ArcGIS - 5 - Coordinate System & Map Projection

1/71
LA473: Advanced GIS in LA
Coordinate systems &

Map Projection
Dr. Ragab Khalil

Department of Landscape Architecture
Faculty of Environmental Design
King AbdulAziz University
Room LIE15
Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

2/71
Overview
Coordinate systems
What is a map projection
When should you use a projection
Spatial distortion and types of map projections
How to Choose a map projection
Map projections used commonly in KSA
ArcGIS projection tools

3/71
Geographic Datums & Coordinate
Systems
 What is the shape of the earth?

 Why is it relevant for GIS?

4/71
The Real Earth
 Earth surface is highly irregular

makes it difficult for the geodetic
calculations

5/71
The Figure of the Earth
 Reference Models
Sphere with radius of ~6378 km
Ellipsoid (or Spheroid) with equatorial radius (semimajor
axis) of ~6378 km and polar radius (semiminor axis) of
~6357 km
Difference of ~21 km usually expressed as “flattening” (f ) ratio of
the ellipsoid:
 f = difference/major axis = ~1/300 for earth
 Expressed also as “inverse flattening”, i.e. 300

6/71
Model Ellipsoid of Revolution
Rotate an ellipse around a vertical axis
Rotation axis
a = Semimajor axis
b = Semiminor axis
X, Y, Z = Reference frame
f = (a – b)/a = “flattening”
1/f = a/(a – b) = “inverse flattening”

Two Standard Earth Reference 7/71
Ellipsoids:
Major Axis Minor Axis Inverse

Ellipsoid a (km) b (km) Flattening
Clark
6,378.206 6,356.584 294.98
(1866)
GRS 80 6,378.137 6,356.752 298.257
• At least 40 other ellipsoids in use globally

8/71
Earth Ellipsoids Distances
Ellipsoid 10 of Latitude
Clark (1866) ~110,591 meters
GRS 80 ~110,598 meters
~ 7 meter difference is significant with modern software, but the

real difference is the Datums with which they are typically
associated.

9/71
Datums and the Geocenter
❖ Geocenter = center of mass of earth

❖ Local Datum vs. Geocentric Datum
Local Datum, e.g. NAD27

Point of tangency Geocenter
Earth’s Surface
WGS84 datum Geocentric Datum e.g.
NAD27 datum WGS84 or NAD83

10/71
Modern Geocentric Datum
Geodetic Reference System 1980 (GRS80).

World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84).
Ellipsoid Semi-major axis inverse flattening

GRS80 6,378,137 m 298.257222101
WGS84 6,378,137 m 298.257223563
While WGS84 has always been the basis for the GPS
Navigation message computations, the particular version of
the datum has changed.

World Geodetic System 1984- 11/71
WGS84-Datum
Devised by USA Department of Defense for global use

Uses WGS84 ellipsoid (=GRS80)
As of this writing the latest version of WGS84 is WGS84
(G1762).
The number following the letter G is the number of the GPS
week during which the coordinates first were used.
This datum has been used by the US military since January of
1987 as the foundation of GPS.

12/71
The geographical coordinates

13/71
Latitude and Longitude
 Longitude (l) is measured from

the Prime Meridian (Greenwich)
west and east, meeting at the 180
degree longitudinal value.
 The latitude (f), is measured from
the equator north and south,
north being positive and south
negative.

14/71
Coordinates Have Roots in Maritime
Navigation
 Latitude: measured by vertical angle to polaris (N.

Hemisphere) or to other stars and constellations (S.
Hemisphere)
 Longitude: determined by local time of day vs.
standard time (e.g. GMT)
requires accurate clocks; 1 hour difference = 15 of Longitude*

15/71
Latitude(f) on Ellipsoidal Earth
Latitude of point U calculated by:

1) Defining the tangent plane (fg) to the
ellipsoid at U.
2) Defining the line perpendicular to the
tangent plane (cd) passing through U.
3) Latitude (f) is the angle that the

perpendicular in 2) makes with the
equatorial plane (angle cde).

