Concepts of Map Projections

MSc Geomatics 2020

By: Dr. Kamal Abdellatif Sami

Map Projections

2
 Geodesy
• A 3-dimensional curved surface cannot be
reduced to a 2-dimensional flat surface
(map) without some form of “distortion”
being applied.
• A set of mathematical rules must be
developed that can be published and
adopted by users.
• Results of conversion must meet the
intended use of the 2-D “map”.
• Lots of choices developed over the years
to meet many needs.
3
• Global coverage vs. local coverage.
 Geodesy
• Surveyors use “conformal” projections
– Preserves scale in all directions at a given
point and preserves angular relationships
between lines at a given point.
– Distances will be modified by a scale factor.
• Common Projections
– Lambert Conformal
– Transverse Mercator
– Oblique Mercator
• State Plane and Local 4
 Geodesy
• State Plane Coordinate Myths
– Computations are too difficult.
– Scale factors are too much trouble.
– Surveyors don’t have time.
• State Plane Coordinate Facts
– Computations are too difficult.
• If it ever was true, modern computers have no problem with coordinate conversion or
coordinate geometry. This includes data collectors.
– Scale factors are too much trouble.
• All too often the concept of distortion (scale factor) in a map projection system is
interpreted as an error of the system. However, map projection systems provide for a
rigorous mathematical conversions – scale factors are reversible and knowable.
• Data collectors can now be programmed to apply a scale factor – both on
measurements and on layouts.
5
– Surveyors don’t have time.
 Geodesy
• Lambert Conformal
Projection
– Used in regions that are longer
east-west extent
– State Plane Coordinates Zones
in ND, SD, NE, IA, MN

6
Geometry of Lambert Projection
• Defining parameters for a Lambert
Projection
– Ellipsoid shape
• Semi-major axis (a) and the inverse flattening ratio
(1/f)
– Latitude of northerly standard parallel (ɸn)
– Latitude of southerly standard parallel (ɸs)
– Latitude of Grid Origin (ɸb)
– Longitude of Central Meridian (λo)
– Easting (Eb) and Northing (Nb) at Grid Origin 7
Geometry of Lambert Projection

ɸn

ɸs
ɸn

ɸb
ɸs

ɸb
λo

λo
Nb, Eb

8
Unroll the Cone of Lat/Lon Grid

ɸb ɸn
ɸs
ɸs
ɸn

ɸb

λo

λo
Nb, Eb
9
Flat Sheet of Paper Can Be Rolled into a
Cone
N

10
Flat Sheet of Paper Can Be Rolled into a
Cone

11
 2 Flat Sheets of Paper
Combined
ɸb
ɸs
+ N

ɸn

λo
Nb, Eb

12
2 Flat Sheets of Paper
Combined
ɸb
ɸs
N
ɸn

E
λo
Nb, Eb

13
 Sample Calculation
• Two non-familiar calculations are required
– Lat/Lon to Northing/Easting
– Northing/Easting to Lat/Long
• All other calculations are very similar to
any other cartesian grid coordinate
system.

14
 Sample Calculation
• Outline of Steps
– Design traverse to include one or more NGS control
marks (or use OPUS-S).
– Field measure all angles and distances as usual,
record elevations of each traverse point.
– Convert Ground Distances to Grid Distances
– Convert Geodetic Azimuth to Grid Azimuth
– Convert the Control Lat/Lon to Control N/E
– Perform all calculations using grid azimuth and grid
distances. Apply compass rule, etc, whatever.
– Convert the grid N/E for all new points to Lat/Lon
15
 Sample Calculation
• Lambert Conformal Systems are called
“conformal” because the scale factors are
uniform in all directions AT a given point
• That means shapes are not distorted and
• Angles on the ground equal angles on the
grid
• So, no need to convert angles!
– Except for “long lines” (more later)
16
 Sample Calculation
• Distance Conversions
– Ground distances in Colorado are measured
at high elevations. Because the Ellipsoid is
beneath you, the ground distance must be
reduced to ellipsoid (the so-called “sea level”
scale factor).
– The SPCS grid is not coincident with the
ellipsoid, so a second scale factor must be
applied (the “grid scale factor”)
– If the entire survey is at a similar elevation
and is in a confined region, the 2 scale factors17
 Sample Calculation
• Sea level scale factor
– Use orthometric heights
for SPCS 27
– Use ellipsoid heights for
SPCS 83
– Why? See page 46 of
NOAA Manual NOS
NGS 5
• S = D * ( R / (R+N+H) )
• R ≈ 20,906,000 feet 18
 Sample Calculation
• Grid Scale Factor
– Possible to compute (need computer
program)
– Easier to look up in the Projection Table
– Tabulated by latitude

