CARTOGRAPHY

Map Projections and

Coordinate System
Lecture 3
Geodesy, Map Projections and
Coordinate Systems

 Geodesy - the shape of the earth and definition

of earth datums

 Coordinate systems - (x,y,z) coordinate systems

for map data

 Map Projection - the transformation of a curved

earth to a flat map
Coordinate System

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.
Coordinate System
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
Coordinate Systems

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
Global Cartesian Coordinates (x,y,z)
 Also called as Geocentric coordinates (X,Y,Z).
 An alternative method of defining a 3D position on the
surface of the Earth is by means of geocentric
coordinates (x,y,z), also known as 3D Cartesian
coordinates.
 The system has its origin at the mass-centre of the
Earth with the X- and Y-axes in the plane of the equator.
The X-axis passes through the meridian of Greenwich,
and the Z-axis coincides with the Earth's axis of
rotation.
Coordinate Systems
Global Cartesian Coordinates (x,y,z)
Geographic Coordinates (f, l, z)
 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.
Geographic Coordinates (f, l, z)
 In the spherical system, horizontal lines, or east–west
lines, are lines of equal latitude, or parallels. Vertical lines,
or north–south lines, are lines of equal longitude, or
meridians. These lines encompass the globe and form a
gridded network called a graticule.
Geographic Coordinates (f, l, z)
 Latitude and longitude values are traditionally measured
either in decimal degrees or in degrees, minutes, and
seconds (DMS). Latitude values are measured relative to
the equator and range from -90° at the South Pole to
+90° at the North Pole. Longitude values are measured
relative to the prime meridian. They range from -180°
when traveling west to 180° when traveling east. If the
prime meridian is at Greenwich, then Australia, which is
south of the equator and east of Greenwich, has positive
longitude values and negative latitude values.
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
Geographic Coordinates (f, l, z)
 Definition of a Spheriod
 A sphere is based on a circle, while a spheroid (or ellipsoid) is
based on an ellipse.

 The shape of an ellipse is defined by two radii. The longer

radius is called the semimajor axis, and the shorter radius is
called the semiminor axis.
Geographic Coordinates (f, l, z)
 Definition of a Spheriod (Cont.)
 Rotating the ellipse around the semi minor axis creates a
spheroid. A spheroid is also known as an oblate ellipsoid of
revolution. The following graphic shows the semimajor and
semiminor axes of a spheroid.

 A spheroid is defined by either the semimajor axis, a, and the

semiminor axis, b, or by a and the flattening. The flattening is
the difference in length between the two axes expressed as a
fraction or a decimal.The flattening, f, is derived as follows:
 f = (a - b) / a
Geographic Coordinates (f, l, z)
 Definition of a Spheriod (Cont.)
 The flattening is a small value, so usually the quantity 1/f is used
instead. These are the spheroid parameters for the World
Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS 1984 or WGS84):
 a = 6378137.0 meters b = 6356752.31424 meters 1/f =
298.257223563

 The flattening ranges from 0 to 1. A flattening value of 0 means

the two axes are equal, resulting in a sphere. The flattening of
the earth is approximately 0.003353. Another quantity that, like
the flattening, describes the shape of a spheroid is the square
of the eccentricity, e2. It is represented by the following:

