geographic standards of the european · pdf fileharmonisation problems – reference...

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Joint UNECE/Eurostat Work Session on Methodological Issues Involving the Integration of Statistics and Geography, Tallinn, Estonia, 25 - 28 September 2001

A.Annoni – European Commission - Joint Research Centre

Geographic standards of the Geographic standards of the European CommissionEuropean Commission

Alessandro AnnoniLand Use – Land Cover Unit

Institute for Environment and SustainabilityEuropean Commission – DG Joint Research Centre

21020 Ispra (VA), Italy

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GI in the European CommissionGI in the European Commission

• Technical services – Eurostat, JRC + EEA

• R&TD– JRC (direct actions), RTD (indirect actions)

• Users & Suppliers– AGRI, ENVI, REGIO, TREN, …

• Information society & Market development– INFSO, ENTR

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Why a initiative on GIWhy a initiative on GI--GIS ?GIS ?• Increasingly DGs are using new IT applications

– to help manage the policy areas for which they are responsible. – many of these, if not most, have a geographic dimension and use

GIS to store, analyse and present the data• Typical applications are

– in monitoring the environment, control of crops in agriculture policy, development of transport, regional development, ...

• All off these applications need GI of various kinds– some specific, other common to several applications

• Time has come to take a more pro-active and strategic approach to GI in the Commission – to create an internal infrastructure for GI for the benefits of all

services using GI and GIS.May 1999 May 1999 R.R.VerrueVerrue -- Director General DG INFSO Director General DG INFSO

Y.Y.FranchetFranchet Director General EUROSTATDirector General EUROSTAT

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COGI COGI Commission interCommission inter--service group on Geographic Information service group on Geographic Information

• Mandate– COGI is to co-ordinate the use of GI and to assure the application of

common technical GI standards within the EC services to improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness of European policy monitoring that require a spatial analysis of the European territory at European and global level.

• DGs /services Chef(s) de file:– EUROSTAT, DG INFSO, JRC

• DGs/services participants:– DGs : ESTAT, INFSO, JRC, REGIO, AGRI, TREN, SANCO, OPOCE,

COMP, EMPL, ENV, RTD, FISH, MARKT, EAC, ELARG.• Chairman:

– EUROSTAT (Lothar JENSEN – Directeur)• Duration:

– Groupe interservices permanent.

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The needs of spatial data (GI)The needs of spatial data (GI)• Most of the themes of EU policy have a spatial dimension

– water, air, climate, soil, biodiversity, land use, transports, noise, …

• The territorial dimension of EU policy– is a common factor for all of these policies, – is increasingly recognised as an important element to be

taken into account in the formulation of EU policies– as illustrated in the proposal for the 6th EAP

• We can also observe a trend in Community policy – to require increasingly in legislative acts to the

collection of geographic information. • WFD, Habitat,…IACS, LPIS, Olive Trees Regs,.. ICZM, ESDP,..

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6th Environment action programme6th Environment action programmeCOM (2001) 31 Community 'Environment 2010: Our future, Our choice'Article 9 - Environment policy making based on participation and sound knowledge

Priority actions:1. Mechanisms within which stakeholders, especially those directly affected by proposals and other initiatives, are widely

and extensively consulted at all stages so as to facilitate the most effective choices and to ensure better a satisfactory result for the environment in regard to the measures to be proposed.

2. Continuing financial support to environmental NGOs to facilitate participation in the dialogue process.3. Ensuring that environment remains a major priority for Community research programmes. Ensuring better co-ordination

of research related to the environment conducted in Member States.4. Ensuring regular information to the public on the environment and related issues by the production of annual headline

environmental indicator reports and integration indicators, which show the value of environmental damage where possible.

5. Reviewing information and reporting systems with a view to the introduction of a more coherent and effective system to ensure reporting of high quality, comparable environmental data and information.

6. Reinforcing the development of geographical information systems and the use of space monitoring applications in support of policy-making and implementation.