16/71
Latitude facts:
Lines of latitude (parallels) are evenly

spaced from 0o at equator (a “great
circle”) to 90o at poles (“small circles”).
60 nautical miles (~ 110 km)/1o,
~1.8 km/minute and ~ 30 m/second
of latitude.
 N. latitudes are positive (+f), S.
latitudes are
negative (-f).

17/71
Longitude (l)
Longitude is the angle (l)

between the plane of the Prime Meridian
prime meridian and the
meridianal plane containing Equator
the point of interest (P).
Meridian

18/71
Longitude facts:
Lines of longitude (meridians)

converge at the poles; the distance of a
P.M.
degree of longitude varies with latitude
180o
Zero longitude is usually the Prime

(Greenwich) Meridian (PM); longitude is
measured from 0-180o east and west of
the PM (or other principal meridian).
East longitudes are positive (+l), west
longitudes are negative (-l).

19/71
Units of Measure
Decimal degrees (DD), e.g. - 90.50o, 35.41o

 order by long., then lat.
 Format used by ArcGIS software
Degrees, Minutes, Seconds (DMS), e.g. – 90o 30’ 00”, 35o 24’ 36”
Degrees, Decimal Minutes (DDM) e.g.
– 90o 30.0’, 35o 24.6’

20/71
From 3D earth models to 2D maps, How?
Map Projections – transforming a curved surface to a flat

graph
Rectangular coordinate systems for smaller regions – UTM
This is the next part of the lecture

21/71
Map Projections

22/71
Laying the Earth Flat
 Why?
Need convenient means of measuring and comparing
distances, directions, areas, shapes.
Traditional surveying instruments measure in meters or
feet, not degrees of lat. & lon.
Globes are bulky and can’t show detail.
 1:24,000 globe would have diameter of ~ 13 m
 Typical globe has scale of ~ 1:42,000,000
Distance & area computations more complex on a sphere.

23/71
 How?
Projections – transformation of curved earth to a flat map;
systematic rendering of the lat. & lon. graticule to
rectangular coordinate system.
Scale Scale Factor

1: 42,000,000 0.9996 (for areas)
Earth Globe Map
Globe distance Map distancePeters Projection

Earth distance Globe distance

24/71
Systematic rendering of Lat. (f) & Lon. (l) to cartesian (x, y)

coordinates:
y
0, 0
x
Geographic Coordinates Projected Coordinates

(f l) (x, y)
Map Projection
25/71
 “Geographic” display – no projection

 x = l, y = f
 Grid lines have same scale and spacing
y
f
x

26/71
“Geographic” Display
 Distance and areas distorted by varying amounts (scale not “true”);

e.g. high latitudes
y
f
x

27/71
Projected Display
 E.g. Mercator projection:

x=l
y
 y = ln [tan f + sec f]
f
x

28/71
 How?
Projection types (“perspective” classes):
Orthographic Gnomonic Stereographic

a A’
A’ A’ a
a
T’ T’ T’
T T T
B’ b
B’ b
b B’

29/71
Light Bulb at Center (Gnomic)
Grid Lines “out of focus” away from point of

tangency

30/71
Gnomonic
 All great circles are straight lines

 Same as image produced by spherical lens
T’ T’

31/71
Orthographic
Light source at infinity; neither area or angles are preserved,

except locally
T’ T’

32/71
Stereographic
Projection is conformal, preserves angles and shapes for small

areas near point of tangency, larger areas away from point are
distorted. Great circles are circles.
90o
T’ T’

33/71
Developable Surfaces
 Surface for projection:

 Plane (azimuthal projections)
 Cylinder (cylindrical projections)
 Cone (conical projections)
Cylinder and cone produce a line of intersection
(standard parallel) rather than at a point
T’ Standard
Parallel

34/71
3 orientations for developable surfaces
Normal
Transverse
Oblique

35/71
Tangent or Secant?
Developable surfaces can be tangent at a point or

line, or secant if they penetrate globe
 Secant balances distortion over wider region
 Secant cone & cylinder produce two standard parallels
Standard
Parallels

36/71
Tangent or Secant?
Gnomonic

37/71
Where’s the distortion?
No distortion along standard parallels, secants or point of

tangency.
For tangent projections, distortion increases away from point
or line of tangency.
For secant projections, distortion increases toward and away
from standard parallels.
Secant line