19
 Sample Calculation
• Grid North’s are all parallel with the SPCS
grid

Grid N Grid N Grid N Grid N Grid N Grid N

20
 Sample Calculation
• Geodetic North’s all converge toward the
Pole

Geodetic N
Geodetic N

21
 Sample Calculation
• At any known longitude, the angular difference
(γ - gamma) between Geodetic North and Grid
North is constant and is called the “mapping
angle” or “meridian convergence”.
• Simple equation:
γ = l * (λo – λ)
Where:
l = constant for projection (see Tables)
λo = longitude of central meridian (see Tables)
λ = longitude at a point
22
 Sample Calculation
• Example: What is the SPCS 83 mapping
angle at a point in the Colorado North
Zone whose longitude is 104⁰00’ ?

l = constant for projection = 0.646133456811

λo = longitude of central meridian = 105⁰30’
λ = longitude at the point = 104⁰00’

γ = l * (λo – λ)
γ = 0.646133456811 * (105⁰30’ – 104⁰00’) 23

γ = + 0⁰58’09.12067”
 Sample Calculation

North
Grid
105⁰30’

Grid Az = Geod Az - γ

Professional Surveyors Association of 24

Nebraska
 Sample Calculation
• Astronomic North to Geodetic North
– Astronomic North is that which we observe
from viewing the stars or Sun.
– Geodetic North is from the point of
observation to the pole of the ellipsoid.
• In a perfect world, they’d be the same
– Gravity variations cause the geodetic vertical
to be different from the gravitational vertical,
and causes an azimuth difference.
• Could be significant in Colorado or 25
Sample Calculation

to ellipsoid
Perpendicular

Azimuth Difference caused by

26
Deflection of the Vertical
 Sample Calculation
• Second Term Azimuth Correction
– Because the ellipsoidal trace of the line of
sight from point A to point B follows a curve on
the grid, a minor correction must be applied
for LONG LINES.
– The magnitude of the correction increases
away the Central Parallel and with length of
line.
• Most surveys are too imprecise to need
this correction. See table, next slide. 27
 Sample Calculation
• Convert Geodetic Azimuth to Grid Azimuth

Grid Az = Geod Az - γ

Professional Surveyors Association of 28

Nebraska
 Sample Calculation
• Convert the Control Lat/Lon to
N/E

105⁰30’

29
 DEFINITIONS
• GRID SCALE Factor
– Multiplier to change geodetic distances
based on the Earth model (ellipsoid) to the
grid plane.

• ELEVATION Factor (a.k.a. Sea Level

Reduction or Ellipsoid Reduction Factor)
– Multiplier to change horizontal ground
distances to geodetic (ellipsoid) distances

• GRID-ELEVATION or COMBINED Factor

 World Globe Projection
World globes are a good estimation of the earth's surface

A flat map of the region that we can fold up is more functional.

To convert the round earth to flat map is complicated.

The best way to illustrate the difficulty in doing this is by thinking

of the earth as a rubber ball with the land and water painted on it.

To flatten the rubber ball into a flat square we need to cut it up and
stretch it.

Because the rubber ball is being stretched, the land shown on it will
be distorted from its original shape.

This same, cutting and stretching process is

used to make maps through mathematical
formulae called 'Projections'
 Map and Chart
Projections
Projections are attempts to portray the surface of the earth
on a flat surface. Some distortions of conformality (shapes
& angles), distance, direction, scale, and area always result
from the process.
 Projection Properties
Conformal

A map projection is conformal if angles at each point are preserved.

That is, if there is no angular deviation at any point. For a point to not
have angular deviation, any line drawn through the point on the Earth
must have the same direction when projected to the map.

Equal-Area
Projection on which the areas of all regions are shown in the same
proportion to their true areas. Shapes may be greatly distorted. An
equal-area map projection correctly represents areas of the sphere on
the map
Equidistant
Projection that maintains constant scale along all Great Circles from one
or two points. When the projection is centered on a pole, the parallels are
spaced in proportion to their true distances along each meridian.
 Azimuthal Projection

The Azimuthal projections are formed onto a plane which is tangent

to the globe.
A map projection on which the azimuths of all points are shown
correctly with respect to the center . A plane tangent to one of the
Earth's poles is the basis for polar azimuthal projection.