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The needs of tools (GIS)The needs of tools (GIS)• Better understanding of the complex interactions between

policies & themes only possible if the appropriate information base and tools are available.

• GIS, in combination with adequate information and models, are able to provide the means to take into account the territorial dimension of environmental policy-making.

• GI-GIS needed to– Assess needs– Formulate the policy– Monitor its implementation– Evaluate its effectiveness, …

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Relevance to EU policiesRelevance to EU policies Consequences on GI: increasing

demand of better GI– Quality,– Certification,– Authority,– Consistency, – Updating,– Time stamp,– Harmonisation,– Accessibility,– Interoperability,…

Economic value of public sector information in the EU, 1999 (Euro Billion) - source Pira, 2000

35,8

7,4

9,4

11,73,9

Geographical

Cultural

Business services

Economic and social data

Other

Access to Public Sector

Information

Underpinning EU policies

with a spatial impact

European Spatial Data Infrastructure

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The 3 major obstaclesThe 3 major obstacles

1. there are major gaps in coverage of spatial information. 2. information, even if it exists, is not always accessible

– obstacles to access of existing information can f.i. be the lack of documentation of this information, procedural and contractual barriers to access of information and the price of the information.

3. even if information exists and is accessible, it can often not be sufficiently exploited because the information is fragmented and cannot be combined due to lack ofharmonisation.

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A.Annoni – European Commission - Joint Research CentreEuropean Spatial Data InfrastructureEuropean Spatial Data Infrastructure

Catchments

Meteo data

Land Cover

5 cm/year

ITRF93

NNR-NUVEL1A

GI Institutional framework

GI technicalstandards

Spatial InformationServices

Fundamental GI data sets

Spatial Data Infrastructure

GIS to manage Natura2000 sites

Standards implementation

Standards implementation

Technical Support to GI policy

development

Technical Support to GI policy

development

GIS for Natura 2000 GIS for Natura 2000

Different Policies and standards

Europe is moving 3cm/ year

Different sea level in Europe

Needs to create europeanspatial data sets eEurope : eGovernement on line

Technical Support To data set creation

Technical Support To data set creation

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Policy developmentPolicy development

DATA

STANDARDS

DATA

POLICY

SOIL

NOISE

AIR

WATER

NATURE

Environment

SOIL

NOISE

AIR

WATER

NATURE

Agriculture

SOIL

NOISE

AIR

WATER

NATURE

Transport

COMMON THEMATIC DATA

REFERENCE DATA

Environmental European Spatial Environmental European Spatial Data Infrastructure (EESDI)Data Infrastructure (EESDI)

Agricultural ESDIAgricultural ESDI Transport ESDITransport ESDI

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Policy development: the visionPolicy development: the vision

DATA

STANDARDS

DATA

POLICY

SOIL

NOISE

AIR

WATER

NATURE

Environment

SOIL

NOISE

AIR

WATER

NATURE

Agriculture

SOIL

NOISE

AIR

WATER

NATURE

Transport

COMMON THEMATIC DATA

REFERENCE DATA

European Spatial Data Infrastructure (ESDI)European Spatial Data Infrastructure (ESDI)

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StandardisationStandardisation

• A key action to solve interoperability and harmonisation problems– Reference systems– Projection systems– Metadata– …– Geo-processing (OpenGIS)

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RationaleRationale• Europe is a patchwork of several countries with different traditions in

terms of their GI choice• Europe has very extensive and comprehensive collections of national

spatial information but it is often difficult to find and access. • There is very little seamless, harmonised pan-European data available. • Such information is scarce and difficult to obtain because national data

was created in accordance with 15 different traditions and standards that do not fit easily together.

• The combination of the national data into European data is a highly complex and non-trivial task. – aspects to be addressed: common reference system, set of

projection systems, minimum set of reference data, metadata,..

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CoCo--ordinate reference system definitionordinate reference system definition

"Location or position on or near the Earth's surface may be described using co-ordinates. Co-ordinates are unambiguous only when the co-ordinate reference system to which those co-ordinates refer has been fully defined. Each position shall be described by a set of co-ordinates that shall be related to a co-ordinate reference system.

