Applications of Point-to-Point Distances with Regional and Global Datasets

We developed an ATL software component that calculates point-to-point distance with geographic latitude, longitude, and elevation. GEODIST3D was also developed with the ATL component to handle the PolylineZ shapefile format. GEODIST3D was applied to the Amazon and Nile rivers, as well as to the Seoul road network. Distance calculation results showed about a 4% increases in the Amazon and Nile rivers compared with ellipsoidal geodesic distances. Roughly a 0.2% increase was also found in the total length of the major roads in Seoul, South Korea. Survey professionals and GIS analysts will benefit from using the ATL component and GEODIST3D by calculating distance more accurately with digital geospatial features.