New Zealand has responsibilities for mapping and supporting the use of data within the Ross Sea Region of Antarctica. Mapping projections are selected to best represent the data of an area, so individual projections have been created for areas of scientific interest within the region.
Converting coordinates from a curved surface (such as Earth) to a flat map will always cause distortion. Projections are used to manage this distortion and support the needs of the map.
The Ross Sea Region covers the sector of Antarctica between 160° East, 150° West and 60° South. The Ross Sea Region Geodetic Datum 2000 (RSRGD2000) is the official geodetic datum for this area.
Ross Sea Region Geodetic Datum 2000
The projections in the Ross Sea Region are either Lambert conformal conic or polar stereographic. Lambert conformal conic projections are a cone-shaped, suited for representing regions with substantial east-west extents. Polar Stereographic projections are circular, and well suited for representing polar regions.
More information about the development of the projections is available at:
Background to Ross Sea Region projections
The Ross Sea Region projections are defined in the LINZ standard LINZS25008
Standard for Ross Sea Region Geodetic Datum 2000 Projections
The key parameters from this standard are summarised in the tables below.
McMurdo Sound Lambert Conformal 2000 (MSLC2000)
| Name | McMurdo Sound Lambert Conformal 2000 |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | MSLC2000 |
| EPSG number | 5475 |
| Projection type | Lambert conformal conic |
| Reference ellipsoid | GRS80 |
| Datum | Ross Sea Region Geodetic Datum 2000 (RSRGD2000) |
| First standard parallel | 76° 40' 00" South |
| Second standard parallel | 79° 20' 00" South |
| Origin latitude | 78° 00' 00" South |
| Origin longitude / central meridan | 163° 00' 00" East |
| False Northing | 5,000,000 metres North |
| False Easting | 7,000,000 metres East |
| Extents | 76° S – 81° S, 153° E – 173° E |
Borchgrevink Coast Lambert Conformal 2000 (BCLC2000)
| Name | Borchgrevink Coast Lambert Conformal 2000 |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | BCLC2000 |
| EPSG number | 5480 |
| Projection type | Lambert conformal conic |
| Reference ellipsoid | GRS80 |
| Datum | Ross Sea Region Geodetic Datum 2000 (RSRGD2000) |
| First standard parallel | 73° 40' 00" South |
| Second standard parallel | 75° 20' 00" South |
| Origin latitude | 74° 30' 00" South |
| Origin longitude / central meridan | 165° 00' 00" East |
| False Northing | 3,000,000 metres North |
| False Easting | 5,000,000 metres East |
| Extents | 73° S – 76° S, 157° E – 173° E |
Pennell Coast Lambert Conformal 2000 (PCLC2000)
| Name | Pennell Coast Lambert Conformal 2000 |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | PCLC2000 |
| EPSG number | 5481 |
| Projection type | Lambert conformal conic |
| Reference ellipsoid | GRS80 |
| Datum | Ross Sea Region Geodetic Datum 2000 (RSRGD2000) |
| First standard parallel | 70° 40' 00" South |
| Second standard parallel | 72° 20' 00" South |
| Origin latitude | 71° 30' 00" South |
| Origin longitude / central meridan | 166° 00' 00" East |
| False Northing | 1,000,000 metres North |
| False Easting | 3,000,000 metres East |
| Extents | 69° 30’ S – 73° S, 160° E – 172° E |
Ross Sea Polar Stereographic 2000 (RSPS2000)
| Name | Ross Sea Polar Stereographic 2000 |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | RSPS2000 |
| EPSG number | 5478 |
| Projection type | Polar stereographic |
| Reference ellipsoid | GRS80 |
| Datum | Ross Sea Region Geodetic Datum 2000 (RSRGD2000) |
| Origin longitude / central meridan | 180° 00’ 00” East |
| Scale factor at natural origin | 0.994 |
| Latitude of natural origin | 90° 00’ 00” South |
| False Northing | 1,000,000 metres North |
| False Easting | 5,000,000 metres East |
| Extents | 76° S – 90° S, 150° E – 150° W |