Geocentric Datum of Australia Technical Manual

Geocentric Datum of Australia
Technical Manual
Version 2.4
ISBN 0-9579951-0-5
Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM)

Permanent Committee on Geodesy (PCG)
2 December 2014
Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping
Document History
DATE VERSION AMENDMENTS
Dec 2014 2.4 Update to foreword
Copyright statement updated
Typographical changes
Chapter 1 – gazettal values updated and text refreshed for (non)
equivalency of GDA94 and WGS84/ITRF
Chapter 3 – Figures removed
Chapter 7 – Similarity Transformation matrix corrected
Chapter 9 – AUSGeoid09 update, example data updated, equation
transcription errors corrected
Jul 2009 2.3(1) Typographical changes, layout and hyperlink amendments
Feb 2006 2.3 Chapter 1 – Modified statement re GDA and ITRF
Chapter 7 – Modified redirection to ITRF and GDA information
Chapter 9 – AUSGeoid to AHD explained in greater detail
Feb 2003 2.3 Chapter 7 – Corrected Error from October 2001 rewrite, Page 7-32
Combined Rotation Matrix
Feb 2002 2.2 Converted to PDF format
Oct 2001 2.2 Chapter 7 – Comparison of transformation methods – updated to use
national NTv2 grids and national AGD66 similarity parameters;
Similarity transformation – AGD66 national parameters added;
amendments made to include the National Transformation Grids and
test data for them.
Chapter 9 – More detail added on the relationship between AHD and
the geoid
Bibliography – added paper by Collier and Steed on transformation
grids
Chapter 1 – amended to include references to ITRF/GDA94
transformation
© Commonwealth of Australia (ICSM) 2014

With the exception of the ICSM logo and where otherwise noted, all material in this publication is
provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia Licence
(http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/)
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Table of contents
Document History.......................................................................................................... ii
Table of contents .......................................................................................................... iii
Figures ......................................................................................................................... vi
Tables........................................................................................................................... vi
Terms and Definitions .................................................................................................. vii
Foreword....................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 1 Background and Explanation ..................................................................... 2
Background to GDA........................................................................................................... 2
GDA Specifications ............................................................................................................ 4
Terminology................................................................................................................... 4
Definition ....................................................................................................................... 4
GDA Extent ........................................................................................................................ 4
GDA and AGD .................................................................................................................... 5
GDA, ITRF and WGS84 ...................................................................................................... 6
Grid Coordinates ............................................................................................................... 6
Other Coordinates used in Australia................................................................................. 7
Australian Geodetic Datum (AGD)................................................................................. 7
World Geodetic System 1972 (WGS72)......................................................................... 8
NSWC-9Z2 ...................................................................................................................... 8
"Clarke" Coordinates ..................................................................................................... 8
Chapter 2 Reduction of Measured Distances to the Ellipsoid .................................... 10
Combined Formula ......................................................................................................... 10
Separate Formulae.......................................................................................................... 11
Heights in Distance Reduction ........................................................................................ 11
Radius of Curvature ........................................................................................................ 11
Chapter 3 Reduction of Measured Directions to the Ellipsoid ................................... 13
Formulae ......................................................................................................................... 13
Sample Data .................................................................................................................... 14
Symbols ........................................................................................................................... 15
Chapter 4 Computations on the Ellipsoid ................................................................. 16
Vincenty's Inverse formulae ........................................................................................... 16
Vincenty's Direct formulae ............................................................................................. 17
Sample Data .................................................................................................................... 18
Symbols ........................................................................................................................... 18
Chapter 5 Conversion between Ellipsoidal and Grid Coordinates .............................. 19
Preliminary Calculations ................................................................................................. 19
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Geographical to Grid ....................................................................................................... 20

Grid to Geographical ....................................................................................................... 21
Sample Data .................................................................................................................... 22
Chapter 6 Grid Calculations ..................................................................................... 23
Grid Bearing and Ellipsoidal Distance from MGA94 coordinates ................................... 23
MGA94 Coordinates from Grid bearing and Ellipsoidal Distance ................................... 24
Zone to Zone Transformations ....................................................................................... 25
Traverse Computation with Grid Coordinates, using Arc-to-Chord Corrections and Line Scale
Factors ................................................................................................................... 25
Basic Outline ................................................................................................................ 26
Formulae and Symbols ................................................................................................ 26
Sample Data .................................................................................................................... 27
Chapter 7 Transformation of Coordinates ................................................................ 28
High Accuracy Transformation (Grid Transformation) ................................................... 28
Interpolation software ................................................................................................ 29
National Transformation Grids .................................................................................... 29
Medium Accuracy Transformation ................................................................................. 30
3-Dimensional Similarity Transformation ................................................................... 30
Conversion between Geographical and Cartesian Coordinates.................................. 33
Example using GDA94 (GRS80 ellipsoid) ..................................................................... 33
Regional Transformation Parameters from AGD66 to GDA94 .................................... 33
Low Accuracy Transformation ........................................................................................ 35
Molodensky's Formulae .............................................................................................. 35
Transformation from AGD66 or AGD84 to GDA94...................................................... 35
Examples ...................................................................................................................... 37
Simple Block Shift ........................................................................................................ 38
Comparison of Transformation Methods ....................................................................... 38
Comparison of transformation by various methods ................................................... 38
Chapter 8 The Australian Height Datum (AHD)......................................................... 42
Background ..................................................................................................................... 42
Basic and Supplementary Levelling ................................................................................ 42
Tasmania ......................................................................................................................... 42
Islands ............................................................................................................................. 42
AHD, Mean Sea Level and the Geoid .............................................................................. 42
Chapter 9 The Australian National Geoid ................................................................. 44
AUSGeoid09 .................................................................................................................... 44
AUSGeoid09 Technical Specifications ............................................................................. 45
Chapter 10 Test Data ................................................................................................ 46
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GDA94 and MGA94 (zone 55) values.............................................................................. 46

Traverse Diagram ........................................................................................................ 47
Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 48
Diagrams ..................................................................................................................... 50
Greek Alphabet ........................................................................................................... 52
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Figures
Figure 1-1: Changing datums ..................................................................................................................... 2
Figure 1-2: Extract from http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2012L00800............................................ 3
Figure 1-3: Area is shown in dark blue show the GDA94 extent. .............................................................. 5
Figure 1-4: Difference between AGD and GDA94 coordinates .................................................................. 5
Figure 1-5: Transverse Mercator projection .............................................................................................. 6
Figure 2-1: Reduction of distance to the Ellipsoid ................................................................................... 10
Figure 2-2: Radius of Curvature for Latitude 26° ..................................................................................... 12
Figure 2-3: Radius of Curvature................................................................................................................ 12
Figure 7-1 AGD66 to GDA94 Transformation Grid Coverage ................................................................... 29
Figure 7-2 AGD 84 to GDA94 Transformation .......................................................................................... 30
Figure 7-3: Magnitude of Block Shift vector, in metres, between ADG66 and ADG84 ........................... 38
Figure 7-4: Comparison of transformation methods for latitude, longitude and height. ....................... 41
Figure 9-1: Relationship between the ellipsoid, gravimetric geoid, AUSGeoid, and the topography. .... 44
Tables
Table 1-1: UTM Parameters ....................................................................................................................... 7
Table 1-2: ANS Ellipsoid Parameters .......................................................................................................... 7
Table 1-3: WGS72 Ellipsoid Parameters ..................................................................................................... 8
Table 1-4: NSWC-9Z2 Ellipsoid Parameters................................................................................................ 8
Table 1-5: Clarke 1858 Ellipsoid Parameters .............................................................................................. 8
Table 1-6: ANG Parameters ........................................................................................................................ 9
Table 7-1: National parameters – AGD84 and AGD66 to GDA94 ............................................................ 31
Table 7-2: AGD ↔ GDA94 parameters – residuals from 1571 points (lat/long) and 65 points (ellip. ht.)
.................................................................................................................................................................. 31
Table 7-3: Sample input and output, using the national AGD84 Similarity parameters.......................... 32
Table 7-4: Sample input and output, using the national AGD66 Similarity parameters.......................... 33
Table 7-5: Regional Similarity transformation parameters – AGD66 to AGD94 ...................................... 34
Table 7-6: Sample input and output, using A.C.T. Similarity parameters ................................................ 34
Table 7-7: Sample input and output, using Tasmanian Similarity parameters ........................................ 34
Table 7-8: Sample input and output, using the Victoria/NSW Similarity parameters ............................. 35
Table 7-9: Parameters – AGD66 & AGD84 to GDA94............................................................................... 36
Table 7-10: AGD66 ↔ GDA94 parameters, residuals from 1262 points ................................................. 36
Table 7-11: AGD84 ↔ GDA94 parameters, residuals from 1588 points ................................................. 36
Table 7-12: Example transformation points from both AGD66 and AGD84 to GDA94 by various
transformation methods .......................................................................................................................... 39
Table 7-13: Example transformation points from both AGD66 and AGD84 to GDA94 by various
transformation methods .......................................................................................................................... 40
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Terms and Definitions
Item Symbol Explanation
Semi-major axis a Ellipsoid semi-major axis.
Semi-minor axis b Ellipsoid semi-minor axis: b= a(1-f).
Flattening f The relationship between the semi-major and semi-minor axes of the
ellipsoid: (a - b)/a.
Inverse flattening 1/f The reciprocal of the ellipsoid flattening. This is the value commonly
used when specifying an ellipsoid (e.g. 1/f = 298.257).
Eccentricity e2 (a2 - b2)/a2

squared
Second e'2 (a2- b2)/b2
eccentricity
squared
Radius of ρ Radius of curvature of the ellipsoid in the plane of the meridian.
curvature
ν Radius of curvature of the ellipsoid in the prime vertical.
R Geometric mean radius of curvature: (ρν)1/2.

Rα Radius of curvature at a point, in a given azimuth. It may vary by
thousands of metres, depending on the azimuth.
Ψ Ratio of the ellipsoidal radii of curvature: ν/ρ.

r2 R2 k02 = ρνk02
rm2 ρνk02 at Φm
Latitude Φ Geodetic latitude, negative south of the equator.

Φ1, Φ2 Geodetic latitude at points 1 and 2 respectively.
Φm Mean latitude: (Φ1 + Φ2)/2.
∆Φ Latitude difference: Φ2 - Φ1.
Foot point latitude Φ’ Latitude for which the meridian distance (m) = N'/ k0. t’, Ψ’, ρ’, ν’ are
functions of the latitude Φ’.
Longitude λ Geodetic longitude measured from Greenwich, positive eastwards.
Λ1,λ2 Geodetic longitude at points 1 and 2 respectively.

∆λ Longitude difference: λ2 - Λ1.
λ0 Geodetic longitude of the central meridian.
ω Geodetic longitude difference measured from the central meridian,
positive eastwards: λ - λ0.
Azimuth α Horizontal angle measured from the ellipsoidal meridian, clockwise

from north through 360°.
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Ellipsoidal distance s Distance on the ellipsoid along either a normal section or a geodesic.
The difference between the two is usually negligible, amounting to less
than 20 millimetres in 3,000 kilometres. A line on the ellipsoid is
projected on the grid as an arc.
Sea level or geoidal s' Distance reduced using heights above sea level or the geoid, which are
distance often referred to as orthometric heights. Ellipsoidal distances should be
used for GDA computations.
Easting E’ Measured from a Central Meridian, positive eastwards.
E Measured from the false origin (E' + 500,000 metres for MGA94).
Northing N’ Measured from the equator, negative southwards.

N Measured from the false origin (N' in the northern hemisphere; N' +
10,000,0000 metres in the southern hemisphere for MGA94).
Grid convergence γ Angular quantity to be added algebraically to an azimuth to obtain a

grid bearing: Grid Bearing = Azimuth + Grid Convergence. In the
southern hemisphere, grid convergence is positive for points east of the
central meridian (grid north is west of true north) and negative for
points west of the central meridian (grid north is east of true north).
Grid Bearing β Angle between grid north and the tangent to the arc at the point. It is
measured from grid north clockwise through 360°.
Arc-to-chord δ Angular quantity to be added algebraically to a grid bearing to obtain a

Correction plane bearing: θ = β + δ = α+ γ + δ.
The arc-to-chord corrections differ in amount and sign at either end of a
line. Lines that do not cross the central meridian always bow away
from the central meridian. In the rare case of a line that crosses the
central meridian less than one-third of its length from one end, the bow
is determined by the longer part. Note that ∆β = δ1 - δ2 and the sign is
defined by the equations: θ = β + δ = α+ γ + δ.
The arc-to-chord correction is sometimes called the 't-T' correction.
Meridian ∆α The change in the azimuth of a geodesic between two points on the
convergence spheroid: Reverse Azimuth = Forward Azimuth + Meridian Convergence
± 180°: α 21 = α12 + ∆α± 180°.
Line curvature ∆β The change in grid bearing between two points on the arc. Reverse grid
bearing = Forward grid bearing + Line curvature ± 180°: β2 = β1 + ∆β ±
180°.
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Plane bearing θ The angle between grid north and the straight line on the grid between
the ends of the arc formed by the projection of the ellipsoidal distance;
measured clockwise through 360°.
Grid distance S The length measured on the grid, along the arc of the projected
ellipsoid distance.
Plane distance L The length of the straight line on the grid between the ends of the arc
of the projected ellipsoidal distance. The difference in length between
the plane distance (L) and the grid distance (S) is nearly always
negligible. Using plane bearings and plane distances, the formulae of
plane trigonometry hold rigorously: tan θ = ΔE/ΔN, ΔE = L sin θ,
ΔN = L cos θ.
Meridian distance m True distance from the equator, along the meridian, negative
southwards.
G Mean length of an arc of one degree of the meridian.
σ Meridian distance expressed as units G: σ = m/G.
Central scale factor k0 Scale factor on the central meridian (0.9996 for MGA94).
Point scale factor k Ratio of an infinitesimal distance at a point on the grid to the
corresponding distance on the spheroid: k = dL/ds = dS/ds It is the
distinguishing feature of conformal projections, such as the Universal
Transverse Mercator used for MGA94, that this ratio is independent of
the azimuth of the infinitesimal distance.
Line scale factor K Ratio of a plane distance (L) to the corresponding ellipsoidal distance
(s): K = L/s ≈ S/s. The point scale factor will in general vary from
point to point along a line on the grid.
Ellipsoidal height h Ellipsoidal Height (h) is the distance of a point above the ellipsoid,
measured along the normal from that point to the surface of the
ellipsoid used.
∆h Change in ellipsoidal height (m).
Height above the H Height of a point above the geoid measured along the normal from that
geoid point to the surface of the geoid. It is also referred to as the
orthometric height.
HAHD The derived difference in height, from AUSGeoid09, between AHD and
the surface.
Geoid-ellipsoid N Distance from the surface of the ellipsoid used, to the surface of the
separation geoid measured along the normal to this ellipsoid. This separation is
positive if the geoid is above the ellipsoid and negative if the geoid is
below the ellipsoid: h - H = geoid ellipsoid separation.
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NAHD The distance between the ellipsoid and AUSGeoid09 measured along
the normal to this ellipsoid.
Earth-centred X, Y, Z A three dimensional coordinate system which has its origin at (or near)
Cartesian the centre of the earth. These coordinates are commonly used for
coordinates. satellite derived positions (e.g. GNSS) and although they relate to a
specific reference system they are independent of any ellipsoid. The
positive Z axis coincides with (or is parallel to) the earth’s mean axis of
rotation and the X and Y axes are chosen to obtain a right-handed
coordinate system; for convenience it can be assumed that the positive
arm of the X axis passes through the Greenwich meridian.
Transformation ∆a Change in ellipsoid semi-major axis (e.g. from ANS to GRS80) (m).
parameters
∆f change in ellipsoid flattening (e.g. from ANS to GRS80).
∆X origin shift along the X axis (m).