Coordinate Systems
Geographic Coordinates (f, l, z)
Projected Coordinates (x,y,z)
 A projected coordinate system is defined on a flat, two-
dimensional surface. Unlike a geographic coordinate system, a
projected coordinate system has constant lengths, angles, and
areas across the two dimensions. A projected coordinate
system is always based on a geographic coordinate system that
is based on a sphere or spheroid.
 In a projected coordinate system, locations are identified by
x,y coordinates on a grid, with the origin at the center of the
grid. Each position has two values that reference it to that
central location. One specifies its horizontal position and the
other its vertical position. The two values are called the x-
coordinate and y-coordinate. Using this notation, the
coordinates at the origin are x = 0 and y = 0.
Projected Coordinates (x,y,z)
 On a gridded network of equally spaced horizontal and
vertical lines, the horizontal line in the center is called the x-
axis and the central vertical line is called the y-axis. Units are
consistent and equally spaced across the full range of x and y.
Horizontal lines above the origin and vertical lines to the right
of the origin have positive values; those below or to the left
have negative values. The four quadrants represent the four
possible combinations of positive and negative X and Y
coordinates.
Projected Coordinates (x,y,z)
A map projection is the systematic
transformation on the earth
(latitude/longitude) to planar coordinates
(x, y, z) in meters.
 Consists of lines that intersect at right
angles, forming a grid
Graphical Illustration
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
Earth’s Datum

 A geodetic datum is a tool used to define the shape

and size of the earth, as well as the reference point
for the various coordinate systems used in mapping
the earth. Throughout time, hundreds of different
datums have been used - each one changing with the
earth views of the times.
 There are hundreds of different datums in use; but,
they are all either horizontal or vertical in their
orientation.
Horizontal Earth Datums
 One that is used in measuring a specific position on the
earth's surface in coordinate systems such as latitude and
longitude.
 An earth datum is defined by an ellipse and an axis of
rotation
 NAD27 (North American Datum of 1927) uses the Clarke
(1866) ellipsoid on a non geocentric axis of rotation
 NAD83 (NAD,1983) uses the GRS80 ellipsoid on a
geocentric axis of rotation
 WGS84 (World Geodetic System of 1984) uses GRS80,
almost the same as NAD83
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
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
Vertical Earth Datums

 The vertical datum measures the elevations of specific

points on the earth. This data is gathered via tides with sea
level measurements, geodetic surveying with different
ellipsoid models used with the horizontal datum, and
gravity, measured with the geoid.
 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
Map Projections

 Map Projection -
cartographical map
projection is a formal
process which converts
(mathematically
speaking, maps) features
between a spherical or
ellipsoidal surface and a
projection surface,
which is often flat.
Map Projection

Map projections are attempts to portray the surface of the

earth or a portion of the earth on a flat surface. Some
distortions of conformality, distance, direction, scale, and
area always result from this process. Some projections
minimize distortions in some of these properties at the
expense of maximizing errors in others. Some projection
are attempts to only moderately distort all of these
properties.
Map Projection

 Conformality
 When the scale of a map at any point on the map is the same
in any direction, the projection is conformal. Meridians (lines of
longitude) and parallels (lines of latitude) intersect at right
angles. Shape is preserved locally on conformal maps.
 Distance
 A map is equidistant when it portrays distances from the
center of the projection to any other place on the map.
 Direction
 A map preserves direction when azimuths (angles from a point
on a line to another point) are portrayed correctly in all
directions.
Map Projection

 Scale
 Scale is the relationship between a distance portrayed on a
map and the same distance on the Earth.
 Area
 When a map portrays areas over the entire map so that all
mapped areas have the same proportional relationship to the
areas on the Earth that they represent, the map is an equal-
area map.
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)
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)
Geographic and Projected Coordinates

(f, l) (x, y)
Map Projection
Types of Projections
 Because maps are flat, some of the
simplest projections are made onto geometric shapes
that can be flattened without stretching their surfaces.
These are called developable surfaces. Some common
examples are cones, cylinders, and planes. A map
projection systematically projects locations from the
surface of a spheroid to representative positions on a flat
surface using mathematical algorithms.
Types of Projections
 The first step in projecting from one surface to another is
creating one or more points of contact. Each contact is called
a point (or line) of tangency. A planar projection is tangential
to the globe at one point. Tangential cones and cylinders touch
the globe along a line. If the projection surface intersects the
globe instead of merely touching its surface, the resulting
projection is a secant rather than a tangent case. Whether the
contact is tangent or secant, the contact points or lines are
significant because they define locations of zero distortion.
Lines of true scale include the central meridian and standard
parallels and are sometimes called standard lines. In general,
distortion increases with the distance from the point of
contact.
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
Conic Projections
(Albers Equal Area, Lambert Conformal Conic)
Conic Projections
(Albers Equal Area, Lambert Conformal Conic)

