1. Coordinate
Systems 1 1 1 1 1 1

2. Required readings: Required figures: Coordinate systems:19-1 to 19-6.
State plane coordinate systems: 20-1 to 20-5, 20-7, 20-10, and
Required figures:
Coordinate systems: 19-1, 19-2, 19-6, 19-7 and 19-8.
State plane coordinate systems: 20-1 to 20-3,
Recommended, not required, readings: 19-7 to 19-11, 20-11, and

3. Coordinate Systems
Geoid and Ellipsoid, what for? 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

4. Ellipsoid Parameters Great circles and meridians
Ellipsoid parameters (equations not required):
semi-major axes (a), semi-minor axes (b)
e = = first eccentricity
N = normal length =
Great circles and meridians
Two main ellipsoids in North America:
Clarke ellipsoid of 1866, on which NAD27 is based
Geodetic Reference System of 1980 (GRS80): on which NAD83 is based.
For lines up to 50 km, a sphere of equal volume can be used 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

5. Geodetic Coordinate System
System components, coordinates 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

7. Geodetic System Coordinates
Definitions :
Geodetic latitude (f): the angle in the meridian plane of the point between the equator and the normal to the ellipsoid through that point.
Geodetic longitude (l): the angle along the equator between the Greenwich and the point meridians
Height above the ellipsoid (h) 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

8. Universal Space Rectangular System
System definition, X, Y, Z
Advantage and disadvantage
X, Y, Z from geodetic coordinates
X = (N+h) cosf cosl
Y = (N+h) cosf sinl
Z = ( N(1-e2) +h) sinf X Z Y 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

9. State Plane Coordinate Systems
Plane rectangular systems, why use them?
How to construct them: Project the earth’s surface onto a developable surface.
Two major projections: Lambert Conformal Conic, and Transverse Mercator. 7 7 7 7 7 7 7

14. Secants, Scales, and Distortions
Scale is exact along the secants, smaller than true in between.
Distortions are larger away from the secants 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

15. Choosing a Projection States extending East-west: Lambert Conical
States extending North-South: Mercator Cylindrical.
A single surface will provide a single zone. Maximum zone width is 158 miles to limit distortions to 1:10,000. States longer than 158 mi, use more than one zone (projection). 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

18. Standard Parallels & Central Meridians
Standard Parallels: the secants, no distortion along them. At 1/6 of zone width from zone edges
Central Meridians: a meridian at the middle of the zone, defines the direction of the Y axis.
The Y axis points to the grid north, which is the geodetic north only at the central meridian
To compute the grid azimuth ( from grid north) from geodetic azimuth ( from geodetic north):
grid azimuth = geodetic azimuth - q 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

19. Geodetic and SPCS
Control points in SPCS are initially computed from Geodetic coordinates (direct problem). If NAD27 is used the result is SPCS27. If NAD83 is used, the result is SPCS83.
Define: q, R, Rb, C, and how to get them. 11 11 11 11 11 11 11

22. Direct and Inverse Problems
Direct (Forward):
given: f, l get X, Y?
Solution: X = R sin q + C
Y = Rb - R cos q
Whenever q is used, it is -ve west (left) of the central meridian.
q = geodetic azimuth - grid azimuth
Indirect (Inverse): Solve the above mentioned equations to compute R, and q. Use tables to compute f, l .
In both cases, use a computer program whenever is available. Wolfpack can do it, see next slide. 12 12 12 12 12 12 12

23. q q q = geodetic azimuth - grid azimuth Grid N Grid N B Geodetic N
Geodetic Az A 
Geodetic Az
Central Meridian of the zone
Central Meridian of the zone
Grid Az q q
: NEGATIVE at point A
West of the CM
POSITIVE at point A
East of the CM

24. Forward Computations: given (f, l) get (X, Y).
Inverse Computations: given (X, Y) get (f, l)

25. Surveys Extending from one Zone to Another
There is always an overlap area between the zones.
When in the transition zone, compute the geodetic coordinates of two points from their X, Y in first zone (direct problem).
Compute X, Y of the same points in the second zone system from their geodetic coordinates (inverse problem)
Compute the azimuth of the line, use the azimuth and new coordinates to proceed. 13 13 13 13 13 13 13

26. Review of Project 2

27. PI (V) T C PC

28. Two vertical curves can be set-out at the same time from either BVC 1 or BVC 2.
The direction of each of the Centerlines curves is shown to the left. Assume that the BM for elevation is BVC and IS NOT 20
BVC 1 20
BVC 2
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