Projected Areas are true

Distances measured from the center are true
 Cylindrical Projection

Cylindrical projections result from projecting a spherical

surface onto a cylinder.

When the cylinder is tangent to the sphere In the secant case, the cylinder touches the
contact is along a great circle sphere along two lines, both small circles.
 Cylindrical Projection

When the cylinder upon which the sphere is When the cylinder is at some other,
projected is at right angles to the poles, the non-orthogonal, angle with respect to the
cylinder and resulting projection are poles, the cylinder and resulting projection is
transverse. oblique.
Mercator Projection
Good for ocean
navigation
Parallels of latitude
are not equidistant

Great Circle:
Shortest Distance
Rhumb Line:
Line of Constant
Bearing
 The Problem
P

Y P 
Q

Q

X We can say that: x = f1()

y = f2()
Therefore, the coordinates on the plane have a direct functional relationship with latitude and longitude.

It follows that should be a one to one correspondence between the earth and the map.

However
1) some projections may not be able to show the whole surface of the Earth.
2) some points may be represented by lines instead of points

This is because the ellipsoid has a continuous surface whereas a plane map must have a boundary.
 The Universal Transverse Mercator UTM
The Universal Transverse Mercator projection is actually a family of projections, each having in
common the fact that they are:
• Transverse Mercator projections produced by folding a horizontal cylinder around the earth.
• The term transverse arises from the fact that the axis of the cylinder is perpendicular or transverse
to the axis of rotation of the earth.
• In the Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system, the earth is divided into 60 zones, each 6°
of longitude in width, and the Transverse Mercator projection is applied to each zone along its
centre line, that is, the cylinder touches the earth's surface along the midline of each zone so that no
point in a given zone is more than 3° from the location where earth distance is truly preserved.

- Unit of length is the metre

- An ellipsoid is adopted as the shape and size of the earth
- Coordinated by a TM of  and  of points on the ellipsoid
- The true origin of coordinates is the intersection of the equator and the
central meridian of a zone
- A central scale factor of 0.9996 is superimposed on the central meridian
- For points in the northern hemisphere, E and N coords are related to a false
origin 500,000m W if the true origin and for points in the southern
hemisphere, E and N are related to a false origin 500,000m W and
10,000,000m S of the true origin
- The projection has 60 zones, 6o wide in longitude, beginning with zone 1
having a central meridian of 177oW, numbered consecutively eastwards,
ending with zone 60 with a central meridian of 177oE
- The latitude extent of each zone is 80oS and 84oN
 Universal Transverse Mercator Grid
Central
Meridian
16o
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1,700,000
1,600,000
1,500,000
1,400,000
1,300,000
1,200,000
1,100,000
1,000,000
900,000
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
0o
300,000
200,000
100,000
0o

174o 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 156o
Zone 2 168o Zone 3 162o Zone 4
03 508,256mE 0,567,359mN
Universal Transverse
Mercator
•Projecting the sphere onto a cylinder
tangent to a central meridian.
•Distortion of scale, distance, direction
and area increase away from the central
meridian.
•If you rotate the cylinder every 6º of
longitude you create the UTM projection.
•This projection is used on map scales of
1:500,000 and larger.
 The Universal Transverse Mercator UTM

30°E 33°E 36° 39 °E 42°E 45 °W 48 °E

84°N
central meridian

central meridian

central meridian
Equator

zone 36 zone 37 zone 38

80°S
6° 3°
 Linear distortion
Horizontal
distance on the
ground
Distortion >0 At average
Projection surface
elevation
Projection surface

Ground
Distortion <0 surface

Linear distortion caused by the departure of

the elevated topography from the projection
Linear distortion introduced by surface.
representing a curved surface on a
plane.

