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4 - Coordinates - Datums and Projections

The document provides an overview of coordinate systems, including geographic and projected systems, and their applications in engineering, water, and environmental data. It explains the concepts of datums, common datums like NAD27 and WGS 1984, and the importance of map projections, such as the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM). Additionally, it addresses potential issues with GPS and GIS data alignment related to projections and datums.

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9 views19 pages

4 - Coordinates - Datums and Projections

The document provides an overview of coordinate systems, including geographic and projected systems, and their applications in engineering, water, and environmental data. It explains the concepts of datums, common datums like NAD27 and WGS 1984, and the importance of map projections, such as the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM). Additionally, it addresses potential issues with GPS and GIS data alignment related to projections and datums.

Uploaded by

jmazvimbakupa3
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Coordinate systems,

datums & projections

By

GUMINDOGA W
2025
COURSE SUMMARY

 Geographic Coordinate Systems

 Projected Coordinate Systems

 Which Coordinate Systems are most


common with engineering, water and
environment data?
Coordinate Systems

 There are 2 types of coordinate


systems:

 Geographic Coordinate Systems

 Projected Coordinate Systems


Geographic Coordinate System

 A reference system using latitude and


longitude to define the location of points on
the surface of a sphere or spheroid

 decimal degrees (DD) -17.8 deg for Norton


 degrees/minutes/seconds (DMS) 31° 03’ 22” E for
Harare
Geographic Coordinate System

- Earth is not a sphere


- Poles are flattened
- Bulges at equator

Earth is a spheroid……or ellipsoid


Geographic Coordinate System

 Spheroid approximates the shape of the earth

 Model of the earth

 Essentially when surveyors get together and all agree


to be wrong

 Also called an “ellipsoid”


Geographic Coordinate System

 A datum defines the position of the spheroid


relative to the center of the earth

 Origin and orientation of latitude and longitude lines


are determined by the datum

 Hundreds of datums customized for different parts of


the world
Common Datums
 North American Datum 1927 (NAD27)
 Uses the Clarke 1866 spheroid
 Reference point is located at Meades Ranch, Kansas
 Based on ground survey inrmation in the 1800’s

 WGS 1984
 Most recently developed datum/ framework for measurements
worldwide
 Earth centered, or geocentric, perspective
 This is the datum used by all GPS satellites
 Nearly identical to NAD83…therefore NAD83 is compatible
with data collected in GPS using WGS84!
Pros and cons of Geographic
Coordinate System
 Universal Coordinate System (lat/lon)
 Lat/lon good for locating positions on surface
of a globe
 Lat/lon is not efficient for measuring
distances and areas!
 Latitude and longitude are not uniform units of
measure
 One degree of longitude at equator = 111.321 km
(Clarke 1866 spheroid)
 One degree of longitude at 60° latitude = 55.802 km
(Clarke 1866 spheroid)
Projected Coordinate
Systems
 A map projection is the systematic
transformation of locations on the earth
(latitude/longitude) to planar coordinates
 The basis for this transformation is the
geographic coordinate system (which
references a datum)

 Map projections are designed for specific


purposes
This process of flattening the earth will cause
distortions in one or more of the following spatial
properties:

 Shape
 Conformal map projections preserve shape
 Area
 Equal area map projections preserve area
 Distance/Scale
 Equidistant map projections preserve distance
 Direction/Angle
 Azimuthal map projections preserve true
direction
Sinusoidal Projection
Mercator Projection
Universal Transverse
Mercator (UTM)
 Developed by US military
 Grid system
 Earth divided into 60 zones
 Great for small areas
 minimal map distortion
 distortion greater at edge of zones
 Zimbabwe divided into which two zones?
 How about Nigeria?
Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM)

•Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates


define two dimensional, horizontal, positions.
•Each UTM zone is identified by a number.
•UTM zone numbers designate individual 6° wide
longitudinal strips extending from 80° South latitude to
84° North latitude.
When GPS points don’t align with GIS
Data
Most likely a projection issue if:

 There are huge errors…data


points do not overlay
 Features could be displayed
in wrong state or hemisphere!
When GPS points don’t align with GIS
Data
Possibly a datum issue if:

 GPS data overlays with GIS data,


but off by several hundred feet
 This creates problems when
doing analysis
Why are projections
important?

 Creating spatial data (collecting GPS data)


 Import into GIS and overlay with other layers
 Acquiring spatial data from other sources
 Display your GPS data using maps
 END

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