetheEarthisnotshapedpreciselyasanellipsoid,initiallyeach
countryfeltfreetoadoptitsownasthemostaccurateapproximation
toitsownpartoftheEarth
TodayaninternationalstandardhasbeenadoptedknownasWGS84
ItsUSimplementationistheNorthAmericanDatumof1983(NAD83)
ManyUSmapsanddatasetsstillusetheNorthAmericanDatumof1927(NAD27)
Differencescanbeasmuchas200m
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LatitudeandtheEllipsoid
Latitude(oftheredpoint)isthe
anglebetweenaperpendicular
tothesurfaceandtheplaneof
theEquator
WGS84
RadiusoftheEarthattheEquator
6378.137km
Flattening1partin298.257
Geoid
AgeoidisarepresentationoftheEarthwhichwould
coincideexactlywiththemeanoceansurfaceofthe
Earth,iftheoceansweretobeextendedthroughthe
continents
Asmoothbuthighlyirregularsurfacethatcorresponds
buttoasurfacewhichcanonlybeknownthrough
extensivegravitationalmeasurementsandcalculations,
nottotheactualsurfaceoftheEarth'scrust
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Geoid
Geoidvs.anEllipsoid
1. Ocean
2. Ellipsoid
3. Local plumb
4. Continent
5. Geoid
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Datums:
alllocationmeasurementisrelativetoaspecificdatum
FortheGeodesist
asetofparametersdefiningacoordinatesystem,including:
thespheroid(earthmodel)
apointoforigin(tiesspheroidtoearth)
FortheLocalSurveyor
asetofpointswhosepreciselocationand/orelevationhasbeendetermined,
whichserveasreferencepointsfromwhichotherpointslocationscanbe
determined(horizontaldatum)
asurfacetowhichelevationsarereferenced,usuallymeansealevel(vertical
datum)
pointsusuallymarkedwithbrassplatescalledsurvey markers ormonuments
whoseidentificationcodesandpreciselocations(usuallyinlat/long)are
published
NorthAmericanDatums
NAD27
Clark1866spheroid
MeadesRanchorigin
visualtriangulation
25,000stations
(250,000by1970)
NAVD29(NorthAmerican
VerticalDatum,1929)provided
elevation
basisformostUSGS7.5minute
quads
NAD83
satellite(since1957)andlaserdistancedata
showedinaccuracyofNAD27
1971NationalAcademyofSciencesreport
recommendednewdatum
usedGRS80spheroid
(functionallyequivalenttoWGS84)
origin:MasscenterofEarth
275,000stations
Helmertblockingleastsquarestechniquefitted
2.5millionotherfed,stateandlocalagencypoints.
NAVD88providesverticaldatum
pointscandifferupto160mfromNAD27,but
seldommorethan30m,anddatafromdigit.map
moreinaccuratethandatumdiff.
nouniversalmathematicalformulaeforconversion
fromNAD27:SeeUSGSSurveyBulletin#1875for
conversiontables(inARC/INFO).Transformations
arepreformedtolocalcoordinates
http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgibin/nadcon.prl
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GroundzeroforGeonerdseverywhere
The NGS data sheet is here:
http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ds2.prl?retrieval_type=by_pid&PID=KG0640
http://www.scottosphere.com/history/meades-ranch.html
StatePlane&theNAD27
Calculations for map projections are performed using the parameters of the ellipsoid
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RoadsideMarkerfortheGeodeticCenterofNorthAmerica
Meades Ranch, KS (12 miles north of Lucas, KS) is the designated geodedetic base point
for the North American Datum 1927 (NAD 27)
http://www.worldslargestthings.com/kansas/geodetic.htm
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MapProjections:theconcept
Amethodbywhichthecurved3Dsurfaceoftheearthis
representedonaflat2Dmapsurface
atwodimensionalrepresentation,usingaplanecoordinate
system,oftheearthsthree dimensionalsphere/spheroid
locationonthe3Dearthismeasuredbylatitudeandlongitude
locationonthe2Dmapismeasuredbyx,y Cartesiancoordinates
unlikechoiceofspheroid,choiceofmapprojectiondoesnot
changealocationslat/longcoords,onlyitsXYcoords.