∆Y origin shift along the Y axis (m).
∆Z origin shift along the Z axis (m).
Rx Rotation of the X axis (radians); positive when anti-clockwise as viewed
from the positive end of the axis looking towards the origin.
Ry Rotation of the Y axis (radians); positive when anti-clockwise as viewed

Rz Rotation of the Z axis (radians); positive when anti-clockwise as viewed

Sc Change in scale (parts per million – ppm).
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Foreword
The Geocentric Datum of Australia Technical Manual is principally designed to explain all facets of the
Geocentric Datum of Australia, and continues the tradition of providing complete formulae and
worked examples.
To cater for the enormous changes that have taken place since the Australian Geodetic Datum
Technical Manual was originally published, the chapters on the geoid and coordinate transformation
have been expanded. A brief history of Australian coordinates has also been included.
The coordinates of the Australian Fiducial Network (AFN) geodetic stations have been updated to
reflect the 2012 gazettal of 21 geodetic stations, strengthening and densifying Australia’s recognized-
value standard for position.
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Chapter 1 Background and Explanation

The Geocentric Datum of Australia (GDA) is the Australian coordinate system, replacing the Australian
Geodetic Datum (AGD). GDA is part of a Global Geodetic Reference Frame (GGRF) and is directly
compatible with Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) such as the Global Positioning System
(GPS), GLObal NAvigation Satellite System (GLONASS), BeiDou, and Galileo, as well as Regional
Navigation Satellite Systems (RNSS), such as the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS)
and Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS). It is the responsibility of the Intergovernmental Committee
on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM) to maintain GDA.
Background to GDA
In 1992, as part of the world-wide International GNSS Service (IGS)
campaign, previously known as the International GPS Service,
continuous GPS observations were undertaken on eight geologically
stable marks at sites across Australia, which formed the Australian
Fiducial Network (AFN) – the Recognized-value standard of
measurement of position. During this campaign, GPS observations
were also carried out at a number of existing geodetic survey
stations across Australia. These were supplemented by further
Figure 1-1: Changing datums observations in 1993 and 1994, producing a network of about 70
well determined GNSS sites, with nominal 500 km spacing across
Australia. These sites are collectively known as the Australian National Network (ANN).
The GPS observations at both the AFN and ANN sites were combined in a single regional GPS solution
in terms of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame 1992 (ITRF92) and the resulting coordinates
were mapped to a common epoch of 1994.0. The positions for the AFN sites were estimated to have
an absolute accuracy of about 2 cm at 95% confidence (Morgan, Bock et al. 1996), while the ANN
positions are estimated to have an absolute accuracy of about 5 cm. These positions of the AFN sites
were used to define the Geocentric Datum of Australia (GDA) and were published in the
Commonwealth of Australia Government Gazette on 6 September 1995.
In 2012, the AFN was updated with new coordinates and to include 21 sites. The purpose of the
update was to improve its consistency with the most recent realisation of the International Terrestrial
Reference Frame. The updated AFN coordinates have been adopted from ITRF2008 and subsequently
transformed to GDA94 (i.e. ITRF1992 at epoch 1994.0) using the Dawson-Woods transformation
parameters (2010). For those stations with multiple coordinate estimates in ITRF 2008 the most
recent coordinate estimate has been adopted.
The new Gazettal values are in shown in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette extract below.

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Commonwealth of Australia Gazette

No. GN 1 4 April 2012 Government Departments
GEOCENTRIC DATUM FOR AUSTRALIA
The meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping held in Canberra on 28-
29 November 1994 adopted the following geodetic datum for Australia and recommended its
progressive implementation Australia-wide by 1 January 2000:
Designation – The Geocentric Datum of Australia (GDA)
Reference Ellipsoid – Geodetic Reference System 1980 (GRS80) ellipsoid with a semi-major axis (a) of 6
378 137 metres exactly and an inverse flattening (1/f) of 298.257 222 101
Reference Frame – The GDA is realised by the co-ordinates of the following Australian Fiducial
Network (AFN) geodetic stations referred to the GRS80 ellipsoid determined within the International
Earth Rotation Service Terrestrial Reference Frame 1992 (ITRF92) at the epoch of 1994.0:
Peter Fisk
Chief Metrologist, National Measurement Institute
Location (Identifier) East Longitude South Latitude Elevation

(from ellipsoid)
Adelaide (ADE1) 138° 38’ 50.43453” 34° 43’ 44.41404” 38.1293 m
Alice Springs (ALIC) 133° 53’ 7.84785” 23° 40’ 12.44602” 603.3466 m
Burnie (BUR1) 145° 54’ 53.4412” 41° 3’ 0.24611” 3.1531 m
Ceduna (CEDU) 133° 48’ 35.37558” 31° 52’ 0.01657” 144.8196 m
Cocos Island (COCO) 96° 50’ 2.27360” 12° 11’ 18.06739” -35.2309 m
Darwin (DARW) 131° 7’ 57.8479” 12° 50’ 37.35864” 125.2124 m
Hobart (HOB2) 147° 26’ 19.43574” 42° 48’ 16.98538” 41.1389 m
Karratha (KARR) 117° 5’ 49.87277” 20° 58’ 53.16983” 109.2269 m
Macquarie Island (MAC1) 158° 56’ 8.99643” 54° 29’ 58.32845” -6.7231 m
Melbourne (MOBS) 144° 58’ 31.20646” 37° 49’ 45.89904” 40.6710 m
New Norcia (NNOR) 116° 11’ 33.76803” 31° 2’ 55.46714” 234.8939 m
Parkes (PARK) 148° 15’ 52.58905” 32° 59’ 55.58175” 397.4436 m
Perth (PERT) 115° 53’ 6.88639” 31° 48’ 7.09686” 12.7697 m
Mount Stromlo (STR1) 149° 0’ 36.17971” 35° 18’ 55.93958” 800.0226 m
Mount Stromlo (STR2) 149° 0’ 36.54756” 35° 18’ 58.1991” 802.5632 m
Sydney (SYDN) 151° 9’ 1.35691” 33° 46’ 51.18426” 85.6781 m
Tidbinbilla (TIDB) 148° 58’ 47.98444” 35° 23’ 57.15619” 665.4232 m
Townsville (TOW2) 147° 3’ 20.46531” 19° 16’ 9.42824” 88.2292 m
Christmas Island (XMIS) 105° 41’ 18.58058” 10° 26’ 59.89868” 261.5892 m
Yarragadee (YAR1) 115° 20’ 49.10002” 29° 2’ 47.61682” 241.3533 m
Yarragadee (YARR) 115° 20’ 49.08938” 29° 2’ 47.74264” 241.4231 m
Figure 1-2: Extract from Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, available:

http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2012L00800

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GDA Specifications
Terminology
Datum: Geocentric Datum of Australia (GDA)

Geographical coordinate set (latitude and longitude): Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994 (GDA94)
Grid coordinates (Universal Transverse Mercator, using the GRS80 ellipsoid): Map Grid of Australia
1994 (MGA94)
Definition
Reference Frame ITRF92 (International Terrestrial Reference Frame 1992)

Epoch 1994.0
Ellipsoid GRS80
Semi-major axis (a) 6,378,137.0 m
Inverse flattening (1/f) 298.257222101
GDA Extent
Includes all the areas contained within Australia’s marine jurisdiction within 200 nautical miles of
Australia and its external territories, and the areas of Australia’s continental shelf beyond 200 nautical
miles as confirmed by the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. The areas
include Cocos (Keeling) Island, Christmas Island, Norfolk Island and Macquarie Island but excludes
Heard-McDonald Island and the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) as shown in Figure 1-3.

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Figure 1-3: The area shown in dark blue is the GDA94 extent. The colours of the lines represent different types of jurisdictional
boundaries or proposed jurisdictional boundaries. For more information on the type of boundary, please refer to
http://www.ga.gov.au/metadata-gateway/metadata/record/gcat_70362.
GDA and AGD

ITRF92, on which GDA is based, was realised using
Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), GPS and
Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) observations at 287
globally distributed stations (Boucher, Altamimi et al.
1993). However, the coordinates for Johnston, the
origin station for AGD, were based on a selection of
275 astro-geodetic stations distributed over most of
Australia (Bomford 1967).
The adoption of this origin and the best fitting local
ellipsoid, the Australian National Spheroid (ANS),
meant that the centre of the ANS did not coincide
with the centre of mass of the earth, but lay about
200 metres from it. Hence, the GDA94 coordinates
Figure 1-4: Difference between AGD and GDA94
coordinates

Version 2.4 5
of a point appear to be about 200 metres north east of the AGD coordinates of the same point.
The precise size and orientation of the difference will vary from place to place. More detailed
information, including methods of transformation, is available in Chapter 7.
GDA, ITRF and WGS84

The Geocentric Datum of Australia is a realisation of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame
1992 (ITRF92) at epoch 1994.0. ITRF is a global network of accurate coordinates (and their velocities)
maintained by the International Earth Rotation Service (IERS) and derived from geodetic observations
(VLBI, SLR, GPS and DORIS [Doppler Orbitography and Radio positioning Integrated by Satellite])
(Seeber 1993).
The World Geodetic System, of which the latest revision is WGS84, is the datum used by the GPS
operated by the U.S. Department of Defense. The datum is defined and maintained by the United
States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). WGS84 has been revised several times since its
conception and is at present aligned at the centimetre level to the ITRF (NGA, 2014), which generally
ensures scientific integrity and compatibility with international standards and conventions. The
WGS84 coordinates of tracking stations used to compute the GPS broadcast orbit are adjusted
annually for plate tectonic motion to an epoch at the half year mark, e.g. WGS84 as used in the GPS
broadcast orbit during calendar year 2014 is ITRF2008@2014.5. Consequently, differences between
the ITRF and WGS84 are negligible for most users.
In January 1994 GDA94 and ITRF were coincident, but as the Australian tectonic plate is moving at
about 7 cm per year in a north easterly direction there is an increasing difference in positions in terms
of the two systems. This will amount to about 1.8 m difference between the two systems by 2020. For
applications that require uncertainty better than 5 m, GDA94 and WGS84/ITRF cannot be considered
as equivalent and users should apply Dawson and Woods (2010) methodology to transform
coordinates between GDA94 and WGS84/ITRF.
The ellipsoid recommended by the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) and used with the GDA,
is the Geodetic Reference System 1980 ellipsoid. The parameters of the WGS84 ellipsoid "... are
identical to those for the GRS80 ellipsoid with one minor exception. The coefficient form used for the
second degree zonal is that of the WGS84 Earth Gravitational Model rather than the notation J2 used
with GRS80." (DMA 1987). Consequently, “the GRS80 and WGS84 ellipsoids have a very small
difference in the inverse flattening, but this difference is insignificant for most practical applications”.
Ellipsoid GRS80 WGS84

Semi major axis (a) 6,378,137.0 6,378,137.0
Inverse flattening (1/f) 298.257222101 298.257223563
Grid Coordinates
Geodetic coordinates (latitude and longitude) are
represented on a map or chart, by mathematically
"projecting" them onto a surface, which can be laid
flat.
The Transverse Mercator system projects geodetic
coordinates onto a concentric cylinder which is

Version 2.4 Figure 1-5: Transverse Mercator projection
6
tangent to the equator and makes contact along one meridian.

