The GCS WGS 1984 projection is a conformal projection with local shapes and angles preserved locally. Parallels and meridians intersect at right angles. There are distortions present especially on the top and bottom of the map. The distance between Washington D.C. and Kabul on a GCS WGS 1984 projection is recorded to be 6,986 miles apart. The Mercator projection is also a conformal projection but the distance between Washington D.C. and Kabul is significantly higher. It is recorded to be 10,072 miles apart. It seems to be that the right and left sides of the map have been squeezed inwards towards the center. The Mercator projection also has distortions especially on the top and bottom of the map.
The Equidistant Cylindrical projection is unique in that the distances from the center of the projection to any other place on the map are the same in all directions. It seems to be longer vertically. Hence, making the distance between the two cities significantly less at 5,116 miles. The map with the resemblance of cheese is Equidistant Conic. This is a conical projection with the distance between Washington D.C. and Kabul being 7,079 miles. The Equidistant projection preserves distance. The scale on the Equidistant Conic projection is the same along all meridians. The Sinusoidal projection is Equal Area which means that the areas on the map maintains the same proportional relationship to the areas on the Earth. In other words, it preserves area. The Sinusoidal map projection is a pseudo-cylindrical projection with curved meridians. Only the central meridian is not a sine curve. The north-south scale and east-west scale are uniform throughout the map. The distance between Washington D.C. and Kabul is 8,125 miles. The map the shape of a heart is also an Equal Area projection called Bonne Equal Area. However, the distance between two cities is closer at 6,752 miles. The Bonne Equal Area projection has segmented meridians with meridians bending at the equator. This is a pseudo-conic projection with parallels beings equally spaced arcs. The Bonne projection reduces distortion of shapes in the temperate and tropical areas but it has distortions along the edges.
The Mercator projection is a conformal map projection. It preserves shape and direction. It is easy to recognize a mercator map projection because their lines of latitude and longitude intersect at right angles. The area for Greenland seems distorted in that it looks much larger. Similarly, Antarctica is also distorted in that the area is increased dramatically. Mercator projections are poor projections for world maps but it has been popular due to its rectangular grid and shape. Geographers would find it useful for wall maps, atlas maps, and maps in books. As a matter of fact, it has become the standard map projection for most mental map of westerners. However, it is important to remember that there are distortions such as Europe looking larger than it really is. It is because of such distortions that rectangular world maps are discouraged for general purposes and artistic displays. Mercator map projections promote erroneous conceptions by representing distances and routes incorrectly. Still, the most widely used rectangular map is the Mercator projection.
In a Mercator map projection, direction is preserved. However, area and distance is distorted. The Mercator distorts the size and shape of large objects. As the scale increases from the Equator to the poles, the large objects become infinite. The Mercator map projection is narrow in shape in size whereas the GCS WGS 1984 projection is wide and stretched. The Mercator map projection distorts areas such as Greenland, Alaska, Finland, and Antarctica. Africa is much larger than Greenland but Greenland takes as much area as Africa on a Mercator projection. Similarly, Alaska is smaller than Brazil but takes as much area. The same goes for finland when compared to India. Antarctica appears to be the biggest continent when in fact it is only the fifth largest of them all. The GCS WGS 1984 projection is a standard projection for cartography and navigation. It includes the standard coordinate frame for the Earth and a standard spheroidal reference surface, which is the datum or ellipsoid. It also includes the geoid. GCS WGS 1984 projection represents the reference coordinate system that is used for GPS.
The Mercator projection is a conformal map projection. It preserves shape and direction. It is easy to recognize a mercator map projection because their lines of latitude and longitude intersect at right angles. The area for Greenland seems distorted in that it looks much larger. Similarly, Antarctica is also distorted in that the area is increased dramatically. Mercator projections are poor projections for world maps but it has been popular due to its rectangular grid and shape. Geographers would find it useful for wall maps, atlas maps, and maps in books. As a matter of fact, it has become the standard map projection for most mental map of westerners. However, it is important to remember that there are distortions such as Europe looking larger than it really is. It is because of such distortions that rectangular world maps are discouraged for general purposes and artistic displays. Mercator map projections promote erroneous conceptions by representing distances and routes incorrectly. Still, the most widely used rectangular map is the Mercator projection.
In a Mercator map projection, direction is preserved. However, area and distance is distorted. The Mercator distorts the size and shape of large objects. As the scale increases from the Equator to the poles, the large objects become infinite. The Mercator map projection is narrow in shape in size whereas the GCS WGS 1984 projection is wide and stretched. The Mercator map projection distorts areas such as Greenland, Alaska, Finland, and Antarctica. Africa is much larger than Greenland but Greenland takes as much area as Africa on a Mercator projection. Similarly, Alaska is smaller than Brazil but takes as much area. The same goes for finland when compared to India. Antarctica appears to be the biggest continent when in fact it is only the fifth largest of them all. The GCS WGS 1984 projection is a standard projection for cartography and navigation. It includes the standard coordinate frame for the Earth and a standard spheroidal reference surface, which is the datum or ellipsoid. It also includes the geoid. GCS WGS 1984 projection represents the reference coordinate system that is used for GPS.
Key point: GCS is NOT a projection.
ReplyDelete9.5/10