Maps and Mapping

with GIS
Arjun Aryal

Pacific Mapping Program

School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology
University of Hawai'i at Manoa
2525 Correa Road, HIG 407A
Honolulu, HI 96822
 
Tel: (808) 956 5061
Fax: (808) 956 2580
Email : [email protected]
 Map

Map - a representation usually on a flat surface of the

whole or a part of an area. Maps can be of different types

Planimetric data
DEM
Topography
Elements of a Maps and
Mapping issues

• Coordinate/Reference system
• Datums
• Height systems
• Projections
• Scale
• Accuracy and precision
• Metadata
Coordinate Systems

All mapped features are represented in some

coordinate system
 Definition and characteristics
– A reference frame (2- or 3-D) that locates objects in
space
– Every coordinate system has a reference point or
origin
– Many coordinate systems have been defined, often
specifying datum and map projection
 Examples
– Geographic (Latitude/Longitude system)
– UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator)
– ECEF (earth centered earth fixed)
Geographic Coordinates

 Latitude/longitude/ (height)
 Latitude N/S or +/-
 Longitude E/W or +/-
Units: degrees, minutes, seconds (or decimal degrees)
 Height (meter)
Eg.
U-GIN TAUNG GPS STATION
• Deg/Min/Sec
Lat: N 20° 21' 17.0111“
Lon: E 92° 49' 21.8596“
Ell.(WGS 84) Ht. 141.95 m
• Decimal degrees
Lat: N 20.35473 °
Lon: E 92.82274°
 UTM Coordinates

Eg.
U-GIN TAUNG GPS STATION
UTM zone 46
N 2250451.49 m
E 481786.72 m
Ht (Msl) 191.11 m
 Datums – a surface to project map

 Geodesy - a branch of applied mathematics that deals with the

curvature, shape, size and position of the Earth
 A geodetic datum is a model of the Earth defined by a location
of central point with a reference ellipsoid; designed to project
all or part of the earth
 A datum provides the surface to which ground control
measurements are referred, and are used as reference systems
for navigation, surveying and mapping

• A datum is defined by a specific

ellipsoid and a unique point of origin
that represent shape of the Earth

Origin
 Shape of the earth –
spheroid, ellipsoid, geoid
Sea surface Ellipsoid

Topographic
Geoid surface
(Potatoid??)

What represent the shape of the Earth most accurately?

-Probably the Geoid but it is not well modeled and not
simple to define as ellipsoid to represent the earths surface.
The WGS 84 Ellipsoid
Why is a datum important in GIS?

 All coordinates are referenced to a particular

datum
 GIS layers must have the correct datum specified
(by a *.prj file) to overlay properly
 Datum mismatches are not always obvious
 When exporting GPS or any data, be sure to
choose correct datum
 Match with background maps
Datum Mismatch

Eg. HTONMAN(AMHERST)
GPS STATION
• WGS 84
Lat: N 16° 04' 29.9327“
Lon: E 97° 42' 14.0712“
Ell. Ht. 32.73
• MYANMAR DAT.
Lat: N 16° 04' 24.8111
Lon: E 97° 42' 25.833 Transformation can defined
Ell. Ht. 21.64 mathematically but error exists
How many datums exist and
which datum to choose?

 There are many datums (need 6 parameters). Therefore

we can define infinitely many datums. There already
exist several.

 Better to use the one that best fit the area of interest
but there are compatibility (or transformation) issues.

 Datum needs to be redefined over time for better

accuracy

 WGS (GPS use this) is the most common

 Height measurement
Topographic surface  Height wrt Ellipsoid
– Ellipsoidal height

 Height wrt Geoid

– Geoidal height
Ocean – Height above mean
Ellipsoid sea level (MSL)
Geoid Gravity Anomaly

• GPS measures Ellipsoid (WGS84) height but can be converted.

However, errors may likely to occur during transformation.
 Map projection

A map projection is used to portray all or part of the round Earth

on a flat surface (eg. Paper). This cannot be done without
some distortion (3D  2D).
More about Map Projection

 There exist several map projections

 Every projection has its own advantages and disadvantages.
There is no ‘best’ projection and every projections inherits
distortion.
 2 forms of distortion – angle (direction), distance (shape, size,
area)
 The mapmaker must select the one best suited to the needs,
reducing distortion of the most important features. For example,
for navigation, distortion in area is not important but preservation
of angle is important. Similarly, for a cadastral map, area needs
to be well preserved.
 Types of Projections - conic
 Screen is a conic surface. Lamp at the center of the earth.
Examples: Albers Equal Area, Lambert Conformal Conic. Good
for East-West land areas.

Eg.
Albers and Lambert
 Types of Projections - Cylindrical
 Screen is a cylindrical surface. Lamp at the center of the
earth. Examples: (Transverse Mercator). Good for North-South
land areas.

Eg. Mercator Transverse

Oblique

Tangent Secant
 Types of Projections - Azimuthal
 Screen is a flat surface tangent to the earth. Lamp at the center
of the earth (gnomonic), at the other side of the earth
(stereographic), or far from the earth (orthographic). Examples:
Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area. Good for global views.

Eg. Lambert
 So, which one to choose?

• Goal = minimize distortion:

– Cylindrical are true at the equator
and distortion increases toward the poles.
– Conics are true along some parallel
somewhere between the equator and
a pole and distortion increases away from this standard.
– Azimuthals are true only at their center point, but generally distortion is
worst at the edge of the map.

• Rule of thumb
– A country in the tropics asks for a cylindrical projection.
– A country in the temperate zone asks for a conical projection.
– A polar area asks for an azimuthal projection.
Map projection in GIS

 Ground control points (GCPs) are required

 GPS observation can provide GCPs

 In ArcGIS, a map projection table is stored in

map projection file.
Map Scale

Ratio of measurement scale to distance on the

ground
 Large Scale - Small areas in high detail
 Small Scale - Large areas in low detail

1/1,000 (1:1,000) vs. 1/64,000 (1:64,000)

Which one is large scale? Or detailed?

Scale Representation
– Graphic (scale bar)
– Verbal: 1 inch = 1 mile (at 1:63,360)
Resolution of Raster Image
(Analogous to scale)

Low resolution High resolution

Accuracy and Precision

 Accuracy – How close to the true value

 Precision – how well the measurement
data clustered.
Metadata

 Information about data (data documentation)

– Data Source
– Data Collection methods
– Editing details
– Accuracy
– Projection
 Provides information to process and interpret
data received from an external source