Transverse Mercator Research Articles

Breeding density, habitat selection and reproductive rates of the Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus in Álava (northern Spain)

A population of 33–35 pairs of Peregrine Falcon in álava (north Spain) was studied with the aim of assessing the habitat attributes that influence breeding density, habitat selection and breeding success. A strong relationship was found between density of the species in each UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) square of 10 × 10 km and cliff availability. Habitat selection was analysed by comparing 15 variables in 33 occupied and 25 unoccupied cliffs located at least 2 km from the nearest Peregrine pair. Significant differences were found in five variables: cliff dominance, distance to the nearest Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos nesting cliff, steepness and altitude (all showing larger values in occupied cliffs), and cliff orientation, with occupied cliffs facing preferably south and east. Orientation, dominance and distance to the nearest Golden Eagle pair, and the distance to the nearest Eagle Owl Bubo bubo nesting cliff, were included in a discriminant analysis which classified 82.76% of the cliffs correctly. The productivity of the studied population was 1.44 young/territorial pair (n = 45), and no consistent relationship was found between breeding success and habitat variables.

TRANSVIEW: a program for matching universal transverse mercator (UTM) and geographic coordinates

Orthogonal coordinate systems are advantageous for interpolation of irregularly distributed data and quantitative analysis, in particular if distance-dependent measures are involved. Geoscience data usually are collected with reference to geographic coordinates. Low distortion, orthogonal coordinates and distances given in meters are achieved by the universal transverse mercator (UTM) projection. Mapping of large areas, in particular at high latitude, may require calculation in several adjacent map sheets. The program TRANSVIEW is developed for transformations from the geographic to the UTM coordinate system and back and facilitates graphical display of the distortion of map sheets as well as matching of adjacent areas on map sheets in form of an atlas. The program TRANSVIEW is applied to calculate map frames for an atlas of Antarctica.

Transformation between Australian datums using a modified transverse Mercator projection

The introduction of the Geocentric Datum of Australia (GDA94) in the year 2000 will undoubtedly require the transformation of a large amount of coordinate data in Australia. This paper presents a modified transverse Mercator (MTM) map-projection such that the latitude and longitude on one datum are projected so that they closely agree with the transverse Mercator easting and northing on another datum. This approach will allow the introduction of the GDA94 whilst preserving Australian Map Grid (AMG) coordinates. Conversely, the MTM projection can be used to transform coordinates directly from the Australian Geodetic Datum (AGD) to the new Map Grid of Australia (MGA94). In order to test these two approaches, MTM parameters have been computed from 82 co-located GDA94/MGA94 and AGD98/AMG84 coordinates that comprise the Western Australian STATEFIX geodetic network. When using the national seven- and three-parameter datum transformations, the maximum differences between observed and transformed coordinates are 2.04m and 2.21m, respectively. When using the transformation by MTM projection, the projected coordinates agree with the observed coordinates to less than 2.04m.

The optimal Mercator projection and the optimal polycylindric projection of conformal type - case-study Indonesia

As a conformal mapping of the sphere S 2 R or of the ellipsoid of revolution E 2 A , B the Mercator projection maps the equator equidistantly while the transverse Mercator projection maps the transverse metaequator, the meridian of reference, with equidistance. Accordingly, the Mercator projection is very well suited to geographic regions which extend east-west along the equator; in contrast, the transverse Mercator projection is appropriate for those regions which have a south-north extension. Like the optimal transverse Mercator projection known as the Universal Transverse Mercator Projection (UTM), which maps the meridian of reference Λ0 with an optimal dilatation factor &ρcirc;=0.999 578 with respect to the World Geodetic Reference System WGS 84 and a strip [Λ0−Λ W ,Λ0 + Λ E ]×[Φ S ,Φ N ]= [−3.5∘,+3.5∘]×[−80∘,+84∘], we construct an optimal dilatation factor ρ for the optimal Mercator projection, summarized as the Universal Mercator Projection (UM), and an optimal dilatation factor ρ0 for the optimal polycylindric projection for various strip widths which maps parallel circles Φ0 equidistantly except for a dilatation factor ρ0, summarized as the Universal Polycylindric Projection (UPC). It turns out that the optimal dilatation factors are independent of the longitudinal extension of the strip and depend only on the latitude Φ0 of the parallel circle of reference and the southern and northern extension, namely the latitudes Φ S and Φ N , of the strip. For instance, for a strip [Φ S ,Φ N ]= [−1.5∘,+1.5∘] along the equator Φ0=0, the optimal Mercator projection with respect to WGS 84 is characterized by an optimal dilatation factor &ρcirc;=0.999 887 (strip width 3∘). For other strip widths and different choices of the parallel circle of reference Φ0, precise optimal dilatation factors are given. Finally the UPC for the geographic region of Indonesia is presented as an example.

