DATUM, Coordinates

Geodesy, Map Projections and Coordinate

Systems

Geodesy - the shape of the earth and definition of

earth datums
Map Projection - the transformation of a curved earth
to a flat map
Coordinate systems - (x,y,z) coordinate systems for
map data
Coordinate systems
• Coordinate systems enable geographic datasets to use common
locations for integration. A coordinate system is a reference system used
to represent the locations of geographic features, imagery, and
observations such as GPS locations within a common geographic
framework.
• Each coordinate system is defined by:
• Its measurement framework which is either geographic (in which spherical
coordinates are measured from the earth's center) or planimetric (in which the
earth's coordinates are projected onto a two-dimensional planar surface).
• Unit of measurement (typically feet or meters for projected coordinate systems
or decimal degrees for latitude–longitude).
• The definition of the map projection for projected coordinate systems.
• Other measurement system properties such as a spheroid of reference, a datum,
and projection parameters like one or more standard parallels, a central
meridian, and possible shifts in the x- and y-directions.
In ArcGIS environment
• When you define the coordinate system for a dataset using the Define
Projection tool or the dataset property page, you are updating the
metadata to identify the current coordinate system.
• The dataset's extent and coordinate values will not change. The
dataset must already be using the coordinate system. To change a
dataset's coordinate system, including its extent and values, use the
Project or Project Raster tools.
GPS Satellites
• 24 satellites
• 6 orbital planes
• 12 hour return interval for each satellite

Satellites are distributed among six offset orbital planes

 How GPS works in five logical
steps:

1. The basis of GPS is triangulation from satellites

2. GPS receiver measures distance from satellite using
the travel time of radio signals
3. To measure travel time, GPS needs very accurate
timing
4. Along with distance, you need to know exactly
where the satellites are in space. Satellite location.
High orbits and careful monitoring are the secret
5. You must correct for any delays the signal
experiences as it travels through the atmosphere
 Distance from satellite
• Radio waves = speed of light
• Receivers have nanosecond accuracy (0.000000001 second)
• All satellite transmittes same signal “string” at same time
• Difference in time from satellite to time received gives distance from
satellite
Triangulation
Triangulation
Differential GPS
• Differential GPS uses the time
sequence of observed errors at
fixed locations to adjust
simultaneous measurements at
mobile receivers
• A location measurement
accurate to 1 cm horizontally
and 2cm vertically is now
possible in 3 minutes with a
mobile receiver
• More accurate measurements
if the instrument is left in place
longer
 This has to take Tectonic Motions into account
Tectonic Motions

From Sella et al., 2002

Types of Coordinate Systems
• (1) Global Cartesian coordinates (x,y,z) for the
whole earth
• (2) Geographic coordinates (f, l, z)
• (3) Projected coordinates (x, y, z) on a local area of
the earth’s surface
• The z-coordinate in (1) and (3) is defined
geometrically; in (2) the z-coordinate is defined
gravitationally
Global Cartesian Coordinates
(x,y,z)
Z
Greenwich
Meridian

O
• Y

X
Equator
Spatial Reference = Datum +
Projection +
Coordinate system

• For consistent analysis the spatial reference of

data sets should be the same.
• ArcGIS does projection on the fly so can display
data with different spatial references properly if
they are properly specified.
• ArcGIS terminology
• Define projection. Specify the projection for some data
without changing the data.
• Project. Change the data from one projection to
another.
Earth model
• To simplify the Earth model, various spheroids or ellipsoids have been devised. These terms
are used interchangeably. For the remainder of this article, the term spheroid will be used.

• A spheroid is a three-dimensional shape created from a two-dimensional ellipse. The ellipse

is an oval, with a major axis (the longer axis) and a minor axis (the shorter axis). If you rotate
the ellipse, the shape of the rotated figure is the spheroid.

• The semimajor axis is half the length of the major axis. The semiminor axis is half the length
of the minor axis.

