Datums & Coordinate Systems

Objective
Identify different datums
Identify different coordinate systems

Coordinate Systems
Latitude and Longitude Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM)

Lat / Long Coordinate System

Latitude
90N
Parallels of latitude

north latitude
equator 0 latitude

south latitude

Lat / Long Coordinate System

Longitude
Grenwich, England Meridians of longitude 0 longitude

Prime Meridian

West Longitude

East longitude

UTM Coordinate Systems

A plane coordinate system to relate the coordinates of points on earths curved surface with the coordinates of the same points on a plane or flat surface

Allows projection of a spherical surface onto a flat surface

UTM Zones in North America

180 174 168 162 156 150 144 138 132 126 120 114 108 102 96 90 84 78 72 66 60 54 48

Figure of the Earth

Best-fit ellipsoid

(e.g., GRS-80, WGS-84)

Datum and Ellipsoids

Datum - represented by ellipsoid
Reference ellipsoid examples:
Clarke 1866 GRS 80 WGS 84

Common Geographic Datums

NAD27 NAD83 WGS84 ITRF00

NAD27:
Datum Origin on Surface of Earth

Clarke 1866 ellipsoid origin in Kansas

Ellipsoid Model based on less precise surveys

NAD27: Leaving Behind

Invented Space Travel Increasing accuracy of surveys

Shift from optical surveys to a mathematical model of the Earths shape

The result is a specific point on the landscape can take on multiple meanings

GPS Datum: WGS 84

Origin is at the Earths center of mass (geocentric) This is the datum used for the NAVSTAR GPS satellites

WGS84:WGS84 ellipsoid origin center of earth

The origins of the WGS84 and NAD83 ellipsoids are at the center of the earths mass, which makes them ideal for a GPS datum

 Known as Datum Adjustments or Epochs

Datum Adjustments

WGS84 (G1150) most current version

Original NAD83 = NAD83 (1986)
NAD83 (1992) NAD83 (2002)

Most Current NAD83

NAD83 (CORS96) (Epoch 2003.00)

Differences between Datums

NAD27 NAD83 (1986)

33 to 700 feet

Differences between Datums

WGS84 = ITRF00
about 2cm

NAD83 (CORS96) WGS84

about 4.3 feet