A co-ordinate reference system consists of one datum and one co-ordinate system" (ISO 19111)

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geogeo--referencing by coreferencing by co--ordinatesordinates

datum(physical)

coordinate system(mathematical)

coordinate reference system

indirectreference system

position

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do we live on the same planet??

….why different spatial reference systems?

? egg or grapefruit ?? egg or grapefruit ?

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Definition includes: • dimension of an ellipsoid, • its position• and orientation relative to 'the Earth'.

– at least one main datum per country or more.

– different map projection chosen by country to minimise the distortions on the national territory.

geodetic datumgeodetic datumZ

XY

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three main types of cothree main types of co--ordinates.ordinates.

• Elevation, or height : … the 'vertical distance' between a location and a 'horizontal' surface defined as the reference ...

• Geographical co-ordinates : ... the position of a location on a sphere or an ellipsoid in terms of longitude and latitude …

• Cartesian co-ordinates, or map projection: … the position of a location on a plane on which the Earth's surface has been projected ...

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ellipsoid to planellipsoid to plan

?

h

? E

N

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Conversion from map projectionsConversion from map projections

• Conversion, within the same datum, from one type of map projection to the other, is a simple matter of applying the predefined mathematical formulas, and can be as accurate as one desires.

• However, transformation from one datum to another is always an approximation, and is based on empirical formulas and algorithms, deducted from measurements.– Typical accuracies vary from 10cm. to 100m.

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change of systemchange of systemDatum 1

N, E, (h)

X, Y, Z

? , ? (h)

N, E, (h)

X, Y, Z

? , ? (h)

Datum 2

transformation

conversion

conversion

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why different systems ?why different systems ?

geoid

earth surface

ellipsoid

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issuesissues

• Conversion– mathematical – exact (exception : N)

• Transformation– empirical– precision depending on measurements

• All changes– time-consuming– risks of errors, discrepancies

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problems...problems...

• Limitless and ever expanding list of ’systems’ (national, regional, local)

• Increasing needs for large amount of data to be processed ‘on-the-fly’

• What specification to include in the EC call for tenders ?

• Etc ...

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Which reference system for Europe ?Which reference system for Europe ?

• ITRS : the global reference

• but …..– European Continental Plate moves uniformly

~3cm per year

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5 cm/year

ITRF93

NNR-NUVEL1A

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ETRS89 Ellipsoidal Coordinate Reference System ETRS89 Ellipsoidal Coordinate Reference System

The European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 (ETRS89) is the geodetic datum for pan-European spatial data collection, storage and analysis. This is based on the GRS80 ellipsoid and is the basis for a coordinate reference system using ellipsoidal coordinates.Table 1 contains the fully described ETRS89 Ellipsoidal Coordinate Reference System (ETRS89) following ISO 19111 Spatial referencing by coordinates.

Table 1 – ETRS89 Ellipsoidal Coordinate Reference System Description

Entitiy Value

CRS ID ETRS89 CRS alias ETRS89 Ellipsoidal CRS CRS valid area Europe CRS scope Datum ID ETRS89 Datum alias European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 Datum type geodetic Datum realization epoch 1989 Datum valid area Europe / EUREF Datum scope European datum consistent with ITRS at the epoch 1989.0 and fixed to the stable part

of the Eurasian continental plate for georeferencing of GIS and geokinematic tasks Datum remarks see Boucher, C., Altamimi, Z. (1992): The EUREF Terrestrial Reference System and

its First Realizations. Veröffentlichungen der Bayerischen Kommission für die Internationale Erdmessung, Heft 52, München 1992, pages 205-213- or - ftp://lareg.ensg.ign.fr/pub/euref/info/guidelines/

Prime meridian ID Greenwich Prime meridian Greenwich longitude 0° Ellipsoid ID GRS 80 Ellipsoid alias New International Ellipsoid semi-major axis 6 378 137 m Ellipsoid shape true Ellipsoid inverse flattening 298.257222101 Ellipsoid remarks see Moritz, H. (1988): Geodetic Reference System 1980. Bulletin Geodesique, The

