A new pseudocylindrical equal-area projection for adaptive composite map projections

Bojan Šavrič, Bernhard Jenny

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The recently introduced adaptive composite map projection technique changes the projection to the geographic area shown on a map. It is meant as a replacement for the commonly used web Mercator projection, which grossly distorts areas when representing the entire world. The original equal-area version of the adaptive composite map projection technique uses the Lambert azimuthal projection for regional maps and three alternative projections for world maps. Adaptive composite map projections can include a variety of other equal-area projections when the transformation between the Lambert azimuthal and the world projections uses Wagner’s method. To select the most suitable pseudocylindrical projection, the distortion characteristics of a pseudocylindrical projection family are analyzed, and a user study among experts in the area of map projections is carried out. Based on the results of the distortion analysis and the user study, a new pseudocylindrical projection is recommended for extending adaptive composite map projections. The new projection is equal-area throughout the transformation to the Lambert azimuthal projection and has better distortion characteristics then small-scale projections currently included in the adaptive composite map projection technique.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2373-2389
Number of pages17
JournalInternational Journal of Geographical Information Science
Volume28
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Adaptive composite map projections
  • Pseudocylindrical projection
  • Wagner’s transformation
  • Web mapping
  • Web Mercator projection

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