Mapprojections
Earthspherical mapsflat!
Thusallmapshavedistortions
Agoodmaphasdistortionsthatarepredictable
andsystematic
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Mapprojection
Whyisitcalleda
projection?
Becauseweprojectthe
earthssphericalsurface
onaflatsurface
Asifwewereshiningalight
fromcenterofearth:
Mapscanbe:
1.Conformal:Shapecorrect
2.Equivalent (Equalarea):Areacorrect
3.Azimuthal:Directioncorrect
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PhysicalSurface
Useaphysicalsurfacetoprojectthesphere
1. Plane
2. Cone
3. Cylinder
Notedifferencesbetweenprojectionsbycomparingdistortions
ofthelinesoflatitudeandlongitude.
1.Planeprojection
Holdplaneagainstthe
surfaceoftheglobe
(typicallythepole)
Linesoflongitude
straight,radiating
Linesoflatitudes are
circles
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1.Planeprojection
4. Distortionincreases
awayfromthecenter
("principalpoint")
5. Goodforpolarregions
6. Butcan'tshowmore
thanhalftheworld.
2.Conicprojection
Holdconeoverpole
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2.Conicprojection
2. Linesoflatitudecurve
3. Lineoflongitude arestraight,andconverge
towardstop
4. Distortionincreasesawayfromstandard
parallel
5. GoodforMidlatitudes
3.Cylindricalprojection
1. Wrapcylinder
aroundthe
earth
2. Linesoflatitude
andlongitude
arestraight,
intersectat90
3. Distortion
greatestatpoles
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3.Cylindricalprojection
4. Goodforlow
latitudeareas
5. Poor
representation
ofpoles
Goodfor
navigation
Mercators
Projection
Other mathematical
Condensedandinterruptedprojections.
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ProjectionsandCoordinates
TherearemanyreasonsforwantingtoprojecttheEarths
surfaceontoaplane,ratherthandealwiththecurvedsurface
ThepaperusedtooutputGISmapsisflat
FlatmapsarescannedanddigitizedtocreateGISdatabases
Rastersareflat,itsimpossibletocreatearasteronacurvedsurface
TheEarthhastobeprojectedtoseeallofitatonce
Itsmucheasiertomeasuredistanceonaplane
MapProjections:
theinevitabilityofdistortion
becausewearetryingtorepresenta3Dsphereona2D
plane,distortionisinevitable
thus, every twodimensionalmapisinaccurate withrespectto
atleastoneofthefollowing:
area
shape
distance
direction
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Distortions
AnyprojectionmustdistorttheEarthinsomeway
TwotypesofprojectionsareimportantinGIS
Conformal property:Shapesofsmallfeaturesarepreserved:
anywhereontheprojectionthedistortionisthesameinall
directions
Equalarea property:Shapesaredistorted,butfeatureshave
thecorrectarea
Bothtypesofprojectionswillgenerallydistortdistances!
MapProjections:classifications or
Howcanwethinkaboutmapprojections?
Classified by Property Preserved or by Geometrical Model
PropertyPreserved
GeometricModelUsed
Equalareaprojectionspreservethe Planar/Azimuthal/Zenithal:imageof
areaoffeatures(popularinGIS)
sphericalglobeisprojectedontoamap
Conformalprojectionspreservethe
plane whichistangentto(touches)
shape ofsmallfeatures(goodfor
globeatsinglepoint
presentations),andshowlocal
Conical: imageofsphericalglobeis
directions(bearings)correctly
projectedontoacone whichistangent
(usefulforcoastal navigation)
alongaline(s)(usuallyaparallelof
Equidistantprojectionspreserve
latitude) coneisthenunfoldedto
distances (scale)toplacesfromone
createflatmap
point,oralongaoneormorelines
Cylindrical: imageofsphericalglobeis
Truedirectionprojectionspreserve
projectedontoacylinder whichalsois
bearings (azimuths)eitherlocally(in
tangentalongaline(s)again,cylinder
whichcasetheyarealsoconformal)
isunfoldedtocreateaflatmap
orfromcenterofmap.