• For the earth, the semimajor axis is the radius from the center of the earth to the equator,
while the semiminor axis is the radius from the center of the earth to the pole.
Geographic Coordinates (f, l, z)
• Latitude (f) and Longitude (l) defined using an ellipsoid, an ellipse
rotated about an axis
• Elevation (z) defined using geoid, a surface of constant gravitational
potential
• Earth datums define standard values of the ellipsoid and geoid
Shape of the Earth

We think of the It is actually a spheroid,

earth as a sphere slightly larger in radius at
the equator than at the
poles
Ellipse
An ellipse is defined by:
Z
Focal length = 
Distance (F1, P, F2) is
constant for all points
on ellipse b
When  = 0, ellipse = circle O a X
F1   F2
For the earth:
Major axis, a = 6378 km
Minor axis, b = 6357 km
Flattening ratio, f = (a-b)/a P
~ 1/300
Standard Ellipsoids
Ellipsoid Major Minor Flattening
axis, a (m) axis, b (m) ratio, f
Clarke 6,378,206 6,356,584 1/294.98
(1866)
GRS80 6,378,137 6,356,752 1/298.57

Ref: Snyder, Map Projections, A working manual, USGS

Professional Paper 1395, p.12
Geodetic Datums
• World Geodetic System (WGS) – is a global system for defining
latitude and longitude on earth independently of tectonic movement
(military)
 Representations of the Earth
Mean Sea Level is a surface of constant
gravitational potential called the Geoid

Sea surface Ellipsoid

The earth is spherical but it is not a perfect

sphere. Its diameter varies slightly at the
equator than at the poles. The earth's
diameter at the equator is 12756km while the
Polar diameter is 12714km.The difference in
diameter is due to the centrifugal force of the
earth's rotation which causes bulging at the Earth surface
equator and compression at the Poles. Thus
the earth is said to be an Obslate Spheroid.
The shape of the earth is described as Geoid
which means earth shaped.

Geoid
 WGS 84 and NAD 83
North American
Datum of 1983
(NAD 83) (Civilian
International Datum of US)
Terrestrial
Reference Frame Earth Mass 2.2 m (3-D)
(ITRF) includes Center dX,dY,dZ
updates to WGS-
84 (~ 2 cm)

World Geodetic
System of 1984 GEOID
(WGS 84) is
reference frame for
Global Positioning
Systems
Definition of Latitude, f
m
S p
n
O f
q r

(1) Take a point S on the surface of the ellipsoid and define

there the tangent plane, mn
(2) Define the line pq through S and normal to the
tangent plane
(3) Angle pqr which this line makes with the equatorial
plane is the latitude f, of point S
Cutting Plane of a Meridian
P
Prime Meridian

Equator

Meridian

plane
Definition of Longitude, l
l = the angle between a cutting plane on the prime meridian
and the cutting plane on the meridian through the point, P
180°E, W
-150° 150°

-120° 120°

90°W 90°E
(-90 °) (+90 °)

-60° P l -60°

-30° 30°
0°E, W
Latitude and Longitude on a
Sphere
Greenwich
Z Meridian of longitude
N
meridian Parallel of latitude
=0°
P

=0
•

- 90
 - Geographic longitude

°N
 - Geographic latitude
W O  E
R
• Y

 =0 • R - Mean earth radius
-180
°W Equator  =0°
• =0-180°E O - Geocenter
X
S
0°
0 -9
=
Length on Meridians and Parallels
(Lat, Long) = (f, l)

Length on a Meridian:
AB = Re Df R
(same for all latitudes)
30 N R Dl D
C
0N
Re Df B
Length on a Parallel: Re
A
CD = R Dl = Re Dl Cos f
(varies with latitude)
Example: What is the length of a 1º increment along
on a meridian and on a parallel at 30N, 90W?
Radius of the earth = 6370 km.