To minimise distortion, the earth is "rotated" within the cylinder, to bring a different meridian into
contact with the cylinder, for different areas. This results in north-south bands known as zones. The
true origin for each zone is the intersection of the equator and the contacting meridian (the central
meridian), but a false origin is often used to avoid negative coordinates. In 1947, the US Army adopted
uniform scale factor, false origins and zone size and numbering for the TM projection and these have
since been generally accepted as the Universal Transverse Mercator Projection (UTM) (Snyder 1984).
This projection was used with the Australian National Spheroid and AGD66 and AGD84 latitudes and
longitudes to produce the Australian Map Grid 1966 and Australian Map Grid 1984 coordinates
(AMG66 and AMG84). It is also used with the GRS80 ellipsoid and GDA94 latitudes and longitudes to
produce Map Grid of Australia 1994 coordinates (MGA94).
Redfearn's formulae (Chapter 5) are used to convert between UTM and geodetic coordinates.
Table 1-1: UTM Parameters
177 degrees west longitude

Longitude of initial central meridian (Zone one)
Zone width 6 degrees
Central scale factor 0.9996
False easting 500,000 m
False northing (in the southern hemisphere) 10,000,000 m
Other Coordinates used in Australia

With the introduction of AGD in 1966, AGD66 coordinates were widely adopted but were later
replaced in several States by the improved AGD84 coordinates. However there were also a number of
early global coordinate systems, which were used mainly with satellite navigation systems (Steed
1990).
Australian Geodetic Datum (AGD)
The Australian Geodetic Datum was the first proclaimed in the Australian Commonwealth Gazette of 6
October 1966. This proclamation included the parameters of the adopted ellipsoid, known as the
Australian National Spheroid (ANS), and the position of the origin point – Johnston Geodetic Station.
The coordinates (latitude & longitude) produced by the 1966 national adjustment in terms of the AGD
are known as AGD66 and the equivalent UTM grid coordinates are known as AMG66.
In 1982 a new national adjustment, referred to as the Geodetic Model of Australia 1982 (GMA82), was
performed using all data previously included in the 1966 adjustment as well as more recent
observations. This new adjustment used the same gazetted AGD values as the AGD66 adjustment, but
used improved software and included a geoid model. The coordinates resulting from this adjustment
were accepted by the National Mapping Council in 1984 and are known as Australian Geodetic Datum
1984 (AGD84) coordinates. The equivalent UTM grid coordinates are known as AMG84.
Table 1-2: ANS Ellipsoid Parameters
Semi major axis (a) 6,378,160 metres

Inverse Flattening (1/f) 298.25

Version 2.4 7
World Geodetic System 1972 (WGS72)
WGS72 was the third approximately geocentric reference frame developed by the United States
Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) to support its activities (previous versions were WGS60 and WGS66).
It was superseded by WGS84, but until 27 January 1987, was used with the GPS system and prior to 27
January 1989 it was used for the Transit Doppler navigation system broadcast ephemeris. In the
Australian region, WGS72 coordinates differ from WGS84 and GDA94 coordinates by about 15 metres.
Table 1-3: WGS72 Ellipsoid Parameters

NSWC-9Z2
This system, which was effectively the same as its predecessor NWL9D, was an approximately
geocentric system used for the Transit Doppler navigation system "precise" ephemerides.
Table 1-4: NSWC-9Z2 Ellipsoid Parameters

"Clarke" Coordinates
In Australia prior to 1966, some twenty different datums, using four different ellipsoids were used.
The most widely used was the Clarke's 1858 ellipsoid:
Table 1-5: Clarke 1858 Ellipsoid Parameters


Version 2.4 8
The rectangular grid coordinate system used in conjunction with the Clarke 1858 spheroid was called
the Australian National Grid (ANG) (NMCA 1976), but was also known as the Australian Transverse
Mercator (ATM). "Coordinates were quoted in yards and were derived from a Transverse Mercator
projection of latitudes and longitudes determined in relation to the relevant State or local coordinate
origin" (NMCA 1986). A discussion of the development of this system can be found in Lines (1992).
Table 1-6: ANG Parameters
Central scale factor 1.0 exactly
False Easting 400,000 yards

False Northing 800,000 yards
Zone Width 5 degrees
Initial Central meridian (Zone one) 116 degrees east longitude
* The true origin for each zone of the ANG was the intersection of the central meridian and S34°
latitude, with the false origin 800,000 yards further south.
(Note: this is equivalent to a false northing of 4,915,813.467 yards from the equator = 4,115,813.469 +
800,000 yards). In Tasmania, to prevent negative coordinates, a further 1,000,000 yards was added to
the false northing (total 1,800,000 yards) (A.H.Q. 1942).

Version 2.4 9
Chapter 2 Reduction of Measured Distances to the

Ellipsoid
Excel Spreadsheet – Calculation of Reduced Distance
Due to the effects of atmospheric refraction, the light waves or microwaves used by EDM follow a
curved path. Before this curved wave path distance can be used for any geodetic computations, it
should be reduced to the surface of the ellipsoid by the application of both physical and geometric
corrections. Figure 2-1 illustrates the situation.
Figure 2-1: Reduction of distance to the Ellipsoid
The difference between the wave path length (𝑑𝑑1 ) and the wave path chord (𝑑𝑑2 ) is a function of the
EDM equipment used and also of the meteorological conditions prevailing along the wave path at the
time of measurement. This difference can often be ignored for distance measurements of up to 15
kilometres, using either light waves or microwaves. These physical corrections, which involve the
application of certain velocity corrections to the measured wave path distance, are not discussed in
this manual.
Combined Formula
The reduction of the wave path chord distance (𝑑𝑑2 ), to the ellipsoidal chord distance (𝑑𝑑3 ), can be given
as a single rigorous formula (Clark 1966):
1/2
𝑑𝑑3 = ��𝑑𝑑2 2 − (ℎ𝐴𝐴 − ℎ𝐵𝐵 )2 �/(1 + ℎ𝐴𝐴 ⁄𝑅𝑅𝛼𝛼 )(1 + ℎ𝐵𝐵 ⁄𝑅𝑅𝛼𝛼 )�
The ellipsoidal chord distance (𝑑𝑑3 ) is then easily reduced to the ellipsoidal distance:

Version 2.4 10
𝑠𝑠 = 𝑑𝑑3 �1 + �𝑑𝑑3 2 ⁄24𝑅𝑅𝛼𝛼 2 + 3𝑑𝑑3 4 ⁄640𝑅𝑅𝛼𝛼 4 + . . .��

where 𝑅𝑅𝛼𝛼 is the radius of curvature in the azimuth of the line.
For a distance of 30 kilometres in the Australian region the chord-to-arc correction is 0.028 m. For a
distance of 50 km, the correction reaches about 0.13 m and it is more than 1 m at 100 km. The second
term in the chord-to-arc correction is less than 1 mm for lines up to 100 km, anywhere in Australia and
usually can be ignored.
Separate Formulae
The combined formula above includes the slope and ellipsoid level corrections. The slope correction
reduces the wave path chord (𝑑𝑑2 ) to a horizontal distance at the mean elevation of the terminals of
the line and the ellipsoid level correction reduces the horizontal distance to the ellipsoid chord
distance (𝑑𝑑3 ). The chord-to-arc correction is then applied to the ellipsoid chord distance, as with the
combined formula, to give the ellipsoidal distance (s).
1⁄2
Slope correction = �𝑑𝑑2 2 − 𝛥𝛥ℎ2 � − 𝑑𝑑2
1/2
Ellipsoidal correction = (ℎ𝑚𝑚 ⁄𝑅𝑅𝛼𝛼 )�𝑑𝑑2 2 − 𝛥𝛥ℎ2 �
Chord to arc correction = + 𝑑𝑑3 3 �24𝑅𝑅𝛼𝛼 2 �+ 3𝑑𝑑3 5 �640𝑅𝑅𝛼𝛼 4 + . . .�
Heights in Distance Reduction

The formulae given in this chapter use ellipsoidal heights (h). If the geoid-ellipsoid separation
(Chapter 9 – N value) is ignored and only the height above the geoid (H – the orthometric or AHD
height) is used, an error of one part per million (ppm) will be introduced for every 6.5 m of N value
(plus any error due to the change in N value along the line). As the N value in terms of GDA varies
from -35 m in southwest Australia, to about 70 m in northern Queensland, errors from -5 to almost 11
ppm could be expected. Of course there are areas where the N value is small and the error would also
be small.
Radius of Curvature
The radius of curvature is a function of latitude and for many applications the geometric mean radius
(𝑅𝑅𝑚𝑚, ) (Figure 2-2), can be used rather than the radius in the azimuth of the line (𝑅𝑅𝛼𝛼 ). However, there
can be a large difference between the geometric mean radius and the radius in the azimuth of the
line.
For high accuracy applications the radius of curvature in the azimuth of the line should be used.
1
𝑅𝑅𝑚𝑚 = (𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌)2 and
𝑅𝑅𝛼𝛼 = (𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌)⁄(𝜈𝜈cos2 𝛼𝛼 + 𝜌𝜌sin2 𝛼𝛼)
where:
𝜌𝜌 = 𝑎𝑎(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 )⁄(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠2 𝜙𝜙)3⁄2

Version 2.4 11
𝜐𝜐 = 𝑎𝑎⁄(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠2 𝜙𝜙)1⁄2
Figure 2-2: Radius of Curvature for Latitude 26°
Figure 2-3: Radius of Curvature

Version 2.4 12
Chapter 3 Reduction of Measured Directions to the

Ellipsoid
Excel Spreadsheet – Calculation of Deflection & Laplace Corrections
When a total station is levelled to make an angular observation (direction or azimuth) it is levelled
according to the plumbline at that point, i.e. the normal to the geoid. This is generally different from
the normal to the ellipsoid at the same point. This difference is known as the deflection of the
vertical. The correction for this deflection is generally small, but should be applied for the highest
quality results. Deflections of the vertical can be computed from astronomic and geodetic coordinates
at the same point, or they can be produced from a geoid model such as AUSGeoid.
A further correction can be made to account for the fact that the normals at each end of the line are
not parallel (the skew normal correction). This too is a small correction and "except in mountainous
country, it can reasonably be ignored". (Bomford 1980).
Because they are related to a particular ellipsoid, deflections of the vertical, like geoid ellipsoid
separations, will be different for different datums. Within Australia, the maximum deflection in terms
of the GDA is of the order of twenty seconds of arc, which could result in a correction to an observed
direction or azimuth approaching half a second of arc.
The Laplace correction defines the relationship between an astronomically observed azimuth and a
geodetic azimuth. It can be a significant correction, of the order of several seconds of arc, and should
always be applied to an astronomic azimuth before computing coordinates.
The formulae for these corrections are often given using the astronomic convention, with east
longitude negative. However, the formulae used here have been rearranged to use the geodetic
conventions, as used elsewhere in this manual (east longitude positive).
Formulae
Direction (reduced) = Direction (measured)
+ Deflection correction
+ Skew normal correction
+ Laplace correction (Laplace for azimuth only)
Deflection correction = −𝜁𝜁 tan 𝑒𝑒
where: ζ = ξ sin 𝛼𝛼 − 𝜂𝜂 cos 𝛼𝛼

If the elevation angle (e) is not known, an effective estimate can be obtained from:
tan 𝑒𝑒 = [(𝐻𝐻2 − 𝐻𝐻1 ) − 0.067 𝐷𝐷2 ] /1000𝐷𝐷
Skew normal correction = 𝑒𝑒′2 𝐻𝐻2 cos2 𝛷𝛷 sin(2𝛼𝛼)⁄2𝑅𝑅
Laplace correction = (𝜆𝜆𝐴𝐴 − 𝜆𝜆𝐺𝐺 ) sin 𝛷𝛷

Version 2.4 13
Sample Data
Kaputar to NM C 59 – GDA94
Height of Kaputar (𝐻𝐻1 ) 1507.89
Height of NM C 59 (𝐻𝐻2 ) 217.058
Distance 1 to 2 (km) 58.120
Computed Elevation angle (e) -1° 29' 43"
Geodetic Latitude Kaputar (𝛷𝛷𝐺𝐺 ) -30° 16' 24.4620"
Geodetic Longitude Kaputar (𝜆𝜆𝐺𝐺 ) 150° 09' 52.0945"
Observed Astronomic values
Astro latitude Kaputar (𝛷𝛷𝐴𝐴 ) -30° 16' 25.580"
Astro longitude Kaputar (𝜆𝜆𝐴𝐴 ) 150° 09' 40.050"
Deflections Calculated from Astro
Meridian component deflection (ξ) -01.118"
Prime vertical component (η) -10.402"
Deflections from AUSGeoid09
Meridian component deflection (ξ) -2.58"
Prime vertical component (η) -10.74"
Elevation angle (e) -01° 29' 43"
Corrections to Azimuth
Astro Azimuth (𝛼𝛼𝐴𝐴 ) (observed) 265° 25' 30.520"
+Deflection Correction (using AUSGeoid deflections) 00.063"
+Skew normal correction (using AUSGeoid deflections) 00.003"
+Laplace correction (using astro deflection) -06.072"
=Geodetic Azimuth (𝛼𝛼𝐺𝐺 ) 265° 25' 24.514"

Version 2.4 14
Symbols
ξ the component of the deflection of the vertical in the meridian, in seconds of arc
= astronomic latitude – geodetic latitude
η the component of the deflection of the vertical in the prime vertical, in seconds of arc.
= (astronomic longitude – geodetic longitude) cos 𝛷𝛷
α Azimuth of the observed line – A (astronomic) G (geodetic)
e the elevation angle of the observed line (positive or negative)
R Radius of the earth in metres. For these small corrections, any reasonable estimate may be used.
𝐻𝐻2 Height of the reference station in metres.
𝐻𝐻1 Height of the observing station in metres.
D Distance between the observing and reference stations in kilometres.

Version 2.4 15
Chapter 4 Computations on the Ellipsoid

Excel Spreadsheet – Vincenty's Formulae (Direct and Inverse)
There are a number of formulae available to calculate accurate geodetic positions, azimuths and
distances on the ellipsoid (Bomford 1980). Vincenty's formulae (Vincenty 1975) may be used for lines
ranging from a few cm to nearly 20,000 km, with millimetre accuracy. The formulae have been
extensively tested for the Australian region, by comparison with results from other formulae
(Rainsford 1955; Sodano 1965).
Vincenty's Inverse formulae

Given: latitude and longitude of two points (𝛷𝛷1 , 𝜆𝜆1 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝛷𝛷2 , 𝜆𝜆2 ),
Calculate: the ellipsoidal distance (s) and forward and reverse azimuths between the
points (𝛼𝛼1−2 , 𝛼𝛼2−1 ).
tan 𝑈𝑈1 = (1 − 𝑓𝑓) tan 𝛷𝛷1

Starting with the approximation,
𝜆𝜆 = 𝜔𝜔 = 𝜆𝜆2 − 𝜆𝜆1
Iterate the following equations, until there is no significant change in σ:
sin2 𝜎𝜎 = (cos 𝑈𝑈2 sin 𝜆𝜆)2 + (cos 𝑈𝑈1 sin 𝑈𝑈2 − sin 𝑈𝑈1 cos 𝑈𝑈2 cos 𝜆𝜆)2
cos 𝜎𝜎 = sin 𝑈𝑈1 sin 𝑈𝑈2 + cos 𝑈𝑈1 cos 𝑈𝑈2 cos 𝜆𝜆
tan 𝜎𝜎 = sin 𝜎𝜎⁄cos 𝜎𝜎
sin 𝛼𝛼 = cos 𝑈𝑈1 cos 𝑈𝑈2 sin 𝜆𝜆⁄sin 𝜎𝜎
cos 2𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 = cos 𝜎𝜎 − (2 sin 𝑈𝑈1 sin 𝑈𝑈2 ⁄cos2 𝛼𝛼 )
𝐶𝐶 = (𝑓𝑓⁄16) cos2 𝛼𝛼 [4 + 𝑓𝑓(4 − 3 cos2 𝛼𝛼)]
𝜆𝜆 = 𝜔𝜔 + (1 − 𝐶𝐶)𝑓𝑓 sin 𝛼𝛼 {𝜎𝜎 + 𝐶𝐶 sin 𝜎𝜎[cos 2𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 + 𝐶𝐶 cos 𝜎𝜎 (−1 + 2cos2 2𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 )]}
Then:
𝑢𝑢2 = 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 2 𝛼𝛼 (𝑎𝑎2 − 𝑏𝑏 2 )⁄𝑏𝑏 2
𝐴𝐴 = 1 + (𝑢𝑢2 ⁄16384) {4096 + 𝑢𝑢2 [−768 + 𝑢𝑢2 (320 − 175𝑢𝑢2 )]}
𝐵𝐵 = (𝑢𝑢2 ⁄1024) {256 + 𝑢𝑢2 [−128 + 𝑢𝑢2 (74 − 47𝑢𝑢2 )]}
𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥 = 𝐵𝐵 sin 𝜎𝜎 {cos 2𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚
+ (𝐵𝐵⁄4) [cos 𝜎𝜎(−1 + 2cos2 2𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 )
− (𝐵𝐵⁄6) cos 2𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 (−3 + 4sin2 𝜎𝜎)(−3 + 4cos2 2𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 )]}
𝑠𝑠 = 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏(𝜎𝜎 − 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥)
tan 𝛼𝛼1−2 = (cos 𝑈𝑈2 sin 𝜆𝜆)⁄(cos 𝑈𝑈1 sin 𝑈𝑈2 − sin 𝑈𝑈1 cos 𝑈𝑈2 cos 𝜆𝜆)
tan 𝛼𝛼2−1 = (cos 𝑈𝑈1 sin 𝜆𝜆)⁄(− sin 𝑈𝑈1 cos 𝑈𝑈2 + cos 𝑈𝑈1 sin 𝑈𝑈2 cos 𝜆𝜆)

