Geodesy and Cartography

By
Norm Berls

Location in the Petroleum Industry

On the earth: Latitude & Longitude
On maps: X & Y coordinates
Example:
Latitude: 30.0 N
Longitude: 93.0 W
X: 500,000 meters Y: 3,318,785 meters

CartoLab Demo
Computation of XY from LatLon
Transforms Tab
Set CRS 1
Geodetic Datum only: WGS84

Set CRS 2
Geodetic Datum: WGS84
Mode UTM: Zone 16 North

Susped Geodetic Transforms

Transform Point
Latitude 30.0 Longitude -93.0 to XY

The Earth is not a Sphere

Mountains and Ocean basins.
Mascons make the gravity field irregular.
Rotation makes the equator bulge and the
poles flatten.

Shape of the Earth

Ellipsoid
Mathematical Model
An approximation

Ellipse

Semi Major Axis

Semi Minor Axis
Flattening
Inverse Flattening
Eccentricity

CartoLab Demo
View an Ellipsoid on the DB
Databases Tab
Ellipsoid Database
Inspect WGS84
semi-major axis in meters
semi-minor axis in meters
inverse flattening is a unitless ratio

Some common Ellipsoids

Name

Semi-Major

Semi-Minor

WGS84

6378137.0

6356752.3

International 1924 6378388.0

6356911.9

Clarke 1866

6378206.4

6356583.8

Krassovsky 1940

6378245.0

6356863.0

Size of the Earth

Latitude and Longitude

Longitude: an eastwest measurement
relative to a prime
meridian.
Latitude: a northsouth
measurement
relative to the
equator.

Latitude on an Ellipsoid

Sign conventions
Southern Hemisphere Latitudes are
handled as negative numbers.
-35.0 and 35.0S mean the same thing
35.0 and 35.0N mean the same thing
Western Hemisphere Longitudes are
handled as negative numbers.
-35.0 and 35.0W mean the same thing.
35.0 and 35.0E mean the same thing.

CartoLab Demo
Presentation Modes and Units

Transforms Tab
Define CRS 2
Switch to Informal Mode
Set Parms
Central Meridian switch to DMSH mode
Origin Latitude switch to DMSH mode
False Easting switch to ftUS
False Northing switch to ftUS

LatLon Precision
How many decimal places are enough?
+- 1.0 meter is sufficient for Oil Industry
purposes.
90.0 / 10000000 = 0.000009
1 meter = 0.000009 degrees
Latitudes range between -90.0 and +90.0
degrees.
Longitudes range between -180.0 and
+180.0 degrees.

Naming Conventions
A line of constant
Latitude on a map is
called a Parallel.
A line of constant
Longitude on a map
is called a Meridian.
Both sets of lines
together are called a
Graticle.

Measuring Latitude and Longitude

In the old days:
Pick an arbitrary point on the earth
Estimate Latitude and Longitude using
astronomical means.
Survey other points with transit and chain.
Reconcile other points via triangulation.
Compute Latitude and Longitude of triangulated
network points (bench marks).
Result is a Horizontal Datum.
Arbitrary locations within the network can be
surveyed relative to bench marks.

Horizontal Datums
Contain math errors.
Patchworks of discontinuous networks.
Mapping over discontinuous areas requires
measurements in one area be shifted to align
correctly with the other (conflation).

Limited geographic extent.

No one covers the whole world.
Mapping on boundaries a problem.
Measurements on one datum must be shifted to align
correctly with the other (conflation).

Only measure horizontal locations; Vertical

locations measured on a separate (unrelated)
Vertical Datum.

Measuring Latitude & Longitude

Today
Exact orbit of satellites known.
Difference between time signal sent and time
signal received yields distance.
GPS
Distances yield Latitude, Longitude and
Height of receiver.
Special receivers and techniques yield
precision of centimeters.
Measurement system called a Geodetic
Datum

Horizontal vs. Geodetic

Ellipsoid for Horizontal Datum offset and rotated relative
to center of earth.
Ellipsoid for Geodetic Datum centered on gravitational
center of earth and axis centered on polar axis
(geocentric).
In practice, Horizontal Datums and Geodetic Datums are
both referred to as Geodetic Datums.
The same LatLon values expressed on two different
Geodetic Datums may be as much as 1 kilometer apart
on the real earth.
Any earth location will have different LatLon coordinates
depending upon which Geodetic Datum those values are
measured.
Mapping of LatLons from different Geodetic Datums
requires that locations be conflated.