Solution:
• A 1º angle has first to be converted to radians
p radians = 180 º, so 1º = p/180 = 3.1416/180 = 0.0175
radians

• For the meridian, DL = Re Df = 6370 * 0.0175 = 111 km

• For the parallel, DL = Re Dl Cos f

= 6370 *
0.0175 * Cos 30
= 96.5 km
Curved Earth Distance
(from A to B)

Shortest distance is along a “Great

Circle” Z
A “Great Circle” is the intersection of
a sphere with a plane going through B
its center.
A
1. Spherical coordinates converted
to Cartesian coordinates. 
2. Vector dot product used to • Y
calculate angle  from latitude and
longitude
3. Great circle distance is R,
X
where R=6378.137 km2

Dist R cos  1[sin  A sin  B  cos  A cos B cos( A  B )]

Ref: Meyer, T.H. (2010), Introduction to Geometrical and Physical Geodesy, ESRI Press, Redlands, p. 108
 Convert degrees, minutes, and
seconds into decimal degrees
The following is the simple equation to convert degrees, minutes, and seconds into decimal degrees
(DD):

DD = (Seconds/3600) + (Minutes/60) + Degrees

The conversion must be handled differently if the degrees value is negative. Here's one way:

DD = - (Seconds/3600) - (Minutes/60) + Degrees

https://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/10.3/guide-books/map-
projections/converting-degrees-minutes-seconds-values-to-dec
im.htm
Three systems for measuring
elevation
Orthometric heights Ellipsoidal heights Tidal heights
(land surveys, geoid) (lidar, GPS) (Sea water level)

Conversion among these height systems has some uncertainty

 Trends in Tide Levels
(coastal flood risk is changing)

Charleston, SC

+ 1.08 ft/century

1900 2000

Galveston, TX

+ 2.13 ft/century
- 4.16 ft/century
1900 2000
Juneau, AK
1900 2000
Geoid and Ellipsoid

Earth surface

Ellipsoid
Ocean

Geoid Gravity Anomaly

Gravity anomaly is the elevation difference between
a standard shape of the earth (ellipsoid) and a surface
of constant gravitational potential (geoid)
Definition of Elevation
Elevation Z
P
z = zp
• Land Surface
z=0

Mean Sea level = Geoid

Elevation is measured from the Geoid

Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/GRACE/
• NASA Mission launched in 2002
• Designed to measure gravity anomaly of the earth
• Two satellites, 220 km apart, one leading, one trailing
• Distance between them measured by microwave to 2µm
• High gravity force pulls satellites together
• Lower gravity force, lets them fly apart more
• Gravity anomaly = difference from average
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)
Force of gravity responds to changes in water volume
Water is really heavy! Gravity is varying in time and space.

Gravity Anomaly of Texas, 2002 – 2012

Normal

In 2011, we lost 100 Km3 of water or 3 Lake Mead’s

 GRACE and Texas Reservoir Water Storage
Surface water reservoir storage is closely correlated with the GRACE data

Grace Satellites

Normal

In 2011 we lost 100 Km3 of water overall

Surface Water
Reservoirs
Normal

In 2011 we lost 9 Km3 of water from reservoirs

Vertical Earth Datums
• A vertical datum defines elevation, z
• NGVD29 (National Geodetic Vertical Datum of
1929)
• NAVD88 (North American Vertical Datum of 1988)
• takes into account a map of gravity anomalies
between the ellipsoid and the geoid
Geodesy and Map Projections
• Geodesy - the shape of the earth and definition of earth datums
• Map Projection - the transformation of a curved earth to a flat map
• Coordinate systems - (x,y) coordinate systems for map data
Earth to Globe to Map

Map Scale: Map Projection:

Representative Fraction Scale Factor
Globe distance Map distance
= =
Earth distance Globe distance
(e.g. 1:24,000) (e.g. 0.9996)
Map projection
• Whether you treat the earth as a sphere or a spheroid, you must transform its three-
dimensional surface to create a flat map sheet. This mathematical transformation is
commonly referred to as a map projection.
• One easy way to understand how map projections alter spatial properties is to visualize
shining a light through the earth onto a surface, called the projection surface.
• Imagine the earth's surface is clear with the graticule drawn on it. Wrap a piece of paper
around the earth. A light at the center of the earth will cast the shadows of the graticule
onto the piece of paper. You can now unwrap the paper and lay it flat. The shape of the
graticule on the flat paper is different from that on the earth. The map projection has
distorted the graticule.