Version 2.4 16
Vincenty's Direct formulae

Given: latitude and longitude of a point (𝛷𝛷1 , 𝜆𝜆1 ) and the geodetic azimuth (𝛼𝛼1−2 ) and ellipsoidal
distance to a second point (s),
Calculate: the latitude and longitude of the second point (𝛷𝛷2 , 𝜆𝜆2 ) and the reverse azimuth (𝛼𝛼2−1 ).
tan 𝜎𝜎1 = tan 𝑈𝑈1 ⁄cos 𝛼𝛼1−2
sin 𝛼𝛼 = cos 𝑈𝑈1 sin 𝛼𝛼1−2
𝑢𝑢2 = cos2 𝛼𝛼 (𝑎𝑎2 − 𝑏𝑏 2 )⁄𝑏𝑏 2
𝐴𝐴 = 1 + (𝑢𝑢2 ⁄16384) {4096 + 𝑢𝑢2 [−768 + 𝑢𝑢2 (320 − 175𝑢𝑢2 )]}
𝐵𝐵 = (𝑢𝑢2 ⁄1024) {256 + 𝑢𝑢2 [−128 + 𝑢𝑢2 (74 − 47𝑢𝑢2 )]}
Starting with the approximation:
𝜎𝜎 = (𝑠𝑠⁄𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏)
Iterate the following three equations until there is no significant change in
2𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 = 2𝜎𝜎1 + 𝜎𝜎
𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥 = 𝐵𝐵 sin 𝜎𝜎 {cos 2𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 + (𝐵𝐵⁄4) [cos 𝜎𝜎(−1 + 2cos2 2𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 ) − (𝐵𝐵⁄6) cos 2𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 (−3 +
4sin2 𝜎𝜎)(−3 + 4cos2 2𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 )]}
𝜎𝜎 = (𝑠𝑠⁄𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏) + 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥
Then:
tan 𝛷𝛷2 = (sin 𝑈𝑈1 cos 𝜎𝜎 + cos 𝑈𝑈1 sin 𝜎𝜎 cos 𝛼𝛼1−2 )/ �(1 − 𝑓𝑓)[sin2 𝛼𝛼 + (sin 𝑈𝑈1 sin 𝜎𝜎 −
1
cos 𝑈𝑈1 cos 𝜎𝜎 cos 𝛼𝛼1−2 )2 ]2 �
tan 𝜆𝜆 = (sin 𝜎𝜎 sin 𝛼𝛼1−2 )⁄(cos 𝑈𝑈1 cos 𝜎𝜎 − sin 𝑈𝑈1 sin 𝜎𝜎 cos 𝛼𝛼1−2 )
𝐶𝐶 = (𝑓𝑓/16)cos2 𝛼𝛼[4 + 𝑓𝑓(4 − 3cos2 𝛼𝛼)]
𝜔𝜔 = 𝜆𝜆 − (1 − 𝐶𝐶)𝑓𝑓 sin 𝛼𝛼{𝜎𝜎 + 𝐶𝐶 sin 𝜎𝜎[cos 2𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 + 𝐶𝐶 cos 𝜎𝜎(−1 + 2𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 2 2𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 )]}
𝜆𝜆2 = 𝜆𝜆1 + 𝜔𝜔
tan 𝛼𝛼2−1 = (sin 𝛼𝛼)⁄(− sin 𝑈𝑈1 sin 𝜎𝜎 + cos 𝑈𝑈1 cos 𝜎𝜎 cos 𝛼𝛼1−2 )
Note:
• "The inverse formulae may give no solution over a line between two nearly antipodal points. This will
occur when λ is greater than π in absolute value." (Vincenty 1975)
• In Vincenty (1975) L is used for the difference in longitude, however for consistency with other
formulae in this Manual, ω is used here.
• Variables specific to Vincenty's formulae are shown below, others common throughout the manual
are shown in the Error! Reference source not found..

Version 2.4 17
Sample Data
Flinders Peak -37° 57’ 03.72030" 144° 25’ 29.52440"
Buninyong -37° 39’ 10.15610" 143° 55’ 35.38390"
Ellipsoidal Distance 54,972.271 m
Forward Azimuth 306° 52’ 05.37"
Reverse Azimuth 127° 10’ 25.07"
Symbols
α Azimuth of the geodesic at the equator. (Forward1-2, Reverse2-1)
U Reduced latitude
λ Difference in longitude on an auxiliary sphere (λ1 & λ2 are the geodetic longitudes of points
1&2
σ Angular distance on a sphere, from point 1 to point 2
𝜎𝜎1 Angular distance on a sphere, from the equator to point
𝜎𝜎2 Angular distance on a sphere, from the equator to point 2
𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 Angular distance on a sphere, from the equator to the midpoint of the line from point 1 to
point 2
U, A, B, Internal variables
C

Version 2.4 18
Chapter 5 Conversion between Ellipsoidal and Grid

Coordinates
Excel Spreadsheet – Redfearn's Formulae
Redfearn's formulae were published in the "Empire Survey Review", No. 69, (1948). They may be
used to convert between latitude & longitude and easting, northing & zone for a Transverse Mercator
projection, such as the Map Grid of Australia (MGA). These formulae are accurate to better than 1
mm in any zone of the Map Grid of Australia and for the purposes of definition may be regarded as
exact.
Preliminary Calculations
Meridian Distance
To evaluate Redfearn's formulae length of an arc of a meridian must be computed. This is given by
𝛷𝛷2
𝑚𝑚 = 𝑎𝑎(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 ) � [1 − (𝑒𝑒 2 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠2 𝛷𝛷)]−3/2 𝑑𝑑𝛷𝛷
𝛷𝛷1
where 𝛷𝛷1 and 𝛷𝛷2 are the latitudes of the starting and finishing points. When calculating the meridian
distance from the equator, 𝛷𝛷1 becomes zero. This formula may be evaluated by an iterative method
(such as Simpson's rule) but it is more efficient to use a series expansion, as shown below.
𝑚𝑚 = 𝑎𝑎{𝐴𝐴0 𝛷𝛷 − 𝐴𝐴2 sin 2𝛷𝛷 + 𝐴𝐴4 sin 4𝛷𝛷 − 𝐴𝐴6 sin 6𝛷𝛷}
where:
𝐴𝐴0 = 1 − (𝑒𝑒 2 ⁄4) − (3𝑒𝑒 4 ⁄64) − (5𝑒𝑒 6 ⁄256)
𝐴𝐴2 = (3⁄8)(𝑒𝑒 2 + 𝑒𝑒 4 ⁄4 + 15𝑒𝑒 6 ⁄128)
𝐴𝐴4 = (15⁄256)(𝑒𝑒 4 + 3𝑒𝑒 6 ⁄4)
𝐴𝐴6 = 35𝑒𝑒 6 ⁄3072
When the GRS80 ellipsoid parameters for the Map Grid of Australia are substituted, this formula for
meridian distance reduces to the one shown below. However, to maintain flexibility when writing a
computer program, the previous series expansion should be used.
𝑚𝑚 = 111132.952547𝛷𝛷
− 16038.50841 sin 2𝛷𝛷 + 16.83220089 sin 4𝛷𝛷 − 0.021800767 sin 6𝛷𝛷
where 𝛷𝛷 in the first term is in degrees and 111132.952547 is the mean length of 1 degree of latitude
in metres (G).
Foot-point Latitude
The foot-point latitude (𝛷𝛷′ ) is the latitude for which the meridian distance equals the true northing
divided by the central scale factor (𝑚𝑚 = 𝑁𝑁 ′ ⁄𝑘𝑘0 ). This value can be calculated directly, once three
other values are available.
𝑛𝑛 = (𝑎𝑎 − 𝑏𝑏)⁄(𝑎𝑎 + 𝑏𝑏) = 𝑓𝑓⁄(2 − 𝑓𝑓)

𝐺𝐺 = 𝑎𝑎(1 − 𝑛𝑛)(1 − 𝑛𝑛2 )(1 + (9/4)𝑛𝑛2 + (225⁄64)𝑛𝑛4 )(𝜋𝜋⁄180)
𝜎𝜎 = (𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚)⁄(180𝐺𝐺)

Version 2.4 19
The foot point latitude (in radians) is then calculated by:

𝛷𝛷′ = 𝜎𝜎 + �(3𝑛𝑛/2) − (27𝑛𝑛3 /32)� sin 2𝜎𝜎
+ �(21𝑛𝑛2 /16) − (55𝑛𝑛4 /32)� sin 4𝜎𝜎 + (151𝑛𝑛3 /96) sin 6𝜎𝜎
+ (1097𝑛𝑛4 /512) sin 8𝜎𝜎
Radius of Curvature
The radii of curvature for a given Latitude are also required in the evaluation of Redfearn's formulae.
𝜌𝜌 = 𝑎𝑎(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 )⁄(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠2 𝜙𝜙)3⁄2
𝜈𝜈 = 𝑎𝑎⁄(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠2 𝜙𝜙)1⁄2
𝛹𝛹 = 𝜈𝜈 ⁄𝜌𝜌
Geographical to Grid
𝑡𝑡 = tan 𝛷𝛷
𝜔𝜔 = 𝜆𝜆 − 𝜆𝜆0
𝐸𝐸 ′ = (𝐾𝐾0 𝜈𝜈 𝜔𝜔 cos 𝛷𝛷) {1 + 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇1 + 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇2 + 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇3}
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇1 = (𝜔𝜔2 ⁄6) cos2 𝛷𝛷 (𝛹𝛹 − 𝑡𝑡 2 )
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇2 = (𝜔𝜔4 ⁄120) cos4 𝛷𝛷 [4𝛹𝛹 3 (1 − 6𝑡𝑡 2 ) + 𝛹𝛹 2 (1 + 8𝑡𝑡 2 ) − 𝛹𝛹2𝑡𝑡 2 + 𝑡𝑡 4 ]
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇3 = (𝜔𝜔6 ⁄5040) cos6 𝛷𝛷 (61 − 479𝑡𝑡 2 + 179𝑡𝑡 4 − 𝑡𝑡 6 )
𝐸𝐸 = 𝐸𝐸 ′ + 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸
𝑁𝑁 ′ = 𝐾𝐾0 {𝑚𝑚 + 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇1 + 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇2 + 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇3 + 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇4}

𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇1 = (𝜔𝜔2 ⁄2) 𝜈𝜈 sin 𝛷𝛷 cos 𝛷𝛷
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇2 = (𝜔𝜔4 ⁄24) 𝜈𝜈 sin 𝛷𝛷 cos3 𝛷𝛷 (4𝛹𝛹 2 + 𝛹𝛹 − 𝑡𝑡 2 )
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇3 = (𝜔𝜔6 ⁄720) 𝜈𝜈 sin 𝛷𝛷 cos5 𝛷𝛷 [8𝛹𝛹 4 (11 − 24𝑡𝑡 2 ) − 28𝛹𝛹 3 (1 − 6𝑡𝑡 2 ) + 𝛹𝛹 2 (1 − 32𝑡𝑡 2 )
− 𝛹𝛹(2𝑡𝑡 2 ) + 𝑡𝑡 4 ]
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇4 = (𝜔𝜔8 ⁄40320) 𝜈𝜈 sin 𝛷𝛷 cos7 𝛷𝛷 (1385 − 3111𝑡𝑡 2 + 543𝑡𝑡 4 − 𝑡𝑡 6 )
𝑁𝑁 = 𝑁𝑁 ′ + 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁ℎ𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖
Grid Convergence
𝛾𝛾 = 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇1 + 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇2 + 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇3 + 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇4

where:
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇1 = −𝜔𝜔 sin 𝛷𝛷
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇2 = −(𝜔𝜔3 ⁄3) sin 𝛷𝛷 cos2 𝛷𝛷 (2𝛹𝛹 2 − 𝛹𝛹)
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇3 = −(𝜔𝜔5 ⁄15) sin 𝛷𝛷 cos4 𝛷𝛷 [𝛹𝛹 4 (11 − 24𝑡𝑡 2 ) − 𝛹𝛹 3 (11 − 36𝑡𝑡 2 ) + 2𝛹𝛹 2 (1 − 7𝑡𝑡 2 )
+ 𝛹𝛹𝛹𝛹 2 ]
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇4 = −(𝜔𝜔7 ⁄315) sin 𝛷𝛷 cos6 𝛷𝛷 (17 − 26𝑡𝑡 2 + 2𝑡𝑡 4 )