Definition
A Geodetic Datum is a system of
measurement wherein locations on the
earth are specified in terms of Latitude,
Longitude and Height measured on an
ellipsoid.

Datum Examples

WGS84
NAD27
ED50
Pulkovo 42
SA69
Minna

ECEF
Earth Centered Earth Fixed
Latitude
Longitude
and Height
can be
converted to
ECEF by
means of a
Helmert
Transform.

Conflation
How do we conflate locations from two
different Geodetic Datums?
Latitude, Longitude & Height ECEF
Shift, Rotate and Scale ECEF Vector
ECEF Latitude, Longitude & Height
Molodensky Transform: XYZ Shifts only
Bursa Wolfe Transform: All operations

CartoLab Demo
Conflation of LatLon
Transforms Tab
Define CRS 1
Geodetic: 4267 NAD27

Define CRS 2
Informal
Geodetic: 4322 WGS72

Pick Geodetic Transforms

1170 for NAD27;

1237 for WGS72

Transform point
NAD27 Lat: 35.000000
WGS84 Lat: 35.000072
WGS72 Lat: 35.000037

Lon: -91.000000 H: 0.0

Lon: -91.000060 H: -19.989
Lon: -91.000214 H: -22.079

Other Conflation Methods

Grid Interpolation of Shifts (NADCON &
NTV2)
Polynomial
Multiple Regression
Simple LatLon Shifts

Height
Height is vertical distance above or below
ellipsoid.
We get it from GPS.
If the ellipsoid is an imaginary surface,
what good is height?

The Geoid
An imaginary surface where the force of
gravity is 1 G.
Covers the whole earth.
a.k.a. Mean Sea Level.
Defined under mountains.
Irregular due to mascons.

Geoid vs. Ellipsoid

Height = Elevation + Separation.

Elevation is the vertical measurement used by the
Oil Industry.
Elevation determined from older vertical datums
and by adjusting GPS height with separation.
Separation models cover the whole earth.
Separation known better in some places than
others but, models improving.

Map Projection
The process of creating
XY coordinates from
Latitude and Longitude is
called Map Projection.
Light source at center of
earth.
Slide is the surface of the
earth.
Projection screen is a
piece of paper.

The Orientation of
Projection Surfaces

Cylinders
Cylindrical Projections
Axis Cylinder parallel to axis earth: Normal
Axis Cylinder Perpendicular to axis earth: Transverse.
Axis Cylinder at other odd angle: Oblique

Normal

Transverse

Oblique

The Orientation of
Projection Surfaces

Cones
Conic Projections
Axis of cone parallel to axis of earth: Normal
Axis of cone at some other angle to axis of earth: Oblique
Normal
Oblique

The Orientation of
Projection Surfaces

Planes
Azimuthal Projections
Plane tangent at pole: Polar
Plane tangent at equator: Equatorial
Plane tangent at some other point: Oblique
Polar
Equatorial

Oblique

The Positioning of
Projection Surfaces
Tangent

Secant

The Consequences of
Map Projection
When the 3D Earth is represented in a flat map
projection, some kind of distortion must take
place.
Compression and Stretch (Variable Scale)

The Consequences of
Map Projection
Directionality Varies
Which Way is North?
Grids cannot be exactly transformed between
map projections.
How can you map a deviated well into a distorted
system like a map projection?

CartoLab Demo
Analyze South Louisiana Zone
Set mode to NAD27 State Plane.
Select Louisiana South Zone
Analyze over:
Lat 30.0 to 20.0
Lon -100 to -80

Map Projection Terminology

Map projections are classified according to which earth
attributes they preserve.
Shape, Area, Distance & Direction.
Conformal projections preserve the shape of objects.
Or, angles between intersecting lines are preserved.
Equal Area projections preserve the area of objects.
Azimuthal projections preserve distance and direction.
A map projection may do fairly well in terms of one or
two attributes but, will always do poorly in the third.
The Oil Industry uses Conformal projections almost
exclusively.

Fundamental Map Projection

Parameters
Every map projection has a Natural Origin.
Usually is a user-specified point on the earth.
It corresponds to another point in the system of
projected coordinates.
Typically users specify:
A Latitude often called an origin latitude or base
parallel. Sometimes equator is understood.
A Longitude often called an origin longitude or
central meridian.
An X coordinate always called a False Easting.
A Y coordinate always called a False Northing.

Almost every map projection will have these four

parameters. Sometimes a default is understood.

