A Square Equal-Area Map Projection with Low Angular Distortion, Minimal Cusps, and Closed-Form Solutions

• Published in: ACM Transactions on Spatial Algorithms and Systems
• Main Author: Petroff, Matthew A.
• Other Authors: National Science Foundation Division of Astronomical Sciences
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) 2021
• Subjects: North Pole; South pole
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3460521; https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3460521

A novel square equal-area map projection is proposed. The projection combines closed-form forward and inverse solutions with relatively low angular distortion and minimal cusps, a combination of properties not manifested by any previously published square equal-area projection. Thus, the new projection has lower angular distortion than any previously published square equal-area projection with a closed-form solution. Utilizing a quincuncial arrangement, the new projection places the north pole at the center of the square and divides the south pole between its four corners; the projection can be seamlessly tiled. The existence of closed-form solutions makes the projection suitable for real-time visualization applications, both in cartography and in other areas, such as for the display of panoramic images.