38/71
Distortions
Azimuthal Cylindrical Conic

39/71
Projection distortions
Projection produces distortion of:
Distance
Area
Angle – bearing, direction
Shape
Distortions vary with scale; minute for large-scale
maps (e.g. 1:24,000), gross for small-scale maps (e.g.
1: 5,000,000)
Goal: find a projection that minimizes
distortion of property of interest
40/71
Distortion due to projection
Depending on the use of the map certain spatial

properties will be more important than others.
The amount of distortion caused by a map projection
increases as you travel away from the reference
origin.
By choosing a projection centered on the location
being mapped, the effects of distortion will be
minimal for the area of interest.

41/71
Differences due to different projections

42/71
Differences due to different projections
Small scale

43/71
Categories
Map projections can be categorized according to the

spatial property they preserve.
Property Category
Area Equal-area
Shape Conformal
Distance Equidistant
Direction Azimuthal
NOTE: It is impossible to construct a map projection that is both equal area
and conformal.
44/71
How do I select a projection?
Questions to ask when choosing a map projection:
 Is my other data already projected?

 If the other data you are using is already projected then you
must project your data to the same projection as this data.
 Which spatial properties are most important to me?
 you must choose which spatial properties are most important
for what you are doing: shape, area, distance or direction.
Choose a map projection that protects these important spatial
properties.
 What is the location and scale of my data?
 Map projections have been specially designed for different
areas of the earth and also for different map scales.

45/71
How do I select a projection?
Scale is critical – projection type makes very little

difference at large scales
For large regions or continents consider:
 Latitude of area
 Low latitudes – normal cylindrical
 Middle latitudes – conical projection
 High latitudes – normal azimuthal
 Extent
 Broad E-W area (e.g. US) – conical
 Broad N-S area (e.g. KSA) – transverse cylindrical
 Theme
 e.g. Equal area vs. conformal (scale same in all directions)

46/71
What needs to be specified?
Origin X, Y Values
Origin Longitude (y axis)
Origin Latitude (x axis)

Units of measure
Horizontal Datum
Ellipsoid Model

47/71
Map Projections Used in KSA
Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM)

conformal
Spheroid: WGS84
Datum: WGS84
Zone number: 37, 38, 39, 40 with central meridians 39, 45, 51,
57 East respectively
Scale factor: 0.9996

48/71
Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM)

conformal
Spheroid: International [semi-major= 6378388.0 m, 1/f= 297.0
Datum: Ain Alabd 1970
Zone number: 37, 38, 39, 40 with central meridians 39, 45, 51,
57 East respectively

49/71
Lambert Conformal Conic

conformal
Spheroid: International [semi-major= 6378388.0 m, 1/f= 297.0
Datum: Ain Alabd 1970
The first and second standard parallels are 17 and 33

50/71
UTM Coordinate System
▪ Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM)
▪ Every place on earth falls in a particular zone

51/71
T. M. secant projection is rotated about vertical axis

in 6o increments to produce 60 UTM zones.
(y)
(x)
Rotate in 6o UTM Zone is 6o

increments wide

52/71
T. M. secant projection is rotated about vertical axis in 6o

increments to produce 60 UTM zones.
Zone boundaries are parallel to meridians.
Zones numbered from 180o (begins zone 1) eastward and
extend from 80o S to 84o N.
Each zone has a central meridian with a scale factor in US of
0.9996 (central meridian is farthest from secants, meaning
scale distortion is greatest here).
Secants are 1.5o on either side of the central meridian.

53/71
l=27 l=33 l=39 l=45 l=51
Every place on earth

falls in a particular
zone
l+180
Zone # = int( )+1
6
Central meridian =
(Zone # -1)x6 -180+3

54/71
Central meridian of each zone in KSA (Y)

has a scale factor of 0.9996 (max.
distortion).
Secants are 1.5o on either side of the
central meridian. (x)
Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS 54

55/71
 Locations are given in meters y

from central meridian (Easting) N. Hemisphere
and equator (Northing). origin is
(500,000m, 0)
(-) Eastings avoided by giving X
value of 500,000 m (“false
easting”) to the Central x
x
Meridian
 In S. hemisphere, equator is S. Hemisphere
given “false northing” of origin is
(500,000m,
10,000,000 m to avoid (-) y 10,000,000m)
Northings.

