6/29/2015

BasicConcepts(GPSandGIS)Part5

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SetYourWatch
{_}TheGPSreceiversclockhasbeencorrectlysetbytheexposuretothesatellites.Itnowhasaveryaccurate
ideaofthetime.Soyoumaysetyourwatchbyitandbecorrecttothenearestsecond.21Withtherecordingof
thegeographiccoordinatesandthesettingofyourwatch,youhaveusedGPStopositionyourselfinfour
dimensional(4D)space.
TimeontheGeo3,assumingthatithasbeenproperlyconfiguredforthelocaltime,isfoundbyFn&OPTION
~Chart.Ifthetimedoesntshowup,pressOPTION~Infowindows.Putacheckby"Currenttime"withthe
ENTERkey,(Youmighthavetounchecksomethingelsetomakeroomforthetimewindow.)PressCLOSE.
(Asyoumayormaynotknow,Einsteinsgeneraltheoryofrelativitypredictsthattimerunsmoreslowlythe
greaterthegravitationalfieldasomewhatamazingclaimthathasbeenverified.Thatis,aclockwouldrun
fasterfaroutinspace,awayfromanylargemasses,thanitwouldhereonearth.Ananimalwouldagemore
quickly.Itturnsoutthat,whiletheeffectistinyforGPSsatellites,theirclocksarefarenoughawayfromEarth
sothattheydorunatadifferentratethanthosehere,andthisdifferencehasbeencompensatedfor.)

DidtheEarthMove?
{_}Gotothe"Navigation"itemontheMainMenu.Whenyouselectityouwillfindfivemenuitems,asshown
below:
1.StartNavigate

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2.ToWaypoint
3.FromWaypoint
4.WaypointSetup
5.DisplayFormat

{__}Select"DisplayFormat."Select"Velocity/Time."Thedisplayreturnstothe"Navigation"menu.Select
"StartNavigate."Scrollthescreenuntil"Vel:"(forVelocity)appears.Anumber,representingkilometersper
hour(kph),isdisplayed.Thenumberwillbebetweenzeroandaround0.4.
Anynumbergreaterthanzeroindicatesthattheantennaismovingatsomenumberofkilometersperhour
withrespecttotheEarth.Thatsodd.Youseethattheantennaisvirtuallymotionless.Whyshouldthereceiver
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berecordingmovement?Theansweristhat,withanyphysicalsystem,thereareerrors.YourGPSreceiveris
calculatingpositionsattherateofaboutthreeeverytwoseconds.Sinceeachpositiondiffers,slightly,fromthe
onebeforeit,thereceiverbelievesthatitsantennaismoving.
{_}Nowbegintowalkwiththeunitheldoutinfrontofyou.
Calloutthevelocityreadingstoyourpartner.Heorsheshould"mentally"averageyourreadingsandrecord
somevalues.Acomfortablewalkingspeedisaboutfivekph(threemilesperhour).Isthatwhattheunit
indicates?
{_}Continuetowalk.Escapefromthecurrentscreenandselect"DisplayFormat"again.Thistimepick"Dist~
Bearing."Select"StartNavigate"again.Scrollthescreenuntil"Heading:"appears.Thenumberindicatesyour
directionoftravel,relativetoTrueNorth("Tn"),indegrees.Again,callthereadingsouttoyourpartner.Do
theytendtoaveragetotheapproximatedirectionyouarewalking?
OnewaytonavigatewiththeGeo3:Fn&OPTION~Compass~OPTIONInfoWindows.Withtheupand
downarrowkeysandtheENTERkey,turnonHeading,Velocity,andCurrenttime.Scrolldowntobesure
everythingelseisturnedoff,Thenbegintowalk.
{_}Walkbacktotheoriginallocationwhereyourecordedthepositionfixes.Afteraminuteorso,shuttheunit
offandreturntoyourlab,room,oroffice.Becertainthescreenisblank,sothattheunitisnotcollectingnew
positionfixes.Disconnectthepowercordfromthebattery(notfromtheGPSunit).Donotturntheuniton
againuntilyouareinsideabuilding,becauseinthenextProjectwewillwanttousethelastpositionthatwas
recordedbythereceiver.Thecoordinatesofthatpositionwillberememberedbythereceiver.
Ifyouturnitoff,theGeoSlosesthelastposition,soyoucannotdoProject1C.Therefore,leavetheGeo3
turnedon(besurethebacklightisoffsoastosavethebattery).Tapethesquareofaluminumfoiloverthetop
oftheunitwheretheantennaissoitcantcontinuetotakedata.Backinyourroom,office,orlabbeginthe
Projectbelowimmediately.

