Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering, University of New Brunswick, 1974. – 109 p.The purpose of these notes is to give the theory and use of some methods of computing the geodetic positions of points on a reference ellipsoid and on the terrain. Justification for the first three sections of these lecture notes, which are concerned with the classical problem of computation of geodetic positions on the surface of an ellipsoid is not easy to come by. It can only be stated that the attempt has been to produce a self-contained package, containing the complete development of some representative methods that exist in literature. The last section is an introduction to three dimensional computation methods, and is offered as an alternative to the classical approach. Several problems, and their respective solutions, are presented.
The approach taken herein is to perform complete derivations, thus staying away from the practice of giving a list of formulae to use in the solution of a problem. It is hoped that this approach will give the reader an appreciation for the foundation upon which the formulae are based, and in the end, the formulae themselves.
ContentsPreface
List of illustrations
Introduction
The Ellipsoid of Rotation
Reduction of the Surface of the Reference Ellipsoid
Puissant’s Formula – Short Lines
Bessel’s Formulae – Long Lines
Direct and Inverse Problems in Three Dimensions
Intersection Problems in Three Dimensions
Concluding Remarks
References