 Conic (tangent)

 Conic (secant)
Cylindrical Projections
(Transverse Mercator)

Normal

Transverse

Oblique
Azimuthal
(Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area )

Polar Equatorial Oblique

Azimuthal
Polar aspect (different perspectives)
Albers Equal Area Conic Projection
 This conic projection uses two standard parallels to
reduce some of the distortion of a projection with one
standard parallel. Although neither shape nor linear scale
is truly correct, the distortion of these properties is
minimized in the region between the standard parallels.
This projection is best suited for land masses extending in
an east-to-west orientation rather than those lying north
to south.
Albers Equal Area Conic Projection
 Projection method
 Conic. The meridians are equally spaced straight lines
converging to a common point. Poles are represented
as arcs rather than as single points. Parallels are
unequally spaced concentric circles whose spacing
decreases toward the poles.

 Lines of contact
 Two lines, the standard parallels, defined by degrees
latitude.
Albers Equal Area Conic Projection
Properties
 Shape
 Shape along the standard parallels is accurate and
minimally distorted in the region between the standard
parallels and those regions just beyond. The 90° angles
between meridians and parallels are preserved, but
because the scale along the lines of longitude does not
match the scale along the lines of latitude, the final
projection is not conformal.
 Area
 All areas are proportional to the same areas on the
earth.
Albers Equal Area Conic Projection
Properties
 Direction
 Locally true along the standard parallels.
 Distance
 Distances are most accurate in the middle latitudes.
Along parallels, scale is reduced between the standard
parallels and increased beyond them. Along meridians,
scale follows an opposite pattern.
 Linear graticules
 All meridians
Albers Equal Area Conic Projection
Properties
 Limitation
 Best for regions predominantly east–west in extent and
located in the middle north or south latitudes. Total
latitude range should not exceed 35°.
 Application
 Used for small regions or countries but not for
continents.
Albers Equal Area Conic Projection
Lambert Conformal Conic Projection
 This projection is one of the best for middle latitudes. It is
similar to the Albers conic equal area projection except
that Lambert conformal conic portrays shape more
accurately than area. The State Plane Coordinate System
uses this projection for all zones that have a greater east–
west extent.
Lambert Conformal Conic Projection
 Projection method
 Conic projection normally based on two standard
parallels, making it a secant projection. The latitude
spacing increases beyond the standard parallels. This is
the only common conic projection that represents the
poles as a single point. Can also be defined with a single
standard parallel and a scale factor. If the scale factor is
not equal to 1.0, effectively the projection becomes a
secant projection.
Lambert Conformal Conic Projection
 Lines of contact
 If using a two standard parallel case, the two standard
parallels.
 If using a single standard parallel case, and the scale
factor is 1.0, one standard parallel.
 If using a single standard parallel and the scale factor is
less than 1.0, the cone cuts the spheroid along two
parallels.
Lambert Conformal Conic Projection
Properties
 Shape
 All graticular intersections are 90°. Small shapes are
maintained.
 Area
 Minimal distortion near the standard parallels. Area
scale is reduced between standard parallels and
increased beyond them.
 Direction
 Local angles are accurate throughout because of
conformality.
Lambert Conformal Conic Projection
Properties
 Distance
 Correct scale along the standard parallels. The scale is
reduced between the parallels and increased beyond
them.
 Linear graticules
 All meridians
 Limitation
 Best for regions predominantly east–west in extent and
located in the middle north or south latitudes. Total
latitude range should not exceed 35°.
Lambert Conformal Conic Projection
Properties
 Application
 SPCS for all zones that are more east–west in extent.
Lambert Conformal Conic Projection
Universal Transverse Mercator
Projection
 The Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) system is a
specialized application of the transverse Mercator
projection. The globe is divided into 60 north and south
zones, each spanning 6° of longitude. Each zone has its
own central meridian. Zones 1N and 1S start at 180° W.
The limits of each zone are 84° N and 80° S, with the
division between north and south zones occurring at the
equator. The polar regions use the Universal Polar
Stereographic coordinate system.
Universal Transverse Mercator
Projection
 Projection method
 Cylindrical projection.