PROJECT1C
BackInside
Yoursessioninthefieldmayhaveraisedasmanyquestionsasitanswered.Wewilllookattheanswersto
thosequestionsinlatertopics.First,letsverifythatGPSreallyworks.(Someoneistellingyouthatyoucan
findyourpositiononEarthtowithinafewfeetfromfourobjectsinspace,morethan12,000milesaway,
battingalongat2.4milespersecond.Wouldyoubelievethemwithoutchecking?Iwouldnt.)
{_}Usingacalculator,obtaintheaverageofeachofthe15latitudes,15longitudes,and15altitudesyou
recorded.
AverageLatitude_
AverageLongitude_
AverageAltitude_
Plotthepointonyourtopomap.Doesthepointrepresentwhereyouwere?
TheaveragealtitudeindicateddevelopedbyGPSislikelytobesomewhatdifferentfromthatshownbythe
map.Thehorizontalaccuracyofasinglepointisusuallywithin10meters,orroughly33feet.Verticalaccuracy
isabouthalforathirdthatgood.Soyouraltitudefixthatyourreceiverrecordedatanygivenpointcouldbeoff
by70to100feet.Theaverageofthe15altitudesshouldbesomewhatbetter.
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TheShapeoftheEarthFindingElevations
Intermsoftryingtofindamathematicalortextualdescriptionofitsshape,Earthisamess.Evennot
consideringitsobviousbumpinessclearlyevidenttoyouifyouonlylookoutawindowtheoverallshape
defiesanyattemptatneatdescription.ThewonderfulideathatEarthwasthesimplestofallthreedimensional
figuresthespherebitthedustin1687whenNewtonproposedthatanellipsoidwasabetterapproximation.
ThustheEarthwasconsideredtomoreresembleaball,compressedslightlyatthepoles,withgreatergirthat
theequator.
Thediameterthroughthepolesissome43kilometerslessthanadiameteracrosstheplaneoftheequator.
Inthelatterpartofthetwentiethcenturyitwasdeterminedthattheshapedepartedfromellipsoidalaswell.A
slightdepressionatthesouthpolecomplementsalittleprotuberanceatthenorthpole,andjustsouthofthe
equatorwefindabulge.Sohowcanacohesivedescriptionbemade?Bycarefulmathematicalwork,basedon
gravityandwater.
Adefinition:Thegeoidisasurface,likeaneggshell.Itisequipotential(thatis,everywhereonthesurfacethe
strengthofgravityisthesame)and(almost)coincideswithmeansealevel.Imaginethatallseasarecalm,and
meansealevelextendsthroughthelandformsthroughanetworkofcanals.(Inreality,meansealevel,itself,
canvarybyameterortwo,dependingonwhereitismeasured.)Thegeoidsurface,bydefinition,is
perpendiculartotheforceofgravity,nomatteratwhatpointitisconsidered.Becausethevalueofgravity
variesoverthesurfaceoftheEarth,thesurfaceofthegeoidissmoothandcontinuous,butnotregularasa
sphereorellipsoidwouldbe.Ithasdepressionsandbulges.
Satellitesarekeptintheirorbitsbygravity.Gravitycanbeconsideredaforcebetweenthesatelliteandthe
centerofmassoftheEarth.TheGPSsatellitesarenotaffectedbytheshapeoftheEarthnorvariationsinits
density.Theyorbitarounditscenterofmassandarealongwayaway.Thisprovidestheopportunitytodefinea
simplemathematicalsurfacethatapproximatesthesurfaceoftheEarth.Thereferenceellipsoidisthissurface
createdbyrotatinganellipsearoundtheaxisconnectingthepoles.Thecenteroftheellipse,andhencethe
centeroftheellipsoid,isthecenterofmassoftheEarth.Thesurfaceoftheellipseismeanttoapproximatethe
geoid.Someplacesthereferenceellipsoidsurfaceisbelowthegeoidandsomeplacesitisabove.