Example:
Linear distortion for
Transverse
Mercator
 Converting spheroidal coordinates to grid coordinates (UTM)

 E,N

E’ = (K0nwCos){1 + term1 + term2 + term3} Ko central scale factor 0.9996

Term1 = (w2/6)Cos2(y-t2)
Term2 =(w4/120)Cos4[4y3(1-6t2)+y2(1+8t2)-y2t2+t4] n
a

Term3 = (w6/5040)Cos6(61-479t2+179t4-t6) 1  e 2
sin 2  
E = E’ + False Easting


a 1  e2 
N’ = K0{m + Term1 + Term2 + Term3 + Term4}
1  e 2
sin 2  
3
2

Term1 = (w2/2)nSin Cos y 

Term2 = (w /24)nSin Cos (4y +y-t )
4 3 2 2

Term3 = (w6/720)nSin Cos5[8y4(11-24t2)-28y3(1-6t2)+y2(1-32t2)-  geodetic latitude

y(2t2)+t4]
Term4 = (w8/40320)nSin Cos7(1385-3111t2+543t4-t6)
t tan
N = N’ + False Northing
w geodetic longitude measured from
central meridian 0,
positive eastwards =  - 0
m meridian distance
To translate to false origin

+ 500 000 m to easting

 Grid Map
Datum: The Geodetic Datum of Sudan realised by the coordinate
set , Adindan..
Projection: Transverse Mercator, utilising 6 degree Zones, Scale
Factor at the Central Meridian 0.9996 in conformity with the
Universal Transverse Mercator system.
Zone 36
Units: International metre.
False Coordinate Origin (All Zones): Easting 500,000 metres.
Earth Radius of Curvature 6364281 m
Scale Factor .Height Factor
This is the relationship between the measured
As well as Scale Factor a correction for height
survey distance (reduced to the ellipsoid) and that
factor must also be applied to a measured distance
same distance on the map projection and is applied
to reduce it to the ellipsoid before computations on
to the measured distance to enable computations on
the grid can commence. The ellipsoidal height of a
the grid.
point is found by the algebraic sum of the
Scale Factor will vary with the distance of the orthometric height and the geoid - ellipsoid
survey from the Central Meridian. separation. The grid by definition, is the
projection of the ellipsoid onto a flat surface.

Point Scale Factor = 0.9996 + 1/(2.R²). (500000 –E)² Height Factor = H/(R+H)

A combined Factor is simply obtained by the multiplication of the Point Scale Factor by the Height Factor
 Projection issues

This presentation raises the problem of:

• The most favorable projection for Sudan survey works.
• What could be the projection that minimize the effects
of linear alteration.
• To minimize the effects of daily errors for both "as-
planned" and "as-built" surveys?
 Conical Projection
Conic projections result from projecting a spherical surface onto a cone.

When the cone is tangent to the sphere In the secant case, the cone touches the
contact is along a small circle. sphere along two lines, one a great circle,
the other a small circle.
Lambert Conformal Conic
Projection
• Shape is preserved
• Great Circles are near
straight lines
• Rhumb Line is curved
• Used for small scale
products with large
East-West Expanses
Geodesy & Map Projections

Chapter 3
Lecture 3 50
 Introduction
• To effectively use GIS, it is important to
understand:
• How coordinate systems are established for the
surface of the Earth.
• How coordinates are measures on the Earth’s
curved surface.
• How these coordinates are converted for use on
flat maps
• To understand these things we need some
knowledge of geodesy and map projections.
Lecture 3 51
 Geodesy
• Geodesy is the science of measuring the
size and shape of the earth.
• All measurements are relative to some
reference, and the best estimates of this
reference have changed over time.
• Maps use a two dimensional reference
system, but this doesn’t work well for long
distances or over the whole Earth.

Lecture 3 52
 Defining a Spatial Referencing
System
• Every spatial feature needs to be referenced to a
location for GIS use
• Spatial reference systems provide a framework
to define positions on the Earth‘s surface.
• Steps
– Define the size and shape of the Earth.
– Establish a datum – reference surface from which
other points can be measured.
– Develop a spatial reference system:
• Origin
• Orientation of the axes
• Units of measure
Lecture 3 53
 Difficulty in Defining
Coordinates for the Earth
• Three complicating factors:
• A flat map must distort geometry in some way.
• The irregular shape of the Earth.
• The imperfections of our measurements.
• Because of these three factors we may
have several sets of coordinates for the
same location.