Version 2.4 20
Point Scale Factor

𝑘𝑘 = 𝑘𝑘0 + 𝑘𝑘0 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇1 + 𝑘𝑘0 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇2 + 𝑘𝑘0 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇3
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇1 = (𝜔𝜔2 ⁄2)𝛹𝛹 cos2 𝛷𝛷
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇2 = (𝜔𝜔4 ⁄24) cos4 𝛷𝛷 [4𝛹𝛹 3 (1 − 6𝑡𝑡 2 ) + 𝛹𝛹 2 (1 + 24𝑡𝑡 2 ) − 4𝛹𝛹𝑡𝑡 2 ]
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇3 = (𝜔𝜔6 ⁄720) cos6 𝛷𝛷 (61 − 148𝑡𝑡 2 + 16𝑡𝑡 4 )
Grid to Geographical
In the following formulae 𝑡𝑡, 𝜌𝜌, 𝜈𝜈 and 𝛹𝛹 are all evaluated for the foot point latitude.
𝐸𝐸 ′ = 𝐸𝐸 − 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸
𝑥𝑥 = 𝐸𝐸 ′ /(𝐾𝐾0 𝜈𝜈 ′ )
𝛷𝛷 = 𝛷𝛷′ − 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇1 + 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇2 − 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇3 + 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇4
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇1 = (𝑡𝑡 ′ ⁄(𝐾𝐾0 𝜌𝜌′ ))(𝑥𝑥𝐸𝐸 ′ ⁄2)
2
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇2 = (𝑡𝑡 ′ ⁄(𝐾𝐾0 𝜌𝜌′ ))(𝐸𝐸 ′ 𝑥𝑥 3 ⁄24)�−4𝛹𝛹 ′ + 9𝛹𝛹′(1 − 𝑡𝑡′2 ) + 12𝑡𝑡′2 �
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇3 = (𝑡𝑡 ′ ⁄(𝐾𝐾0 𝜌𝜌′ ))(𝐸𝐸 ′ 𝑥𝑥 5 ⁄720)[8𝛹𝛹′4 (11 − 24𝑡𝑡′2 ) − 12𝛹𝛹′3 (21 − 71𝑡𝑡′2 )
+ 15𝛹𝛹′2 (15 − 98𝑡𝑡′2 + 15𝑡𝑡′4 ) + 180𝛹𝛹 ′ (5𝑡𝑡′2 − 3𝑡𝑡′4 ) + 360𝑡𝑡′4 ]
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇4 = (𝑡𝑡 ′ ⁄(𝐾𝐾0 𝜌𝜌′ ))(𝐸𝐸 ′ 𝑥𝑥 7 ⁄40320)(1385 + 3633𝑡𝑡′2 + 4095𝑡𝑡′4 + 1575𝑡𝑡′6 )
𝜔𝜔 = 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇1 − 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇2 + 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇3 − 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇4

𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇1 = 𝑥𝑥 sec 𝛷𝛷′
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇2 = (𝑥𝑥 3 /6) sec 𝛷𝛷′ (𝛹𝛹′ + 2𝑡𝑡′2 )
3
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇3 = (𝑥𝑥 5 /120) sec 𝛷𝛷′ �−4𝛹𝛹 ′ (1 − 6𝑡𝑡′2 ) + 𝛹𝛹′2 (9 − 68𝑡𝑡′2 ) + 72𝛹𝛹′𝑡𝑡′2 + 24𝑡𝑡′4 �
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇4 = (𝑥𝑥 7 /5040) sec 𝛷𝛷′ (61 + 662𝑡𝑡′2 + 1320𝑡𝑡′4 + 720𝑡𝑡′6 )
𝜆𝜆 = 𝜆𝜆0 + 𝜔𝜔
Grid Convergence
𝑥𝑥 = 𝐸𝐸′/𝑘𝑘0 𝜈𝜈′
𝑡𝑡 ′ = tan 𝛷𝛷′
𝛾𝛾 = 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇1 + 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇2 + 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇3 + 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇4
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇1 = −𝑡𝑡′𝑥𝑥
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇2 = (𝑡𝑡 ′ 𝑥𝑥 3 /3)(−2𝛹𝛹′2 + 3𝛹𝛹′ + 𝑡𝑡′2 )
3 2
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇3 = (−𝑡𝑡 ′ 𝑥𝑥 5 /15)�𝛹𝛹′4 (11 − 24𝑡𝑡′2 ) − 3𝛹𝛹 ′ (8 − 23𝑡𝑡′2 ) + 5𝛹𝛹 ′ (3 − 14𝑡𝑡′2 ) + 30𝛹𝛹 ′ 𝑡𝑡′2
+ 3𝑡𝑡′4 �
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇4 = (𝑡𝑡 ′ 𝑥𝑥 7 /315)(17 + 77𝑡𝑡′2 + 105𝑡𝑡′4 + 45𝑡𝑡′6 )
Point Scale
𝑥𝑥 = �𝐸𝐸′2 ⁄𝑘𝑘0 2 𝜌𝜌′𝜈𝜈′�

Version 2.4 21
𝐾𝐾 = 𝑘𝑘0 + 𝑘𝑘0 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇1 + 𝑘𝑘0 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇2 + 𝑘𝑘0 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇3

𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇1 = 𝑥𝑥/2
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇2 = (𝑥𝑥 2 /24)[4𝛹𝛹 ′ (1 − 6𝑡𝑡′2 ) − 3(1 − 16𝑡𝑡′2 ) − 24𝑡𝑡′2 /𝛹𝛹 ′ ]
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇3 = 𝑥𝑥 3 /720
Sample Data
Flinders Peak
MGA94 (zone 55) E 273 741.297 N 5 796 489.777
GDA94 -37° 57' 03.7203" 144° 25' 29.5244"
Convergence -01° 35' 03.65"
Point scale factor 1.000 230 56

Version 2.4 22
Chapter 6 Grid Calculations

Excel Spreadsheet – Grid Calculations
Coordinates and the relationships between them are rigorously calculated using ellipsoidal formulae.
These formulae produce geodetic coordinates (latitude and longitude), azimuths and ellipsoidal
distances and are well within the scope of modern personal computers.
Redfearn's formulae can then be used to rigorously produce grid coordinates (easting, northing &
zone), together with the point scale factor and convergence, from the geodetic coordinates; these can
then be used to compute grid distances and grid bearings. Alternatively, the formulae given in this
section can be used to compute grid coordinates, grid distances and grid bearings.
Grid Bearing and Ellipsoidal Distance from MGA94 coordinates

The following formulae provide the only direct method to obtain grid bearings and ellipsoidal distance
from MGA94 coordinates.
tan 𝜃𝜃1 = (𝐸𝐸2′ − 𝐸𝐸1′ )/(𝑁𝑁2 − 𝑁𝑁1 )
or
cot 𝜃𝜃1 = (𝑁𝑁2 − 𝑁𝑁1 )/(𝐸𝐸2′ − 𝐸𝐸1′ )
𝐿𝐿 = (𝐸𝐸2′ − 𝐸𝐸1′ )/ sin 𝜃𝜃1
= (𝑁𝑁2 − 𝑁𝑁1 )/ cos 𝜃𝜃1
2 2 2 2
𝐾𝐾 = 𝑘𝑘0 �1 + ��𝐸𝐸1′ + 𝐸𝐸1′ 𝐸𝐸2′ + 𝐸𝐸2′ �/6𝑟𝑟𝑚𝑚 2 ��1 + �𝐸𝐸1′ + 𝐸𝐸1′ 𝐸𝐸2′ + 𝐸𝐸2′ �/36𝑟𝑟𝑚𝑚 2 ��
𝑠𝑠 = 𝐿𝐿/𝐾𝐾
𝛿𝛿1 " = −(𝑁𝑁2 − 𝑁𝑁1 )(𝐸𝐸2′ + 2𝐸𝐸1′ )[1 − (𝐸𝐸2′ + 2𝐸𝐸1′ )2 /27𝑟𝑟𝑚𝑚 2 ]/6𝑟𝑟𝑚𝑚 2 {𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟}
𝛿𝛿1 " = 206264.8062 𝛿𝛿1 {𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠}
𝛿𝛿2 " = (𝑁𝑁2 − 𝑁𝑁1 )(2𝐸𝐸2′ + 𝐸𝐸1′ )[1 − (2𝐸𝐸2′ + 𝐸𝐸1′ )2 /27𝑟𝑟𝑚𝑚 2 ]/6𝑟𝑟𝑚𝑚 2 {𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟}
𝛿𝛿2 " = 206264.8062 𝛿𝛿2 {𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠}
𝛽𝛽1 = 𝜃𝜃1 − 𝛿𝛿1
𝛽𝛽2 = 𝜃𝜃1 ± 180° − 𝛿𝛿2
The mean radius of curvature can be calculated as shown below, using an approximate value for the
′ ).
mean latitude (𝛷𝛷𝑚𝑚 The approximate mean latitude can be calculated in two steps, with an accuracy
of about two minutes of arc, using the formulae shown below. This approximation is derived from the
formulae for meridian distance used with Redfearn's formulae and the constants shown are the values
𝑎𝑎𝐴𝐴1 and 𝑎𝑎𝐴𝐴2 , computed for GDA.
𝑁𝑁 ′ = 𝑁𝑁 − 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁ℎ𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖
′
𝑁𝑁𝑚𝑚 = (𝑁𝑁1′ + 𝑁𝑁2′ )/2
′ (1𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 ′
𝛷𝛷𝑚𝑚 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎) = (𝑁𝑁𝑚𝑚 /𝑘𝑘0 )/111132.952
′ (2𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 ′ ′
𝛷𝛷𝑚𝑚 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝) = �(𝑁𝑁𝑚𝑚 /𝑘𝑘0 ) + 16038.508 sin 2𝛷𝛷𝑚𝑚 �/111132.952
′ )3/2
𝜌𝜌𝑚𝑚 = 𝑎𝑎(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 )/(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 sin2 𝛷𝛷𝑚𝑚
′ )1/2
𝜈𝜈𝑚𝑚 = 𝑎𝑎/(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 sin2 𝛷𝛷𝑚𝑚

Version 2.4 23
𝑟𝑟𝑚𝑚 2 = 𝜌𝜌𝑚𝑚 𝜈𝜈𝑚𝑚 𝑘𝑘𝑜𝑜 2
MGA94 Coordinates from Grid bearing and Ellipsoidal Distance

This computation is commonly used when the coordinates of one station are known and the grid
bearing and ellipsoidal distance from this station to an adjacent station have been determined. The
bearing and distance are applied to the coordinates of the known station to derive the coordinates of
the unknown station and the reverse grid bearing. The formulae shown are accurate to 0.02" and 0.1
ppm over any 100 kilometre line in an MGA zone. For lower order surveys:
• the underlined terms are often omitted
• the latitude function 1/6r2 becomes a constant and
• the formulae for K and δ are replaced by simplified versions
Formulae
First calculate approximate coordinates for the unknown station:
• 𝐸𝐸1′ = 𝐸𝐸1 − 500 000
• 𝐸𝐸2′ ≈ 𝐸𝐸′1 + 𝑘𝑘1 𝑠𝑠 sin 𝛽𝛽1
• 𝑁𝑁2 − 𝑁𝑁1 ≈ 𝑘𝑘1 𝑠𝑠 cos 𝛽𝛽1
If not already known the point scale factor (𝑘𝑘1 ) may be approximated by:
𝑘𝑘1 ≈ 0.9996 + 1.23𝐸𝐸′2 10−14
2 2 2 2
𝐾𝐾 = 𝑘𝑘0 �1 + ��𝐸𝐸1′ + 𝐸𝐸1′ 𝐸𝐸2′ + 𝐸𝐸2′ �/6𝑟𝑟𝑚𝑚 2 ��1 + �𝐸𝐸1′ + 𝐸𝐸1′ 𝐸𝐸2′ + 𝐸𝐸2′ �/36𝑟𝑟𝑚𝑚 2 ��
𝐿𝐿 = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
sin 𝛿𝛿1 = −(𝑁𝑁2 − 𝑁𝑁1 )(𝐸𝐸2′ + 2𝐸𝐸1′ ) �1 − (𝐸𝐸2′ + 2𝐸𝐸1′ )2 /27𝑟𝑟𝑚𝑚 2 � /6𝑟𝑟𝑚𝑚 2
𝜃𝜃 = 𝛽𝛽1 + 𝛿𝛿1
sin 𝛿𝛿2 = (𝑁𝑁2 − 𝑁𝑁1 )(2𝐸𝐸2′ + 𝐸𝐸1′ ) �1 − (2𝐸𝐸2′ + 𝐸𝐸1′ )2 /27𝑟𝑟𝑚𝑚 2 � /6𝑟𝑟𝑚𝑚 2
𝛽𝛽2 = 𝜃𝜃 ± 180° − 𝛿𝛿2

𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥 = 𝐿𝐿 sin 𝜃𝜃
𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥 = 𝐿𝐿 cos 𝜃𝜃
𝐸𝐸2 = 𝐸𝐸1 + 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥
𝑁𝑁2 = 𝑁𝑁1 + 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥
The mean radius of curvature can be calculated as shown below, using an approximate value for the
′ ).
mean latitude (𝛷𝛷𝑚𝑚 The approximate mean latitude can be calculated in two steps, with an accuracy
of about two minutes of arc, using the formulae shown below. This approximation is derived from the
formulae for meridian distance used with Redfearn's formulae and the constants shown are the values
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎0 and 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎2 , computed for GDA.
𝑁𝑁 ′ = 𝑁𝑁 − 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁ℎ𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑔𝑔
′
𝑁𝑁𝑚𝑚 = (𝑁𝑁1′ + 𝑁𝑁2′ )/2

Version 2.4 24
′ (1𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 ′
𝛷𝛷𝑚𝑚 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎) = (𝑁𝑁𝑚𝑚 /𝑘𝑘0 )/111132.952
′ (2𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 ′ ′
𝛷𝛷𝑚𝑚 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎) = �(𝑁𝑁𝑚𝑚 /𝑘𝑘0 ) + 16038.508 sin 2𝛷𝛷𝑚𝑚 �/111132.952
′ )3/2
𝜌𝜌𝑚𝑚 = 𝑎𝑎(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 )/(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 sin2 𝛷𝛷𝑚𝑚
′ )1/2
𝜈𝜈𝑚𝑚 = 𝑎𝑎/(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 sin2 𝛷𝛷𝑚𝑚
𝑟𝑟𝑚𝑚 2 = 𝜌𝜌𝑚𝑚 𝜈𝜈𝑚𝑚 𝑘𝑘0 2
Zone to Zone Transformations