• A spheroid can't be flattened to a plane any more easily than a piece of orange peel can be
flattened—it will rip. Representing the earth's surface in two dimensions causes distortion in
the shape, area, distance, or direction of the data.
Geographic and Projected Coordinates

(f, l) (x, y)
Map Projection
Main types of projections
• Conic (Albers Equal Area, Lambert Conformal Conic) - good for East-
West land areas
• Cylindrical (Transverse Mercator) - good for North-South land areas
• Azimuthal (Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area) - good for global views
Distorsions – Spatial Bias
• Different projections cause different types of distortions. Some
projections are designed to minimize the distortion of one or two of
the data's characteristics. A projection could maintain the area of a
feature but alter its shape. In the graphic below, data near the poles is
stretched.

Map projections are designed for specific purposes. One map

projection might be used for large-scale data in a limited area,
while another is used for a small-scale map of the world. ESRI
Equidistant projections
• Equidistant maps preserve the distances between certain points.
Scale is not maintained correctly by any projection throughout an
entire map.
• Most Equidistant projections have one or more lines in which the
length of the line on a map is the same length (at map scale) as the
same line on the globe, regardless of whether it is a great or small
circle, or straight or curved. Such distances are said to be true.
• For example, in the Sinusoidal projection, the equator and all
parallels are their true lengths. In other Equidistant projections, the
equator and all meridians are true.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Equidistant_projections
http://www.geo.hunter.cuny.edu/~jochen/gtech201/lectures/lec6concepts/map%20coordinate%20systems/how%20to%20choose%20a%20projection.htm
Equal area projections

• Equal area projections preserve the area of displayed features. To do

this, the other properties—shape, angle, and scale—are distorted. In
Equal area projections, the meridians and parallels may not intersect
at right angles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Equal-area_projections
Transformation methods
• Equation based transformation methods
• Three-parameter methods
• Seven-parameter methods
https://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/10.3/g
• Molodensky method uide-books/map-projections/equation-based-
methods.htm
• Abridged Molodensky method
• Grid based methods
• NADCON and HARN methods
• National Transformation version 2
• National Transformation version 1
https://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/10.3/gui
de-books/map-projections/grid-based-methods
.htm
Conic Projections
(Albers, Lambert)
Cylindrical Projections
(Mercator)

Transverse

Oblique
Azimuthal
(Lambert)
Albers Equal Area Conic Projection
Lambert Conformal Conic Projection
Universal Transverse Mercator
Projection
Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area Projection
 Web Mercator Projection
(used for ESRI Basemaps)
Web Mercator is one of the most
popular coordinate systems used
in web applications because it
fits the entire globe into a square
area that can be covered by 256
by 256 pixel tiles.

The spatial reference for the

ArcGIS Online / Google Maps /
Bing Maps tiling scheme is
WGS 1984 Web Mercator
(Auxiliary Sphere).
 Web Mercator
Parameters
(20037, 19971 km)
= earth rad * Π

Standard Parallel (0,0)

6357 km

6378 km

Earth radius Central Meridian

Projections Preserve Some
Earth Properties
• Area - correct earth surface area (Albers Equal
Area) important for mass balances
• Shape - local angles are shown correctly (Lambert
Conformal Conic)
• Direction - all directions are shown correctly
relative to the center (Lambert Azimuthal Equal
Area)
• Distance - preserved along particular lines
• Some projections preserve two properties
Projection and Datum

Two datasets can differ in both the

projection and the datum, so it is
important to know both for every
dataset.
Geodesy and Map Projections
• Geodesy - the shape of the earth and definition of earth datums
• Map Projection - the transformation of a curved earth to a flat map
• Coordinate systems - (x,y) coordinate systems for map data
A geographic coordinate system
(GCS)
• A geographic coordinate system (GCS) uses a three-dimensional
spherical surface to define locations on the earth. A GCS is often
incorrectly called a datum, but a datum is only one part of a GCS. A GCS
includes an angular unit of measure, a prime meridian, and a datum
(based on a spheroid).

