Fundamentals of Geodesy Pt V – Coordinate Systems

Course Description

Describing the location of a point is a critical part of its geodetic realization.  This presentation describes the three general ways to show a point’s coordinate location.  These include: Earth-Centered Earth Fixed (ECEF) coordinates, geographic coordinates (latitude, longitude, ellipsoid height) and plane coordinates such as the State Plane and Universal Transverse Mercator grid systems.

Learning Objectives

• Relationship of ECEF to geographic and plane coordinates
• Historical development of the State Plane Coordinate System
• Changes in State Plane Coordinates with respect to NAD 83
• Importance of metadata
• Tools for converting coordinate types