Details:

Personal Author:
Dennis, Michael L.
Corporate Authors:
National Geodetic Survey (U.S.)
NOAA Program & Office:
NOS (National Ocean Service) ; NGS (Office of National Geodetic Survey)
NOS (National Ocean Service) ; NGS (Office of National Geodetic Survey) Less -
Description:
The State Plane Coordinate System (SPCS) is a system of conformal map projections created by the National Geodetic Survey (NGS). SPCS was established to support surveying, engineering, and mapping activities in the United States and its territories. The current version, SPCS 83, is referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) and consists of 125 zones based on the Lambert Conformal Conic, Transverse Mercator, and Oblique Mercator projections. Because NGS will replace NAD 83 with the 2022 Terrestrial Reference Frames (TRFs), SPCS 83 will also be replaced by the State Plane Coordinate System of 2022 (SPCS2022). The main objective of this publication is to provide the historical, practical, and philosophical context for initiating development of SPCS2022. To achieve that objective, a review is conducted of NGS technical documents and policy from the mid-1800s to the present. The historical review is augmented with a brief assessment of current trends in usage of SPCS and other projected coordinate systems. In addition, defining parameters are given for all zones since the inception of SPCS— the first time all have been presented in a single NGS document. Also provided is the status of SPCS 83 in state statute and regulations, including which jurisdictions adopted the U.S. survey or international foot.

As first conceived in the 1930s, SPCS provided a way to perform “geodetic” surveys using plane trigonometry, making it among the earliest practical means to access the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS). Because of electronic computers, SPCS is no longer used for that original purpose. Yet rather than decline, SPCS usage has grown due to widespread adoption of technologies such as Computer Aided Drafting and Design (CADD), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS).

Over its long history, the characteristics and usage of SPCS have varied considerably. There have been substantial departures from policies and conventions typically associated with SPCS; for example: not always using aggregated counties for zone boundaries; greatly exceeding the nominal criterion of 1:10,000 for maximum scale error; establishing “layered” zones that completely overlap one another; modifying reference ellipsoid dimensions; scaling SPCS coordinates to “ground”; and even using a non-conformal projection. In addition, there have been recent developments in design and usage of projected coordinate systems outside of SPCS. These developments include establishing statewide zones and small zones intended to minimize linear distortion (scale error) at the topographic surface. Many such systems have been officially adopted by states and local government agencies, and there is interest in having them become part of SPCS.

The intent of this publication is two-fold. The first purpose is to give an historical overview that consolidates complete definitions of every version of SPCS into a single document. The second is to provide information useful for determining the appropriate bounds for design and implementation of SPCS2022. The overall goal is that this publication will aid in defining a projected coordinate system framework that serves as a technically sound and practical foundation for building the SPCS of the future.


Keywords:
[+]
Computer Programs Geodesy History Map Projection State Plane Coordinate System
Series:
NOAA Special Publication NOS NGS ; 13
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25923/y3nm-vq16
Format:
PDF
Document Type:
Special Publication
Place as Subject:
United States
License:
https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
Rights Information:
CC0 Public Domain
Compliance:
Submitted
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:70d4ba82a79eac5447056e7d1c12fac172cd17ee8004fcdcadb6f7da13b65901
Download URL:
https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/52099/noaa_52099_DS1.pdf
File Type:

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