Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Longitude
Geodesy and Map Projections
• Coordinate systems - (x,y) coordinate systems
for map data, Geographic coordinate system
O
• Y
X
Equator
Plane Polar Coordinate System
§ The Polar Coordinate System…
… a two dimensional coordinate
system in which each point on a plane
is determined by an angle and a
distance.
Latitude
Longitude
Where is 0 degree?
Equator
Where is 0 degree?
• The prime meridianis 0 degrees longitude.
This imaginary line runs through the United
Kingdom, France, Spain, western Africa, and
Antarctica.
Unnderstanding
Longitude & Latitude
Typical Graph
• This is an example of a
typical graph we are all
familiar with.
• The graph is made up of
different “points” with
lines that connect
the points.
Typical Graph
• Each point has two Y axis
values:
• The “X” value that
runs along the
horizontal “X” axis
• The “Y” value that
runs along the
vertical “Y” axis
X axis
Typical Graph
• X value is always
Y
stated first (3,8) (9,5)
• Followed by the Y
value
• The “origin” is the
point where
the 2 axes intersect
X
with a
value of (0,0) (0,0)
Typical Graph
• A point can also have
Y
negative
(-) values
(-X,+Y) (+X,+Y)
• Negative X values are
(0,0)
to the left X
of the origin (0,0)
• Negative Y values are (-X,-Y) (+X,-Y)
below the
origin
East West, North South on The
Earth
• Let the X axis be the Equator. Y
• Let the Y axis be the Prime
Meridian
that runs through Greenwich
outside X
of London.
• Lat/Long are the 2 grid points
by
which you can locate any
point on
earth.
East West, North South on the
Earth
• Let each of the four quarters then be designated by
North or South and East or West.
N
W E
S
East West, North South on the
Earth
• The N tells us we’re
north of the Equator. (N, W) (N, E)
The S tells us we’re
south of the Equator.
• The E tells us that we’re
east of the Prime
Meridian. The W tells
us that we’re west of the
Prime Meridian. (S, W) (S, E)
East West, North South on the
Earth
• That means all points in (N, W)
North
America will have a
North latitude and a West
longitude because it is
North of the Equator and
West of the Prime
Meridian.
Prime Meridian
East West, North South on the
Earth
• What would be the
latitude and longitude
directions in
Australia?
?
Prime Meridian
90°S
180°W 180°E
What is Latitude?
90°N
Y
• Our latitude and
longitude might be:
• 37°, 03’,13’’N
X
• 76°, 29’, 45’’W
90°S
So Where is (0,0)?
• The origin point (0,0)
is where the equator
intersects the
prime meridian.
• (0,0) is off the
western coast of
Africa in the Atlantic
Ocean.
Latitude and Longitude on a
Sphere
Greenwich Z Meridian of longitude
N
meridian Parallel of latitude
°
P
•
W O E
R
• Y
• R - Mean earth
radius
Equator =0°
• O-
X Geocenter
Lat/long system measures angles on spherical
surfaces
e.g.
• 60º east of PM
• 55º north of equator
In Summary!
Positioning on the Earth’s Surface
East is the direction of Latitude: (90oN to 90oS)
rotation of the Earth North Pole
Prime Meridian Longitude: (180oE to 180oW)
0o Longitude
• degrees-minutes-seconds
(DMS),
• decimal degrees (DD)
Geographic Latitude/Longitude
Coordinate System
Ellipsoidal Parameters
a
Spheroids and Geoids
Spheroids and Geoids
• The rotation of the earth generates a centrifugal
force that causes the surface of the oceans to protrude
more at the equator than at the poles.
• This causes the shape of the earth to be an ellipsoid
or a spheroid, and not a sphere.
• The nonuniformity of the earth’s shape is described
by the term geoid. The geoid is essentially an
ellipsoid with a highly irregular surface; a geoid
resembles a potato or pear.
The Ellipsoid
• The ellipsoid is an approximation of the
Earth’s shape that does not account for
variations caused by non-uniform density of
the Earth.
• Examples of Ellipsoids
Ellipsoid or Spheroid
Rotate an ellipse around an axis
b
a O a Y
Rotational
axis
The Geoid
• A calculation of the earth’s size and shape differ
from one location to another.
• For each continent, internationally accepted
ellipsoids exist, such as Clarke 1866 for the
United States and the Kravinsky ellipsoid for the
former Soviet Union.
The Geoid
• Satellite measurements have led to the use of
geodetic datums WGS-84 (World Geodetic
System) and GRS-1980(Geodetic Reference
System) as the best ellipsoids for the entire geoid.
The Geoid
• The maximum discrepancy between the geoid
and the WGS-84 ellipsoid is 60 meters above
and 100 meters below.
• Because the Earth’s radius is about 6,000,000
meters (~6350 km), the maximum error is one
part in 100,000.
Representations of the Earth
Mean Sea Level is a surface of constant
gravitational potential called the Geoid
Sea Ellipsoi
surface d
Earth
surface
Geoid
Earth Surface: Ellipsoid, Geoid, Topo
Ellipsoid
Ocean
• True geodetic datums were employed only after the late 1700s when
measurements showed that the earth was ellipsoidal in shape. The
science of geodesy.
Datums
• Commonly used datums in North America
– NAD83
Source: