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Topographic News - Issue Three - August 2008

Welcome to the the August 2008 edition of LINZ Topographic News

Topographic News is one of several publications available to help keep our customers better informed about LINZ's services and activities. See corporate publications for other publications available.

We value your feedback and would appreciate any ideas for future topics and articles along with ideas for how we can improve this newsletter. Simply email your comments and suggestions to info@linz.govt.nz (please put "Topographic newsletter feedback" in the subject line).

LINZ Maps On Track

A new 1:250,000 topographic map series (Topo250) will be released by LINZ next year.

The Topo250 joins the 1:50,000 series (Topo50), which is being released in September 2009. A date for the release of the Topo250 series has yet to be set.

LINZ has changed the datum and projection from the current map series (260 and 262) to those that are commonly used internationally and in modern navigational systems, such as GPS. The Topo50 and Topo250 maps will be based on Geodetic Datum 2000 (NZGD2000) and New Zealand Transverse Mercator 2000 (NZTM2000) projection.

While the physical features on the new map will not change, the coordinates of those features will. The areas that the maps cover will also change, due to a change to an A1 portrait format.

Digital images of maps in both series in Tiff format (of the whole map including legend and index) and Georeferenced Tiff format (of the spatial data area only) will be available. The image resolution, distribution details, and exact timing for release are yet to be confirmed.

Production is well underway on the Topo50 series, with cartographic text placement for the maps halfway through.

Coordinate conversion tools are available on the LINZ website, as well as project updates on both the Topo50 and Topo250 series.

To be kept up to date on production progress, email the LINZ Topographic Product and Service Owner : newmapseries@linz.govt.nz with "subscribe to new map series project updates" in the subject line.

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Faster viewing and August data update for NZTopoOnline

Over the next few months there are a number of changes planned for NZTopoOnline, the internet version of the New Zealand Topographic Database (NZTopo). The changes include a new faster viewing option, as well as the scheduled data update which will alter the way you access the Chatham Islands and New Zealand's Offshore Islands.

NZTopoOnline data update

The Version 15 data update is tentatively scheduled to take place towards the end of August.

The key changes are:

  • Customers who use the Custom Extract function will notice changes in the version 15 data with the removal of boundary, seed and void layers.
  • NZTopoOnline customers will select a new Chatham Islands option, which uses the Chatham Islands Transverse Mercator (CITM2000) projection, rather than being included in the mainland New Zealand (NZTM2000) option.
  • The Offshore Islands will be removed from the "New Zealand & offshore islands NZTM2000" option, although customers will still be able to view the Offshore Islands on NZGD2000, unprojected.

LINZ intends to move the offshore islands to their own Transverse Mercator projections and enable individual offshore islands to be accessed via their own button.

Reinstating the Web Map Service (WMS) connection is planned as part of the August update.

Faster View Option - coming soon

Later this year, you will be able to choose to either view NZTopoOnline with the NZTM2000 cache mapping option which will allow faster viewer at 1:25,000 scale or continue to use NZTopoOnline with full functionality, such as turning layers on or off.

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NZTopoOnline Customer Survey results

Research informed us that customers use the NZTopoOnline service as it provides mapping with complete coverage of New Zealand, the ability to download customised maps, and it's free! NZTopoOnline customers would also like to see some improvements to the service.

In June, LINZ surveyed NZTopoOnline customers to provide an insight into who is using the service and the way they use it. Around 70 customers responded via the survey links available on the entry pages to NZTopoOnline as well as on some New Zealand GIS user group sites.

Prior to the survey, LINZ knew NZTopoOnline was used by a broad range of customers from about 4000 organisations, across 40 countries. However, we knew very little about the customers' preferences. This survey was able to provide LINZ with feedback on who accesses NZTopoOnline and for what purpose.

The respondents came from a variety of professions and sectors including universities and education sector, emergency management, local government or the GIS industry. There are also a number of private users who like to print custom maps when they're heading into the outdoors.

