Chapter
Jun 8, 2022
Chapter 4

Local, Regional, and Global Coordinate Transformations

Publication: Surveying and Geomatics Engineering: Principles, Technologies, and Applications

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of a wide range of coordinate transformations used in surveying engineering. These transformations include transformation of coordinates, which can range from modifications of a local planar system for a project site to complex geodetic operations at a continental or global scale. Three-dimensional data collection techniques, usually used in modern surveying with equipment such as total stations, Global Navigation Satellite Systems, and laser scanners are evaluated. Also discussed are applications of horizontal coordinates; this mathematical operation is often performed so that one set of coordinates can be made to match another set. The four-parameter, two-dimensional transformation can be generalized to allow scale to vary with direction, as well as to allow skewing of the coordinate axes, to create a horizontal 6-parameter affine transformation. Finally, grid-based transformations are described; these consist of regular grids of coordinate differences where the differences at locations between grid points are interpolated.

Get full access to this chapter

View all available purchase options and get full access to this chapter.

References

Ahlgren, K., G. Scott, D. Zilkoski, B. Shaw, and N. Paudel. 2020. GEOID 18. NOAA Technical Rep. NOS-NGS 72. Washington, DC: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Geodetic Survey.
Altamimi, Z., P. Rebischung, L. Métivier, and X. Collilieux. 2016. “ITRF2014: A new release of the international terrestrial reference frame modeling nonlinear station motions.” J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth 121 (8): 6109–6131.
Altamimi, Z., P. Rebischung, L. Métivier, and X. Collilieux. 2017. Analysis and results of ITRF2014. IERS Tech. Note 38. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Verlag des Bundesamts für Kartographie und Geodäsie.
Craymer, M., R. Ferland, and R. S. Snay. 2000. “Realization and unification of NAD 83 in Canada and the U.S. via the ITRF.” In Vol. 120 of Towards an Integrated Global Geodetic Observing System, edited by R. Rummel, H. Drewes, W. Bosch, and H. Hornik, 118–121. Berlin: Springer.
Dennis, M. L. 2020. The national adjustment of 2011: Alignment of passive GNSS control with the three frames of the North American Datum of 1983 at epoch 2010.00: NAD83 (2011), NAD83 (PA11), and NAD83 (MA11). NOAA Tech. Rep. NOS-NGS 65. Washington, DC: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Geodetic Survey.
Dewhurst, W. T. 1990. NADCON: The application of minimum-curvature-derived surfaces in the transformation of positional data from the North American Datum of 1927 to the North American Datum of 1983. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS-NGS-50. Washington, DC: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Geodetic Survey.
EPSG (European Petroleum Survey Group). 2022. “Geodetic parameter dataset.” International Association of Oil and Gas Producers. Accessed February 8, 2022. https://epsg.org/home.html.
IGN (Institut Géographique National). 2020. “Transformation parameters.” International Terrestrial Reference Frame. Accessed February 8, 2022. https://itrf.ign.fr/trans_para.php; ITRS and WGS84 parameters on this page available in “WGS84.TXT” file at ftp://itrf-ftp.ign.fr/pub/itrf/.
IGN. 2021. “International terrestrial reference frame.” ITRF solutions. Accessed February 8, 2022. itrf.ign.fr/ITRF_solutions/index.php.
IGS (International GNSS Service). 2017. “Chronology of IGS reference frame usage.” Accessed February 8, 2022. http://acc.igs.org/igs-frames.html.
ISO (International Standards Organization). 2022. “ISO geodetic registry.” Coordinate Operations: Transformation. Accessed February 8, 2022. https://geodetic.isotc211.org/register/geodetic/Transformation.
Kelly, K. M., and M. L. Dennis. 2022. “Transforming between WGS84 realizations.” J. Surv. Eng. 148 (2): 04021031.
NGA (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency). 2014. “World Geodetic System 1984: its definition and relationships with local geodetic systems.” NGA-STND.0036_1.0.0_WGS84, Version 1.0.0. Accessed February 8, 2022. https://earth-info.nga.mil/index.php?dir=wgs​84&​action=wgs84/.
NGA. 2021. “(U) recent update to WGS 84 reference frame and NGA transition to IGS ANTEX, office of geomatics/GNSS division.” Approved for Public Release #21-520. Accessed February 8, 2022. https://earth-info.nga.mil/php/download.php?file=(U)WGS%2084(G2139).pdf.
NGS (National Geodetic Survey). 2000. “NGS adopts transformation.” ITRF97 to NAD83 Transformation. Accessed February 8, 2022. https://geodesy.noaa.gov/PUBS_LIB/transformationITRF97toNAD83.html.