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GeometricModel
ChoosingaMapProjection
IssuestoConsider:
Extentofareatomap:city,state,country,world?
Location:polar,midlatitude,equatorial?
Predominantextentofareatomap:EW,NS,oblique?
Rulesofthumb
Alwaysrecordlat/longcoords not projectedX,Ycoords intheGISdatabaseif
possible
Checkprojectspecifications;doesitspecifyarequiredprojection?
StatePlaneorUTMoftenspecifiedforUSgov.work.
Useequalareaprojectionsforthematicordistributionmaps,andasageneral
choiceforGISwork
Useconformalprojectionsinpresentations
Fornavigationalapplications,needtruedistanceordirection
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CommonlyEncounteredMapProjectionsinGIS
AlbersConicEqualArea
oftenusedforUSbasemapsshowingallofthelower48states
standardparallelssetat291/2Nand451/2N
LambertConformalConic
oftenusedforUSBasemapofall50states(includingAlaskaandHawaii),with
standardparallelssetat37Nand65N
alsoforStateBaseMapseries,withstandardparallelsat33Nand45N
alsousedinStatePlaneCoordinateSystem(SPCS)
TransverseMercator
usedinSPCSforStateswithmajorN/Sextent
UniversalTransverseMercator(UTM)usedforworldwidemilitary(andother)large
scalemapping
Most commonly, you encounter these 3 projections, along with the SPCS and UTM
projections systems which use them.
CylindricalProjections
Normal
Transverse
Oblique
Mercator
TransverseMercator
ObliqueMercator
Parallelsareline
oftangency
Meridiansareline
oftangency
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ConformalProjections
Preservelocalshape
Misrepresentareas
Graticulelines(latandlong)onglobeareperpendicular
Bestusedforlargescalereferencemaps
Preserveanglesandshapesatpoints
Donotusefordatadistributionmaps willdistortarea,and
therefore,misrepresentdensities
Betterforshowingroutesandlocations
LambertConformalConic
ConterminousU.S.
http://howdyyall.com/Texas/Members/Bob/GPS/Projectn.htm
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EqualAreaProjections
Preservetheareaofdisplayedfeatures
Graticulelines(latandlong)onglobemaynotintersectatright
angles
Insomeinstances(especiallymapsofsmallerregions)itwillnot
beobviousthatshapehasbeendistorted
Thus,itwillnotbeobviousthatshapehasbeendistortedand
distinguishingfromanequalareaprojectionfromaconformal
projectionisdifficult(unlessdocumented)
Chooseequalareawhenmakingthematicmaps
Remember ifyouaremappingdatadistributions,chooseanequal
areaprojection!
AlbersEqualAreaiscustomizedforthecontinentalUnitedStates
AlbersEqualAreaConic
ConterminousU.S.
Hastwolinesofstandardparallel
(twolinesthataretrue)
http://howdyyall.com/Texas/Members/Bob/GPS/Projectn.htm
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TheUnprojectedProjection
Assignlatitudetothey axisandlongitudetothex axis
Atypeofcylindricalprojection
Isneitherconformalnorequalarea
Aslatitudeincreases,linesoflongitudearemuchcloser
togetherontheEarth,butarethesamedistanceapartonthe
projection
AlsoknownasthePlateCarreorCylindricalEquidistant
Projection
TheUniversalTransverseMercator(UTM)Projection
Atypeofcylindricalprojection
Implementedasaninternationallystandardcoordinate
system
Initiallydevisedasamilitarystandard
Usesasystemof60zones
Maximumdistortionis0.04%
Transverse Mercatorbecausethecylinderiswrapped
aroundthePoles,nottheEquator
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Zones are each six degrees of longitude, numbered as shown at the top, from W to E
UniversalTransverseMercator(UTM)
FirstadoptedbyUSArmyin1947forlargescalemapsworldwide
Usedfromlat.84Nto80S;UniversalPolarStereographic(UPS)usedforpolar
areas
Globedividedinto60N/Szones,each6 wide;
