Vertical position
Vertical position or vertical location is a
Definitions
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), more specifically ISO 19111, offers the following two definitions:[1]
- depth: "distance of a point from a chosen reference surface measured downward along a line perpendicular to that surface."[1]
- height: "distance of a point from a chosen reference surface measured upward along a line perpendicular to that surface";[1]
ISO 6709 (2008 version) makes the following additional definition:
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) offers similar definitions:[2]
- altitude: "the vertical distance of a level, a point or an object considered as a point, measured from the mean sea level (MSL);"[2]
- height: "the vertical distance of a level, a point or an object considered as a point, measured from a specific datum."[2]
ICAO further defines:
- elevation: "the vertical distance of a point or a level, on or affixed to the surface of the earth, measured from mean sea level."[2]
I.e., elevation would be the altitude of the ground or a building.
Derived quantities
Several physical quantities may be defined based on the definitions above:
- Depth below seafloor
- Depth in a well
- Drying height
- Dynamic height
- Ellipsoidal height
- Geocentric altitude
- Geopotential
- Heights in geodesy
- Height above mean sea level
- Height above average terrain
- Height above ground level
- Measured depth
- Normal height
- Orthometric height
- Thickness (geology)
- True vertical depth
Units
Vertical distance quantities, such as
Certain vertical coordinates are not based on
Another non-SI unit is the vertical metre, introduced when there may be confusion between vertical, horizontal, or
Measurement
Various instruments and techniques may be used for measuring vertical position:
- Altimeter
- Bathymetry
- Benchmark (surveying)
- Depth gauge
- Depth sounding
- Hypsometer
- Topography
- Tide gauge
- Water level (device)
Phenomena
Many physical phenomena are related to vertical position, as driven by gravity:
- Hydraulic head
- Isostasy
- Mean sea level
- Geoid
- Sea surface height
- Temperature lapse rate
- Terrain
- Digital terrain model
- Topographic prominence
- Vertical displacement
- Vertical pressure variation
See also
- Chart datum
- Geodesy § Heights
- Geographic coordinates
- Horizontal position
- Hypsometry
- Physical geodesy
- Vertical and horizontal
- Vertical separation (aviation)
- Water level
Notes
- ^ The Guide for the Use of the International System of Units, section 7.5 (Unacceptability of mixing information with units), states:[5]
When one gives the value of a quantity, any information concerning the quantity or its conditions of measurement must be presented in such a way as not to be associated with the unit.
References
- ^ a b c d "ISO 6709:2008(en) preview". www.iso.org. ISO. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
- ^ Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation (ICAO Doc. 7300).
- ^ World Meteorological Organization - Guide to Meteorological Instruments and Methods of Observation - Preliminary seventh edition - WMO-No. 8 - Secretariat of the World Meteorological Organization – Geneva – Switzerland - 2006
- Bjerknes, V. (1910). Dynamic Meteorology and Hydrography: Part [1]-2, [and atlas of plates]. Carnegie Institution of Washington publication. Carnegie Institution of Washington. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
- ^ Thompson, Ambler; Taylor, Barry N. (2018-11-10). "Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI)". NIST. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
- ^ Nash, Mike, Exploring Prince George: A Guide to North Central B. C. Outdoors, Vancouver: Rocky Mountain Books, 2004, p. 105.
Further reading
- IOGP (2018) Geomatics Guidance Note 24: Vertical data in oil and gas applications, International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP), Geomatics Committee, Geodesy Subcommittee. Report 373–24, April 2018. [1]
External links
- Media related to Vertical position at Wikimedia Commons