The solution of the Korn-Lichtenstein equations of conformal mapping: the direct generation of ellipsoidal Gauß-Krüger conformal coordinates or the Transverse Mercator Projection

The differential equations which generate a general conformal mapping of a two-dimensional Riemann manifold found by Korn and Lichtenstein are reviewed. The Korn–Lichtenstein equations subject to the integrability conditions of type vectorial Laplace–Beltrami equations are solved for the geometry of an ellipsoid of revolution (International Reference Ellipsoid), specifically in the function space of bivariate polynomials in terms of surface normal ellipsoidal longitude and ellipsoidal latitude. The related coefficient constraints are collected in two corollaries. We present the constraints to the general solution of the Korn–Lichtenstein equations which directly generates Gaus–Kruger conformal coordinates as well as the Universal Transverse Mercator Projection (UTM) avoiding any intermediate isometric coordinate representation. Namely, the equidistant mapping of a meridian of reference generates the constraints in question. Finally, the detailed computation of the solution is given in terms of bivariate polynomials up to degree five with coefficients listed in closed form.

North American landscape characterization project: The production of a continental scale three‐decade Landsat data set

The North American Landscape Characterization (NALC) project is a component of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Landsat Pathfinder program. Pathfinder projects are focused on the investigation of global change utilizing current remote sensing technologies. The NALC project is a cooperative effort between the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and NASA to make Landsat data available to the widest possible user community for scientific research and general public interest. The NALC project is principally funded by the EPA Office of Research and Development and the USGS's Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center (EDC). The objectives of the NALC project are to produce standardized remote sensing data sets, develop standardized analysis methods, and derive standardized land cover change products for a large portion of the North American continent (the conterminous United States and Mexico) (Lunetta and Sturdevant, 1993). The standard product is the NALC “triplicate”;, consisting of co‐registered Landsat multispectral scanner data for the years 1973, 1986, and 1991 (plus or minus one year), plus co‐registered 3 arcsecond digital terrain elevation data. Processing began with the 1986 scene, which was precision corrected (with full terrain correction) to a 60 meter Universal Transverse Mercator base. Automated cross‐correlation procedures were used to co‐register the 1970's and 1990's data to the 1980's base, and independent verifications of registration quality were performed on all triplicate components. The pertinent metadata were compiled in a relational database, which includes WRS2 path/rows, scene ID's, image dates, solar azimuth and elevation, verification RMSE's, and the number of verification control points. NALC triplicate data sets are being used for a number of applications, including the analysis of urbanization patterns, dynamics of climatic fluctuations, deforestation studies, and vegetation classification and mapping. These data are being distributed through the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Information Management System (IMS) at a cost of $15(U.S.) for each triplicate.

Occurrence of the Sharptail Snake (Contia tenuis) at Trout Lake, Klickitat County, Washington

Knowledge of the distribution and habitat associations of the sharptail snake (Contia tenuis) has progressed little since this species was lSt described from a specimen collected in the Puget Sound region in 1841 (Baird and Girard 1852). Contia tenuis has a spotty distribution that includes parts of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California (Cook 1960; Stebbins 1972, 1985; Nussbaum and others 1983; Gregory and Campbell 1984; Darda 1995). Its known distribution in Washington is limited to 7 localities on the east slope of the Cascade Range (Chelan, Kittitas, Klickitat, and Yakima Counties), 2 localities in the Columbia River Gorge (Skamania and Klickitat Counties), and 2 localities in the Puget Lowland (Pierce County)l (Nussbaum and others 1983; Stebbins 1985; McAllister 1995; Dvornich and others 1997). The occurrence of the species east of the crest of the Cascade Range was lSt reported only recently by Flynt (1962), and little information exists on the characteristics of occupied habitats from this region or any other ecoregion (Leonard and others 1996). We report here on the occurrence of C. tenuis at a previously unknown locality within the Cascade Range in southcentral Washington, and we describe the habitat characteristics where it was found. On 30 March 1998, we collected a juvenile C. tenuis (144-mm snout-vent length; University of Michigan FS-05401) about 2 km north of the town of Trout Lake, Klickitat County, Washington (North American datum 27; Universal Transverse Mercator, Zone 10: 5097100 northing, 613760 easting; 46°1'N, 121°32'W; elevation 600 m). The snake, found in association with a northern alligator lizard (Elgaria coerulea), was coiled beneath a flat rock on a south-facing, rockstrewn slope, at the base of a fractured outcrop of an-