If a point lies within 0.5° of a zone boundary, it is possible to compute the grid coordinate of the point
in terms of the adjacent zone. This can be done by:
1. converting the known grid coordinates to latitude and longitude using Redfearn's formulae,
and then converting back to grid coordinates in terms of the adjacent zone, or
2. using the formulae shown below (Jordan and Eggert 1941; Grossmann 1964). These
formulae have an accuracy of 10 mm anywhere within 0.5° of a zone boundary.
Formulae
tan 𝐽𝐽1 = [𝜔𝜔𝑧𝑧 2 cos2 𝛷𝛷𝑧𝑧 (1 + 31 tan2 𝛷𝛷𝑧𝑧 ) − 6(1 + 𝑒𝑒′2 cos2 𝛷𝛷𝑧𝑧 )]/[18𝜔𝜔𝑧𝑧 sin 𝛷𝛷𝑧𝑧 (1 + 𝑒𝑒′2 cos2 𝛷𝛷𝑧𝑧 )]
𝐻𝐻1 = −3𝜔𝜔𝑧𝑧 2 sin 𝛷𝛷𝑧𝑧 cos 𝛷𝛷𝑧𝑧 /(𝜌𝜌𝑧𝑧 cos 𝐽𝐽1 )
𝐸𝐸2 = 500 000 − 𝐸𝐸𝑧𝑧′ + (𝐸𝐸1′ − 𝐸𝐸𝑧𝑧′ ) cos 2𝛾𝛾𝑧𝑧 − (𝑁𝑁1 − 𝑁𝑁𝑧𝑧 ) sin 2𝛾𝛾𝑧𝑧 + 𝐻𝐻1 𝐿𝐿2 sin(2𝜃𝜃𝑧𝑧 + 𝐽𝐽1 )
𝑁𝑁2 = 𝑁𝑁𝑧𝑧 + (𝑁𝑁1 − 𝑁𝑁𝑧𝑧 ) cos 2𝛾𝛾𝑧𝑧 + (𝐸𝐸1′ − 𝐸𝐸𝑧𝑧′ ) sin 2𝛾𝛾𝑧𝑧 + 𝐻𝐻1 𝐿𝐿2 cos(2𝜃𝜃𝑧𝑧 + 𝐽𝐽1 )
where:
Z is a point on the zone boundary,
𝐸𝐸1 , 𝑁𝑁1 are the known coordinates of the point to be transformed,
𝐸𝐸2 , 𝑁𝑁2 are the coordinates of the point in terms of the adjacent zone,
𝜃𝜃𝑧𝑧 is the plane bearing from Z to the point to be transformed.
Traverse Computation with Grid Coordinates, using Arc-to-Chord

Corrections and Line Scale Factors
With the power of modern computers, traverses can be rigorously computed on the ellipsoid, using
formulae such as those shown in Chapter 4. The geographic results from these computations can then
be rigorously converted to grid coordinates using Redfearn's formulae. However if necessary, the
computation can be varied to suit the requirements of the job:
• the arc-to-chord corrections and line scale factors can be ignored and the traverse computed
using the formulae of plane trigonometry;
• if good quality maps showing the MGA94 Grid are available, traverse stations may be plotted
by inspection and the approximate coordinates scaled with sufficient precision to enable
computation of the arc-to-chord corrections and line scale factors;

Version 2.4 25
• the arc-to-chord corrections and line scale factors can be computed precisely, and the
method becomes first order anywhere in a MGA94 grid zone.
The precision obtained should be closely balanced against the labour involved, though with modern
Personal Computers and available software, the difference between a rigorous and approximate
calculation is trivial. Prior to precise computation, approximate coordinates and bearings may be
carried through the traverse, using uncorrected field measurements, to ensure that the observations
are free of gross errors. A diagram of the traverse, approximately to scale, is often useful.
Basic Outline
There are many ways of arranging the computation. Essentially, the work is split into stages:
1. Approximate Eastings and Northings are computed from observed angles and distances;
2. Arc-to-chord corrections and line scale factors are computed from the approximate
coordinates and applied to the observations to give plane angles and plane distances;
3. Precise coordinates are computed by plane trigonometry;
4. Misclosure in grid bearing and position is analysed and the traverse or figure adjusted as
required.
For precise computation, each line is rigorously computed before the next line is calculated, so that
errors in the approximate coordinates do not accumulate. True Eastings (E') and differences in
northing (∆N) are the quantities carried through the computation. Sign conventions may be
disregarded and signs determined by inspection of a traverse diagram.
Formulae and Symbols

If the underlined terms shown in the preceding sections of this chapter are omitted, the errors for a
100 kilometre line running north and south on a zone boundary do not exceed 0.08" in bearing and
0.25 ppm in distance. For traverses of lower order, simplified formulae can be used. For short lines
near a central meridian it may be possible to omit the arc-to-chord corrections and line scale factors
and compute the traverse with observed angles and distances, using the formulae of plane
trigonometry.
If the symbol 𝛿𝛿21 is used for the arc-to-chord correction at station 2 to station 1 and 𝛿𝛿23 for the
correction at station 2 to station 3, and the angles are measured clockwise from station 1 to station 3,
then the angle 𝑃𝑃2 (plane) at station 2 is obtained from the angle 02 (observed) by:
𝑃𝑃2 = 02 + 𝛿𝛿23 − 𝛿𝛿21

where angles are measured clockwise only.
Computations of ARC-TO-CHORD Corrections and scale factors

Although there are several ways of arranging the computation, the following is recommended:
1. Compute the grid bearing to the "forward" station by applying the observed horizontal
angle at the "occupied" station to the known grid bearing of the "rear" station;
2. Compute the point scale factor at the "occupied" station and multiply the ellipsoidal
distance to the "forward" station by this factor;
3. Using the distance obtained and the forward grid bearing, compute approximate
coordinates of the "forward" station by plane trigonometry;

Version 2.4 26
4. Using the coordinates of the "occupied" station and the approximate coordinates of the
"forward" station, compute the arc-to-chord correction at the "occupied" station and the line
scale factor. If the line crosses the central meridian, (E1, E2) is negative;
5. Add the arc-to-chord correction to the forward grid bearing to obtain the plane bearing and
multiply the spheroidal distance by the line scale factor to obtain the plane distance;
6. Using the plane bearing and plane distance, compute the coordinates of the "forward"
station by plane trigonometry;
7. Compute the arc-to-chord correction from the new station to the previously occupied
station and add this to the plane bearing reversed by 180° to obtain the reverse grid bearing
from the new station.
The above process is repeated for each new line of a traverse with the reverse grid bearing of the
previous line becoming the known grid bearing to the rear station.
Sample Data
Flinders Peak Buninyong
MGA94 (zone 55) E 273 741.297 E 228 854.052

N 5 796 489.777 N 5 828 259.038
Ellipsoidal Distance (m) 54,972.271
Plane Distance (m) 54,992.279
Grid Bearing 305° 17' 01.72" 125° 17' 41.86"
Arc to chord +19.47" -20.67"
Line scale factor 1.000 363 97

Version 2.4 27
Chapter 7 Transformation of Coordinates

The coordinates of a point will change depending on which datum the coordinates are referred to. To
change a coordinate from one datum to another, a mathematical process known as transformation is
used. This may be done in two or three dimensions and requires a number of points with positions
known in terms of both datums ('common' points). The accuracy of the transformation depends on
the method chosen and the accuracy, number and distribution of the 'common points'.
For transforming AGD66 or AGD84 coordinates to GDA the grid transformation process is the most
accurate. For the sake of consistency it is recommended for all transformations in Australia.
However, it is recognised that there are different user requirements, so less accurate transformation
methods are also provided. As the different methods will give different results, metadata should be
maintained, giving the accuracy and method used to obtain the transformed positions.
The transformation parameters supplied in this manual are between AGD and GDA94 and supersede
all previous parameters, including those between AGD and WGS84, as GDA94 is the same as WGS84
for most practical applications. Transformation from ITRF to GDA is not covered in detail in this
manual, but is discussed in Chapter 1, with a link to more detailed information. Software developed
to support transformation from ITRF to GDA can be downloaded from the GDA Technical Manual Web
page. In particular the RapidMap prepared downloadable.
High Accuracy Transformation (Grid Transformation)

Excel Spreadsheet – Test Data for Grid Transformation
National Transformation Grids for AGD66 and AGD84 are available from the GDA Technical Manual
web site.
Ideally, the transformation process should be:
• “Simple to apply
• computationally efficient
• unique in terms of the solution it provides
• rigorous
The first two criteria are necessitated by the large volumes of data that will have to be transformed.
The second two are based on the premise that the transformation process must not compromise the
quality or topology of the original data. In this regard it is argued that, with careful development it is
possible to improve data accuracy by incorporating a distortion model in the transformation process."
(Collier, Argeseanu et al. 1998).
In 1997, ICSM adopted an approach for Australia that fitted the above criteria. This method is the
same as that adopted in Canada, in that it uses files of coordinate shifts that compensate for
distortions in the original data, as well as transforming between datums. The complex mathematical
processing, based on many common points, is done prior to the production of the files of coordinate
shifts (Collier, Argeseanu et al. 1998) and the user only has to perform a simple interpolation to obtain
the required shifts, followed by a simple addition to perform the transformation. The files of
coordinate shifts are provided in the Canadian format known as National Transformation version 2
(NTv2). The Australian NTv2 transformation files are provided in the binary format, but software
provided by ICSM jurisdictions can readily convert them to ASCII format. Although there was some
minor initial confusion with the original Australian-produced binary files, both the ASCII and binary

Version 2.4 28
formats now conform to the Canadian format that is used in many GIS packages. An in-depth
explanation of the format can be found in Appendix C of the "GDAit" User Guide and the GDAit
Software Documentation available from www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/geodesy > Geocentric Datum of
Australia 1994 (GDA94) > GDA94 useful tools.
Interpolation software
Initially, each State and Territory produced a transformation grid file for its area and NSW and Victoria
combined theirs into a single grid (SEA). These transformation grid files transformed from either
AGD66 or AGD84, depending on which version of AGD was previously adopted by that jurisdiction.
Several States also produced software to interpolate and apply the transformation shifts, either
interactively or from a file of coordinates, using any grid file in NTv2 format. Victoria produced
(GDAit), Queensland (GDAy) and NSW (Datumtran and GEOD).
National Transformation Grids
Two national transformation grid files are now available to replace the previous State & Territory grid
files (Collier and Steed 2001).
1. A complete national coverage from AGD66 to GDA94. This coverage was generated using
the latest algorithms with data from the previous AGD66 State & Territory grid files and AGD66
& GDA94 data from the National Geodetic Data Base. In NSW and Victoria the on-shore and
close coastal areas of the previous combined State grid have been included in the national
grid, but elsewhere there may be differences. These differences are generally small but may
be larger near the State borders and in areas where there was little or no common data (e.g.
offshore). The AGD66 national file also covers the offshore areas out to the Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ). Although still in NTv2 format, a simple conformal (7-parameter)
transformation was used to generate the shifts in these offshore areas (See Figure 7-1).
Figure 7-1 AGD66 to GDA94 Transformation Grid Coverage
2. A coverage from AGD84 to GDA94 for the States that previously adopted AGD84
(Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia). This coverage was produced by merging

Version 2.4 29
the existing Queensland, South Australian and West Australian transformation files and differs
slightly from the previous State files only near the merged borders (see Figure 7-2).
Figure 7-2 AGD 84 to GDA94 Transformation
For mathematical convenience and to suit the rectangular convention of the NTv2 format, the national
grids extend outside the Australian EEZ in some places, but these extents do not infer any rights, nor
do they imply the use of AGD or GDA94 coordinates in these areas.
For the convenience of those working only in a local area, software is also available to extract user
defined areas from the national grid files from the ICSM GDA webpage.
To assist in the testing of transformation systems using these national grid files, a spreadsheet is
available containing sample input and output for both the AGD66 & AGD84 grids on the ICSM GDA
webpage.
Medium Accuracy Transformation

3-Dimensional Similarity Transformation
Excel Spreadsheet – Cartesian to Geodetic & 7-Parameter Transformation

Provided the rotation angles are small (a few seconds), the relationship between two consistent, three
dimensional coordinate systems can be completely defined by a seven parameter similarity
transformation (three origin shifts, three rotations and a scale change) (Harvey 1986).
The transformation is a relatively simple mathematical process, but because this technique is in terms
of Earth-centred Cartesian coordinates (X Y Z), the points to be transformed must be converted to this
coordinate type. This means that ellipsoidal heights are used on input and are produced on output;
however, provided the ellipsoidal height entered is a reasonable estimate (within a few hundred
metres) there will be negligible effect on the transformed horizontal position (millimetres).

Version 2.4 30
National parameters to convert between AGD84 and GDA94 have been developed and have an
estimated accuracy of about 1 m. Because of the inconsistent nature of the AGD66 coordinate set, it
is not possible to compute a set of national AGD66/GDA94 parameters with acceptable accuracy, but
they can be computed for local regions. Some authorities have computed regional AGD66/GDA94
parameters (see Regional Transformation Parameters from AGD66 to GDA94).
National parameters have been computed to transform between AGD84 and GDA94 using the
similarity method. These parameters were computed from 327 points across Australia, which had
both AGD84 and GDA94 coordinates, well determined AHD heights (by spirit levelling), and which
were GPS points in the national GDA94 adjustment. The resulting parameters are shown in Table 7-1.
Note: These parameters can be used for projects of medium accuracy (of the order 1 m). More
accurate methods must be used for projects requiring greater accuracy. Although this method
transforms the height, direct transformation of the height using the geoid-ellipsoid separation is easier
and generally more accurate.
Parameters
Table 7-1: National parameters – AGD84 and AGD66 to GDA94
Parameter AGD84 AGD66
𝑫𝑫𝑫𝑫 (𝒎𝒎) -117.763 -117.808
𝑫𝑫𝑫𝑫 (𝒎𝒎) -51.510 -51.536
𝑫𝑫𝑫𝑫 (𝒎𝒎) 139.061 137.784
𝑹𝑹𝑿𝑿 (𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔) -0.292 -0.303
𝑹𝑹𝒀𝒀 (𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔) -0.443 -0.446
𝑹𝑹𝒁𝒁 (𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔) -0.277 -0.234
𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺 (𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑) -0.191 -0.290
The AGD84 parameters were tested using points additional to the initial 327, which had both AGD84
and GDA94 coordinates. A summary of these tests is shown in Table 7-2. The AGD66 parameters
were developed as first step in the production of the national transformation grid and used 9,761
common points.
Table 7-2: AGD ↔ GDA94 parameters – residuals from 1571 points (lat/long) and 65 points (ellip. ht.)
Average (m) Std. Dev. (m) Max (m) Min (m)
Latitude -0.10 0.38 1.03 -1.48
Longitude -0.08 0.38 1.14 -2.50
Ellip. Ht. 0.14 0.37 0.95 -0.66