Transverse Mercator
The #1 map projection used by the Oil Industry.
90% of all Oil Industry maps are based on
Transverse Mercator.
A conformal projection based on a transverse
cylinder.
Cylinder is said to be tangent at some meridian
called the Central Meridian.
A scale factor gets multiplied against all XY
locations reducing them and causing the
cylinder to shift into a secant position.

Transverse Mercator Parameters

Transverse Mercator Graticle

Transverse Mercator
Never use Transverse Mercator to map an
area larger than 6 degrees of Longitude
wide.
Use Transverse Mercator on areas that
trend basically North-South.

CartoLab Demo
Transverse Mercator
Transforms Tab
Define CRS 2
Recommendation
Lat: 0, 30

Lon: -120, -115

Analyze
Lat: 0, 30
Lat: 0, 30

Lon: -120, -115

Lon: -117, -113

Convert
Lat: 25

Lon: -117

UTM
Universal Transverse Mercator
Same projection algorithm as Transverse Mercator.
A few special rules have been imposed to govern
parameter setting.
Origin Latitude is always the equator
False Northing is 0.0 for the Northern Hemisphere and
10,000,000 for the Southern Hemisphere.
False Easting is always 500,000 meters
Scale factor is always 0.9996
Earth divided into 60 zones each 6 degrees wide.
Central Meridian is in middle of zone.
Zone 1 has a Central Meridian of -177.0
Zone 2 has a Central Meridian 6 degrees east at -171.0
etc.
Parameters are only Zone Number and Hemisphere.
CartoLab Demo

UTM Zones

Lambert Conformal Conic

2 Parallels
The #2 map projection used by the Oil
Industry.
A conformal projection based on a normal
cone.
Cone is secant about the earth at two
parallels.

Lambert Conformal Conic

Parameters

Lambert Conformal Conic

Lambert Conformal Conic

Used to map areas that trend basically
East-West.
Should not be used to map areas greater
than 6 degrees in Latitude extent.
Should not be used to map areas that
cross the equator.
CartoLab Demo

State Plane Coordinate Systems

State Plane Coordinate Systems

NAD27

An old Horizontal Datum.

An irregular system of measurement
Still used by the Oil Industry.
XY in units of US Survey Feet
Before 1959: 1 meter = 39.37 inches
After 1959: 1 inch = 2.54 centimeters
Definitions differ by 2 PPM

In GeoFrame you must create a new units system

wherein the geographical distance is ftUS in order to get
correct NAD27 State Plane Coordinates.
NAD83
A modern Geodetic Datum

CartoLab Demo
Compute XY on NAD27
Set CRS1 to WGS84 datum
Set CRS2 to NAD27 State Plane and
select Louisiana South.
Suspend WGS84 transform
Select (1170) NAD27 transform
Translate Lat: 30.0 Lon: -90.0
X: 2422060.127 ftUS
Y: 486561.419 ftUS

Azimuthal Equidistant
A very important map projection.
A conformal projection based on an
oblique plane tangent to the earth at a
point.
True distance and direction can be
measured from the natural origin.

Azimuthal Equidistant

Azimuthal Equidistant

Azimuthal Equidistant
Used to map smaller areas.
Do not use to map areas larger than 7 degrees
of Latitude or Longitude.
Azimuth (clockwise from North) shows up
accurately when measured at the natural origin.
Distance can be measured accurately from the
natural origin.
A good way to convert deviated well DX/DY
offsets into Latitude and Longitude. Set natural
origin exactly on top of spud location.

Coordinate Reference Systems

CRS
A geodetic datum
A prime meridian
A map projection
A local coordinate system
A CRS is a fully detailed coordinate system
such that a location in the CRS can be
traced back to an exact location on the
earth.

CartoLab Demo
Review CRS 2 from previous demo.

Local Coordinate Systems

a.k.a. Engineering coordinate systems.
Shift XY shift applied to projected
coordinates. The XY point has projected
coordinates and is called an Origin.
Origin assumes coordinates of 0,0 after
shifting.
Scale reduce XY to Row/Column
Rotate Clockwise about the Origin
Skew Angle between the X and Y axes
is not 90

CartoLab Demo
Lay out a local CRS
Generate graticle

For CRS2 from previous demo:

Set rotation to 45
Set skew to 75
Generate array over:
Lat 30.0 to 20.0
Lon -100 to -80

Set rotation to 0.0 and run again.

Cartography Tutorial
Tutorial
Cartographic Traps

The EPSG Database

Demo

The End