Cartography assignment one and two

Course No-GeIS-512

By:- Sileshi shiferaw

ID:- EPGIS-009/17

Program:- MSc. GIS- weekend

DEC,2017
1. The History Of Cartography
1.1- Primitive Cartography

The ancient people improved their cultural heritage through time and started producing better
maps to use as a better tool to solve a problem of their day to day life, Egyptians also used
geometrical methods for land use measurements and for establishing land ownership lines after
each flood in the Nile; these line were shown on cadastral plan. These the above phenomenon
were the major roads for the development of cartography in general. During this time the
cartographic concept was mainly limited on earth with which the people were concerned.

1.1.1 Greek Cartography

The Greeks were started to use a map that showing the stages along the trade routes leading to
such trading areas and centers at the coasts of Mediterranean and Susa{the capital of Persia}.
The increasing emergence of different cities in Greek made the opportunity for knowing about
the world beyond and to speculate the shape and the size of the earth which is directly linked
with the use of map. Anaximander, who prepares the first map of the world, was a Greek man.

During the second centuary A.D, Pitolemy released his Geography in 8 volumes . the first of
these volumes deals with the principles of mathematical cartography and methods of
representing a spherical surface on a plane surface. Pitolemy miscalculated the circumfrance of
the earth to the extent that his one degree latitude was equivalent to 90.4 km. in contrast to
Eratrosthenes 99.6km

1.1.2 Roman Cartography

As against the Greek,the Romans did not take much interest in scientific cartography and they
seemed to have been singularly unconcerned with the Greek achievements in the field. The
Romans has been used a map for the expansion and consolidation of their empire . Thus a map
for them was a practical tool to be used in the travels of the officials and the campaigns of their
armed forces. Their maps showed the road networks and the battle fields and many of them were
nothing more than geographical renderings of return records.

Marcus Vipasanius Agrippa, who was Romans, prepared the famous orbis Terrarem of “ survey
of the world “ in 12 B.C. The prepared map with containing much more detail was displayed in
Rome for the citizens to use as information, and the shape of the prepared map was circular.
Therefore, the Romans were contribute a lot for the development of cartography.

1.1. 3 The Asian Cartography.

Cartographic concept also also developed in Asian countries like India and south east Asian
countries from ancient time to 800 A.D. Many archeological findings of India remain the fact
that the knowledge of the world in India was far advanced in Greece or Rome before the
Christian era , but it is not yet known as to whether map making was practiced in ancient India or
not.

It is believed that maps of one sort or another were prevalent in china, India , Japan , and Korea
regarding and considering the large extent of migration of the people of Asia during this era.

2. Medieval Period Cartography (400 A.D. to 1500 A.D)

During this period the development of cartographic concept and use of map is become well in
preparing a map than that of the ancient period. In Europe, during this period the maps and the
data already recorded were further manipulated without verification and more errors were
introduced. Cartography became a copy work of existing maps.

The maps of this period practically without exception, showed the earth as a flat disk. By the end
of the 13th century the use of mariner’s compass and the construction of charts giving
navigational aids to sailors had become quite common. The charts which were produced during
the time have their scale were as the units of measurements were not given. In addition, the
charts do not show the latitude and the longitude. The sphericity of the earth was also not taken
in to account in the preparation of charts. Catalan world maps also produced in this period(1375
A.D) in North Italy.

Martin Behain , a native of Nuremdburg prepared a glob towards the close of 15 th century. The
globe which was produced by this person was 15cm in diameter and showed the equator, the
tropics and the arctic and Antarctic circles.
3.Modern Period Cartography (1500 – 1900)

During this period many studies on earth and criticism on the prepared maps of medieval period
were introduced. Ceamen , in the 1st decade of the 16th century criticize the accuracy of
Ptolemy’s map after his navigation of the entire world and these navigations of the world by
different persons has brought the increasing interest of Geographers in cartographic
advancement. As the result different charts were developed. Among those charts Pedro made a
chart of Indian Ocean in 1518 A.D., and Gorge made a world map for Magellan’s use. During
this time, the Portuguese chart makers were famous in all over the western world.

By 1500 A.D. the real center of cartographic activities had shifted from Italy to the Iberian
Peninsula and Netherland.

The use devised geometrical methods of survey with more precise instruments for observation of
angle has been started. In the early 16th century, with the progress of exploration, improved
method of surveying and growing demand for topographical maps by travelers the need of
cartographers was became advanced.

The arrangement and use of the parallels and meridians had been developed in the University of
Louvain during this period by the person called Gerhard Mercator by assuming that the two lines
were straight lines. The increase in the east west distance caused by straight line meridians, he
increased the distances between parallels proportionately. Thus, area was distorted in his map,
but the direction and the shape was maintained.

4. Recent Period Cartography (1900 A.D. onwards)

The chief characteristics of this period are:-

1- The conducting of National survey

During this period a number of countries established national survey institutions which carried
out the great national surveys of the 19th century. The survey instruments were improved to
enabling the surveyors to record observations more correctly. The accuracy and efficiency in
surveying were considerably increased with the use of theodolite, wireless and other mechanical
aids with the introduction of camera in 1920 it was possible to use the aircraft also for surveying.
The development of several electronic devices has further revolutionized the cartographic
process. The US and India established the Agency of Topographical mapping Organization and
this organization produced one to one million maps in addition to several other serious of larger
scale maps.