The distribution patterns of reptiles in the Riff region, northern Morocco

Summary A biogeographical classification of reptiles in the RiVregion (northern Morocco, Africa) was carried out to look for shared distribution patterns, here termed chorotypes. Baroni-Urbani & Buser’s similarity index was applied to the presence/absence data of reptiles in 10#10 km UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) squares, and then UPGMA (Unweighted Pair-Group Method using arithmetic average) was used to classify the species. A probabilistic method was employed to assess the statistical significance of the groups obtained. An ordination method, the Canonical Correspondence Analysis, was also used to study the distribution of the reptiles within a continuous framework. A gradual longitudinal replacement of reptile species was found throughout the RiV, with no sharp discontinuities for the distributions of most of the species. This may be due to the biogeographical northward movement of the Saharan boundaries, which have not yet reached biogeographical equilibrium. Thus, Saharan reptiles enter the RiV region from the east, through the lower basin of the River Moulouya. Seven reptile chorotypes were identified in the RiV, and these comprise Mediterranean species and others endemic to the Maghreb (the region that spans most of North-western Africa, excluding the Sahara). These chorotypes have a western distribution, and are segregated from one another according to altitude. Historical and ecological processes can account for the distributions shared by these species, which have inhabited the RiV for longer than eastern reptiles.

The oblique Mercator projection of the ellipsoid of revolution IE a 2 ,b

While the standardMercator projection / transverse Mercator projecton maps the equator / the transverse metaequator equivalent to the meridian of referenceequidistantly, theoblique Mercator projection aims at aconformal mapping of the ellipsoid of revolution constraint to anequidistant mapping of an oblique metaequator. Obliqueness is determined by the extension of the area to be mapped, e.g. determined by the inclination of satellite orbits: Satellite cameras map the area just under the orbit geometry. Here we derive themapping equations of theoblique Mercator projection being characterized to beconformal andequidistant on the oblique metaequator extending results ofM. Hotine (1946, 1947).

Lambert and Mercator map projections in geology and geophysics

Lambert and transverse Mercator map projections are used for topographic maps published by the U.S. Geological Survey, for the American State Plane coordinate system, and for the UTM grid system. The properties and mathematical equations for these projections are summarized. Utility computer programs in FORTRAN that accurately calculate latitude and longitude from Lambert or Mercator coordinates, or the inverse, are presented.

Push broom microwave radiometer observations of surface soil moisture in Monsoon '90

The push broom microwave radiometer (PBMR) was flown on six flights of the NASA C‐130 to map the surface soil moisture over the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service Walnut Gulch experimental watershed in southeastern Arizona. The PBMR operates at a wavelength of 21 cm and has four horizontally polarized beams which cover a swath of 1.2 times the aircraft altitude. By flying a series of parallel flight lines it was possible to map the microwave brightness temperature (TB), and thus the soil moisture, over a large area. In this case the area was approximately 8 by 20 km. The moisture conditions ranged from very dry, <2% by volume, to quite wet, >15%, after a heavy rain. The rain amounts ranged from less than 10 mm to more than 50 mm over the area mapped with the PBMR. With the PBMR we were able to observe the spatial variations of the rain amounts and the temporal variation as the soil dried. The TB values were registered to a Universal Transverse Mercator grid so that they could be compared to the rain gage readings and to the ground measurements of soil moisture in the 0‐ to 5‐cm layer. The decreases in TB were well correlated with the rainfall amounts, R2 = 0.9, and the comparison of Tg with soil moisture was also good with an R2 of about 0.8. For the latter, there was some dependence of the relation on location, which may be due to soil or vegetation variations over the area mapped. The application of these data to runoff forecasts and flux estimates will be discussed.

