Date Issued: Approved by the Minnesota Governor's Council on Geographic Information June 9, 1998
Applicability:
Who cares about these standards?
All developers, distributors, and users of existing or planned spatial databases that originate or are maintained within State of Minnesota government agencies. Spatial databases are those that include explicit references to the geographic location of the features they describe.
When do they apply? When do they not apply?
This standard has been developed to facilitate exchange of data between Minnesota government agencies. Use of this standard is mandatory when the following two conditions exist:
Use of this standard is recommended when Minnesota state government agencies are publishing data for use by external stakeholders (including other units of government operating at other levels). This standard applies to data that are being transferred, and does not restrict the manner in which data are stored internally, although the capability to translate data into a form consistent with this standard should exist within all affected agencies.
Purpose of these Standards:
The purpose of this standard is to define a common framework for spatial data exchange. This benefits all consumers of state-produced data by eliminating the need to prepare customized procedures for processing coordinate information. Deploying the standard allows for the streamlining of exchange procedures between data producers and consumers, thereby reducing costs associated with data processing and handling.
Standard Requirements:
This standard defines expression of coordinate values as follows:
Compliance:
What constitutes compliance?
Minnesota state agencies must be capable of translating coordinate information into a form consistent with the standard. Agencies may administer or apply data in alternative forms. Agencies may also distribute or publish data in alternative forms as long as they are made available in the standard form as an option.
How will compliance be measured?
Evidence of compliance will be determined based on reports of satisfactory data transfers between state agencies, and the development of distribution strategies that incorporate the standard.
Notes:
The coordinate specification provided in this standard does not stipulate a preferred adjustment to the geodetic network (for example, it does not reference the 1996 High Accuracy Reference Network (HARN) adjustment). While the most current adjustment provides the greatest accuracy, it is not always practical or necessary to update data collected on a prior adjustment.
It should be noted, however, that data on different adjustments should not be mixed within the same dataset. It is also important to remember that, since in some applications the difference between adjustments can be significant, the adjustment used to encode coordinates within any given transfer data set must be noted in the accompanying metadata.
References and Sources of More Information:
National Imagery and Mapping Agency, Technical Manual 8358.1 Datums, Ellipsoids, Grids, and Grid Reference Systems, 1990.
Snyder, J. P. Map Projections--A Working Manual. U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1395. Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, pp. 38-75, 1987.
Further information about this standard may be obtained from the Minnesota Geospatial Information Office (MnGeo).
300 Centennial Building
658 Cedar Street
St. Paul, MN 55155
phone: 651-201-2499
email: gisinfo.mngeo@state.mn.us