Lecture 3 54
Measuring Elevations

(Dynamic Height)

Lecture 3 55
 Map Projections: the concept
• A method by which the curved 3D surface of the earth is
represented on a flat 2D map surface.
• a two dimensional representation, using a plane coordinate
system, of the earth’s three dimensional sphere/spheroid
• location on the 3D earth is measured by latitude mad
longitude;
• location on the 2D map is measured by x,y Cartesian
coordinates
• unlike choice of spheroid, choice of map projection does not
change a location’s lat/long coords, only its XY coords.
 Map Projections:
the inevitability of distortion
• because we are trying to represent a 3-D sphere on a 2-
D plane, distortion is inevitable
• thus, every two dimensional map is distorted
(inaccurate?) with respect to at least one of the
following:
We are trying to represent
– area this amount of the earth on
– shape
this amount of map space.
– distance
– direction
 Map Projections: classification
Classified by property preserved or by geometrical model
Property Preserved
• Equal area projections preserve
the area of features (popular in
GIS)
• Conformal projections preserve
the shape of small features
(good for presentations) , and
show local directions
(bearings) correctly (useful for
coastal navigation!)
• Equidistant projections preserve
distances (scale) to places
from one point, or along a one
or more lines
– Scale can never be correct
everywhere on any map
• True direction projections
preserve bearings (azimuths)
either angle
locally (in which case
Azimuth: between a great circle (line on
are also conformal)
globe) and a meridian. or from
center of map.
Geometric Model Used
• Planar/Azimuthal/Zenithal: image of
spherical globe is projected onto a
map plane which is tangent to
(touches) globe at single point
• conical: image of spherical globe is
projected onto a cone which touches
– along one line (tangent) or
– cuts thru globe along two lines
(secant) (usually parallels of latitude)
cone is then unfolded to create “flat map”
• cylindrical: image of spherical globe
is projected onto a cylinder which
again
– may be tangent along one line,
– or secant along two lines
they – again, cylinder is unfolded to create a
“flat map”
See Apppendix for detail
 Azimuthal Projections

Possible Light sources for Azimuthal Polar Projections

Conic and Cylindrical Projections

Great circle

Central meridian
Geometric Models and Projection Parameters
• Knowing simply the type of projection is usually insufficient in GIS
• Projections parameters must also be known for any set of projected data
• These describe the exact transformation used and depend on geometric model
Azimuthal Conic
• The lat/long coordinates • Standard Parallel(s)
for the point of tangency – Where cone touches/cuts thru globe
• May be – One if tangent, two if secant
– Polar (north or south) • Central meridian
– Equatorial (point on – Down center of cone
equator) Cylindrical
– Oblique (any other point) – Normal: tangent at equator
– Transverse, therefore must know
• Central meridian
– Oblique, therefore must know
• Great circle
The projection
surface:

Cone – Conic

Cylinder -
Cylindrical

Plane -
Azimuthul

Lecture 3 62
Projection Surfaces – “developable”

Lecture 3 63
The Orientation of the Surface

64
Projections Categorized by
Orientation:

Equatorial - intersecting equator

Transverse - at right angle to

equator
65
 Specifying Projections
1. The type of developable surface (e.g., cone)

2. The size/shape of the Earth (ellipsoid,

datum), and size of the surface

3. Where the surface intersects the ellipsoid

4. The location of the map projection origin on

the surface, and the coordinate system
units
66
 Defining a Projection – LCC
(Lambert Conformal Conic)

• The LCC requires we

specify an upper and
lower parallel – 20o &
60o origin

• An ellipsoid – GRS
1980
• A central meridian –
96o
• A projection origin –
central
Lat. 40o meridian

67
 Conformal Projections

• Locally preserves angles/shape.

• Any two lines on the map follow the same
angles as the corresponding original lines
on the Earth.
• Projected graticule lines always cross at
right angles.
• Area, distance and azimuths change.

68
 Equidistant Projections
• A map is equidistant when the distances
between points differs from the distances
on Earth by the same scale factor.

69
 Equivalent/Equal Area
Projection
• Equivalent/equal area projections maintain
map areas proportional to the same areas
of the Earth.
• Shape and scale distortions increase near
points 90o from the central line.

70
 “Standard” Projections
• Governments (and other organizations)
define “standard” projections to use

• Projections preserve specific geometric

properties, over a limited area

•Imposes uniformity, facilitates data exchange,

provides quality control, establishes limits on
geometric distortion.
71
 Common GIS Projections
• Mercator- A conformal, cylindrical projection tangent to the
equator. Originally created to display accurate compass
bearings for sea travel. An additional feature of this projection
is that all local shapes are accurate and clearly defined.

