on January 22, 2023

Measuring areas in WGS 84

Geographic Information Systems

What units does WGS84 use?

The WGS84 Coordinate Systems adds Greenwich as the starting point (prime meridian) for the longitude (0°) and sets the units in degrees (°). This coordinate system also has a unique reference code, the so-called EPSG code, which is 4326.
 

Is WGS84 a projection or datum?

WGS84 is defined and maintained by the United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). It is consistent, to about 1cm, with the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF). It is a global datum, which means that coordinates change over time for objects which are fixed in the ground.

How accurate is WGS84?

2-5 metres

The accuracy of WGS84 (G2139) as realised using the broadcast ephemeris and ranging data is now typically 2-5 metres.

What does WGS84 preserve?

WGS 1984 Web Mercator and WGS 1984 Web Mercator (Auxiliary Sphere) use a conformal projection that preserves direction and the shape of data but distorts distance and area. Published in 1569 by Gerardus Mercator, the Mercator projection was created for use in navigation.

What four 4 different things comprise WGS84?

Defining Parameters: WGS 84 identifies four defining parameters. These are the semi-major axis of the WGS 84 ellipsoid, the flattening factor of the Earth, the nominal mean angular velocity of the Earth, and the geocentric gravitational constant as specified below.

Where can the WGS84 datum be used for measurements?

WGS84 is the default standard datum for coordinates stored in recreational and commercial GPS units. Users of GPS are cautioned that they must always check the datum of the maps they are using.

Is WGS84 the same as UTM?

The difference is that WGS 84 is a geographic coordinate system, and UTM is a projected coordinate system. Geographic coordinate systems are based on a spheroid and utilize angular units (degrees).
 

How do you convert latitude and longitude to WGS84?

How to convert to WGS84:

  1. Select the Input SRS (the default format is WGS84).
  2. Input the coordinates in a decimal degrees (DD) format.
  3. Click “Transform” to quickly convert coordinates.
  4. Get your coordinates in the WGS84 on your display.

Is WGS geographic or projected?

A map will have only one coordinate system, either Geographic or Projected in our software’s terminology. For example, the “WGS84 projection” is a geographic one. A UTM projection is a projected one. Either of these will use only one datum.
 

Is WGS84 in meters?

WGS 84 by itself is not measured in meters (as a geographic reference system); however, it forms the datum for many projections (often UTM for example). The projection transforms the lat long pairs onto a Cartesian plane, measured in any unit, in this case meters, but this transformation is specific to the projection.
 



Does WGS84 use decimal degrees?

Geographic coordinates (WGS84)



On this page the latitude is given in decimal degrees from -90° to +90°, it would also be possible to give from 90° south to 90° north. The length is given in -180° to +180° East, instead of 180° West to 180° East.

What are the dimensions of WGS84?

The WGS 84 datum surface is an oblate spheroid with equatorial radius a = 6378137 m at the equator and flattening f = 1/298.257223563. The refined value of the WGS 84 gravitational constant (mass of Earth’s atmosphere included) is GM = 3986004.418×108 m3/s2.