NGS. 2021a. HTDP—Horizontal Time-Dependent Positioning. Includes software, user guide, and revision log. Accessed February 8, 2022. https://geodesy.noaa.gov/TOOLS/Htdp/Htdp.shtml.
NGS. 2021b. “New Datums: Replacing NAVD 88 and NAD 83.” Accessed February 8, 2022. https://geodesy.noaa.gov/datums/newdatums/index.shtml.
NGS. 2021c. “Vertical datum transformation: Integrating America's elevation data.” VDatum. Accessed February 8, 2022. vdatum.noaa.gov/welcome.html.
NGS. 2021d. Blueprint for the modernized NSRS, part 1: Geometric coordinates and terrestrial reference frames. NOAA Tech. Rep. NOS NGS 62. Silver Spring, MD: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Geodetic Survey.
NGS. 2021e. Blueprint for the modernized NSRS, part 2: Geopotential coordinates and geopotential datum. NOAA Tech. Rep. NOS NGS 64. Silver Spring, MD: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Geodetic Survey.
NGS. 2021f. Blueprint for the modernized NSRS, part 3: Working in the modernized NSRS. NOAA Tech. Rep. NOS-NGS 67. Silver Spring, MD: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Geodetic Survey.
NGS. 2022. “NGS Coordinate Conversion and Transformation Tool (NCAT).” Accessed February 8, 2022. https://geodesy.noaa.gov/NCAT/.
Pavlis, N. K., S. Holmes, S. Kenyon, and J. K. Factor. 2012. “The development and evaluation of the Earth Gravitational Model 2008 (EGM2008).” J. Geophys. Res. 117 (B4): B04406.
Pearson, C., and R. Snay. 2012. “Introducing HTDP 3.1 to transform coordinates across time and spatial reference frames.” GPS Solutions 17 (1): 1–15.
Petit, G., and B. Luzum. 2010. “IERS conventions 2010.” (IERS Tech. Note No. 36) International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service. Accessed February 8, 2022. https://www.iers.org/SharedDocs/Publikationen/EN/IERS/Publications/tn/TechnNote36/tn36.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1.
Pursell, D. G., and M. Potterfield. 2008. National readjustment final report. NAD 83(NSRS2007). NOAA Technical Rep. NOS NGS 60. Washington, DC: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Geodetic Survey.
Rappleye, H. S. 1929. First-order leveling in Hawaii. Special Publication 161. Washington, DC: US Department of Commerce, Coast and Geodetic Survey.
Schwarz, C. R. 1989. North American datum of 1983. NOAA Professional Paper NOS 2. Washington, DC: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Geodetic Survey.
Smith, D., and A. Bilich. 2017. NADCON 5.0: Geometric transformation tool for points in the national spatial reference system. NOAA Tech. Rep. NOS NGS 63. Washington, DC: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Geodetic Survey.
Smith, D., and A. Bilich. 2019. The VERTCON 3.0 project: Creating vertical transformations for points in the national spatial reference system, including VERTCON 3.0 release 20190601. NOAA Technical Rep. NOS NGS 68. Washington, DC: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Geodetic Survey.
Snay, R. 2003. “Introducing two spatial reference frames for regions of the Pacific Ocean.” Surv. Land Inf. Sys. 63 (1): 5–12.
Snay, R. 2012. “Evolution of NAD 83 in the United States: Journey from 2D toward 4D.” J. Surv. Eng. 138 (4): 161–171.
Soler, T. and Snay, R. 2004. “Transforming positions and velocities between the international terrestrial reference frame of 2000 and North American Datum of 1983.” J. Surv. Eng. 130 (2): 49–55.
Zilkoski, D. B. 1992. “North American vertical datum and international great lakes datum: They are now one and the same.” In Proc., U.S. Hydrographic Conference ’92. Baltimore, MD: The Hydrographic Society of America.
Zilkoski, D. B., J. H. Richards, and G. M. Young. 1992. “Special report: Results of the general adjustment of the North American vertical datum of 1998.” Surv. Land Inf. Sys. 52 (3): 133–149.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Surveying and Geomatics Engineering
Surveying and Geomatics Engineering: Principles, Technologies, and Applications
Pages: 85 - 133
Editors: Daniel T. Gillins, Ph.D., Michael L. Dennis, Ph.D., and Allan Y. Ng
ISBN (Print): 978-0-7844-1603-7
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-8400-5

History

Published online: Jun 8, 2022

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Download citation

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

View Options

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Chapter
$35.00
Add to cart
Buy E-book
$165.00
Add to cart

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Chapter
$35.00
Add to cart
Buy E-book
$165.00
Add to cart

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share with email

Email a colleague

Share