thesearenumberedfromonetosixtygoingeastfrom180thmeridian
Eachzonedividedinto20E/Wbelts,each8 highletteredfromthesouthpole
usingCthruX(OandIomitted)
Themeridianhalfwaybetweenthetwoboundarymeridiansforeachzoneis
designatedasthecentralmeridianandacylindricalprojectionisdoneforeach
zone
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UniversalTransverseMercator(UTM)
Coordinateoriginsareattheintersectionoftheequatorandthezonescentral
meridian;
Thisorigingivenavalueof0meters north,500,000m east,thusnonegative
values
afalseoriginat10,000,000meterssouthusedforsouthernhemishere
MilitaryusesadifferentsystemforcoordinatelocationdividingeachUTM
primarygridzoneinto10kmby10kmsquaresanddesignateseachbyadouble
letter
UTM in Pennsylvania:
2 zones: Zone 17 (84W-78W), Zone 18 (78W-72W)
UniversalTransverseMercator(UTM)
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ImplicationsoftheZoneSystem
Eachzonedefinesadifferentprojection
Twomapsofadjacentzoneswillnotfitalongtheir
commonborder
Jurisdictionsthatspantwozonesmustmakespecial
arrangements
Useonlyoneofthetwoprojections,andacceptthegreater
thannormaldistortionsintheotherzone
Useathirdprojectionspanningthejurisdiction
E.g.ItalyisspansUTMzones32and33
UTMCoordinates
IntheNHemispheredefinetheEquatoras0mN
Thecentralmeridianofthezoneisgivenafalse
eastingof500,000mE
Eastingsandnorthingsarebothinmeters
allowingeasyestimationofdistanceonthe
projection
AUTMgeoreferenceconsistsofazonenumber,
ahemisphere,asixdigiteastingandaseven
digitnorthing
E.g.,14,N,468324E,5362789N
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StatePlaneCoordinates
DefinedintheUSbyeachstate
Somestatesusemultiplezones
Severaldifferenttypesofprojectionsareusedby
thesystem
ProvideslessdistortionthanUTM
Preferredforapplicationsneedingveryhigh
accuracy,suchassurveying
StatePlaneCoordinateSystem(SPCS)
Beganin1930sforpublicworksprojects;popularwithinterstatedesigners
Statesdividedinto1ormorezones(~130totalforUS)
eachzonedesignedtomaintainscaledistortiontolessthan1partper10,000
Pennsylvaniahas2zonesrunningE/W:north(3701),south(3702)
Differentprojectionsused:
transversemercator(conformal)forStateswithlargeN/Sextent
Lambertconformalconicforrest(incl.Pennsylvania)
somestatesusebothprojections(NY,FL,AK)
obliquemercatorusedforAlaskapanhandle
Eachzonealsohas:
uniquestandardparallels(2forLambert)orcentralmeridian(1formercator)
falsecoordinateoriginswhichdifferbetweenzones,andusefeetforNAD27and
metersforNAD83
(1m=39.37in.exactusedforconversion)
SeeSnyder,1982USGSBulletin#1532,p.5663fordetails
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StatePlaneCoordinateSystem(SPCS)
StatePlaneCoordinateSystem(SPCS)
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NorthAmericanDatums
NAD83
NAD27
Clark1866spheroid
MeadesRanchorigin
visualtriangulation
25,000stations
(250,000by1970)
NAVD29(NorthAmerican
VerticalDatum,1929)provided
elevation
basisformostUSGS7.5minute
quads
satellite(since1957)andlaserdistancedata
showedinaccuracyofNAD27
1971NationalAcademyofSciencesreport
recommendednewdatum
usedGRS80spheroid
(functionallyequivalenttoWGS84)
origin:MasscenterofEarth
275,000stations
Helmertblockingleastsquarestechniquefitted
2.5millionotherfed,stateandlocalagencypoints.
NAVD88providesverticaldatum
pointscandifferupto160mfromNAD27,but
seldommorethan30m,anddatafromdigit.map
moreinaccuratethandatumdiff.
nouniversalmathematicalformulaeforconversion
fromNAD27:SeeUSGSSurveyBulletin#1875for
conversiontables(inARC/INFO).Transformations
arepreformedtolocalcoordinates
http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgibin/nadcon.prl
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