Latitude Longitude and  Altitude Standards for Marine Data:

Background

In January, 2008, the IOC and JCOMM convened a workshop entitled the IODE/JCOMM Forum on Oceanographic Data Management and Exchange Standards (IOC Workshop Rept. 206), to consider selected principal issues on establishing marine data standards, with the goal of furthering marine data interoperability. In particular the aim of the workshop was to get broad agreement and commitment to adopt a number of standards related to ocean data management and exchange, thereby assembling not only the agreed conditions by which we operate, but in fact enact these agreements in the participants' respective organizations.

Standards Recommendation

Mr. Greg Reed (Australia AODCJF) introduced this item and moderated discussions. He reviewed the various ways latitude, longitude and altitude are represented in standards and so are available for adoption.

Mr. Reed's Overview Presentation

• ISO 6709:1983 Standard representation of latitude, longitude and altitude for geographic point locations - Describes a variable-length format for the representation of latitude, longitude and altitude for use in data interchange. Allows the use of normal sexagesimal notations involving degrees, minutes and seconds as well as various combinations of sexagesimal and decimal notations. Uses numeric characters 0 to 9, graphic characters plus (+), minus (-), full stop (.) and comma (,).

The meeting was informed that:

• Latitude, longitude and altitude/depth may be presented in different fields in electronic form to simplify machine processing
• There is a need to include a coordinate reference system (CRS) in the complete position reference
• There is a CRS proposed for non-spatial coordinates (such as pressure) as the vertical coordinate