HOME
ENV510 Landscape Ecology and GIS
Definitions
& descriptions | Concepts
& issues | Setting
up GIS | Using
GIS
| Applications
Representation
| Spatial data | Referencing
| Coordinates | Projections
| Georeferencing |
GPS | Data
issues | Accuracy
| Error | Management
Map projections
are 'designed to depict with reasonable accuracy the spherical earth in two-dimensional
media' (DeMers
1997)
There are
many different types of projections but there are three main ways of projecting
an ellipsoid onto a plane surface. These are cylindrical, conical and azimuthal
projections.
The projection
of an ellipsoid surface is done using mathematic principles of geometry and
trigonometry. The best projection to use depends on the location on the Earth's
surface that is being projected.
Each projection
imposes its own type and amount of distortion on a map.
The most widely used general projection is the Universal Transerve Mercator (UTM). This is a world standard used for topographic mapping.
Read
http://www.geog.ubc.ca/courses/klink/gis.notes/ncgia/u27.html#UNIT27 for further information on projections.
Site
map
| Glossary
| Downloads | References
| Resources | Graphics
Version
ENV510 Home
Updated July 2004 ©
Charles Darwin University
Copyright information
and disclaimer