Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection

Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection of the world. The center is 0° N 0° E. The antipode is 0° N 180° E, near Kiribati in the Pacific Ocean. That point is represented by the entire circular boundary of the map, and the ocean around that point appears along the entire boundary.
The Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection with Tissot's indicatrix of deformation.

The Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection is a particular mapping from a sphere to a disk. It accurately represents area in all regions of the sphere, but it does not accurately represent angles. It is named for the Swiss mathematician Johann Heinrich Lambert, who announced it in 1772.[1] "Zenithal" being synonymous with "azimuthal", the projection is also known as the Lambert zenithal equal-area projection.[2]

The Lambert azimuthal projection is used as a map projection in cartography. For example, the National Atlas of the US uses a Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection to display information in the online Map Maker application,[3] and the European Environment Agency recommends its usage for European mapping for statistical analysis and display.[4] It is also used in scientific disciplines such as geology for plotting the orientations of lines in three-dimensional space. This plotting is aided by a special kind of graph paper called a Schmidt net.[5]

  1. ^ Mulcahy, Karen. "Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area". City University of New York. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
  2. ^ The Times Atlas of the World (1967), Boston: Houghton Mifflin, Plate 3, et passim.
  3. ^ "Map Projections: From Spherical Earth to Flat Map". United States Department of the Interior. 2008-04-29. Archived from the original on 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2009-04-08.
  4. ^ "Short Proceedings of the 1st European Workshop on Reference Grids, Ispra, 27-29 October 2003" (PDF). European Environment Agency. 2004-06-14. p. 6. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
  5. ^ Ramsay (1967)