• A point is referenced by its longitude and latitude values. Longitude and

latitude are angles measured from the earth's center to a point on the
earth's surface. The angles often are measured in degrees (or in grads).
The following illustration shows the world as a globe with longitude and
latitude values.
Coordinate Systems
• Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) - a global system developed by
the US Military Services
• State Plane Coordinate System - civilian system for defining legal
boundaries
• Texas Centric Mapping System - a statewide coordinate system for
Texas
Coordinate System
A planar coordinate system is defined by a pair
of orthogonal (x,y) axes drawn through an origin

Origin X

(xo,yo)
(fo,lo)
Universal Transverse
Mercator
• Uses the Transverse Mercator projection
• Each zone has a Central Meridian (lo), zones are 6°
wide, and go from pole to pole
• 60 zones cover the earth from East to West
• Reference Latitude (fo), is the equator
• (Xshift, Yshift) = (xo,yo) = (500000, 0) in the
Northern Hemisphere, units are meters
UTM Zone 14
-99°
-102° -96°

6°

Origin
Equator
-120° -90 ° -60 °
State Plane Coordinate System
• Defined for each State in the United States
• East-West States (e.g. Texas) use Lambert Conformal Conic, North-
South States (e.g. California) use Transverse Mercator
• Texas has five zones (North, North Central, Central, South Central,
South) to give accurate representation
• Greatest accuracy for local measurements
ArcGIS Spatial Reference
Frames
• Defined for a feature
dataset in ArcCatalog
• XY Coordinate System
• Projected
• Geographic
• Z Coordinate system
• Domain, resolution and
tolerance
Horizontal Coordinate Systems
• Geographic coordinates (decimal • Projected coordinates (length
degrees) units, ft or meters)
Vertical Coordinate Systems
• None for 2D data
• Necessary for 3D
data
ArcGIS .prj files
Summary Concepts
• The spatial reference of a dataset comprises
datum, projection and coordinate system.
• For consistent analysis the spatial reference of
data sets should be the same.
• ArcGIS does projection on the fly so can display
data with different spatial references properly if
they are properly specified.
• ArcGIS terminology
• Define projection. Specify the projection for some data
without changing the data.
• Project. Change the data from one projection to
another.
Summary Concepts (Cont.)
• Two basic locational systems: geometric or Cartesian (x, y, z) and
geographic or gravitational (f, l, z)
• Mean sea level surface or geoid is approximated by an ellipsoid to
define an earth datum which gives (f, l) and distance above geoid
gives (z)
Summary Concepts (Cont.)
• To prepare a map, the earth is first reduced to a globe and then
projected onto a flat surface
• Three basic types of map projections: conic, cylindrical and azimuthal
• A particular projection is defined by a datum, a projection type and a
set of projection parameters
Summary Concepts (Cont.)
• Standard coordinate systems use particular projections over zones of
the earth’s surface
• Types of standard coordinate systems: UTM, State Plane
• Web Mercator coordinate system (WGS84 datum) is standard for
ArcGIS basemaps
Selftraining
• Select your national coordinate system and transform it into WGS-84
using ArcMap
• Repeat this practise with other shape file and coordinate systems at
different scales
Keywords for exam
• Projected coordinate systems
• Geographical coordinate systems
• Datum, Geoid
• Equidistant projections
• Equal area projections
• Coordinate system transformation in ArcMAP