Geodesy for Air

Navigation
C01: Introduction. Why is geodesy
essential to navigation
Eng. Tiberius TOMOIAG, PhD
Phone: 0722.91.46.22
Email: t_tibis@yahoo.com

LOGO

History
Eratostene (276-195 B.C)
(360 ) x (s)
(s) N-S distance; angle at center of Earth .

Syene (Aswan, Egipt)

Alexandria, Egipt
7.12
4.400 stads
360 7,12=50; 50 x 4.400 =220.000 stads, or aprox.
40.234 km. Actual value is aprox. 40.000 km.

History

History of Navigation
People first navigated only by means of
landmarks - mountains, trees, or leaving
trails of stones. This would only work
within a local area and the environment
was subject to change due to
environmental factors such as natural
disasters.

History of Navigation
For traveling across the ocean a process
called dead reckoning, which used a
magnetic compass and required the
calculation of how fast the ship was going,
was applied. The measurement tools were
crude and inaccurate. It was also a very
complicated process.

History of Navigation
When traveling over the ocean, people
began using the stars as guidelines. The
stars appear different from different
locations on Earth so analyzing the stars
gave sailers the basic direction to follow.
Celestial navigation was our primary
means of navigation for hundreds of years.
It was a time-consuming and complicated
task of measuring the angles between
stars - a process of triangulation. The
degree of precision was limited.

History of Navigation
The sextant was developed during this
time but since it only measured latitude, a
timepiece was also invented so that the
longitude could also be calculated. This
type of navigation only worked at night and
in clear weather which was a great
disadvantage.

Air Navigation
In flight, navigators must evaluate the
progress of the aircraft and plan for the
remainder of the mission.

High-speed navigation demands that they

have the ability to anticipate changes in
flight conditions and make the correct
decisions immediately ahead of those
changes.

Air Navigation
The purpose of air navigation is to
determine the direction of travel needed to
end up at the desired location, to locate
positions, and to measure distance and
time as a means to that end.

Methods of Navigation
There are certain terms that you must
know to understand navigation.
The navigator uses these terms to
express and accomplish the practical
aspects of air navigation.
These terms are:

Position
Direction
Distance
Time

Methods of Navigation
Position is a point defined by stated or
implied coordinates. It always refers to
some place that can be identified. A
navigator must know the aircrafts
immediate position before he/she can
direct it to another position.

Methods of Navigation
Direction is the position of one point
in space relative to another without
reference to the distance between them.
Direction is not in itself an angle, but it is
measured in terms of its angular distance
from a reference direction.

Methods of Navigation
Distance is the spatial separation between
two points and is measured by the length
of a line joining them. On a plane surface,
this is a simple problem. However,
consider distance on a sphere, where the
separation between points may be
expressed as a variety of curves. The
navigator must decide how the distance is
to be measured. This distance can be
expressed in various units: miles, yards,
etc.

Methods of Navigation
Time is defined in many ways, but for our
purposes, it is either the hour of the day or
an elapsed interval.

Methods of Navigation
These terms represent definite quantities
or conditions that can be measured in
several different ways.
The position of an aircraft may be
expressed as coordinates such as latitude
and longitude, or as being 10 miles south
of a certain landmark.
It is vital that navigators learn how to
measure quantities and how to apply the
units by which they are expressed.

Geodesy and Navigation

Geodesy is the science that, roughly,
deals with all four terms.
A literal meaning of GEODESY is "dividing
the earth."
Geodesy includes both science and art:
Science of geodesy is devoted to:
Determining size and shape of the earth.
Defining and quantifying gravity field of earth.
Defining reference frames and coordinate systems.

Art of geodesy utilizes scientific data to:

Obtain latitude/longitude/height of points.
Compute trajectories of satellites, missiles etc.

