The RSRGD2000 datum covers the area between longitudes 160° East and 150° West and south of latitude 60° South. The datum comprises physical marks that are situated in the vicinity of areas of scientific interest or where topographic mapping has been performed. The majority of the marks are on Ross Island or within a few hundred kilometres of the Antarctic continental coast adjacent to it.
RSRGD2000 is essentially coincident Global Positioning System (GPS) datum WGS84. It means that for most practical purposes WGS84 coordinates can be assumed to be the same as RSRGD2000 coordinates, hence no transformation is necessary.
RSRGD2000 is formally defined in the LINZ standard LINZS25001 (Standard for Ross Sea Region Geodetic Datum 2000). The key parameters from this standard are summarised below:
Name: Ross Sea Region Geodetic Datum 2000
Abbreviation: RSRGD2000
Reference ellipsoid: GRS80
Reference frame: ITRF96
Reference Epoch: 1 January 2000
Deformation Model: No deformation model is defined for RSRGD2000
The accuracy of RSRGD2000 coordinates is described by a series of Orders. The Order is a combined measure of the network and local accuracy of a coordinate.