[netCDFJava #FQF-323932]: Help on AlbersEqualArea

Hi Nihat,

> To summarize, based on the reference document, computeTheta(double lon) 
> should return
> return Math.toRadians(n*dlon);

Okay, and currently we have: n * Math.toRadians(dlon)

If we "expand" the Math.toRadians method call, we have:

n * (dlon / 180 * PI)   // Current
vs
n * dlon / 180 * PI     // Proposed

Multiplication is associative, so these are actually equivalent expressions. 
Doesn't look like a bug to me here.


However, here's something interesting: 
http://spatialreference.org/ref/esri/usa-contiguous-albers-equal-area-conic/

That page defines Albers Equal Area Conic Projection parameters for several 
popular implementations of the projection. Most of them define 
"latitude_of_center" as 37.5. However, by default, we use 23 instead (see  
https://github.com/Unidata/thredds/blob/master/cdm/src/main/java/ucar/unidata/geoloc/projection/AlbersEqualArea.java#L79).
 Interesting. So, I tried both values:

    AlbersEqualArea aea1 = new AlbersEqualArea();
    System.out.println(aea1.latLonToProj(new LatLonPointImpl(36.975512, 
-121.978782)));  // -2257 1863

    AlbersEqualArea aea2 = new AlbersEqualArea(37.5, -96, 29.5, 45.5);
    System.out.println(aea2.latLonToProj(new LatLonPointImpl(36.975512, 
-121.978782)));  // -2257 251.5

Does aea2 give a better coordinate for that lat/lon?

Cheers,
Christian


> Hi Again
> 
> Despite the fact that computeTheta() may have a bug, its ramifications are 
> miniscule.  My issue of about 30km N-S displacement still remains. Apologies 
> for assuming that in the earlier email.
> 
> One way for you to reproduce the issue is the following
> 
> 1) Read the shapefile at
> 
> http://www.fire.ca.gov/fire_prevention/fire_prevention_wildland_statewide
> 
> 2) Pick a random point over California (lat,lon) and try to see where it 
> lands over this shapefile.
> 
> For example, if I you pick (36.975512       -121.978782), after projecting 
> this onto AlbersEqualArea, this point will be at X mark I placed on the 
> picture below.  About 0.3-0.4deg north of where it is supposed to be.  There 
> are a lot of moving parts here so it is hard to know where the problem is. It 
> could be that .prj information associated with the shapefile is wrong or it 
> may be that AlbersEqualArea.java is using different datum. But nothing should 
> cause this big of a displacement. The fact that the google earth is putting 
> the shapefile onto right plane makes me think that AlbersEqualArea.java is 
> not doing its job. Any help here is greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks
> Nihat Cubukcu
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Cubukcu, Nihat
> Sent: Tuesday, January 9, 2018 12:33 PM
> To: 'address@hidden' <address@hidden>
> Subject: RE: [netCDFJava #FQF-323932]: Help on AlbersEqualArea
> 
> Hi Christian,
> 
> I wasn't sure how to produce this issue since I did not have  another trusted 
> projection utility handy. I went with what you have provided (source code and 
> the reference doc) and I think I found the issue. In the document  
> https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1532/report.pdf, page 95 defines Theta as 
> n*(Lambda-Lambda0) in Eq 12-4. This is computed in method computeTheta(double 
> lon) in AlbersEqualArea.java. computeTheta first calculates the difference 
> (dlon) but then converts "dlon" to radians. I believe the conversion has to 
> be done after multiplying by "n". I did couple of test with my shapefile and 
> in places along California coast and this correction indeed places the point 
> in their rightful locations.
> 
> To summarize, based on the reference document, computeTheta(double lon) 
> should return
> 
> return Math.toRadians(n*dlon);
> 
> //Original  return n * Math.toRadians(dlon);
> 
> Regards,
> Nihat Cubukcu

Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: FQF-323932
Department: Support netCDF Java
Priority: High
Status: Closed
===================
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