Geodesy and Navigation

Geodesy has several branches:
Geodesy

Physical geodesy
Gravimetry
Magnetism
Geodetic astronomy

Cartography
GIS

Photogrammetry & Remote sensing

Aerial & Space Imagery

Topography & Cadastre

Geodesy and Navigation

GEOMATICS

Overview and etymology

Geomatics is a relatively new scientific term,
coined by Pollock and Wright in 1969, with the
intention of combining the terms geodesy and
geoinformatics.
The term was originally used in Canada, because
it is similar in origin to both French and English,
but has since been adopted by the International
Organization for Standardization, the Royal
Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and many other
international authorities, although some (especially
in the United States) have shown a preference for
the term geospatial technology

Geomatics
Geodesy, also called geodetic science
Geodetic astronomy
Surveying (including land, cadastral, aerial, mining and

engineering surveying)
Cartography, computer and digital mapping
Hydrography, navigation, topographic and spatial
computing
Wireless location
Remote sensing, photogrammetry (photogrammetric
mapping)
Airborne and terrestrial laser scanning

Geomatics
Geographic information systems (GIS), geographic

information science, and geoinformatics

Global Positioning System (GPS) or Global Navigation
Satellite Systems (GNSS)
Digital terrain modeling
Networks
Computer-aided design (CAD)
Applications programming
Project management

Geomatics
Applications areas include:

the environment
land management and reform
urban planning
subdivision planning
infrastructure management
natural resource monitoring and development;
coastal zone management and mapping
archaeological excavation and survey for GIS applications
disaster informatics for disaster risk reduction and response
Air Navigation Services

Geomatics

Number of
GIS users
in the 1980s

Number of
GIS users
in the 1990s

GIS developers
knowledgeable GIS users
GIS non-experts
non-experts unable to read maps(using navigation systems)

Number of
GIS users
in 2006++

Importance of Geomatics for

Pilots
The basic principles of Air navigation are identical to

general navigation.
- process of planning
- recording
- controlling the movement of a craft from one place to
another
Differences between air navigation and navigation of
surface craft
Aircraft
- travel high speed
- have less time to calculate
- cannot stop in mid-air
- have limited amount of fuel to carry

Importance of Geomatics for

Pilots
Instrument flight rules (IFR)
special instruments for air navigate
radio navigation aids (beacon)
under radar control by air traffic control

Visual flight rules (VFR)

"dead reckoning" known as pilotage
reference to appropriate maps
aeronautical chart

Aeronautical chart

controlled airspace
radio navigation aids
airfields prominently
hazards to flying
ground details

Course Topics
Lab Topics
Note

Course Topics
C01

Introduction. Why is geodesy essential to navigation?

C02

Coordinate systems used in geodesy.

C03

Figure of the Earth (sphere, ellipsoid, geoid).Altitude systems. Deflection of the

vertical.
Datum definition. Horizontal and vertical datums. Coordinate transformations.

C04
C05

Principles and types of cartographic projections. Cartographic projections used in air

navigation.

C06

Topographical maps and map reading. Scale, map attributes..

C07

GIS principles and structure. Types of digital maps. Digital elevation models.

C08

GIS principles and structure. Types of digital maps. Digital elevation models.

C09

Magnetic field of the Earth. Magnetic anomalies. Isogonals. Gravity field of the
Earth. Real and normal gravity. Gravity anomalies.

C10

Important angles used in geodesy. Magnetic azimuth. Geographic azimuth. Magnetic

deviation. Distances on ellipsoid. Line of sights determination.

C11

Position determination. Astronomical. Geodetic. GPS positioning and navigation.

C12

Position determination. Astronomical. Geodetic. GPS positioning and navigation.

C13

Time determination. Sunset. Time zones and conversion.

C14

Conclusions

Course Topics
Lab Topics
Note

Lab Topics
L01

Introduction.

L02

Coordinate systems geometry applications

L03

Applications of Earth shape approximations

L04

Coordinate transformation applications

L05

Use of map projections

L06

Map reading applications

L07

Use of digital maps and Digital Elevation Models

L08

Use of digital maps and Digital Elevation Models

L09

Magnetic field & Gravity field applications

L10

Determination of angles on ellipsoid. Line of sight determination.

L11

Positioning applications

L12

Positioning applications

L13

Time calculations

L14

Discussion of results.

QUESTIONS ?