ComparetheTwoAltitudeReferencingSystems
Forallbutthelastfewyears,mostpeoplemeasuredaltitudefromtheaverageleveloftheoceans.Thetwo
primarymethodsoftakingmeasurementswereverticallengthmeasurementfromabeach(inconvenientifno
oceanwerenearby)andmeasurementofairpressure.Ofcourse,airpressureisvariablefromhourtohourso
therearecomplicationsusingthismethodaswell.
Aspreviouslymentioned,anewdefinitionofaltitudehasbeendeveloped,usingnotsealevelasthezerobut
thegravitationalsurfacecalledthereferenceellipsoid.AsIjustsaid,thereferenceellipsoidapproximatesmean
sealevel,butisslightlydifferentfromitalmosteverywhere.Sincethesatellitesareslavestogravity,the
GeoExplorer"thinks"ofaltitudeandelevationintermsofheightabovethereferenceellipsoid(HAE).
Ofcoursealmostalldatarelatedtoaltitude,garneredoverseveralhundredyears,isexpressedinaltitudeabove
meansealevel(MSL).SoformulasandtableshavebeendevelopedthatindicatethedifferencebetweenMSL
andHAE.TheseareincorporatedintotheGeoExplorerreceiverssotheymaydisplayaltitudeinMSL.Youwill
examineHAEandMSLinyourareabydoingthefollowing:
{_}ReconnectthebatterytothepowercordtotheGPSunit.
TurntheGPSuniton.Thereceiverkeptinitsmemorythecoordinatesofthelastdatapointyoutookinthe
fieldthecoordinatesofthispointcanbedisplayedfromthe"2.Position"menuitemintheMainMenu.The
screenheadingwillbe"OldPosition."NowdeterminetheapproximatedifferencebetweenMeanSeaLeveland
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theHeightAboveEllipsoidinyourarea.(Themanufacturerofthereceivercodedtheinformationinyour
receiverforalllocationsontheearthssurface.)TheideaisthatyouwillfirstdisplaytheOldPositioninMSL,
thendisplayitinHAE.
First,writedowntheelevationofthelastpoint(theOLDposition)fromthe"Position"screen.Thiswillbea
heightabovesealevelinfeetormeters,dependingonhowyousettheunits.NowunderConfiguration~Units
CustomSetup~AltReferenceselect"Ellipsoid(HAE)."Returntothe"Position"screen.Adifferentnumber
willbeshownforelevation.ThisnewnumberistheheightoftheOLDpositionabovethereferenceellipsoid.
Fromthesetwonumbersyoucancalculatethedifferenceinheightbetweenthereferenceellipsoidandmean
sealevel.Whatisitandinwhatunits?_.Whichishigher?_.
ToseethedifferenceinMSLmidHAEaltitudesusingtheGeo3:Firstrecordthealtitudeshownonthescreen
thatshowsyouthelatitudeandlongitudecoordinates(Fn&OPTION~GPSusingtheStandardscreen).The
altitudewillappearatthebottomofthescreen,alternatingwithacoupleofmessages.Youwillbewritingdown
thealtitudeaboveMeanSealLevel(MSL),TodeterminetheHeight
AboveEllipsoid:Fn&OPTION~Setup~Configurations~CoordinatesAltitudereference~HAE.(Make
surethealtitudeunitsandcoordinateunitsaresettoMeters.)Returntothescreenfromwhichyoufoundthe
MSLaltitudeearlier.
{_}TurntheGPSunitoff.Readthefollowingsectioncarefully!
Twice![IfyouareusingtheGeo3,don'tturntheunitoff.]

