The coordinate system is the most basic map feature that you need to consider when working with geographic data and determine before you even start creating your maps. So, are you sometimes confused by the options when trying to choose a coordinate system for your map? In this article series, we will try to help you with your choices.
The main distinction between the Geographic Coordinate System and the Projected Coordinate System is that Geographic Coordinate Systems define where data is located on the Earth’s surface, while Projected Coordinate Systems describe how data is plotted on a flat surface such as a paper map or computer screen.
Geographic coordinate systems treat the Earth as round, so they record positions in angular units (usually degrees). Projected coordinate systems treat the Earth as flat, so they record positions in linear units (usually meters).
Where: Geographic Coordinate Systems
You are part of a search and rescue team searching for an injured person in the Kaçkar Mountains of Rize. The point location you received from the cell phone signals is 41.0061422°E 40.9201890°N. Where is the person to be rescued?
In the image above, both A and B are correct. The coordinate values of point A are 41.0061422°E 40.9201890°N and the geographic coordinate system is European Datum 1950. Point B has the same coordinate values as point A, but the geographic coordinate system is the king kicks off construction of the high-speed rail line to marrakech WGS 1984. Without knowing which geographic coordinate system the data belongs to, you cannot know which hill the hiker is on or whether he fell off a cliff.
o why isn’t knowing the latitude and longitude of a place enough to know where it is? How can location A and location B in the Rize example be both correct?
The Earth is not a perfect sphere It is a rough and irregular
round surface. There are high mountains and deep ocean trenches. The poles are slightly closer to the center of the Earth than the equator. how has gdpr legislation affected marketing and advertising in europe and spain? However, to draw a latitude-longitude grid, a model of the Earth is needed, even if it is not a perfect sphere.
There are many different models of the alb directory Earth’s surface and therefore many different geographic coordinate systems. The World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS 1984) was designed to fit all geographic coordinate systems. The European Datum 1950 coordinate system was designed to fit comfortably around the Earth, Europe and Türkiye. This gives good accuracy for Türkiye but poor accuracy elsewhere, such as the United States.
The geographic coordinate system is what connects your coordinate values to actual locations on Earth. The coordinates 41.0061422°E 40.9201890°N only tell you where a location is