Map Projection

A Map projection is a way to represent the 3-dimensional surface of the earth into 2-
dimensional plane. It is a technique used in cartography to represent earth by flattening the
globe in order to create a map. This technique requires skill in transformation of the latitudes
and longitudes of a locations from the sphere earth into the locations on a plane map.

Example of flattening the earth

The map that is created consist of three steps below:

1. The selection of the model for the shape of earth that is between a sphere or ellipsoid.
There is some information lost in this step because of the shape of earth that is
irregular.
2. The transformation of the geographic coordinate from longitude and latitude to
northing eastings that is plane coordinates.
3. Reducing the scale.
The Measurement System of a Map.

Maps are constructed with the assumption that the viewer has an orthogonal view of the map.
This is also known as a perpendicular or natural view. A map's measurement systems are:

1. Area

2. Shape

3. Direction

4. Distance

5. Scale

Projection Surface.

If a surface can be converted into another surface without stretching, breaking, or shrinking,
then the surface is considered to be an applicable surface. Since the sphere and ellipsoid are
not accessible to a plane surface, any attempt to project them on a flat sheet would distort the
picture.
Distortion

A distortion in cartography is a misrepresentation of a feature's region or form. The surface of

a sphere cannot be represented on a plane without distortion. The same is true for other
reference surfaces used as Earth models, such as oblate spheroids, ellipsoids, and geoids. All
map projections distort since they are a reflection of one of those surfaces on a plane. Map
projections cause four major types of distortion: distance, direction, form, and area.
Greenland, for example, is skewed by the Mercator projection due to its high latitude, in the
sense that its form and scale are not the same as those on a globe. Another case in point is
cylindrical projections. The distortion in projections is negligible along the lines of tangency,
or the line along which the projection and the earth's surface converge. The farther you step
away from those points, the more distortion occurs in the projection. Similar forecasts are
more efficient at reducing different types of distortion. Conformal conic projections, for
example, often preserve shape, while equidistant projections preserve distance and equal area
projections preserve area.

Scale.
The map's scale is the ratio of a distance on the map to its equal distance on the ground. The
curvature of the Earth's surface complicates this basic definition by forcing scale to differ
across a map. A globe is the only way to reflect the Earth in all directions with a consistent
scale throughout the entire map. A map, no matter how small, cannot achieve that property
for any area. However, it is possible to achieve constant scale along particular lines. Some
possible properties are:

1. The scale is influenced by position but not by direction. This is analogous to angle
preservation, which is a distinguishing feature of a conformal map.
2. Scale is constant in every parallel in the same direction. In normal aspect, this refers
to any cylindrical or pseudo cylindrical projection.
3. Combination of two above, the scale is determined solely by latitude, not longitude or
direction. This is true for Mercator projections in normal aspect.
4. Both straight lines radiating from a single geographic location have the same scale.
This is the distinguishing attribute of an equidistant projection like the Azimuthal
equidistant projection. There are also projections that is Maurer's Two-point
equidistant projection, Close that maintain the true distances between two points.
Coordinate System

To place objects in a two-or three-dimensional space, various types of coordinates are used.
Spatial coordinates also known as global coordinates are used to locate points in 3D space on
the Earth's surface or in 2D space on the Earth's reference surface that is ellipsoid or sphere.
Geographic coordinates in a 2D or 3D space and geocentric coordinates, also known as 3D
Cartesian coordinates, are two specific examples. Plane coordinates, on the other hand, are
used to locate objects in a 2D space on the map's flat surface. 2D Cartesian coordinates and
2D polar coordinates are two examples.

2D geographic coordinates

The most frequently used global coordinate system is made up of lines of geographic latitude
(phi,  or ) and longitude (lambda or ). Parallels are lines of similar latitude. They shape
circles on the ellipsoid's surface. Meridians are lines of equal longitude that form ellipses
(meridian ellipses) on the ellipsoid. When projected onto a map plane, both lines form the
reticle.
The geographic coordinates of a point with respect to the selected reference surface are
represented by latitude and longitude. If an ellipsoid is used to approximate the shape of the
Earth, they are also known as geodetic coordinates or ellipsoidal coordinates. Geographic
coordinates are often expressed in terms of angular units. The coordinates for the Petronas
Twin Tower in Kuala Lumpur, for example, are 3.1579° N, 101.7120° E.

Geographic coordinates are often used to store, monitor, and transfer spatial data. For editing,
study, and mapping, the data is projected onto a local map coordinate system. For example,
Google Earth's internal coordinate system is geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude) on
the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS84) datum.

There are two types of latitudes in addition to geodetic (or geographic) latitude. These are the
astronomic and geocentric latitudes. The angle between the equatorial plane and the normal
to the geoid is defined as the astronomic latitude. It varies only marginally from geodetic or
geographic latitude due to minor deviations of the Geoid from the reference ellipsoid. The
astronomic latitude is the latitude that derives directly from star measurements, uncorrected
for vertical deflection, and it only applies to positions on the Earth's surface.

Local horizontal or geodetic datum are defined using astronomical observations. The
geocentric latitude is the angle formed by the equatorial plane and a line drawn from the
ellipsoid's base. If the Earth is represented as a complete sphere, this value generally varies
from the geodetic latitude. Geocentric and geodetic latitudes both apply to the reference
ellipsoid rather than the Earth.

