Transformation from geocentric to geodetic coordinates using Newton's iteration

Summary A new procedure for the transformation from geocentric to geodetic coordinates is introduced and analyzed. This new procedure which contains only one trigonometric function uses the Newton's iteration to solve the root of a non-linear equation. Compared with the well-known Bowring's iterative algorithm which uses a number of trigonometric functions, the new procedure is more efficient in computation. Numeric examples are used to test the two algorithms and the results show that the new procedure converges just as well as Bowring's algorithm but requires less time for completion.