• Transverse Mercator - Similar to the Mercator except that the

cylinder is tangent along a meridian instead of the equator.
The result is a conformal projection that minimizes distortion
along a north-south line, but does not maintain true directions.

• Lambert Equal Area - An equidistant, conic projection similar

to the Lambert Conformal Conic that preserves areas.

• 72
• Lambert Conformal Conic – A conic, confromal projection
typically intersecting parallels of latitude, standard parallels, in
the northern hemisphere. This projection is one of the best for
middle latitudes because distortion is lowest in the band
between the standard parallels. It is similar to the Albers Conic
Equal Area projection except that the Lambert Conformal
Conic projection portrays shape more accurately than area.

• Albers Equal Area Conic - This conic projection uses two

standard parallels to reduce some of the distortion of a
projection with one standard parallel. Shape and linear scale
distortion are minimized between standard parallels.

73
 Map Projections Summary
• Projections specify a two-dimensional
coordinate system from a 3-D globe
• All projections cause some distortion
• Errors are controlled by choosing the proper
projection type, limiting the area applied
• There are standard projections
• Projections differ by datum – know your
parameters

74
 Summary: Measuring Position on Earth
X-Y coordinates
--derived via projection from lat/long
--represent position on 2-D flat map
surface

Lines of latitude and Longitude

Where am I? --are drawn on the spheroid
This guy’s latitude and --establish position on 3-D spheroid
longitude (and
elevation) differ Spheroid: “math model
depending on spheroid
representing geoid”
used. Spheroid+tiepoint=datum

Elevation of land surface may be:

Geoid:
--above geoid Land Surface: --line of equal gravity
(traditional surveying) --mean sea level with no
--above spheroid (GPS) wind or tides
 Map Projections by Property Preserved:
Shape and Area

• Conformal (orthomorphic)
– preserves local shape by using correct angles; local direction also
correct
– lat/long lines intersect at 90 degrees
– area (and distance) is usually grossly distorted on at least part of the
map
– no projection can preserve shape of larger areas everywhere
– use for ‘presentations’; most large scale maps by USGS are conformal
– examples: mercator, stereographic
• Equal-Area (Equivalent or homolographic))
– area of all displayed features is correct
– shape, angle, scale or all three distorted to achieve equal area
– commonly used in GIS because of importance of area measurements
– use for thematic or distribution maps;
– examples: Alber’s conic, Lambert’s azimuthal
 Map Projections by Property Preserved:
Distance and Direction
• Equidistant
– preserves distance (scale) between some points or along some line(s)
– no map is equidistant (i.e. has correct scale) everywhere on map (i.e.
between all points)
– distances true along one or more lines (e.g. all parallels) or everywhere from
one point
– great circles (shortest distance between two points) appear as straight lines
– important for long distance navigation
– examples: sinusoidal, azimuthal
• True-direction
– provides correct direction (bearing or azimuth) either locally or relative to
center
– rhumb lines (lines of constant direction) appear as straight lines
– important for navigation
– some may also be conformal, equal area, or equidistant
– examples; mercator (for local direction), azimuthal (relative to a center point)
 Map Projections by Geometry
Planar/Azimuthal/Zenithal
• map plane is tangent to (touches) globe at single point
• accuracy (shape, area) declines away from this point
• projection point (‘light source’) may be
– earth center (gnomic): all straight lines are great circles
– opposite side of globe (stereographic): conformal
– infinitely distant (orthographic): ‘looks like a globe’
• good for polar mappings: parallels appear as circles
• also for navigation (laying out course): straight lines from tangency
point are all great circles (shortest distance on globe).
 Map Projections by Geometry
Conical
• map plane is tangent along a line, most commonly a parallel of
latitude which is then the map’s standard parallel
• cone is cut along a meridian, and the meridian opposite the cut is
the map’s central meridian
• alternatively, cone may intersect (secant to) globe, thus there will be
two standard parallels
• distortion increases as move away from the standard parallels
(towards poles)
• good for mid latitude zones with east-west extent (e.g. the US), with
polar area left off
• examples: Alber’s Equal Area Conic, Lambert’s Conic Conformal
 Map Projections by Geometry
Cylindrical
• as with conic projection, map plane is either tangent along a single
line, or passes through the globe and is thus secant along two lines
• mercator is most famous cylindrical projection; equator is its line of
tangency
• transverse mercator uses a meridian as its line of tangency
• oblique cylinders use any great circle
• lines of tangency or secancy are lines of equidistance (true scale),
but other properties vary depending on projection
 Best Map Projections by Size of Area
World/Hemisphere
• Hemisphere - Conformal
• World - Conformal STEREOGRAPHIC, POLAR
MERCATOR, TRANSVERSE, • Hemisphere - Equal Area
OBLIQUE_MERCATOR
LAMBERT_AZIMUTHAL
• World - Equal Area
CYLINDRICAL, ECKERTIV, ECKERTVI,
• Hemisphere - Equidistant
FLAT_POLAR_QUARTIC AZIMUTHAL
MOLLWEIDE, SINUSOIDAL
• Hemisphere - Global look
• World - Equidistant:
AZIMUTHAL ORTHOGRAPHIC
• World - straight rhumb line:
MERCATOR
• World - Compromise: NAMES correspond to ARC/Info commands
MILLER, ROBINSON
 UTM – Universal Transverse
Mercator
• UTM define horizontal positions world-
wide by dividing the surface of the Earth
into 6o zones.
• Zone numbers designate the 6o
longitudinal strips extending from 80o
south to 84o north.
• Each zone has a central meridian in the
center of the zone.

