Image formatting CRS deep dive

content/news/crs_deep_dive.md

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 <p>Coordinate reference systems can refer to either geographic coordinate systems or projected coordinate systems. Geographic coordinate systems describe locations on earth using a three-dimensional reference, and are used along with a specified map projection to create a projected coordinate system, which describes the same information on a two-dimensional surface <a href="https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/mapping/properties/coordinate-systems-and-projections.htm"> (1) </a>. Geographic coordinate systems use angular units such as degrees for measurement (often seen as lat/lon in R), and projected coordinate systems convert this information to linear units such as feet, meters, or kilometers as coordinates.</p>
 <p>Coordinate reference systems require an origin (0,0) point, which is defined by projection parameters. The origin allows users to define where a point of interest exists on their map versus its real location on Earth. For example, (128, 14) has no meaning unless one knows where the origin point of a given map is. Defining the origin allows users to utilize different sources of spatial data by providing a framework for how they should be aligned and integrated <a href="https://www.earthdatascience.org/courses/earth-analytics/spatial-data-r/intro-to-coordinate-reference-systems/"> (2) </a>. Broadly, coordinate reference systems store and portray data in a manner which allows other spatial data to be seamlessly integrated into a map to provide meaningful interpretation.</p>
 
-![](/images/wgs_1984_Aitoff.jpg)
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+  <img src="/images/wgs_1984_Aitoff.jpg" alt="WGS84 Aitoff Projection" />
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 Example of the <a href="https://support.esri.com/en-us/knowledge-base/why-are-my-map-distance-and-area-measurements-wrong-whe-000011356"> WGS84 Aitoff Projection </a> by <a href="https://support.esri.com/en-us/overview">ESRI Technical Support, </a>  which is a compromise projection.
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 <p>Conformal projections attempt to preserve local shapes and angles. For example, Lambert’s Conformal Conic projection maintains angles, shapes, and direction at small scales, yet increasingly distorts distances, scale, and area further away from standard parallels <a href="https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/mapping/properties/lambert-conformal-conic.htm#:~:text=Lambert%20conformal%20conic%20is%20a,away%20from%20the%20standard%20parallels"> (5) </a>. Another well known conformal projection is the Mercator projection. Both of these map projections are well suited to east-west orientation at mid-latitudes. The distortion present in either projection can be seen by comparing the size of Greenland to Africa on a Mercator map in contrast to an equal-area projection <a href="https://map-projections.net/compare.php?p1=albers-equal-area-conic&p2=lambert-conformal-conic"> (6) </a>.</p> 
 <p>The three other types of projections are relatively straightforward in what they attempt to preserve when displaying 3D data on a 2D plane. Equal-area projections attempt to accurately represent areas of objects on a map. In preserving areas, these may distort shapes, angles, or distances of the map <a href="https://support.esri.com/en-us/gis-dictionary/equal-area-projection"> (7) </a>. Two examples are the Albers and Mollweide equal-area projections. Both of these trade off equivalence for general distortion of shape, angles, distance, and direction <a href="https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/mapping/properties/mollweide.htm"> (8) </a>. Equidistant projections attempt to maintain accurate distance and direction along certain lines or from specific points <a href="https://support.esri.com/en-us/gis-dictionary/equidistant-projection"> (9) </a>. One of the most common is the Azimuthal Equidistant Projection, which preserves both distance and direction from the center point of the map (aspect) <a href="https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/mapping/properties/azimuthal-equidistant.htm#:~:text=The%20azimuthal%20equidistant%20projection%20preserves,any%20point%20on%20the%20globe"> (10) </a>. Equidistant projections are not typically conformal or equal area, and scale is only true along straight lines from the center point. Finally, some map projections are able to preserve compass bearing, such as the Mercator projection which was originally created for sea travel <a href="https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/mapping/properties/mercator.htm#:~:text=Sources-,Description,correctly%20defined%20at%20infinitesimal%20scale"> (11) </a>.</p> 
 
-![](/images/mercator_projection.jpg)
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+  <img src="/images/mercator_projection.jpg" alt="Mercator Projection" />
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 Example of the <a href="https://docs.qgis.org/3.34/en/docs/gentle_gis_introduction/coordinate_reference_systems.html#id3"> Mercator Projection </a> by <a href="https://docs.qgis.org/3.34/en/docs/index.html"> QGIS Documentation, </a>  preserving angles at the expense of relative areas.