 Lines of contact
 Two lines parallel to and approximately 180 km to each
side of the central meridian of the UTM zone.
Universal Transverse Mercator
Projection
Properties
 Shape
 Conformal
 Accurate representation of small shapes
 Minimal distortion of larger shapes within the zone
 Area
 Minimal distortion within each UTM zone.
 Direction
 Local angles are true.
Universal Transverse Mercator
Projection
Properties
 Distance
 Scale is constant along the central meridian but at a
scale factor of 0.9996 to reduce lateral distortion
within each zone. With this scale factor, lines lying 180
km east and west of and parallel to the central meridian
have a scale factor of 1.
Universal Transverse Mercator
Projection
Properties
 Limitation
 Designed for a scale error not exceeding 0.1 percent within
each zone. Error and distortion increase for regions that span
more than one UTM zone. A UTM zone is not designed for
areas that span more than 20 degrees of longitude (10–12
degrees from the central meridian on each side).
 Data on a spheroid or an ellipsoid cannot be projected beyond
90° from the central meridian. In fact, the extent on a spheroid
or ellipsoid should be limited to 10°–12° on both sides of the
central meridian. Beyond that range, data projected to the
transverse Mercator projection may not project back to the
same position. Data on a sphere does not have these
limitations.
Universal Transverse Mercator
Projection
Properties
 Applications
 Used for United States topographic quadrangles,
1:100,000 scale.
 Many countries use local UTM zones based on the
official geographic coordinate systems in use.
 Large-scale topographic mapping of the former Soviet
Union.
Universal Transverse Mercator Projection
Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area
Projection
 This projection preserves the area of individual polygons
while simultaneously maintaining a true sense of direction
from the center. The general pattern of distortion is radial.
It is best suited for individual land masses that are
symmetrically proportioned, either round or square.
Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area
Projection
 Projection method
 Planar, projected from any point on the globe. This
projection can accommodate all aspects: equatorial,
polar, and oblique.

 Point of Tangency
 A single point, located anywhere, specified by longitude
and latitude.
Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area
Projection
Properties
 Shape
 Shape is minimally distorted, less than 2 percent, within
15° from the focal point. Beyond that, angular distortion
is more significant; small shapes are compressed radially
from the center and elongated perpendicularly.
 Area
 Equal.
 Direction
 True direction radiating from the central point.
Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area
Projection
Properties
 Distance
 True at center. Scale decreases with distance from the
center along the radii and increases from the center
perpendicularly to the radii.
 Linear graticules
 All aspects—the central meridian defining the point of
tangency.
 Equatorial aspect—the equator.
 Polar aspect—all meridians.
Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area
Projection
Properties
 Limitation
 The data must be less than a hemisphere in extent. The
software cannot process any area more than 90° from
the central point.
Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area Projection
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
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 °
ArcGIS Spatial Reference Frames

 Defined for a feature

dataset in ArcCatalog
 XY Coordinate System
 Projected
 Geographic
 Z Coordinate system
 Tolerance
 Resolution
 M Domain
Horizontal Coordinate Systems
 Geographic coordinates  Projected coordinates
(decimal degrees) (length units, ft or meters)
Spatial Reference = Datum + Projection +
Coordinate System

 For consistent analysis, the spatial reference of

data sets should be the same.
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
 Spatial Reference in ArcGIS 9 requires projection and
map extent