The Importance of

Coordinate Systems
• Coordinate systems provide a basis for
identifying locations on the earth's surface.
Historically, many coordinate systems, have
been devised, with the oldest ones assuming a
flat earth, then later on a perfect sphere.
Today's geographic coordinate systems are
now based on a cartographic spheroid (an
ellipse rotated about its axis) to more closely
represent the earth's true shape and surface.
Additionally, map projection coordinate
systems have also been developed to
determine how the curved surface of the
earth is depicted on a flat map.
• Coordinate system concepts
• Coordinate systems are mathematical models
that describe how geometries are georeferenced
to the surface of the earth. A coordinate system
includes information such as the unit of measure
and the earth model used. Depending on the
type of coordinate system, it may also include
how the data was projected from a spheroidal
shape to a flat plane. A coordinate system also
defines the range of valid X and Y properties of
geometries using that system.
• The following are the two types of coordinate
systems used in ArcGIS:
Geographic Coordinate
Systems

Projected Coordinate
Systems
 Geographic Coordinate Systems
• Defines a spheroidal or spherical model of the
earth, and uses angular units defining
coordinates in terms of latitude and longitude,
which are angles calculated from the center of
the earth describing a position on its
surface. Coordinates described this way are
sometimes referred to as polar coordinates.
Calculations based on a spheroidal model of the
earth are sometimes known as geodesic or
geodetic. The line on the earth chosen to
represent zero degrees of longitude is known as
the prime meridian.
A geographic coordinate system
(GCS) uses a three-dimensional
spherical surface to define
locations on the earth. A GCS is
often incorrectly called a datum,
but a datum is only one part of a
GCS. A GCS includes an angular
unit of measure, a prime meridian,
and a datum (based on a spheroid).
Datum
Horizontal Vs Vertical Datums
 Common Datums
•Previously, the most common spheroid was Clarke
1866; the North American Datum of 1927 (NAD27) is
based on that spheroid, and has its center in Kansas.
•A newer, satellite measured spheroid is the World
Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) spheroid, which is
more or less identical to Geodetic Reference System
1980 (GRS80). The GPS system uses WGS84.
•NAD83 is based on these spheroids and is measured
from the center of the spheroid, rather than the
surface.
•WGS84 is considered to be a datum and a spheroid
Geodetic Datum and Projections used
in Bangladesh
• Gulshan 303
• Everest Bangladesh
• WGS84
 Geodetic Datum used in Bangladesh
• Gulshan 303 is a geodetic datum first defined in
1995 and is suitable for use in Bangladesh -
onshore and offshore.. Gulshan 303 references
the Everest 1830 (1937 Adjustment) ellipsoid and
the Greenwich prime meridian. Gulshan 303
origin is Gulshan garden, Dhaka. Gulshan 303 is a
geodetic datum for Geodetic survey, cadastre,
topographic mapping, engineering survey. It was
defined by information from Survey of Bangladesh
via IGN Paris and Tullow Oil. Network of more
than 140 control points observed and adjusted in
1995 by Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA).
 Projected Coordinate Systems
• Uses linear units defining positions on the
earth's surface as projected to a flat plane. A
projection is a specific mathematical model
for converting the spheroidal data to a flat
plane. A projected coordinate system is always
based on an underlying geographical
coordinate system with a projection applied to
it.
 Types of coordinate systems
• A projected coordinate system such as universal
transverse Mercator (UTM), Albers Equal Area, or
Robinson, all of which (along with numerous other
map projection models) provide various mechanisms
to project maps of the earth's spherical surface onto a
two-dimensional Cartesian coordinate plane.
Projected coordinate systems are referred to as map
projections.
• Coordinate systems (both geographic and projected)
provide a framework for defining real-world locations.
 Projection System for Bangladesh
• Survey of Bangladesh: BTM, Recently
BUTM
• LGED : Lambert Conformal Conic
• SRDI and BARC : Everest Bangladesh
(WGS48)
• DLR: Everest Bangladesh (Casino)
• Dhaka City Corporation: Gulshan 303
Bangladesh
The same position on a
spheroid has a different angle
for latitude depending on
whether the angle is measured
from the normal line segment
IP of the ellipsoid (angle α) or
the line segment AP from the
center (angle β). Note that the
"flatness" of the spheroid
(orange) in the image is greater
than that of the Earth; as a
result, the corresponding
difference between the
"geodetic" and "geocentric"
latitudes is also exaggerated.
A point is referenced by its longitude
and latitude values. Longitude and
latitude are angles measured from
the earth's center to a point on the
earth's surface. The angles often are
measured in degrees (or in grads).
The following illustration shows the
world as a globe with longitude and
latitude values.
In the spherical system, horizontal
lines, or east–west lines, are lines
of equal latitude, or parallels.
Vertical lines, or north–south
lines, are lines of equal longitude,
or meridians. These lines
encompass the globe and form a
gridded network called a
graticule.
This illustration shows the parallels and meridians
that form a graticule.
• The line of latitude midway between the poles is called
the equator. It defines the line of zero latitude. The line
of zero longitude is called the prime meridian. For most
geographic coordinate systems, the prime meridian is the
longitude that passes through Greenwich, England.
Other countries use longitude lines that pass through
Bern, Bogota, and Paris as prime meridians. The origin
of the graticule (0,0) is defined by where the equator and
prime meridian intersect. The globe is then divided into
four geographical quadrants that are based on compass
bearings from the origin. North and south are above and
below the equator, and west and east are to the left and
right of the prime meridian.
Bogota, Colombia
It may be helpful to equate
longitude values with X and
latitude values with Y. Data
defined on a geographic
coordinate system is
displayed as if a degree is a
linear unit of measure.
In the last 15 years, satellite data has
provided geodesists with new
measurements to define the best earth-
fitting spheroid, which relates
coordinates to the earth's center of
mass. An earth-centered, or geocentric,
datum uses the earth's center of mass
as the origin. The most recently
developed and widely used datum is
WGS 1984. It serves as the framework
for locational measurement worldwide.
 Geographic (datum) transformations
• If two datasets are not referenced to the same
geographic coordinate system, you may need to
perform a geographic (datum) transformation. This
is a well-defined mathematical method to convert
coordinates between two geographic coordinate
systems. As with the coordinate systems, there are
several hundred predefined geographic
transformations that you can access. It is very
important to correctly use a geographic
transformation if it is required. When neglected,
coordinates can be in the wrong location by up to a
few hundred meters. Sometimes no transformation
exists, or you have to use a third GCS like the World
Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) and combine two
transformations.
Projected coordinate systems

A projected coordinate system (PCS) is defined

on a flat, two-dimensional surface. Unlike a GCS,
a PCS has constant lengths, angles, and areas
across the two dimensions. A PCS is always
based on a GCS that is based on a sphere or
spheroid. In addition to the GCS, a PCS includes
a map projection, a set of projection
parameters that customize the map projection for
a particular location, and a linear unit of
measure.