Skip to content

Coordinate Systems

Output Coordinate System

All data is distributed in WGS84 (EPSG:4326) geographic coordinates (latitude, longitude).

Original Coordinate Systems

Some FVCOM model domains were originally configured in projected coordinate systems and were transformed during standardization:

Location Original System Transformation
Aleutian Islands Geographic (lat/lon) None
Cook Inlet Geographic (lat/lon) None
Western Passage UTM Zone 19 (NAD83) to WGS84
Piscataqua River UTM Zone 19 (NAD83) to WGS84
Salish Sea UTM Zone 10 (NAD83) to WGS84

Transformation Details

UTM-to-WGS84 transformations were performed using pyproj with the following parameters:

  • Source CRS: NAD83 UTM (Zone 10 or 19 depending on location)
  • Target CRS: WGS84 (EPSG:4326)
  • Method: Coordinate transformation via pyproj Transformer

Vertical Datum

  • Model reference: Mean Sea Level (MSL)
  • Vertical datum: NAVD88 (North American Vertical Datum of 1988)
  • Convention: Sea surface elevation (\(\zeta\)) is positive upward relative to NAVD88; bathymetry (\(h\)) is positive downward below NAVD88