Geodesists Handbook, 1988, Internat. Union of Geodesy and Geophysics Coordinate system ID Ellipsoidal Coordinate System Coordinate system type geodetic Coordinate system dimension 3 Coordinate system axis name latitude Coordinate system axis direction North Coordinate system axis unit identifier degree Coordinate system axis name longitude Coordinate system axis direction East Coordinate system axis unit identifier degree Coordinate system axis name ellipsoidal height Coordinate system axis direction up Coordinate system axis unit identifier metre

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recommendationsrecommendations• Spatial data must be expressed in ellipsoidal

coordinates (???? ) related to ETRS89, with the underlying GRS80 ellipsoid.

• NMAs to place 1~2 m. accuracy transformation algorithms in public domain

• EUREF/EuroGeographics to collect and manage high accuracy transformations

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TransformationTransformation• 27 out of 37 countries

have delivered data which have been checked and are OK.

• 22 of the files are available under http://crs.ifag.de

• The remaining 5 are still being prepared and will be included by the end of June

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Vertical datumVertical datum

• definition of a vertical datum is more delicate.• there is generally at least one vertical datum per

country, and two main families of height.– Ellipsoidal height is the third dimension of the

location related to an ellipsoid, and is a length.– Geoidal height is related to a physical model of

the Earth's surface (the geoid), and is a physical component of a location, related to gravity.

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heightsheights

geoid

earth surface

ellipsoid

h

N

H

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? Heights ?? Heights ?

• nationally defined heights may differ by several dm. (2.3 m. for Belgium)

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A vertical heightsA vertical heights

• As result of the UELN and EUVN project the IAGSubcommission EUREF defines the European Vertical Reference System 2000 (EVRS) including a European Vertical Datum and related parameters as realization and for practical use as a static system.

• The next step to an European kinematic height network the European Vertical System 2000 (EVS 2000) is in preparation.

• Recommendation: the CEC should adopt the EUVN results when made available

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EVRSEVRS Further information

available under http://evrs.leipzig.ifag.de/

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Needs for projected EU dataNeeds for projected EU data• A European Spatial Reference System is not enough; we

need a set of projection systems for the cartographic representation and grid storage of pan-European geographic data at different levels of precision. Projected data are in fact used in different contexts and for different uses: – Storage (in a centralised or in distributed dbs),– Measurement (eg computing distance, area, etc),– Display (on screen, paper maps, atlases etc), – Location (projected data are used to localise object on

the ground).

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Other conditions ...Other conditions ...• Different types of projects

– working with National dbs (LPIS) – requiring integration (Natura2000, I&CLC2000),

• ranging of accuracy and scale – LUCAS 1-2,5 m / 1:10,000; FISIS 1:20,000,000

• some data already available in GISCO other should be created• tech.specs needed for data collection/creation and

conversion– tech.specs should foresee a stepwise approach (current

solutions and long term strategy for quality improvement)• in this sense the limitations of current GIS sw (and their future

evolution - OGC specifications) should be taken into account.

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? Projection systems in Europe ?? Projection systems in Europe ?

• 5 different types of reference ellipsoids and 8 different types of cartographic projections used in the 37 different CERCO member or observer countries.

• How could they agree on one single projection system and which one should be selected ?

• Which member countries would be able to afford the costs for changing their system ?

• Can a unique map projection be proposed ?

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Romania

Portugal

Poland

Norway

Lithuania

Italy

Ireland

Great Britain

Greece

Finland

Russia

Northern Ireland

Luxembourg

Ukraine

Turkey

Sweden

Bulgariaconformal)Austria(transversal, cylindrical,

AlbaniaTransverse Mercator

Cylindrical and conic Projections become important in landsurveying. They are all conformal. Conformal means similary in small pieces or when the scaleof a map at any point on the map is the same in any direction.