56/71
Summary
Projections transform geographic coordinates (f l)

to cartesian (x, y).
Projections distort distance, area, direction and
shape to greater or lesser degrees; choose projection
that minimizes the distortion of the map theme.
Points of tangency, standard parallels and secants
are points or lines of no distortion.
A conformal map has the same scale in all directions.

57/71
Summary (cont.)
 Projection characteristics are classified by:

 Light source location
 Gnomonic
 Stereographic
 Orthographic
Developable surface
 Plane (azimuthal)
 Cylinder (cylindrical)
 Cone (conic)
Orientation
 Normal
 Transverse
 Oblique

58/71
Summary (cont.)
Modern coordinate systems are based on

projections that minimize distortion within
narrow, conformal zones.
UTM is a global system using WGS84; others are
local
with varying datums.

59/71
ArcGIS Projection tools
Projecting data frames

Saving data sets in projected units
Projection and transformation tools
Georeferencing tool

60/71
Projecting data frames
Data Frame assumes projection of first layer loaded

All other layers are projected to that coordinate
system
This is called “ on the fly” projection
Projection on-the-fly fails if the dataset coordinate
system is not properly defined, or if it is not defined
at all

61/71
start with unprojected data

62/71
then apply a projection to the data frame

63/71
Saving data sets in projected units
Export from a projected data frame

64/71
ArcGIS Projection tools
Used for:
Defining a projection
Projecting a data file

65/71
Defining a projection
making a small file that is associated with the

original data file
 that tells the ArcGIS program what the
coordinate system is for the data in the file.
 This makes a so-called .prj file for vector data or
an .aux file for raster data.
 Defining a projection can be done in ArcToolbox
or in ArcCatalog.
This does not make a new dataset with new
coordinates!

66/71
In ArcToolbox

67/71
In ArcCatalog

68/71
Projecting a data file
This is done in ArcToolbox.

This process takes a data set and reproduces the
entire data set - it makes a new data file - so that it
has new coordinates.
Every feature in the data set is given new
coordinates in the coordinate system you specify.
This only works properly if the data set already has
a defined coordinate system.

69/71
Projecting a data file
Used for going between projections
• Utility for converting data sets from one system to another

70/71
ArcGIS Georeferencing tool
To georeferencing images and CAD files

71/71
Summary
Coordinate systems
What is a map projection
When should you use a projection
Spatial distortion and types of map projections
How to Choose a map projection
Map projections used commonly in KSA
ArcGIS projection tools

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1/71

LA473: Advanced GIS in LA

Coordinate systems &

Dr. Ragab Khalil

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

 What is the shape of the earth?

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

 Earth surface is highly irregular

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Rotate an ellipse around a vertical axis

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Major Axis Minor Axis Inverse

• At least 40 other ellipsoids in use globally

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

~ 7 meter difference is significant with modern software, but the

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

❖ Geocenter = center of mass of earth

Local Datum, e.g. NAD27

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Geodetic Reference System 1980 (GRS80).

Ellipsoid Semi-major axis inverse flattening

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Devised by USA Department of Defense for global use

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

 Longitude (l) is measured from

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

 Latitude: measured by vertical angle to polaris (N.

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Latitude of point U calculated by:

3) Latitude (f) is the angle that the

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Lines of latitude (parallels) are evenly

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Longitude is the angle (l)

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Lines of longitude (meridians)

Zero longitude is usually the Prime

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Decimal degrees (DD), e.g. - 90.50o, 35.41o

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Map Projections – transforming a curved surface to a flat

This is the next part of the lecture

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Scale Scale Factor

Earth Globe Map

Globe distance Map distancePeters Projection

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Systematic rendering of Lat. (f) & Lon. (l) to cartesian (x, y)

Geographic Coordinates Projected Coordinates

 “Geographic” display – no projection

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

 Distance and areas distorted by varying amounts (scale not “true”);

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

 E.g. Mercator projection:

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Orthographic Gnomonic Stereographic

Dr. Ragab Khalil KAU - FED – LA473 & LA561: GIS

Grid Lines “out of focus” away from point of