New Cylindrical Equal Area and Conformal Map Projections of the Reference Ellipsoid for Local Applications

Abstract

Two new cylindrical map projections of the reference ellipsoid have been developed. The first cylindrical map projection possesses the property of preserving the areas of ellipsoidal surfaces. In other words, it is an "equal area cylindrical map projection of the reference ellipsoid". The origin of this map projection system can be placed at any point on the surface of the reference ellipsoid and as such the map projection could be ideal for localized applications, where minimum distortion is required. This map projection is recommended for implementation in Land Information Systems and/or cadastres, where the area of the land has to be preserved on the mapping surface. The second cylindrical map projection is conformal but, like the first map projection has the property that its origin can be placed at the point of interest. This property, which is common in both map projection systems, makes it possible that the centre of the map projection system be placed at the middle of geographical area of interest to minimize the distortion at that specific area. Besides, since the map projections have been developed for the reference ellipsoid it is possible to directly transfer the GPS coordinates into the mapping surface, which adds to the practical applications of the two map projections systems.