Geometric Geodesy
2-D and 3-D coordinate systems; distances, areas,
and curves on the Earth
Using toolbox functions and reference spheroid classes, you can perform geodetic calculations that account for the curvature of Earth and other planetary bodies. These include 2-D distances, directions, areas, special curves (geodesics, rhumb lines, small circles, ellipses), and intersections on a spheroidal or planar surface. These also include transformations of 3-D locations and vectors (such as velocities and gradients) between geodetic, Earth-centered Earth-fixed, and local (east-north-up, north-east-down, azimuth-elevation-range) systems.
Categories
- Modeling the Earth
Represent shape and size of the Earth, create reference ellipsoids, convert between latitudes
- 3-D Coordinate and Vector Transformations
Transform coordinates and vector components between global and local systems; find intersection with spheroid
- Lengths and Angles
Convert between different angle and length units and perform longitude wrapping; convert units of distances along the surface of the Earth
- Great Circles, Geodesics, and Rhumb Lines
Find shortest path between two points, find curve that crosses meridians at same angle
- Small Circles and Ellipses
Define small circles and ellipses
- Quadrangles and Areas on Spheroids
Find areas bounded by meridians or parallels, find quadrangles surrounding points