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Orthometric Height
The orthometric height (symbol ''H'') is the vertical distance along the plumb line from a point of interest to a reference surface known as the ''geoid'', the vertical datum that approximates mean sea level. Orthometric height is one of the scientific formalizations of a layman's " height above sea level", along with other types of heights in Geodesy. In the US, the current NAVD88 datum is tied to a defined elevation at one point rather than to any location's exact mean sea level. Orthometric heights are usually used in the US for engineering work, although dynamic height may be chosen for large-scale hydrological purposes. Heights for measured points are shown on National Geodetic Survey data sheets, data that was gathered over many decades by precise spirit leveling over thousands of miles. Alternatives to orthometric height include dynamic height and normal height, and various countries may choose to operate with those definitions instead of orthometric. They may also ad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vertical Distance
Vertical position or vertical location is a position (mathematics), position along a vertical direction (the plumb line direction) above or below a given vertical datum (a reference level surface, such as mean sea level). Vertical distance or vertical separation is the distance between two vertical positions. Many vertical coordinates exist for expressing vertical position: depth, height, altitude, elevation, etc. Points lying on an equigeopotential surface are said to be on the same vertical level, as in a water level (device), water level. A function (mathematics), function with domain (mathematics), domain along the vertical line is called a ''vertical distribution'' or ''vertical profile''. Definitions The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), more specifically Spatial reference system, ISO 19111, offers the following two definitions: * ''depth'': "distance of a point from a chosen reference surface measured downward along a line perpendicular to that surface." ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Differential Leveling
Levelling or leveling (American English; American and British English spelling differences#Doubled in British English, see spelling differences) is a branch of surveying, the object of which is to establish or verify or measure the height of specified points relative to a datum. It is widely used in geodesy and cartography to measure vertical position with respect to a vertical datum, and in construction to measure height differences of construction artifacts. In photolithography, the same term is used in a lithography machine calibration step measuring or calibrating wafer surface height with respect to a reference. Optical levelling Optical levelling, also known as spirit levelling and differential levelling, employs an ''optical level'', which consists of a precision telescope with crosshairs and stadia marks. The cross hairs are used to establish the level point on the target, and the stadia allow range-finding; stadia are usually at ratios of 100:1, in which case one metr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Physical Geodesy
Physical geodesy is the study of the physical properties of Earth's gravity and its potential field (the geopotential), with a view to their application in geodesy. Measurement procedure Traditional geodetic instruments such as theodolites rely on the gravity field for orienting their vertical axis along the local plumb line or local vertical direction with the aid of a spirit level. After that, vertical angles (zenith angles or, alternatively, elevation angles) are obtained with respect to this local vertical, and horizontal angles in the plane of the local horizon, perpendicular to the vertical. Levelling instruments again are used to obtain geopotential differences between points on the Earth's surface. These can then be expressed as "height" differences by conversion to metric units. Units Gravity is commonly measured in units of m·s−2 (metres per second squared). This also can be expressed (multiplying by the gravitational constant G in order to change units) as newto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Datum Of 2022
The National Spatial Reference System (NSRS), managed by the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), is a coordinate system that includes latitude, longitude, elevation, and other values. The NSRS consists of a National Shoreline, the NOAA CORS Network (a system of Global Positioning System Continuously Operating Reference Stations), a network of permanently marked points, and a set of models that describe dynamic geophysical processes affecting spatial measurements. The system is based on the datums NAD 83 and NAVD 88. In 2025 or 2026, the NSRS will be modernized with a focus on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and geoid use. It will use the following four frames of reference, each representing a tectonic plate: *North American Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2022 (NATRF2022) *Pacific Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2022 (PTRF2022) *Caribbean Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2022 (CTRF2022) *Mariana Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2022 (MTRF2022) Datum of 2022 The North American- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoid Determination