82
 Central Meridian
• Every projection has a central meridian.
• The line of longitude that defines the center
and often the x origin of the projected
coordinate system.
• In most projections, it runs down the middle
of the map and the map is symmetrical on
either side of it.
• It may or may not be a line of true scale.
(True scale means no distance distortion.)
83
 Central Meridian

http://www.geography.hunter.cuny.edu/~jochen/GTECH361/lectures/lecture04
/concepts/Map%20coordinate%20systems/Projection%20parameters.htm

84
Coordinate Systems Notation

Latitude/Longitude
Degrees Minutes Seconds 45° 3' 38" N
Degrees Minutes (decimal) 45° 3.6363' N
Degrees (decimal) + 45.0606°

State Plane (feet) + 2,951,384.24

UTM (meters) + 4,996,473.72

85
Converting the 3D Model to 2D Plane
Map Projection
Map Projection
 Map Projection
Projecting Earth's Surface into a Plane

• Earth is 3-D object

• The transformation of 3-D Earth’s surface coordinates into 2-D
map coordinates is called Map Projection
• A map projection uses mathematical formulas to relate
spherical coordinates on the globe to flat, planar coordinates
 Map Projection
All flat maps are distorted to some degree

Can not be accurately

depicted on 2-D plane

There is always a distortion in 1 or 2 of its

characteristics when projected to a 2-D map
 Map Projection
Classification
1. Based on Distortion Characteristics
2. Based on Developable Surface
 Map Projection
Classification
1. Based on Distortion Characteristics: According to the property or
properties that are maintained by the transformation.
– Some map projections attempt to maintain linear scale at a point or along a
line, rather than area, shape or direction.
– Some preserve area but distortion in shape
– Some maintain shapes and angles and have area distortion
 Distortion
• The 4 basic characteristics of a map likely
to be preserved / distorted depending
upon the map projection are:
1. Conformity
2. Distance
3. Area
4. Direction
• In any projection at least 1 of the 4
characteristics can be preserved (but not
all)
• Only on globe all the above properties
are preserved
 Distortion

• Transfer of points from the curved ellipsoidal surface

to a flat map surface introduces Distortion
 Distortion
• In projected maps distortions are unavoidable
• Different map projections distort the globe in
different ways
• In map projections features are either compressed
or expanded
• At few locations at map distortions may be zero
• Where on map there is no distortion or least distortion?
 Map Projection

• Each type of projection has its advantages and

disadvantages
• Choice of a projection depends on
– Application – for what purposes it will be used
– Scale of the map
• Compromise projection?
 Map Projections
1- Properties Based

• Conformal projection preserves shape

• Equidistance projection preserves distance
• Equal-area map maintains accurate relative sizes
• Azimuthal or True direction maps maintains
directions
 Map Projection - Conformal

Maintains shapes and angles in small areas of map

Maintains angles. Latitude and Longitude intersects
at 90o
Area enclosed may be greatly distorted (increases
towards polar regions)
No map projection can preserve shapes of larger
regions

Examples:
Mercator
Lambert conformal conic
Mercator projection
Map Projection - Equidistance
 Preserve distance from some standard point or line (or between
certain points)
 1 or more lines where length is same (at map scale) as on the
globe
 No projection is equidistant to and from all points on a map (1
0r 2 points only)
 Distances and directions to all places are true only from the
center point of projection
 Distortion of areas and shapes increases as distance from center
increases

