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ASPHAA: A GIS-Based algorithm to calculate cell area on a latitude-longitude (Geographic) regular grid

ASPHAA: A GIS-Based algorithm to calculate cell area on a latitude-longitude (Geographic) regular grid
ASPHAA: A GIS-Based algorithm to calculate cell area on a latitude-longitude (Geographic) regular grid

One characteristic of a Geographic Information System (GIS) is that it addresses the necessity to handle a large amount of data at multiple scales. Lands span over an area greater than 15 million km2 all over the globe and information types are highly variable. In addition, multi-scale analyses involve both spatial and temporal integration of datasets deriving from different sources. The currently worldwide used system of latitude and longitude coordinates could avoid limitations in data use due to biases and approximations. In this article a fast and reliable algorithm implemented in Arc Macro Language (AML) is presented to provide an automatic computation of the surface area of the cells in a regularly spaced longitude-latitude (geographic) grid at different resolutions. The approach is based on the well-known approximation of the spheroidal Earth's surface to the authalic (i.e. equal-area) sphere. After verifying the algorithm's strength by comparison with a numerical solution for the reference spheroidal model, specific case studies are introduced to evaluate the differences when switching from geographic to projected coordinate systems. This is done at different resolutions and using different formulations to calculate cell areas. Even if the percentage differences are low, they become relevant when reported in absolute terms (hectares).

1361-1682
351-377
Santini, Monia
6c66b3e5-9892-4005-a79a-794a29feb95b
Taramelli, Andrea
597b5f08-4c8e-45e1-bbab-043b7abd9069
Sorichetta, Alessandro
c80d941b-a3f5-4a6d-9a19-e3eeba84443c
Santini, Monia
6c66b3e5-9892-4005-a79a-794a29feb95b
Taramelli, Andrea
597b5f08-4c8e-45e1-bbab-043b7abd9069
Sorichetta, Alessandro
c80d941b-a3f5-4a6d-9a19-e3eeba84443c

Santini, Monia, Taramelli, Andrea and Sorichetta, Alessandro (2010) ASPHAA: A GIS-Based algorithm to calculate cell area on a latitude-longitude (Geographic) regular grid. Transactions in GIS, 14 (3), 351-377. (doi:10.1111/j.1467-9671.2010.01200.x).

Record type: Article

Abstract

One characteristic of a Geographic Information System (GIS) is that it addresses the necessity to handle a large amount of data at multiple scales. Lands span over an area greater than 15 million km2 all over the globe and information types are highly variable. In addition, multi-scale analyses involve both spatial and temporal integration of datasets deriving from different sources. The currently worldwide used system of latitude and longitude coordinates could avoid limitations in data use due to biases and approximations. In this article a fast and reliable algorithm implemented in Arc Macro Language (AML) is presented to provide an automatic computation of the surface area of the cells in a regularly spaced longitude-latitude (geographic) grid at different resolutions. The approach is based on the well-known approximation of the spheroidal Earth's surface to the authalic (i.e. equal-area) sphere. After verifying the algorithm's strength by comparison with a numerical solution for the reference spheroidal model, specific case studies are introduced to evaluate the differences when switching from geographic to projected coordinate systems. This is done at different resolutions and using different formulations to calculate cell areas. Even if the percentage differences are low, they become relevant when reported in absolute terms (hectares).

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More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 21 June 2010
Published date: June 2010

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 433083
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/433083
ISSN: 1361-1682
PURE UUID: 5340a5a8-6518-42a2-a285-a49968348225
ORCID for Alessandro Sorichetta: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3576-5826

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Date deposited: 07 Aug 2019 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:08

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Contributors

Author: Monia Santini
Author: Andrea Taramelli

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