The geoid ( ) is the shape that the ocean surface would take under the influence of the gravity of Earth, including gravitational attraction and Earth's rotation, if other influences such as winds and tides were absent. This surface is extended through the continents (such as might be approximated with very narrow hypothetical canals). According to Carl Friedrich Gauss, who first described it, it is the "mathematical figure of the Earth", a smooth but irregular surface whose shape results from the uneven distribution of mass within and on the surface of Earth. It can be known only through extensive gravitational measurements and calculations. Despite being an important concept for almost 200 years in the history of geodesy and geophysics, it has been defined to high precision only since advances in satellite geodesy in the late 20th century. The geoid is often expressed as a geoid undulation or geoidal height above a given reference ellipsoid, which is a slightly flattened sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reference Ellipsoid
An Earth ellipsoid or Earth spheroid is a mathematical figure approximating the Earth's form, used as a reference frame for computations in geodesy, astronomy, and the geosciences. Various different ellipsoids have been used as approximations. It is a spheroid (an ellipsoid of revolution) whose minor axis (shorter diameter), which connects the geographical North Pole and South Pole, is approximately aligned with the Earth's axis of rotation. The ellipsoid is defined by the ''equatorial axis'' () and the ''polar axis'' (); their radial difference is slightly more than 21 km, or 0.335% of (which is not quite 6,400 km). Many methods exist for determination of the axes of an Earth ellipsoid, ranging from meridian arcs up to modern satellite geodesy or the analysis and interconnection of continental geodetic networks. Amongst the different set of data used in national surveys are several of special importance: the Bessel ellipsoid of 1841, the international Hayfo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ellipsoidal Height
Geodetic coordinates are a type of curvilinear orthogonal coordinate system used in geodesy based on a '' reference ellipsoid''. They include geodetic latitude (north/south) , ''longitude'' (east/west) , and ellipsoidal height (also known as geodetic height). The triad is also known as Earth ellipsoidal coordinates (not to be confused with '' ellipsoidal-harmonic coordinates''). Definitions Longitude measures the rotational angle between the zero meridian and the measured point. By convention for the Earth, Moon and Sun, it is expressed in degrees ranging from −180° to +180°. For other bodies a range of 0° to 360° is used. For this purpose, it is necessary to identify a ''zero meridian'', which for Earth is usually the Prime Meridian. For other bodies a fixed surface feature is usually referenced, which for Mars is the meridian passing through the crater Airy-0. It is possible for many different coordinate systems to be defined upon the same reference ellipsoid. Geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ECEF
The Earth-centered, Earth-fixed coordinate system (acronym ECEF), also known as the geocentric coordinate system, is a cartesian spatial reference system that represents locations in the vicinity of the Earth (including its surface, interior, atmosphere, and surrounding outer space) as ''X'', ''Y'', and ''Z'' measurements from its center of mass. Its most common use is in tracking the orbits of satellites and in satellite navigation systems for measuring locations on the surface of the Earth, but it is also used in applications such as tracking crustal motion. The distance from a given point of interest to the center of Earth is called the geocentric distance, , which is a generalization of the ''geocentric radius'', , not restricted to points on the reference ellipsoid surface. The geocentric altitude is a type of altitude defined as the difference between the two aforementioned quantities: ; it is not to be confused for the '' geodetic altitude''. Conversions between ECEF ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Normal Height
Normal heights (symbol H^* or H^N; SI unit metre, m) is a type of height above sea level introduced by the Soviet scientist Mikhail Molodenskii. The normal height of a point is defined as the quotient of a point's geopotential number ''C'' (i.e. its geopotential difference with that of sea level), by the vertically averaged normal gravity: :H^N=C/\bar\gamma The average is evaluated along the normal potential's plumb line (a curve, approximated by the ellipsoidal normal, a straight line). The evaluation ranges from the Earth ellipsoid up to the point of interest; the procedure is thus recursive. Normal heights are slightly dependent upon the reference ellipsoid chosen. Normal gravity values are easier to compute compared to actual gravity, as one does not have to know the Continental crust#Density, Earth's crust density. This is an advantage of normal heights compared to orthometric heights. The reference surface where normal heights are zero is called the quasi-geoid (or quasigeoid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plumb Line
A plumb bob, plumb bob level, or plummet, is a weight, usually with a pointed tip on the bottom, suspended from a string and used as a vertical direction as a reference line, or plumb-line. It is a precursor to the spirit level and used to establish a vertical datum. It is typically made of stone, wood, or lead, but can also be made of other metals. If it is used for decoration, it may be made of bone or ivory. The instrument has been used since at least the time of ancient EgyptDenys A. Stocks. Experiments in Egyptian archaeology: stoneworking technology in Ancient Egypt'. Routledge; 2003. . p. 180. to ensure that constructions are " plumb", or vertical. It is also used in surveying, to establish the nadir (opposite of zenith) with respect to gravity of a point in space. It is used with a variety of instruments (including levels, theodolites, and steel tapes) to set the instrument exactly over a fixed survey marker or to transcribe positions onto the ground for placin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
