Geodesy and Georeferencing Flashcards
Geodesy
Branch of mathematics dealing with the shape and area of the earth or large portions of it.
Datum
Refers to a reference or foundation surface against which accurate position measurements are made.
Defines how a coordinate system is seathed over the ellipsoid
Datum
Refers to a reference or foundation surface against which accurate position measurements are made.
Defines how a coordinate system is seathed over the ellipsoid
A “connected” unified network of measurements,
North American Datum 1927 (NAD27) vs new North American Datum, 1983 (NAD28)
The origin of the new NAD28 system is the centre of mass of the Earth.
Issue with Earth’s shape and mapping….
- The earth is irregularly shaped and difficult to model
- Accurate x,y and z position measurements are needed for mapping, nautical charting flood risk, transportation, etc……..
The Earth’s Shape
Oblate Ellipsoid (Spheroid)
Slightly flattened at the North and South poles
The Earth’s Shape
“Lumpy” Geoid
Imperfect Oblate Ellipsoid (Spheroid)
Slightly flattened at the North and South poles
Ellipsoid Examples
Australian Nation 1966
Clarke 1866
International 1924
Horizontal Datum
A collection of points on the Earth that have been identified according to their precise northerly or southerly location (latitude) and easterly or westerly location (longitude)
How are horizontal datums created?
Surveyors mark each of the positions identified on the Earth with a brass, bronze or aluminum disk monument.
Datum Types
Horizontal
Vertical
Vertical Datum
A collection of spatially distributed points on the Earth with known heights either above or below mean sea level.
How is mean sea level calculated?
Near coastal areas: determined with a tide gauge
Areas far away from the coast: mean sea level is determined by the shape of the geoid
Elevation of a geographic location
Height above a fixed reference point (most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth’s sea level.)
Digital elevation model (DEM)
Generic term used to describe a continuous digital elevation surface above sea level.
Coordinate System types
Cartesian
Latitude and Longitude
Digital surface model (DSM)
Includes the elevation of all the features in the terrain above seal level such as bare ground, buildings, trees, powerlines
Digital terrain model (DTM)
Contains only elevations of the bare ground above sea level without any buildings, trees, etc
Geographic Coordinate Systems vs Projected Coordinate Systems
are Latitude ?????????????????????????????????????????????
Graticules
??Only apply to geographic coordinate systems.
Laitude and Longitude Coordinates
Measured from a theoretical point at the center of the Earth
Latitude
The angular distance measured North or South of the equator from a point at the centre of Earth.
A line connecting all points of the same latitudinal angle is a parallel. (Compare Longitude.)
Graticules
A graticule is usually superimposed on the globe and consists of the spherical coordinate system based on lines of latitude and longitude.
Only apply to geographic coordinate systems.
Distance in curvature of a degree of latitude is always equal to about ____km
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