LESSON 02:

Terrestrial Coordinate System/

Chart Projections and
Numbering
Learning Objectives:

Comprehend the terrestrial coordinate system

Comprehend the location of positions on the
earth using latitude and longitude
Comprehend the basic properties of the most
commonly used chart projections

Terrestrial Coordinate
System
The earth is an oblate spheroid, but
for navigational purposes it is
considered a perfect sphere with a
circumference of 21,600 NM.
On a perfect sphere at rest, all points
on the surface are similar; reference
points must be designated in order to
make any type of measurements.

Terrestrial Coordinate
System
When rotation is introduced, the spin
axis introduces two reference points,
the north and south poles.
The spin axis of the earth, together
with its poles, constitutes the basic
reference points on which the
terrestrial coordinate system is
based.

Terrestrial Coordinate
System
Great Circle: the intersection of a plane
passing through two points on the surface
of the earth and the center of the earth.
Some key points:
A great circle is the largest circle that can be
drawn on the face of the earth.
A great circle represents the shortest distance
between two points on the surface of the
earth.

Terrestrial Coordinate
System
Equator
Meridian

Terrestrial Coordinate
System
Small Circle- any circle not passing through the center of the
earth.

Terrestrial Coordinate
System
Meridians of longitude are great circles
Parallels of latitude are small circles
(with the exception of the equator)

Latitude and Longitude

The equator divides the earth into the
northern and southern hemispheres and
is the reference for parallels of latitude.
The prime meridian passes through the
original position of the Royal Greenwich
Observatory. It serves as the reference
for meridians of longitude.

Latitude and Longitude

Meridians are divided in half:
upper branch
lower branch

Prime Meridian
upper branch is known as the
Greenwich meridian
lower branch is the 180th meridian

Longitude Defined
The angular distance between
the Greenwich meridian and the
meridian passing through a
particular point on the earths
surface. Longitude is measured
in degrees of arc from 0 to 180
degrees, either east or west.

Latitude Defined
The angular distance between
the Equator and the parallel
passing through a particular
point on the earths surface.
Latitude is measured in degrees
of arc from 0 to 90 degrees,
either north or south.

Longitude

Latitude

Measurement of Distance
Since latitude lines are parallel, the
length of one degree of latitude is the
same everywhere on earth (60 NM).
As the distance from the equator
increases, the length in miles of one
degree of longitude decreases, so
NEVER use the longitude scale to
determine distances on a chart.

Measurement of Distance

Chart Projections
Desirable qualities of a chart projection:
Correct angular relationships
Representation of areas in their correct proportions
relative to one another
True scale
Rhumb lines represented as straight lines.
Note: Rhumb lines are lines on the surface of the
earth that cross all meridians at the same angle.
Ships on a constant course follow rhumb lines.
Great circles represented as straight lines

Mercator Projection
Imagine a cylinder rolled around the
earth, tangent at the equator, and
parallel to the earths axis.
Meridians appear as straight vertical
lines when projected outward onto
the cylinder.

Mercator Projection

Mercator Projection
Advantages
Position, Distance,
and direction easily
determined.
True shape of
features is maintained
for small areas
(conformality)
Rhumb lines plot as
straight lines.

Disadvantages
Distortion of true
size of surface
features increases
with distance from
the equator.
Great circles
appear as curved
lines.

Gnomonic Projection
Surface features and reference lines on
the earths surface are projected outward
from the center of the earth onto a tangent
plane.
Three basic types, depending on point of
tangency:
equatorial gnomonic (tangent at equator)
polar gnomonic (tangent at either pole)
oblique gnomonic (tangent somewhere else)

Gnomonic Projection

Gnomonic Projection
Advantages
Disadvantages
Great circles appear Rhumb lines appear
as straight lines
as curved lines
(shortest distance
Distance and
between two points)
direction cannot be
Tolerable distortion
measured directly
within 1000 miles of Not conformal (true
the point of
shapes are not
tangency
presented)

Gnomonic Projection

Gnomonic vs. Mercator

Gnomonic
Since great circles
appear as straight
lines, used to
determine the
shortest route
between two points.
This information is
then transferred to a
Mercator chart.

Mercator
Used for everyday
navigation, due to
the ease of
measurement of
position, distance,
and direction.

Gnomonic vs. Mercator

Nautical Charts
Two government activities are
responsible for producing charts:
Defense Mapping Agency (DMA)
ocean areas of the world outside U.S.
territorial waters

National Ocean Service (NOS)

inland and coastal waters of the U.S.
and its possessions

Chart Numbering System

All charts are assigned a 1 to 5 digit number,
depending on the scale of the chart
No. of digits Scale
1
no scale (supporting
publications)
2
1:9,000,001 and smaller
3
1:2,000,001 to 1:9,000,001
4
misc and special non-nav charts
5
1:2,000,000 and larger

Chart Numbering System

1 Digit: supporting publications
2 or 3 Digits: depict large ocean
basins and subdivisions. First digit
is the ocean basin (there are nine
worldwide).

Ocean Basins of the World

Chart Numbering System

5 Digits: are of suitable scale to depict
coastal regions with the great detail
necessary for piloting.
There are nine coastal regions in the world
Each is divided into several subregions

The first number is the region

The second number is the subregion
The last three numbers represent the
geographic sequence of the chart

Coastal Regions of the

World

Chart Numbering System

Thus, the chart numbering system
indicates the scale of the chart (by the
number of digits in the chart number)
indicates the area of the world depicted
(ocean basin, subdivision, coastal
region, and subregion)
enables the navigator to organize the
charts into portfolios

Chart Scale
An important point to remember:
SMALL SCALE = LARGE AREA
LARGE SCALE = SMALL AREA

Chart and Publication

Correction System
Navigation is constantly changing!
It is not practical to constantly reprint
navigational charts and publications.
DMA and NOS disseminate corrections
using two publications:
Notice to Mariners (DMA, worldwide
coverage)
Local Notice to Mariners (USCG, changes
pertaining to U.S. inland waters)

Chart and Publication

Correction System
Corrections must be made by hand to
the affected chart or publication.
Fortunately, not all changes are made.
The corrections are kept on file, using
a correction card for each chart.
Changes are then entered on a chart
when a ship is scheduled to operate in
the area the chart covers.

Chart and Publication

Correction System
Semiannually, DMA publishes a five
volume summary of all corrections
for the previous six months.

Other Correction Resources

Broadcast Notice to Mariners
Worldwide Navigation Warning System
(NAVAREAS)
HYDROLANTS and HYDROPACS
DMA Daily Memoranda
Special Warnings (USN or USCG)
Automated Notice to Mariners System
(ANMS)