Contents
Mercator
Cylindrical Projection – Mercator One of the most famous map projections is the Mercator, created by a Flemish cartographer and geographer, Geradus Mercator in 1569. It became the standard map projection for nautical purposes because of its ability to represent lines of constant true direction.
Why is Mercator projection distorted?
Although the linear scale is equal in all directions around any point, thus preserving the angles and the shapes of small objects, the Mercator projection distorts the size of objects as the latitude increases from the equator to the poles, where the scale becomes infinite.
Which is the line of zero distortion in a projection?
In cylindrical projections, the line of zero distortion is the equator; in conic projections, it’s a parallel of latitude; in azimuthal projections, it’s one of the poles. Using a projection from the right class minimizes distortion for your area of interest.
What kind of projection minimizes distortion in area?
Those that minimize distortion in area are known as equal-area. Those minimizing distortion in direction are called true-directionprojections. It is appropriate to choose a projection based on which measurement properties are most important to your work.
Distortion will vary in at least one of each of the above properties depending on the projection used, as well as the scale of the map, or the spatial extent that is mapped. Whenever one type of distortion is minimized, there will be corresponding increases in the distortion of one or more of the other properties.
How does the true direction area distortion vary?
Distance True Direction Area Distortion will vary in at least one of each of the above properties depending on the projection used, as well as the scale of the map, or the spatial extent that is mapped.