3D geographic coordinates
By applying the ellipsoidal height h to the scheme, 3D geographic coordinates ( , h) are
obtained. A point's ellipsoidal height (h) is the vertical width of the point above the ellipsoid.
It is measured in distance units from the point to the ellipsoidal surface along the ellipsoidal
normal. 3D spatial coordinates can be used to describe a position on the Earth's surface.

Geocentric coordinates
Geocentric coordinates (x, y, z), also known as 3D Cartesian coordinates, are an alternative
way of describing a 3D location on the Earth's surface. The mechanism begins at the Earth's
mass centre, with the X- and Y-axes in the plane of the equator. The X-axis is parallel to the
Greenwich Meridian, and the Z-axis is parallel to the Earth's rotation axis. The three axes are
orthogonal to one another and form a right-handed system. Geocentric coordinates may be
used to describe a position on the Earth's surface.

2D Cartesian coordinates

Plain map has only two dimensions, width from left to right and length from top to bottom.
Map projections and coordinate transformations are used to convert the three-dimensional
Earth into a two-dimensional map. Map projections and coordinate transformations are used
to convert the three-dimensional Earth into a two-dimensional map. Two-dimensional
Cartesian coordinates (x, y), also known as planar rectangular coordinates, are used to define
the orientation of any point in a map plane, as they are in many other cartographic
applications.

The 2D Cartesian coordinate system is a network of intersecting perpendicular lines with two
main axes, the X- and Y-axes. The horizontal axis is generally referred to as the X-axis, while
the vertical axis is referred to as the Y-axis. The X-axis is also sometimes called Easting and
the Y-axis the Northing. The origin is formed by the intersection of the X and Y axes. The
plane is marked at regular intervals by a grid of evenly spaced coordinate lines known as the
map grid.

Usually, the origin is given the coordinates x =0 and y = 0. However, large positive values
are sometimes applied to the origin coordinates. This is done to prevent having negative
values for the x and y coordinates if the coordinate system's origin is within the field of
interest. The point with the coordinates x =0 and y = 0 is known as the false origin.
WGS 84

WGS84 is a terrestrial reference system and geodetic datum that is Earth-centred and Earth-
fixed. WGS84 is built on a consistent collection of constants and model parameters that
describe the scale, shape, gravity, and geomagnetic fields of the Earth. WGS84 is the basic
definition of a global reference system for geospatial information used by the United States
Department of Defence, and it acts as the reference system for the Global Positioning System
(GPS). It operates with the International Terrestrial Reference System (ITRS) (ITRS). The
latest realisation WGS84 (G1762) adheres to the parameters outlined in Technical Note 21 of
the International Earth Rotation Service (IERS). The National Geospatial-Intelligence
Agency is the entity in charge (NGA). In 2013, NGA intends to carry out a WGS84 reference
frame network modification to implement IERS Conventions 2010 Technical Note 36. (TN
36).

 Origin:  Earth’s center of mass being defined for the whole Earth including oceans
and atmosphere. 

 Z-Axis: The direction of the IERS Reference Pole (IRP). This direction corresponds
to the direction of the BIH Conventional Terrestrial Pole (CTP) (epoch 1984.0) with
an uncertainty of 0.005".

 X-Axis: Intersection of the IERS Reference Meridian (IRM) and the plane passing
through the origin and normal to the Z-axis. The IRM is coincident with the BIH Zero
Meridian (epoch 1984.0) with an uncertainty of 0.005".

 Y-Axis: Completes a right-handed, Earth-Centred Earth-Fixed (ECEF) orthogonal

coordinate system.

 Scale:  Its scale is that of the local Earth frame, in the meaning of a relativistic theory
of gravitation. Aligns with ITRS. 

 Orientation:  Given by the Bureau International de l’Heure (BIH) orientation of

1984.0.

 Time Evolution:  Its time evolution in orientation will create no residual global

rotation with regards to the crust.
WGS 84 PARAMETERS

PARAMETER NOTATION VALUE

Semi-major Axis a 6378137.0 m
Nominal Mean Angular Velocity ω 7292115 10-11 rad/s
Flattening Factor of the Earth 1/f 298.257223563
Geocentric Gravitational Constant GM 3986004.418 108 m3/s2

The mass of the Earth's atmosphere is included in the value of GM. GPS users should stick
with the original WGS84 GM value of 3986005.0 108 m3/s2 as stated in the GPS interface
control document (ICD-GPS-200) and NIMA Technical Report 8350.2.
Reference

http://maps.unomaha.edu/Peterson/gis/notes/MapProjCoord.html
https://www.gislounge.com/map-projection/
https://www.geographyrealm.com/types-map-projections/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection
http://wiki.gis.com/wiki/index.php/Distortion#:~:text=In%20cartography%2C%20a
%20distortion%20is,it%20onto%20a%20flat%20surface.
https://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/wp/m/Map_projection.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coordinate_system
https://d1rkab7tlqy5f1.cloudfront.net/CiTG/Over%20faculteit/Afdelingen/Geoscience
%20%26%20Remote%20sensing/Study/TRS_3-1.pdf
http://wiki.gis.com/wiki/index.php/Distortion#:~:text=In%20cartography%2C%20a
%20distortion%20is,it%20onto%20a%20flat%20surface.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Geodetic_System
https://skybrary.aero/index.php/World_Geodetic_System_1984_(WGS84)