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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

Lat / long coordinates for a

location change depending
on spheroid chosen!

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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Latitude and Longitude Graticule

graticule: network of lines on globe or map representing latitude and longitude.

Origin is at Equator/Prime Meridian intersection (0,0)
grid: set of uniformly spaced straight lines intersecting at right angles.
(XY Cartesian coordinate system)
Latitude normally listed first (lat,long), the reverse of the convention for X,Y Cartesian coordinates

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 Public Land Survey System (PLSS)

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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

Meades Ranch, KS (12 miles north of Lucas,

KS) is the designated geodedetic base point
for the North American Datum 1927 (NAD 27)
Owner of ranch is now Mr. Kyle Brant
access with permission only

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

We are trying to represent

this amount of the earth on
this amount of map space.

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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

NAD27 and NAD83 Ellipsoids (Canadian Spacial Reference System, 2006)

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