KARTOGRAFAVIMO STAMBIAIS MASTELIAIS PROJEKCIJOS

Summary Taking into account the need of the Republic of Lithuania for mapping, the rewiew of the Europeen and other countries experience in mapping scales, projections, reference ellipsoides, etc. is presented. Characteristics of used projections especialy there of Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) have been investigated. The following conclusion has been reached: one UTM projection zone with 24° cetral meridian (gains an advantage) for the future use instead of two Gauss-Krueger zone projections being in use now.

Identification of Tundra Land Cover near Teshekpuk Lake, Alaska Using SPOT Satellite Data

Tundra vegetation in the Teshekpuk Lake area of the Alaskan Arctic Coastal Plain was mapped to assess distribution and abundance of waterfowl habitats. Three SPOT satellite scenes were acquired and registered to a 20 m Universal Transverse Mercator grid. Two clustering techniques were used to develop statistical parameters by which the SPOT data were spectrally classified. A maximum likelihood algorithm that correlated spectral classes with land cover types was applied to the SPOT data. Field data were used to assist in spectral class labeling and vegetation descriptions. Twelve cover classes were mapped. The most common type was moist sedge meadow tundra (13.5%); the least common was moss/peat shoreline (0.2%). The moss/peat shoreline type, important to moulting geese and other waterfowl, was spectrally identified using supervised clustering techniques. All other land cover types were identified using unsupervised clustering techniques. Cover classes were described, and a tundra landscape profile produced.Key words: tundra land cover mapping, SPOT satellite data, Teshekpuk Lake, Alaska

APPLICABLE COMPLEX AND UNREAL GEODESY

An orthomorphic projection for the whole spheroid is produced using complex parametric latitude, and scale factors for Transverse Mercator type projections are examined. The unreal isocurve is defined and found to have an interesting sale factor related property.

APPLICABLE COMPLEX AND UNREAL GEODESY

AbstractAn orthomorphic projection for the whole spheroid is produced using complex parametric latitude, and scale factors for Transverse Mercator type projections are examined. The unreal isocurve is defined and found to have an interesting sale factor related property.

The Chamberlin Trimetric Projection

A computer solution to the Chamberlin Trimetric projection is presented with a numerical method that circumvents the need for closed formulas to analyze distortions. The existence and consequence of singularities in the computer algorithms are discussed in detail, with suggestions to minimize their adverse effect. Linear, area, and angular distortions are estimated for the Chamberlin projection, and compared with values analytically computed for the Transverse Mercator and Albers Equal-Area Conic projections. In addition, distance distortions for the three projections are computed, listed, and compared. The author concludes that the Chamberlin projection is an excellent compromise between the other two, provided the discontinuities are resolved.

A PROJECTION OF THE WORLD COASTLINE

Abstract A formula is derived from the spherical Transverse Mercator equation suitable for the combined projection of the world coastline within a finite area using two different central meridians.

Lightning-ignited forest fires in northwestern Ontario

This study investigates the relationship between lightning activity and the occurrence of lightning-ignited forest fires in the Northwestern Region of Ontario. We found that the Duff Moisture Code (a component of the Fire Weather Index System) and the multiplicity of the negative lightning discharges were the most important variables for estimating the number of lightning-ignited fires on a daily basis for Universal Transverse Mercator zone15 in Ontario. Also, the results indicate that negative lightning ignited more fires than positive lightning discharges, which is contrary to popular belief. Nearly 50% of the variance in the forest fire occurrence data was explained using linear stepwise regression. Future work will focus on finer temporal and spatial scales.

AAPG-CSD Geologic Provinces Code Map (1)

This article provides the history of a revised geologic map which was drawn based on both surface geology and petroleum occurrence. The map includes offshore maps for California and the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana. For onshore sites it provides geologic province boundaries which were drawn along county boundaries to approximate their position relative to oil and gas production. The offshore sites are drawn based on the universal transverse Mercator system.

COMMENT ON TRANSVERSE MERCATOR EQUATIONS

COMMENT ON TRANSVERSE MERCATOR EQUATIONS