Other main themes which came out of the survey results include:

  • The majority of users prefer to use the three largest scales (1:12,500, 1:25,000 and 1:50,000).
  • Business users (71%) are using the layer functionality more than personal users (56%).
  • 85% of respondents would recommend NZTopoOnline to their friends.
  • The information and functionality is good, but improvements could be made to the interface and speed within the application.
  • The logon process, user instructions and supporting information needs to be improved.
  • Over two thirds of those surveyed do not intend changing their usage patterns over the next 12 months.
  • Over one third of business respondents anticipate their preferred projection option will change over the next 2 years - they mainly intend moving to NZTM2000.

LINZ has plans to address a number of the issues raised. Already LINZ has changed the logon process and supporting pages. The planned introduction of a faster view option later this year will be positive news to those customers who just want to view, without the full functionality of NZTopoOnline.

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New Act extends Geographic Board's place-naming role

The New Zealand Geographic Board now has an extended place-naming role, following the passing of a new Act in May 2008. This includes establishing a New Zealand Gazetteer of official place names.

When the New Zealand Geographic Board (Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa) Act 2008 comes into force later this year, the Board's naming responsibilities will extend to the undersea features of the country's continental shelf. Another new responsibility will be the review of names submitted for Crown protected areas by the Department of Conservation.

The Board already has a role in Antarctic naming, which is formalised under the new Act also.

Board Chair Dr Don Grant says that a new duty for the Board will be the publication and maintenance of an online gazetteer of official geographic names. The new gazetteer will list all official geographic names. It will also list each official name's gazette or statutory references, the type of feature or Crown protected area the name refers to, and its coordinate position.

"The gazetteer will help to identify all the official names that will be required to be depicted on New Zealand's maps, charts, databases, and other official documents," Dr Grant says.

The Board will aim to have the gazetteer available via the Land Information New Zealand website by late October 2008. There are further plans to develop more sophisticated functionality and information for the gazetteer such as spatial searching and historical background information on each official place name.

You can find more information about the New Zealand Geographic Board's role in the 2008 Act or information on the review of the New Zealand Geographic Board Act.

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Darwin Glacier Antarctica region data on LINZ website soon

LINZ has a programme underway to carry out 1:50,000 mapping in the Darwin/Hatherton Glacier area of Antarctica using the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS). The mapping is expected to take 2-3 years to complete.

This is to support the large amount of scientific exploration taking place in the region, primarily due to the Latitudinal Gradient Project (www.lgp.aq). LINZ purchased 11 sets of images from the ALOS PRISM sensor. ALOS is a Japanese remote sensing satellite, and the PRISM sensor is specifically designed for stereo-mapping.

In the 2007/08 Antarctic summer, LINZ surveyed an area covering 35km by 60km. LINZ will be extending the coverage of the mapping over the Darwin Glacier, continuing this summer.

This 2007/08 mapping data will initially be provided as vector data, as well as raster orthoimages, and a digital elevation model. The data will be downloadable from the LINZ website soon.

The map below shows the area to be covered. The highlighted scenes show the area covered during the 2007/08 season.

2007/08 mapping area.
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LINZ Website Gets Overhaul

Land Information New Zealand launched a new, refreshed website at the beginning of August.

Although there have not been major changes to the content of the website, it has been reviewed and updated, and a new search engine and cleaner, clearer navigation make it easier and quicker to find information.

"Our aim is to make it easier and faster for users to find the information that they need," says Justine Gilliland, LINZ Manager Strategic Communications. "The site had grown iteratively over the years. It was time to take a look at the big picture and make the site work more coherently."

Information on maps and topographic topics now has a key place on the homepage of the site, clearly taking users through to information on topographic maps, data, publications, projects, news, the data dictionary and aerial photographs. A new feature on the refreshed website is the ability to search for geodetic marks, and a 'jump' facility, giving users the ability to quickly access frequently-used pages.

Processes have also been set in place to enable LINZ to keep the site more up-to-date. These will mean updates and amendments can be made more quickly.

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GPS representation of Vehicle Tracks

LINZ define Vehicle Tracks (track_cl) as "all weather routes suitable for four-wheeled vehicles".

These tracks are not suitable for standard cars, and should not be included in car navigation equipment. In some cases, LINZ topo data for tracks is included in GPS units, causing confusion for users. LINZ has received notification from users of GPS equipment who have not understood this.

For more information refer to LINZ Data Dictionary.

 
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