Examples:
 Equirectangular – distances along meridians are preserved
 Azimuthal Equidistant - radial scale with respect to the central point is
constant
 Sinusoidal projection - the equator and all parallels are of their true
lengths
Polar Azimuthal
Equidistant
 Map projections …
• Define the spatial relationship between
locations on earth and their relative locations
on a flat map
• Are mathematical expressions
• Cause the distortion of one or more map
properties (scale, distance, direction, shape)
 Why project data?
• Data often comes in geographic, or
spherical coordinates (latitude and
longitude) and can’t be used for area
calculations in most GIS software
applications
– Some projections work better for different
parts of the globe giving more accurate
calculations
 Some projection parameters
• Standard parallels and meridians – the
place where the projected surface
intersects the earth – there is no scale
distortion
• Central meridian – on conic projects, the
center of the map (balances the projection,
visually)
 1/6 Rule in Conic Projections
• 1st standard parallel is 1/6 from southern
edge of mapping area,
• 2nd standard parallel is 1/6 from northern
edge of the mapping area

• Central Meridian is mid point in the east-

west extent of the map
Where at Map there is Least
Distortion?
Great Circle Distance
 Linear distortion due to Earth curvature

Ellipsoid Grid length greater

surface than ellipsoidal length
Projection
(distortion > 0)
surface
(secant)
Cartoon: Distortion due to change in Earth curvature (1 of 2)

Grid length less than

ellipsoidal length
(distortion < 0)

Maximum projection zone

width for balanced positive
and negative distortion
Linear distortion due to ground height above ellipsoid

Horizontal distance between

points on the ground Local
LDP Definition Tool
(at average height) projection
surface
Ground surface
1.User specifies area of interest
Grid distance
greater than
in project area
"ground" distance Grid distance
2.LDP Tool:
(distortion > 0) less than
"ground" distance
– Determines projection (distortion
parameters
< 0)
Ellipsoid
– Utilizes USGS
surface
National Elevation
Dataset and NGS Geoid Model to:
Typical published
"secant" projection
• Determine a representative ellipsoid
Distortion < 0
surface (e.g., height for almost all cases
State Plane, UTM)
• Generate a distortion contour plot
• Displays distortion plot to user

3. User accepts, or modifies parameters

and iterates
REDUCTION TO THE ELLIPSOID

D
h
H S
N

R S = D * ___R__
R+h
Earth Radius
6,372,200 m Where: h = H + [N]
20,906,000 ft.

S = D * ___R___
R + H + (N)
 REDUCTION TO THE ELLIPSOID
(The correct method)

R = _____________
N
1 – e’2 cos2  cos2 a
N = Radius of Curvature in Azimuth
WHERE a = Ellipsoid semi-major axis
b = Ellipsoid semi-minor axis
a
N = _____________ a Azimuth of the line
  Latitude of the Station
(1 – e’2 cos2 )1/2

e’2 = (a2 – b2) / b2

GRID SCALE FACTOR (k) OF A LINE

k 12 = (k1 + 4km + k2) / 6

(m = mean of k1 & k2)

Typically the Average Value Works Fine

k 12 = (k1 + k2) / 2
REDUCTION TO GRID

Sgrid = Sgeodetic * k (Grid Scale Factor)

Sgrid = 3,314.83 x 0.99995985

Sgrid = 3,314.70 meters

 COMBINED FACTOR (CF)

CF = Ellipsoidal Reduction x Grid Scale Factor (k)

= 0. 0.99997470 x 0.99995985

= 0.99993455

CF x D = Sgrid

0.99993455 x 3,314.91 = 3,314.69 ft

 GRID AZIMUTH COMPUTATION

agrid = aAstro + Laplace Correction – Convergence Angle (g

= 253o 26’ 14.9” (Observed Astro Azimuth)
- 2.6” (Laplace Correction)
= 253o 26’ 12.3” (Geodetic Azimuth)
- 1 00 39.8 (Convergence Angle)
= 252o 25’ 32.5” (Grid Azimuth)

The convention of the sign of the convergence angle is always

from Grid to Geodetic
 2 Flat Sheets of Paper
Combined

February 9, 2018 Professional Surveyors Association of 115

Nebraska