This document discusses coordinate systems and geodetic datums used in Hawaii, specifically transformations between the Old Hawaiian Datum, NAD83, NAD83 HARN, and WGS84 datums. It recommends specific datum transformations to use in ArcGIS and their associated errors, ranging from 0.05 to 2.10 meters. It also notes that as of ArcGIS version 10.2.1, the projection and transformation files specific to Hawaii are included, but prior versions require copying custom files to the user's profile.

1. US Army Corps of Engineers
BUILDING STRONG®
Sarah Falzarano, GISP
14 March 2014
Transformations between the
Geodetic Datums of Hawaii
Using ArcGIS

2. BUILDING STRONG®
Coordinate Systems
 Geographic Coordinate
System
 Projected Coordinate
System
 X and Y values will vary depending on horizontal datum

3. BUILDING STRONG®
Geodetic Datum
 The earth is not a perfect sphere
►Bulge at the equator
 Using a combination of an ellipsoid and
geoid, a datum is born
►Creates the best possible fit
• Specific to a geographic location
 Used in conjunction with a coordinate
system

4. BUILDING STRONG®
Coordinate Systems and
Datums for Hawaii
Coordinate System
 Geographic
 Hawaii State Plane
 UTM
Datum
 WGS 1984
 NAD 1983
► NAD 1983 (1986)
► NAD 1983 HARN (1993)
► NAD 1983 PA11 (2011)
 Old Hawaiian Datum

5. BUILDING STRONG®
NGS Adjusted NAD83
 National Adjustment of 2011
 NAD83 PA11 for the Pacific Plate
► State of Hawaii
► American Samoa
► Republic of the Marshall Islands
 NAD83 MA11 for the Mariana Plate
► Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
► Guam
► Palau
 NAD83 2011 for North America

6. BUILDING STRONG®
CORS Stations
 Use NAD83 PA11
►Sometimes this is referred to as NAD83
2010.00 epoch
►Many surveyors refer to NAD83 epoch 2010
• Or they may report their data simply as NAD83
• If it is recent data, it is most NAD83 PA11

8. BUILDING STRONG®

9. BUILDING STRONG®
Datum Transformations
 Designed for a particular area
 Have associated errors
 Errors compound every time a
transformation is done
 Consistency is key
►Use the same transformation each time

10. BUILDING STRONG®
Projecting Data in ArcGIS

11. BUILDING STRONG®
Projecting Data in ArcGIS

12. BUILDING STRONG®
Project on-the-fly

13. BUILDING STRONG®
Project on-the-fly

14. BUILDING STRONG®
Project on-the-fly

15. BUILDING STRONG®
Project on-the-fly

16. No longer recommended
No longer recommended
No longer recommended
OutdatedDatumTransformation
Recommendations

17. BUILDING STRONG®
Recommended Datum Transformations
From To Transformation Error (m)
Old
Hawaiian
Datum
NAD83 (86) Old_Hawaiian_To_NAD_1983 0.20
NAD83 HARN Old_Hawaiian_To_NAD_1983_HARN_Hawaii 0.05
NAD83 PA11 Old_Hawaiian_To_WGS_1984_8 +
WGS_1984_(ITRF08)_To_NAD_1983_PA11
2.10
WGS84 Old_Hawaiian_To_NAD_1983_HARN_Hawaii +
WGS_1984_(ITRF00)_To_NAD_1983_HARN
0.15
NAD83
(86)
NAD83 HARN NAD_1983_To_HARN_Hawaii 0.05
NAD83 PA11 WGS_1984_(ITRF00)_to_NAD_1983 +
WGS_1984_(ITRF08)_To_NAD_1983_PA11
0.15
WGS84 WGS_1984_(ITRF00)_To_NAD_1983 0.10
NAD83
HARN
NAD83 PA11 WGS_1984_(ITRF08)_To_NAD_1983_PA11 +
WGS_1984_(ITRF00)_To_NAD_1983_HARN
0.15
WGS84 WGS_1984_(ITRF00)_To_NAD_1983_HARN 0.10
NAD83
PA11
WGS84 WGS_1984_(ITRF08)_To_NAD_1983_PA11 0.05

18. BUILDING STRONG®
ArcGIS Projection and Transformation
Files Specific to Hawaii
 Version 10.2.1
►Includes files
 Prior to version 10.2.1
►Will need to copy files to your profile
►Composite transformations not available prior
to 10.1
►Contact myself or Craig Clouet for files and
instructions

19. BUILDING STRONG®
Questions?
Sarah.R.Falzarano@usace.army.mil