Version 2.4 31
Formulae
Once the positions have been converted to Earth-centred Cartesian coordinates, the similarity
transformation is performed by a simple matrix operation:
𝑥𝑥′ 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥 𝑋𝑋
𝑦𝑦′ = �𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥� + (1 + 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 ∗ 10−6 )𝑅𝑅 �𝑌𝑌 �
𝑧𝑧′ 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥 𝑍𝑍
Where R is the combined matrix of rotations about the X, Y and Z axes, in that order, i.e.
𝑅𝑅 = 𝑅𝑅𝑥𝑥 𝑅𝑅𝑦𝑦 𝑅𝑅𝑧𝑧

In its full form this combined rotation matrix is:
cos 𝑅𝑅𝑦𝑦 cos 𝑅𝑅𝑧𝑧 cos 𝑅𝑅𝑦𝑦 sin 𝑅𝑅𝑧𝑧 − sin 𝑅𝑅𝑦𝑦
� sin 𝑅𝑅𝑥𝑥 sin 𝑅𝑅𝑦𝑦 cos 𝑅𝑅𝑧𝑧 −cos 𝑅𝑅𝑥𝑥 sin 𝑅𝑅𝑧𝑧 sin 𝑅𝑅𝑥𝑥 sin 𝑅𝑅𝑦𝑦 sin 𝑅𝑅𝑧𝑧 + cos 𝑅𝑅𝑥𝑥 cos 𝑅𝑅𝑧𝑧 sin 𝑅𝑅𝑥𝑥 cos 𝑅𝑅𝑦𝑦 �
cos 𝑅𝑅𝑥𝑥 sin 𝑅𝑅𝑦𝑦 cos 𝑅𝑅𝑧𝑧 + sin 𝑅𝑅𝑥𝑥 sin 𝑅𝑅𝑧𝑧 cos 𝑅𝑅𝑥𝑥 sin 𝑅𝑅𝑦𝑦 sin 𝑅𝑅𝑧𝑧 − sin 𝑅𝑅𝑥𝑥 cos 𝑅𝑅𝑧𝑧 cos 𝑅𝑅𝑥𝑥 cos 𝑅𝑅𝑦𝑦
But for small rotations (a few seconds) it is closely approximated by the matrix below (where the
rotations are in radians):
1 𝑅𝑅𝑧𝑧 −𝑅𝑅𝑦𝑦
�−𝑅𝑅𝑧𝑧 1 𝑅𝑅𝑥𝑥 �
𝑅𝑅𝑦𝑦 −𝑅𝑅𝑥𝑥 1
Warning
There are two different ways of applying the sign conventions for the rotations. In both cases the sign
convention is the same (a positive rotation is an anti-clockwise rotation, when viewed along the
positive axis towards the origin) but:
1. The International Earth Rotation Service (IERS) assumes the rotations to be of the position
around the coordinate axes, while
2. The method historically used in Australia assumes the rotations to be of the coordinate
axes.
The only difference in the formula is a change in the signs of the angles in the rotation matrix. If the
sign of the rotation parameters and the formulae used are consistent the correct results will be
obtained. The only way to be absolutely sure which method or parameters are required is to test
them using a known input and output for a set of parameters as shown in Table 7-3. If necessary the
situation can be rectified by simply changing the sign of the rotation parameters.
Table 7-3: Sample input and output, using the national AGD84 Similarity parameters
AGD84 GDA94
Latitude S 37° 39' 15.5647" S 37° 39' 10.1598"
Longitude E 143° 55' 30.5501" E 143° 55' 35.3730"
Ellipsoidal height 749.671 m 737.574 m

Version 2.4 32
Table 7-4: Sample input and output, using the national AGD66 Similarity parameters
AGD66 GDA94
Latitude S 37° 39' 15.5571" S 37° 39' 10.1757"
Longitude E 143° 55' 30.6330" E 143° 55' 35.4093"
Conversion between Geographical and Cartesian Coordinates
To convert between Geographical coordinates (latitude, longitude and ellipsoidal height) and three
dimensional, Earth-centred Cartesian coordinates (X, Y, Z), the formulae given below are used.
It is essential that the appropriate reference ellipsoid is used and also to note that ellipsoidal heights
must be used on input and are produced on output.
Formulae
Geographical to Cartesian Cartesian to Geographical
𝑋𝑋 = (𝜈𝜈 + ℎ) cos 𝛷𝛷 cos 𝜆𝜆 tan 𝜆𝜆 = 𝑌𝑌/𝑋𝑋
𝑌𝑌 = (𝜈𝜈 + ℎ) cos 𝛷𝛷 sin 𝜆𝜆 tan 𝛷𝛷 = (𝑍𝑍(1 − 𝑓𝑓) + 𝑒𝑒 2 𝑎𝑎 sin3 𝑢𝑢)/�(1 − 𝑓𝑓)(𝑝𝑝 − 𝑒𝑒 2 𝑎𝑎 cos3 𝑢𝑢)�
𝑍𝑍 = {(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 )𝜈𝜈 + ℎ} sin 𝛷𝛷
ℎ = 𝑝𝑝 cos 𝛷𝛷 + 𝑍𝑍 sin 𝛷𝛷 − 𝑎𝑎(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 sin2 𝛷𝛷)1/2
Where: Where:
𝜈𝜈 = 𝑎𝑎/{(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 sin2 𝛷𝛷)1/2 } 𝑝𝑝 = (𝑋𝑋 2 + 𝑌𝑌 2 )1/2
𝑒𝑒 2 = 2𝑓𝑓 − 𝑓𝑓 2 tan 𝑢𝑢 = (𝑍𝑍/𝑝𝑝)[(1 − 𝑓𝑓) + (𝑒𝑒 2 𝑎𝑎/𝑟𝑟)]
ℎ = 𝑁𝑁 + 𝐻𝐻 𝑟𝑟 = (𝑝𝑝2 + 𝑍𝑍 2 )1/2
Example using GDA94 (GRS80 ellipsoid)
Latitude -37° 39' 10.1598" -4087095.384 X
Longitude 143° 55' 35.3730" 2977467.494 Y
Ellipsoidal height 737.574 m -3875457.340 Z
Regional Transformation Parameters from AGD66 to GDA94
Although it is possible to compute national similarity transformation parameters between AGD84 &
GDA94, AGD66/GDA94 similarity transformation parameters can only be accurately computed for
smaller areas where AGD66 is more consistent. This was done as a first step in the development of
the jurisdiction transformation grids and where the more accurate methods are not appropriate, these
parameters may be used.

Version 2.4 33
The parameters shown are only valid for transformation between AGD66 and GDA94 for the area
indicated. They have an accuracy of only about 1 metre and the transformation grid method is
preferred if at all possible.
Table 7-5: Regional Similarity transformation parameters – AGD66 to AGD94
A.C.T Tasmania Victoria Northern

Parameter
NSW Territory
DX (m) -129.193 -120.271 -119.353 -124.133
DY (m) -41.212 -64.543 -48.301 -42.003
DZ (m) 130.730 161.632 139.484 137.400
RX (secs) -0.246 -0.217 -0.415 0.008
RY (secs) -0.374 0.067 -0.260 -0.557
RZ (secs) -0.329 0.129 -0.437 -0.178
Sc (ppm) -2.955 2.499 -0.613 -1.854
Table 7-6: Sample input and output, using A.C.T. Similarity parameters
AGD66 GDA94
Latitude S 35° 18' 18.0000" S 35° 18' 12.3911"
Longitude E 149° 08' 18.0000" E 149° 08' 22.3382"
Table 7-7: Sample input and output, using Tasmanian Similarity parameters
AGD66 GDA94
Latitude S 42° 53' 03.0000" S 42° 52' 57.6165"
Longitude E 147° 19' 19.0000" E 147° 19' 23.9274"

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Table 7-8: Sample input and output, using the Victoria/NSW Similarity parameters
AGD66 GDA94
Latitude S 33° 25' 25.12340 S 33° 25' 19.48962"
Longitude E 149° 34' 34.34560" E 149° 34' 38.58555"
Low Accuracy Transformation

Molodensky's Formulae
Excel Spreadsheet – Molodensky’s Transformation

Molodensky's transformation method uses an average origin shift (at the centre of the earth) and the
change in the parameters of the two ellipsoids. This method is often used in hand-held GNSS receivers
with the old parameters published by United States National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) in
their Technical Report 8350.2. These DMA parameters are now superseded by AGD66/84↔GDA94
parameters which have an estimated accuracy of about 5 metres:
Transformation from AGD66 or AGD84 to GDA94
Abridged Molodensky Formulae & Parameters

The United States Defense Mapping Agency previously published parameters for use with
Molodensky's formulae, to convert between either AGD66 or AGD84 and WGS84 (DMA 1987). As for
most practical purposes WGS84 is the same as GDA94, the same formula may continue to be used, but
improved parameters are now available to convert between either AGD66 or AGD84 and GDA94
(AUSLIG 1997). It should be noted that these formulae require ellipsoidal height on input and give
ellipsoidal height on output; however, the height component may be ignored if not required.
Note: This transformation method should only be used for low accuracy projects (accuracy no better
than 5 m). Other methods are available for higher accuracy projects.
The AGD66/GDA94 parameters were derived from 161 points across Australia, which had both AGD66
and GDA94 coordinates, each of which also had a spirit levelled height. The AGD84/GDA94
parameters were similarly derived using 327 common points. These parameters are shown in Table
7-9.

Version 2.4 35
Parameters
Table 7-9: Parameters – AGD66 & AGD84 to GDA94
AGD66 to GDA94 AGD84 to GDA94
A 6378160 m 6378160 m
1/f 298.25 298.25
DX (m) -127.8 -128.5
DY (m) -52.3 -53.0
DZ (m) 152.9 153.4
Da (m) -23 -23
Df -0.00000008119 -0.00000008119
These parameters were tested using additional points with both AGD and GDA94 positions. A
summary of these tests is shown in Table 7-10 and Table 7-11.
Table 7-10: AGD66 ↔ GDA94 parameters, residuals from 1262 points
average (m) std. dev. (m) max. (m) min. (m)
Latitude -0.32 1.1 2.9 -5.9
Longitude -0.56 0.9 3.3 -3.8
Ellipsoidal height -0.97 1.4 3.8 -8.5
Table 7-11: AGD84 ↔ GDA94 parameters, residuals from 1588 points
average (m) std. dev. (m) max. (m) min. (m)
Latitude 0.70 0.7 5.2 -3.2
Longitude 0.41 0.4 5.3 -1.4
Ellipsoidal height 0.79 1.8 8.1 -4.4

Version 2.4 36
Formulae
𝑒𝑒 2 = 2𝑓𝑓 − 𝑓𝑓 2
𝜈𝜈 = 𝑎𝑎/(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 sin2 𝛷𝛷)1/2
𝜌𝜌 = 𝑎𝑎(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 )/(1 − 𝑒𝑒 2 sin2 𝛷𝛷)3/2
𝛥𝛥𝛷𝛷(𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟) = {(−𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥 sin 𝛷𝛷 cos 𝜆𝜆 − 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥 sin 𝛷𝛷 sin 𝜆𝜆 + 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥 cos 𝛷𝛷 + (𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 + 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓) sin 2𝛷𝛷)/𝜌𝜌}
𝛥𝛥𝛷𝛷" = 206264.8062 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥
𝛷𝛷𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺94 = 𝛷𝛷𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 + 𝛥𝛥𝛷𝛷
𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥(𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟) = {(−𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥 sin 𝜆𝜆 + 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥 cos 𝜆𝜆)/(ν cos 𝛷𝛷)}
𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥" = 206264.8062 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥
𝜆𝜆𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺94 = 𝜆𝜆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 + 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥
𝛥𝛥ℎ = 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥 cos 𝛷𝛷 cos 𝜆𝜆 + 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥 cos 𝛷𝛷 sin 𝜆𝜆 + 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥 sin 𝛷𝛷 + (𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 + 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓) sin2 𝛷𝛷 − 𝛥𝛥𝛥𝛥
ℎ𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = 𝐻𝐻 + 𝑁𝑁𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴
ℎ𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺94 = ℎ𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 + 𝛥𝛥ℎ
Examples
AGD66 GDA94
Latitude -37° 39’ 15.56" -37° 39’ 10.18"
Longitude 143° 55’ 30.63 143° 55’ 35.43"
Ellipsoidal height 750 m 749 m
AGD84 GDA94
Latitude -37° 39’ 15.56" -37° 39’ 10.17"
Longitude 143° 55’ 30.55" 143° 55’ 35.38"
Ellipsoidal height 750 m 748 m

Version 2.4 37
Simple Block Shift
Excel Spreadsheet – Block Shifts Between AGD66, AGD84 & GDA94

A basic method of transforming by adding an
average block shift in position determined
from one or more common points. The
accuracy of this transformation method is
entirely dependent on the accuracy of the
common point coordinates and the area over
which the shift is to be averaged.
The average size of the block shifts between
AGD66, AGD84 and GDA94 has been
computed for 1:250,000 topographic map
areas across Australia. These block shifts
have a limited accuracy of about 10 m.
Figure 7-3: Magnitude of Block Shift vector, in metres, between ADG66

and ADG84
Comparison of Transformation Methods

The grid transformation is the recommended and most accurate method of transformation in
Australia. Ideally no other method should be needed, but it is recognised that there are different user
requirements, so less accurate transformation methods are also provided.
Comparison of transformation by various methods
The table below shows a sample of points that have been transformed from both AGD66 and AGD84
to GDA94 by the methods explained in this Chapter 7.
The 7 parameter (Similarity) transformation uses the appropriate national transformation parameters
(AGD66 or AGD84). Similarly, the Molodensky transformation uses the AGD66 or AGD84 parameters
as appropriate. The Grid Transformation uses the appropriate national grid (AGD66 or AGD84).