TurkeySpainPortugal- de facto StandardItaly- used by NATOIceland- parameter world wide validGibraltarTransverse Mercator ProjectionDenmarkspecial United States specification ofCyprusUniversal Transverse Mercator

SloveniaGermanyTransverse Mercator ProjectionCroatiaspecial German specification ofBulgariaGauss-Krüger-System

Switzerland

HungaryOblique Conformal Cylindric

FranceEstoniaBelgiumLambert Conformal Conic

Slovak RepublicCzech RepublicOblique Conformal Conic

RomaniaPolandNetherlandsOblique Stereographic

(conformal, not equal distance, not true direction, not equal area)

Map projections used in EuropeMap projections used in Europe

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Area of interestArea of interest

The centre of the area of interest was taken to be 53°N, 10°E

Area of interestArea of interest

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RecommendationsRecommendations• for statistical analysis and display

– ETRS89 Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area coordinate reference system of 2001 [ETRS -LAEA] (specified by ETRS89 datum and the Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area map projection).

• for conformal pan-European mapping at scales ? 1:500,000 – ETRS89 Lambert Conic Conformal coordinate reference system of

2001 [ETRS –LCC] (specified by ETRS89 datum and the Lambert Conic Conformal (2SP) map projection).

• for conformal pan-European mapping at scales >1:500,000– ETRS89 Transverse Mercator coordinate reference systems [ETRS-

TMzn] (specified by ETRS89 datum and the Transverse Mercator map projection). • Maintains the ETRS-TMzn, ETRS-LAEA and ETRS-LCC as its

conventional standards for an extended period,• Stimulates the use, by preference, of one of the above.

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What is metadata?What is metadata?• Metadata is the information and documentation, which

makes data understandable and shareable for users over time (ISO 11179 Annex B)

• Types of metadata, according to level of detail– Metadata for Inventory

• i.e. internal to an organisation– Metadata for Discovery

• i.e. necessary for external users to know who has what data, where to find it, and how to access it

– Metadata for Use • i.e. a fuller description of an information resource that enables

users to make a judgement about the relevance and fitness-for-purpose of the resource before access it

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Standards inStandards in geospatialgeospatial metadata metadata

• International Standardisation Organisation (ISO) Technical Committee 211: family of standards related to geo-spatial information, including one for metadata (DIS 19115)

IS 19115

FGDC

CEN TC287

Input

Input

CEN IS 19115 endorsed by CEN

Future versions of FGDC metadata standards will become profile of IS 19115

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Recommendations on metadataRecommendations on metadata• Metadata management should be integrated into the "workflow"

of all future projects. • Metadata management is a priority.• Information resource not geographic?

– Use the Dublin Core (DC) for the discovery of data.• If the information resource contains spatial component,

– ensure that Dublin Core is also supported (CWA 13874) for cross-IT searching so as to increase the visibility of the resource.

• If the information resource contains spatial component, – use Core elements of the current draft for ISO standard IS

19115. • IS 19115 adopted by the EC as soon as it is issued as an IS.

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Reference data Reference data -- definitionsdefinitions

• "… those components that are most frequently used in identifying location.“ (ETEMII v1.0d)

• "The set of GI which should exist, and be readily accessible (at a justifiable cost), in order for the widest possible range of applications to be effected on a local, national and regional basis." (GI-BASE)

• "… components most frequently used in identifying location using indirect referencing systems.“ (CNIG-P),

• …..

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Agreed definition of ref.dataAgreed definition of ref.data• reference data is the data necessary to link thematic

information to location on the earth - at a local, national or European level. – in this context, it is the data sets that allow the integration

of other data.• the definition must be stable

– through any changes in the applications using them• we should be looking to model ideas using "objects“

– instead to define layers (that does not convey the ideas associated with reference data)

– in this way names and identifiers (and boundaries) will become part of the object rather than a component in its own right.

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Reference data Reference data -- componentscomponents• Geodetic reference system

– For both horizontal and vertical measurements. • Units for administration

– Administrative boundaries, catchment districts, protected areas, …, census units ?

