Geometric Geodesy

2-D and 3-D coordinate systems; distances, areas, and curves on the Earth

Using toolbox functions and reference spheroid classes, you can perform geodetic calculations that account for the curvature of Earth and other planetary bodies. These include 2-D distances, directions, areas, special curves (geodesics, rhumb lines, small circles, ellipses), and intersections on a spheroidal or planar surface. These also include transformations of 3-D locations and vectors (such as velocities and gradients) between geodetic, Earth-centered Earth-fixed, and local (east-north-up, north-east-down, azimuth-elevation-range) systems.

Categories

Modeling the Earth
Represent shape and size of the Earth, create reference ellipsoids, convert between latitudes
3-D Coordinate and Vector Transformations
Transform coordinates and vector components between global and local systems; find intersection with spheroid
Lengths and Angles
Convert between different angle and length units and perform longitude wrapping; convert units of distances along the surface of the Earth
Great Circles, Geodesics, and Rhumb Lines
Find shortest path between two points, find curve that crosses meridians at same angle
Small Circles and Ellipses
Define small circles and ellipses
Quadrangles and Areas on Spheroids
Find areas bounded by meridians or parallels, find quadrangles surrounding points