Version 2.4 38
Table 7-12: Example transformation points from both AGD66 and AGD84 to GDA94 by various transformation methods
GDA Transformed
Known AGD84 Known GDA94 GDA94 GDA94 GDA94 Derived
GDA94 (Block (Molodensky) (Similarity) (National GDA94 Ellip.
Shift) NTv2 Grid) Ht.
(AUSGeoid09)
Latitude -29° 02' 52.0825" 47.6169" 47.64" 47.60" 47.602" 47.6175"
Longitude 115° 20' 43.9092" 49.1004" 49.12" 49.04" 49.087" 49.1010"
Ellip. Ht. (m) 284.998 241.291 240 242.46 241.329
N value (m) 18.5 -25.169
AHD (m) 266.498
Latitude -20° 58’ 57.9705" 53.1700" 53.15" 53.17" 53.181" 53.1667"

Longitude 117° 05' 45.0683" 49.8726" 49.87" 49.86" 49.887" 49.8708"
Ellip. Ht. (m) 129.902 109.246 108 109.05 109.191
N value (m) 14 -6.711
AHD (m) 115.902
Latitude -19° 20' 56.0013" 50.4284" 50.44" 50.44” 50.432” 50.4303"

Longitude 146° 46' 26.8165" 30.7906" 30.81" 30.75" 30.780" 30.7918"
Ellip. Ht. (m) 541.709 587.077 588 583.64 587.152
N value (m) 13 58.443
AHD (m) 528.709
Latitude -10° 35’ 07.9983" 2.6077" 2.65" 2.67" 2.642" 2.6113"

Longitude 142° 12' 35.5265" 39.5762" 39.54" 39.49" 39.524" 39.5716"
Ellip. Ht. (m) 73.344 130.0452 136 129.99 130.176
N value (m) 14.6 71.432
AHD (m) 58.744
Latitude -37° 23' 57.3212" 52.0181" 52.06" 52.05" 52.039" 52.0188"

Longitude 140° 40' 45.4673" 50.4482" 50.47" 50.45" 50.440" 50.4497"
Ellip. Ht. (m) 88.934 72.12 71 72.43 71.968
N value (m) 14.106 -2.860
AHD (m) 74.828
Latitude -25° 42' 30.4392" 25.5493" 25.59" 25.58" 25.577" 25.5493"

Longitude 122° 54' 29.7110" 34.6508" 34.64" 34.61" 34.640" 34.6509"
Ellip. Ht. (m) 499.691 480.2142 479 479.68 480.489
N value (m) 10.79 -8.412
AHD (m) 488.901
Latitude -17 31' 45.2316" 40.0554" 40.08" 40.08" 40.070" 40.0734"

Longitude 128° 47' 56.4545" 0.98617" 00.99" 00.98" 00.988" 00.9781"
Ellip. Ht. (m) 246.139 258.81 260 258.04 259.827
N value (m) 16.091 29.779
AHD (m) 230.048

Version 2.4 39
Table 7-13: Example transformation points from both AGD66 and AGD84 to GDA94 by various transformation methods
GDA Transformed
Known AGD66 Known GDA94 GDA94 GDA94 GDA94 GDA94 Ellip. Ht.
GDA94 (Block (Molodensky) (Similarity) (National (AUSGeoid09)
Shift) NTv2 Grid)
Latitude -42° 48' 22.3726" 16.9851" 16.93" 16.97" 16.963" 16.9846"
Longitude 147° 26' 14.5257" 19.4355" 19.41" 19.49" 19.448" 19.4333"
Ellip Ht (m) 64.76 41.126 42 44.45 41.139
N value (m) 20 -3.617
AHD (m) 44.756
Latitude -18° 01' 37.8335" 32.7834" 32.77" 32.65" 32.659" 32.7833"

Longitude 130° 39' 17.9193" 22.3169” 22.34" 22.37" 22.379" 22.3174"
Ellip Ht (m) 348.195 363.34 365 362.43 364.088
N value (m) 17.225 33.118
AHD (m) 330.970
Latitude -37° 57' 9.1288" 3.7203" 3.71" 3.73" 3.734" 3.7207"

Longitude 144° 25' 24.7866" 29.5244" 29.467" 29.57" 29.555" 29.5258"
Ellip Ht (m) 364.2 350.948 354 352.25 350.742
N value (m) 17 3.542
AHD (m) 347.2
Latitude -37° 39' 15.5571" 10.1561" 10.81" 10.81" 10.176" 10.1563"

Longitude 143° 55' 30.6330" 35.3839" 35.39" 35.43" 35.409" 35.3834"
Ellip Ht (m) 761.986 749.855 749 750.05 749.627
N value (m) 17 4.641
AHD (m) 744.986

Version 2.4 40
Figure 7-4: Comparison of transformation methods for latitude, longitude and height.

Version 2.4 41
Chapter 8 The Australian Height Datum (AHD)

The Australian Height Datum (AHD) is the official height datum for Australia.
Background
On 5 May 1971 the then Division of National Mapping, on behalf of the National Mapping Council of
Australia, carried out a simultaneous adjustment of 97,230 kilometres of two-way levelling. Mean sea
level for 1966-1968 was assigned the value of zero on the Australian Height Datum at thirty tide
gauges around the coast of the Australian continent.
The resulting datum surface, with minor modifications in two metropolitan areas, has been termed
the Australian Height Datum (AHD) and was adopted by the National Mapping Council at its twenty-
ninth meeting in May 1971 as the datum to which all vertical control for mapping is to be referred.
The datum surface is that which passes through mean sea level (1966-1968) at the thirty tide gauges
and through points at zero AHD height vertically below the junction points of the Basic Levelling (see
below).
The determination of the AHD was documented in Division of National Mapping Technical Report No.
12 (Roelse, Granger et al. 1971).
Basic and Supplementary Levelling

Two-way levelling of third order accuracy or better, used in the original adjustment of 5 May 1971
which formed the AHD, is called "Basic levelling". Levelling subsequently adjusted to the AHD is called
"Supplementary levelling".
Tasmania
The levelling network in Tasmania was adjusted on 17 October 1983 to re-establish heights on the
Australian Height Datum (Tasmania). This network, which consists of seventy-two sections between
fifty-seven junction points is based on mean sea level for 1972 at the tide gauges at Hobart and
Burnie. Mean sea level at both Hobart and Burnie was assigned the value of zero on the AHD
(Tasmania).
Islands
If the levels on islands closely adjacent to the Australian mainland are observed to standard third
order accuracy, and are referred to mean sea level at a satisfactory tide gauge, they are deemed to be
part of the Australian Height Datum.
AHD, Mean Sea Level and the Geoid

The AHD is an imperfect realisation of mean sea level because some of the tide gauges used for its
definition were not in ideal locations; the mean sea level determination was for a limited period of
time and no allowance was made for sea surface topography. The difference between AHD and mean
sea level, which may be of the order of several decimetres (Mitchell 1990), is not significant for

Version 2.4 42
conventional propagation of AHD, which is relative to existing AHD bench marks, but may be
important if connecting AHD to a recent determination of mean sea level.
Although the geoid is often equated to mean sea level, it may actually differ from it by the order of a
metre, largely due to sea surface topography (Bomford 1980).
With improvements in geoid models and GNSS heighting, the difference between these three surfaces
is sometimes apparent, particularly over large areas, or in areas where there are rapid changes in the
slope of the geoid.

Version 2.4 43
Chapter 9 The Australian National Geoid

The geoid is a surface of equal gravitational potential that is approximated by mean sea level. The
height of the ellipsoid and the geoid can differ by tens of metres across the Australian mainland with
the difference known as the geoid-ellipsoid separation (N value). Geoid – ellipsoid separation values
can be used to reduce observed GNSS ellipsoidal heights (h) to heights relative to approximate Mean
Sea Level (MSL).
AUSGeoid09
AUSGeoid09 is the latest in a series of national geoid models for Australia which provides the
capability to convert from GNSS ellipsoidal heights to approximate AHD heights. These are known as
derived AHD heights. AUSGeoid09 is a 1' by 1' grid (approximately 1.8 km) of AHD – ellipsoid
separation (NAHD) values. These NAHD values have an estimated uncertainty of ±0.06 m at the 95%
confidence interval (Brown et al. 2011). In most cases, AUSGeoid09 provides a relative uncertainty
comparable to �12 mm ∗ √𝑘𝑘� where k is distance in km for relative height transfer.
Figure 9-1: Relationship between the ellipsoid, gravimetric geoid, AUSGeoid, and the topography.

Version 2.4 44
𝐻𝐻𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = ℎ − 𝑁𝑁𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴
where:
𝐻𝐻𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = derived AHD height
ℎ = ellipsoid height
𝑁𝑁𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = AUSGeoid09 value
In places where collocated AHD and GNSS data were not used in the development of AUSGeoid09,
discrepancies between the derived AHD value and the published AHD value (from a jurisdictional
database) can occur. The cause of these discrepancies includes uncertainty in the observed ellipsoidal
height and local / regional deformation since the time of the AHD levelling.
Prior to AUSGeoid09, the AUSGeoid models were largely gravimetric geoid models, and sea surface
topography effects caused errors of up to ±0.5 m between derived and published AHD heights. Given
that this error was predominantly caused by a 1 m trend from south-west to north-east Australia,
these discrepancies between the derived AHD value and published AHD values were minimised by
applying the N values differentially, rather than in an absolute sense. AUSGeoid09 provides a more
direct and more accurate model for converting ellipsoidal heights to derived AHD heights by
incorporating a geometric component which models the offset between the gravimetric geoid and
AHD.
AUSGeoid09 data files and interpolation software and further information can be obtained from
Geoscience Australia's web site.
AUSGeoid09 Technical Specifications

AUSGeoid09 is a gravimetric – geometric quasigeoid. The gravimetric component (Featherstone et al.
2011) was developed using:
• degree-2160 spherical harmonic expansion of the EGM2008 global gravity model (Pavlis,
Holmes et al. 2008)
• approximately 1.4 million land gravity anomalies from the Australian national gravity database
• the 9” x 9” GEODATA-DEM9S digital elevation model of Australia, and
• altimeter-derived marine gravity anomalies from the DNSC2008GRA grid (Andersen, Knudsen
et al. 2010)
The geometric component (Brown et al. 2011) was developed using two datasets:
• The primary dataset of 2638 co-located GNSS-AHD heights provided by the State and Territory
surveying authorities.
• A secondary dataset of 4233 Australian National Levelling Network Junction Points to provide a
higher-resolution definition of the offset between the AHD and gravimetric quasigeoid.

Version 2.4 45
Chapter 10 Test Data

GDA94 and MGA94 (zone 55) values
Buninyong Flinders Peak

Latitude (Φ) S 37° 39' 10.15611" S 37° 57' 03.72030"
Longitude (λ) E 143° 55' 35.38393" E 144° 25' 29.52442"
AHD (H) 744.986 m 347.200 m
NAUSGeoid09 4.641 3.542
Ellipsoidal height (h) 749.855 m 350.948 m
Easting 228,854.052 273,741.297
Northing 5,828,259.038 5,796,489.777
X -4,087,103.458 -4,096,088.424
Y 2,977,473.0435 2,929,823.0843
Z -3,875,464.7525 -3,901,375.4540
Azimuth (α) 127° 10' 25.07” 306° 52' 05.37"
Grid convergence (γ) -01° 52' 43.22" -01° 35' 03.65"
Grid bearing (β) 125° 17' 41.86" 305° 17' 01.72"
Arc to chord (δ) -20.67" +19.47"
Plane bearing (θ) 125° 17' 21.18" 305° 17' 21.18"
Point scale factor (k) 1.000 50567 1.000 23056
Meridian distance (m) -4,173,410.326 -4,205,192.300
Rho (ρ) 6359253.8294 6359576.5731
Nu (ν) 6386118.6742 6386226.7080
Ellipsoidal distance (s) 54,972.271
Line scale factor (K) 1.000 36397
Grid (& plane) distance (L) 54,992.279
Meridian convergence (∆α) 18' 19.70"
Line curvature (∆β) 40.14"

Version 2.4 46
Traverse Diagram

Version 2.4 47
Bibliography
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Version 2.4 49
Diagrams
MGA cross section
Latitude Longitude

Version 2.4 50
Semi-major and Semi-Minor axis
UTM Projection
GDA Technical Manual 51

Version 2.4
Greek Alphabet
Α α
Alpha
Beta Β β
Gamma Γ γ
Delta Δ δ
Epsilon Ε ε
Zeta Ζ ζ
Eta Η η
Theta Θ θ
Iota Ι ι
Kappa Κ κ
Lambda Λ λ
Mu Μ μ
Nu Ν ν
Xi Ξ ξ
Omicron Ο ο
Pi Π π
Rho Ρ ρ
Sigma Σ σ
Tau Τ τ
Upsilon Υ υ
Phi Φ φ
Chi Χ χ
Psi Ψ ψ
Omega Ω ω
GDA Technical Manual 52

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Geocentric Datum of Australia

Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM)

© Commonwealth of Australia (ICSM) 2014

GDA Technical Manual ii

Geographical to Grid ....................................................................................................... 20

GDA94 and MGA94 (zone 55) values.............................................................................. 46

GDA Technical Manual v

Terms and Definitions

Item Symbol Explanation

Semi-major axis a Ellipsoid semi-major axis.

Semi-minor axis b Ellipsoid semi-minor axis: b= a(1-f).

Eccentricity e2 (a2 - b2)/a2

R Geometric mean radius of curvature: (ρν)1/2.

Ψ Ratio of the ellipsoidal radii of curvature: ν/ρ.

Latitude Φ Geodetic latitude, negative south of the equator.

Longitude λ Geodetic longitude measured from Greenwich, positive eastwards.

Λ1,λ2 Geodetic longitude at points 1 and 2 respectively.

Azimuth α Horizontal angle measured from the ellipsoidal meridian, clockwise

Easting E’ Measured from a Central Meridian, positive eastwards.

Northing N’ Measured from the equator, negative southwards.

Grid convergence γ Angular quantity to be added algebraically to an azimuth to obtain a

Arc-to-chord δ Angular quantity to be added algebraically to a grid bearing to obtain a

GDA Technical Manual viii

GDA Technical Manual ix

∆X origin shift along the X axis (m).

Ry Rotation of the Y axis (radians); positive when anti-clockwise as viewed

Rz Rotation of the Z axis (radians); positive when anti-clockwise as viewed

Sc Change in scale (parts per million – ppm).

GDA Technical Manual x

GDA Technical Manual

Chapter 1 Background and Explanation

GDA Technical Manual

Commonwealth of Australia Gazette

Location (Identifier) East Longitude South Latitude Elevation

Figure 1-2: Extract from Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, available:

GDA Technical Manual

Datum: Geocentric Datum of Australia (GDA)

Reference Frame ITRF92 (International Terrestrial Reference Frame 1992)

GDA Technical Manual

GDA and AGD

GDA Technical Manual

GDA, ITRF and WGS84

Ellipsoid GRS80 WGS84

GDA Technical Manual

tangent to the equator and makes contact along one meridian.

177 degrees west longitude

Other Coordinates used in Australia

Semi major axis (a) 6,378,160 metres

GDA Technical Manual

World Geodetic System 1972 (WGS72)

Semi major axis (a) 6,378,135 metres

Semi major axis (a) 6,378,145 metres

Semi major axis (a) 6,378,145 metres

GDA Technical Manual

Central scale factor 1.0 exactly

False Easting 400,000 yards

GDA Technical Manual

Chapter 2 Reduction of Measured Distances to the

Figure 2-1: Reduction of distance to the Ellipsoid