• Addresses• Parcel identifiers (cadastral) • Orthoimagery• Networks

– road, rail and water - including coastlines• Elevation

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Reference dataReference data• Key issues

– Understanding user needs– Interoperability– Object modelling– Scale independency– Language and culture– National border issues– Certification– Authority– Maintenance (including

Updating)– Organisational issues– Financial issues

• New trend – from data creation to data

access and data maintenance

– from layers and scales to objects and quality issues

– from data exchange to data access & geospatialstandards…(including OpenGIS)

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Standardisation may be usefulconclusionsconclusions

• to increase data flow from local to European in all the policy domains. – this may also require new legislation (EESDI).

• to develop new datasets and indicators for new policy domains.• to share knowledge of who has what data, and how it can be accessed

– increasingly crucial as there is a real danger of multiple duplication of data collection to respond to different policies,

• to implement a framework for GI in Europe, including common reference system, projections, homogeneous territorial and stat. units.

• to increase data comparability and interoperability, including web-based visualization and data exploration, and integration from different sources

• to agree methodologies to characterize and analyse territorial units• to develop methods for data fusion-aggregation to different flexible

geographies

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More informationMore information

http://www.ec-gis.org

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Table B1 – PEC2001 Coordinate Reference SystemDetails

Entity ValueCRS identifier PEC2001Datum identifier ETRS89Datum type GeodeticEllipsoid identifier GRS80Ellipsoid semi-major axis 6378137.0 metresEllipsoid inverse flattening 298.2572221Prime meridian identifier GreenwichCoordinate system type ProjectedCoordinate operation details See table B2Coordinate system details See table B3

PEC2001The Pan-European Conformal Coordinate Reference System of 2001 (PEC2001) is a single projectedcoordinate reference system for all of the pan-European area. It is based on ETRS89 geodetic datum andthe GRS1980 ellipsoid. Because of the greater extent in longitude than in latitude, a Lambert ConicConformal projection with two standard parallels is utilised. Defining parameters are given in tables B1through B3.

Table B2 - PEC2001 Coordinate Operation DetailsCoordinate operation method: Lambert Conic Conformal (2SP)

Operation Parameter Operation Parameter ValueLatitude of 1st standard parallel 61º northLatitude of 2nd standard parallel 38º northLatitude of False Origin 53º northLongitude of False Origin 9º eastNorthing at False Origin 2,530,000.0 metresEasting at False Origin 7,800,000.0 metres

Table B3 - PEC2001 Coordinate System DetailsAxis order Axis name Abbreviation Axis direction Axis Unit

1 Northing N north metre2 Easting E east metre

With these defining parameters, over the European mainland westwards of 32º east longitude PEC2001grid northing values are under 5,000,000 metres whilst easting values are between 5,000,000 and 9,999,999metres. Note that the axes abbreviations for PEC2001 are N and E whilst for the PEEA2001 they are Y andX.

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PEEA2001The Pan-European Equal Area Coordinate Reference System of 2001 (PEEA2001) is a single projectedcoordinate reference system for all of the pan-European area. It is based on the ETRS89 geodetic datumand the GRS1980 ellipsoid. Its defining parameters are given in tables C1 through C3 below.

Table C1 – PEEA2001 Coordinate Reference SystemDetails

Entity ValueCRS identifier PEEA2001Datum identifier ETRS89Datum type GeodeticEllipsoid identifier GRS80Ellipsoid semi-major axis 6378137.0 metresEllipsoid inverse flattening 298.2572221Prime meridian identifier GreenwichCoordinate system type ProjectedCoordinate operation details See table C2Coordinate system details See table C3

Table C2 - PEEA2001 Coordinate Operation ParametersCoordinate operation method: Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area

Operation Parameter Operation Parameter ValueLatitude of Origin 53º northLongitude of Origin 10º eastFalse Northing 3,210,000.0 metresFalse Easting 4,321,000.0 metres

Table C3 - PEEA2001 Coordinate System DetailsAxis order Axis name Abbreviation Axis direction Axis Unit

1 Northing Y north metre2 Easting X east metre

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