UNDERSTANDING COORDINATE SYSTEMS, DATUMS AND TRANSFORMATIONS IN AUSTRALIA

Abstract

Spatial professionals are required to handle an increasingly wide range of positioninginformation obtained from various sources including terrestrial surveying, GlobalNavigation Satellite System (GNSS) observations and online GNSS processingservices. These positions refer to a multitude of local, national and global datums. Aclear understanding of the different coordinate systems and datums in use today and theappropriate transformations between these is therefore essential to ensure rigorousconsideration of reference frame variations in order to produce high-quality positioningresults. This paper provides a compendium for spatial practitioners, reviewing theconcepts and definitions of coordinate systems and datums in the Australian context andoutlining the practical procedures for coordinate transformations in Australia, in relationto both horizontal and vertical datums. The differences between Cartesian, curvilinearand projection coordinates are explained and practical solutions for the requiredcoordinate conversions and transformations are presented. The computational procedurefor the transformation between orthometric and ellipsoidal heights in the absence ofgeoid undulations referenced to a regional ellipsoid is outlined.

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