TheDatumMakesaDifference
Itisabsolutelyvital,whenintegratingGPSdatawithGISdata,thatyourdatasetsmatchwithrespecttogeodetic
datum,22coordinatesystem,units,andprojection.Youwillsoonprovetoyourselfhowimportantthisisby
fillingouttheLatitudeandLongitudeComputationTablesattheendofthistopicandnotingthedifferences
betweendifferentsystems.Youwillneedtousethefollowingfourpointsofinformationtodeterminethe
differencesinpositiondesignationfromonedatumtoanother,andfromonecoordinatesystemtoanother:
Onedegreeoflatitudecorrespondstoapproximately111kilometers(km)thereforeoneminuteoflatitude
correspondstothatnumberdividedby60,orapproximately1,845meters.
Thelengthofaminuteoflongitude,measuredalongaparallel,dependsuponthelatitudeofthatparallel.
Thelengthvariesfromapproximately1,855metersattheequatortozerometersatthepoles.Sosome
computationisneeded:atthelatitudeatwhichyoutookdata(whatisit?_),oneminuteoflongitude
correspondstoapproximately1,855metersmultipliedbythecosineofthatlatitude.Forexample,ifyour
latitudewere30thevalueofthecosinewouldbeapproximately0.866.Thereforeaminuteoflongitudewould
correspondto1,601meters(thats1,855times0.866=1,601).Nowdothecalculationsforyourlatitude:Atthe
positionofyourfix,aminuteoflongitudecorrespondsto_meters.
OntheTrimbledisplay,thepositioninformationinUniversalTransverseMercator(UTM)isgivenwith
easting(thexcoordinate)first,andnorthing(theycoordinate)second.Notethatthisisoppositethe"latitude
first"conventionof"Deg&Min."
IntheUTMcoordinatesystem,inagivenzone,agreaternumberofmetersindicatesamoreeasterly
positioninlongitude,oramorenortherlypositioninlatitude.Thatis,"x"and"y"increase"totheright"and
"up,"respectively,inaccordancewithstandardCartesianconvention.
{_}TurntheGPSuniton.Makecertainthereceiverisnottakingdatafromsatellites.FillouttheLatitudeand
LongitudeComputationTablesbelow.Todothis,youwillhavetoobtaineightnumbersfromtheGPSunit
whenitisnottakingdatafromsatellites(e.g.,whileinsideorwithacoupleoflayersofaluminumfoiltaped
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overtheantenna).Thereceiverkeptinitsmemorythecoordinatesofthelastdatapointyoutookinthefieldas
before(withthealtitudecomputationyoudid),thesecanbedisplayedastheOldPosition.Letmesaythat
again:Thereceiverkeptinitsmemorythecoordinatesofthelastdatapointyoutookinthefieldthesecanbe
displayedastheOldPosition.
TheGeo3willonlydisplaythelastpositionittookifitisleftonfromthelasttimeittookdatafromthe
satellites.Ifyouhaveturneditoffinthemeantimeyouneedtotakeitbackoutsideandhaveitcalculatea
position.
Youcanviewbothcoordinatesofthatpointinseveralways,usingwhateverdatumyouwantandinwhatever
coordinatesystemyouwant.Youmayobtainthefirsttwooftheeightnumbersbysettingtheconfigurationto,
say,latitude&longitudeandNAD27,thenswitchingtothePositionscreenandwritingdownthenumbersin
theappropriatespacesontheappropriatetablesattheendofthetopic.ThenchangethedatumtoWGS84,goto
thePositionscreenandwritedownthosenumbers.NextdoUTMandWGS84.FinallydoUTMandNAD27.
Whenyouhavefinishedwritingdownthecoordinatesanddoingthecalculationsontheforms,comebackand
answerthequestionbelow:
{_}DoesthedifferenceinmetersfromWGS84toNAD27usingtheUTMcoordinatesystemcorrespondtothe
differenceinmetersyoucalculatedbasedonlatitudeandlongitudedegreesandminutes?_.Whatconclusions
canyoudrawfromyourobservationsandcalculations?
WiththeGeo3,thescreenyouneedtousetowritedowntherequirednumbersisFn&OPTION~GPS,in
Standardmode.TogettothedifferentcoordinatesystemsandtowhereyoucansettheDatumyouuse:
Fn&OPTION~Setup~Configurations~Coordinates~SystemtosetLatitudeandLongitude,Fn&
OPTION~Setup~Configurations~Coordinates~SystemtosetUniversalTransverseMercator,afterwhich
youmustsettheZonetoyourUTMzone,e.g.,16North(availablefromthetopomap),andFn&OPTION~
Setup~Configurations~Coordinates~Datum.

Latitude

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Latitude

Longitude

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