When the International Cartographic Association was formed in 1959, most of the modern
cartographic technologies (including remote sensing, GPS, computer technologies) were not yet
invented. We can realize that more and more technologies have been integrated into cartography
especially due to the satellites and information technology. One of the consequences of this
integration is that we have more and more specialists in cartography (or in geographic
information science), but less and less call themselves cartographer. Although cartography is not
treated as a modern term for many people, the integrative character of cartography became more
important in the Internet era. Nowadays we havenot only specialized experts in our science, but

lot of volunteers (using web 2.0 technologies like social networks, crowd sourcing) collecting
and sharing geographic information. Our science is changing, but cartographic traditions and
technologies are valid in these new environments; effective maps can be produced only by
experts who are familiar with the theory of our science. Moreover, whatever term is used, it is
practically cartography.

Modernization of cartography is reflected in all aspects of our daily life. Cartography is science,
technology and art, but we have to develop a new definition to emphasize the more and more
important aspect: the cartographic communication. The role of maps has considerably changed in
the digital era: maps are no longer simple products, but rather a special collection of information
with increasing number of functions using the database behind the map. Most of the users are
probably not aware of most of these new opportunities. A modern map is a spatial product,
although I think the term ‘spatial’ will be the most popular term in the next years of cartography
just to emphasize the more developed form of our discipline. Knowledge about spatial relations
and location of objects are most important for enabling economic development, for managing
and administering land, for handling disasters and crisis situations or simply to be able to make
decision on a personal scale on where and how to go to a particular place. New and innovative
technologies have an important impact on what cartographers are doing. Maps can be derived
automatically from geo-data acquisition methods or we can use interactive methods to combine
our data with on-line maps offered by map services. Many people like using maps; we can
witness a striking increase in the number of users and use of maps currently. The role of
geographic data in a wide range of human, social, economic, scientific, and environmental
activities has dramatically increased. The result is that cartography is being produced, used,
managed, disseminated and analyzed by more people than ever before through the use of a more
diverse set of technologies, operating within a greater number of scientific paradigms than
before.
ASSIGNMENT TWO

WHAT ARE GEOID, SPHEROID, SPHERE, ELIPS, ELIPSOID AND HOW THEY ARE
RELATED?

1. GEOID

The term Geoid is related with the shape of the earth. The conceptual frame work of the term
relies based on assuming the exact figure of the earth considered as a mean sea level extended
continuously through the continents. The Geoid varies from the ellipsoid model by as much as 80
meters above and 60 meter below its surface.

The surface of the earth is anything but uniform. The oceans can be treated as reasonably
uniform, but the surface of topography of the landmass exhibits large vertical variations between
mountains and valleys. These variations make it possible to approximate the shape of the earth
with any reasonably simple mathematical model. Consequently, two main reference surfaces
have been established to approximate the shape of the earth. One reference surface is called
GEOID, and the other reference surface is the Ellipsoid.

Due to irregularities or mass anomalies in the distribution, the ‘ global ocean ‘ results in an
undulated surface . This surface is called the GEOID.

The Geoid is used to describe heights . In order to establish the Geoid as a reference for heights,
the oceans water level is registered to coastal places over several years using tied gauges.

Although the Earth is not flat or egg-shaped, as previously believed at various times, neither is it
precisely a sphere or even an ellipsoid of revolution. Although mountains, ocean basins and
variations in crustal thickness contribute to the observed irregular shape and gravity field of the
Earth, they cannot explain the long-wavelength departures from a hy- drostatic figure. The
centrifugal effect of the Earth's rotation causes an equatorial bulge, the principal departure of the
Earth's surface from a spherical shape.
 2. SPHERE:-

Sphere is defined as a three dimensional shape whose center is equidistant from every point on
its surface, made by revolving a circle around its diameter.

The shape and size of a geographic coordinate system's surface is defined by a sphere or
spheroid. Although the earth is best represented by a spheroid, it is sometimes treated as a sphere
to make mathematical calculations easier. The assumption that the earth is a sphere is possible
for small-scale maps (smaller than 1:5,000,000). At this scale, the difference between a sphere
and a spheroid is not detectable on a map. However, to maintain accuracy for larger-scale maps
(scales of 1:1,000,000 or larger), a spheroid is necessary to represent the shape of the earth.
Between those scales, choosing to use a sphere or spheroid will depend on the map's purpose and
the accuracy of the data.

3. SPHEROID:-

Defined as a three dimensional shape obtained by rotating an ellipse about its minor axis
resulting in an oblate with its polar radius shorter than the equatorial radius ( It is the sphere like
object where only two of the three radii are of equal length I, e- the third radii can be either
longer or shorter than the other two). When we used to represent the spheroid as the shape of the
earth it is defined as oblate spheroid.

A sphere is based on a circle, while a spheroid (or ellipsoid) is based on an ellipse. A spheroid, or
ellipsoid, is a sphere flattened at the poles. The shape of an ellipse is defined by two radii. The
longer radius is called the semi major axis, and the shorter radius is called the semi minor axis. A
spheroid, or ellipsoid, is a sphere flattened at the poles

Rotating the ellipse around the semi minor axis creates a spheroid. A spheroid is also known as
an oblate ellipsoid of revolution. The following graphic shows the semi major and semi minor
axes of a spheroid. The semi major axis is in the equatorial plane, while the semi minor axis is
perpendicular to the equatorial plane. A spheroid is defined by the semi major axis, a, and the
semi minor axis, b, or by a and the flattening. The flattening is the difference in length between
the two axes expressed as a fraction or a decimal. The flattening, f, is derived as follows:
The flattening is a small value, so usually the quantity 1/f is used instead. These are the spheroid
parameters for the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS 1984 or WGS84)

The flattening ranges from 0 to 1. A flattening value of 0 means the two axes are equal, resulting
in a sphere. The flattening of the earth is approximately 0.003353. Another quantity that, like the
flattening, describes the shape of a spheroid is the square of the eccentricity, e 2. It is represented
by the following:

The earth has been surveyed many times to better understand its surface features and their
peculiar irregularities. The surveys have resulted in many spheroids that represent the earth.
Generally, a spheroid is chosen to fit one country or a particular area. A spheroid that best fits
one region is not necessarily the same one that fits another region. Until recently, North
American data used a spheroid determined by Clarke in 1866. The semi major axis of the Clarke
1866 spheroid is 6,378,206.4 meters, and the semi minor axis is 6,356,583.8 meters.

Because of gravitational and surface feature variations, the earth is neither a perfect sphere nor a
perfect spheroid. Satellite technology has revealed several elliptical deviations; for example, the
South Pole is closer to the equator than the North Pole. Satellite-determined spheroids are
replacing the older ground-measured spheroids. For example, the new standard spheroid for
North America is the Geodetic Reference System of 1980 (GRS 1980), whose radii are
6,378,137.0 and 6,356,752.31414 meters. The GRS 1980 spheroid parameters were set by the
International Union for Geodesy and Geophysics in 1979. Because changing a coordinate
system's spheroid will change all feature coordinate values, many organizations haven't switched
to newer (and more accurate) spheroids.

4. ELLIPSE

We’re probably very familiar with circles. They're completely round and are technically defined
as all points that are a given distance, known as the radius, from a defined point called the center.
But what if we took a circle and stretched it in opposite directions, either left and right or up and
down? We’d end up with a shape that is still round, but is obviously no longer a circle. What we
actually have now is an ellipse. But what is an ellipse, and how does it work?
An ellipse is defined as the set of all points where the sum of the distances from two fixed points
is constant. In other words, there are two fixed points, called foci (or the plural of focus). If you
trace out all points where the distance from the first focus to a point plus the distance from the
second focus to the same point remains constant, you will draw an ellipse. As mentioned, it's
essentially a circle where the circle is stretched vertically or horizontally by equal amounts.

5. Ellipsoid

Ellipsoid is a closed surface all planner sections of which are Ellipsoid. An ellipsoid has three
independent axes, and is usually specified by the lengths a, b, c of the three semi-axis. If an
ellipsoid is made by rotating an ellipse about one of its axis, then two of the axis of the ellipsoid
is the same, and it is called an Ellipsoid of revolution or spheroid. If the lengths of all three of its
axes are the same, it is the sphere. Spheroid also known as oblate spheroid when used to
represent the earth, an oblate ellipsoid of revolution, made by rotating an ellipse about its minor
axis.

A Geoid as a reference surface for heights, there should be a reference surface for the description
of the horizontal coordinates of points of interests. The reference surface for the horizontal
coordinates requires a mathematical definition and description. The most convenient geometric
reference is the Oblate Ellipsoid. The ellipsoid may be known by its semi-axes. Based on this,
many local ellipsoids have been established. The global ellipsoids approximate the Geoid as a
mean earth ellipsoid.

Ellipsoids have varying position and oriantations. An ellipsoid is positioned and oriented with
respecr to the local mean sea level ba adopting a latitude and longitude and ellipsoid height.

Finally we can conclude that the above all terms were related or linked that all of them are
discussed or entertained with the shape of the earth which is very challenging issue so as to
define its exact nature. The early thoughts about the shape of the earth ranged from the flat disc,
advocated by Homer to the sphere suggested by Pythagoras, who was mathematician and to him
the most perfect figure was a sphere. Based on this thought about the shape of the earth, the
different assumptions were becomes introduced regarding it in relation to the earths flatness
along the polar area, its bulgidity along the equator and its irregularity due to the presence of ups
and downs features on the surface. The recent satellite measurements have resulted in two small
modifications in the shape of the earth. One is the discovery that the southern hemisphere,
making the earth somewhat pear-shaped. The other is that the equatorial cross – section of the
earth is not exact circle, it is slightly elliptical and tri-axial the details about each of them are as
try to discussed above.