You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Glossary
Very accurate clock which uses the known properties of certain atoms to record time.
autonomous vehicle
A vehicle that is able to navigate and sense the surrounding environment automatically
Maps which show who owns land.
The process of drawing or making maps.
control tower
A tall building at an airport from which the movements of air traffic are controlled.
Angular or linear values that give the position of a point on a map.
Legal agreements to do with land use.
A set of values used to define a specific geodetic system e.g. MSL - Mean Sea Level.
dead reckoning
The process of calculating your current position by using a known position, or fix, and working out your new position based on known or estimated speeds over the elapsed time and course.
The legal right to do something on your own or someone else's land.
echo-sounding
The modern technique used to measure water depth by bouncing sound waves off the sea floor.
The height above mean sea level.
Process of wearing away and transporting of rocks by wind, rain or ice.
fix
In navigation a fix is a position which is found by using known reference points and measuring from these.
flight path
A specified route that an aircraft takes.
A sport where people use GPS to hide and seek containers called caches or geocaches anywhere in the world.
A datum which is based on the Earth's centre of mass. The advantage of the geocentric datum is its direct compatibility with satellite-based navigation systems such as GPS.
A scientist trained in the study of the Earth.
The science of the make-up, shape and history of the Earth.
To do with location.
Data or information about the location of specific things.
GIS
Geographic Information Systems - digital maps that combine sets of information.
GNSS
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) with the global GNSS constellation currently including GPS (USA), GLONASS (Russia), Galileo (Europe) and BeiDou (China). So each one of these countries have their own navigation satellite constellation (network) that combine into a global constellation.
Global Positioning System - uses the known distance between satellites to calculate exact locations.
A survey which records the physical features of waterways.
The science of measuring and describing the physical features of waterways.
Services such as roads and water systems.
Sometimes called triangulation. Where the known angles and distance between points is used to calculate the location of a distant point.
Distance from the equator in degrees, shown as horizontal lines on a map.
Distance east or west from Greenwich, England, in degrees shown as vertical lines on a map.
nautical charts
Charts or maps of features at sea such as reefs, coastlines, shipping hazards and sometimes water depths and currents.
navigation
The process or activity of accurately working out your position and planning and following a route.
radar
An object-detection system that uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects such as aircraft.
Objects which are sent into space to orbit the Earth and send and receive information.
SBAS
Satellite-based augmentation system - a satellite navigation system being trialled in New Zealand and Australia which is capable of calculating more accurate locations than current GPS.
sounding line
A line with a lead weight on the end which is lowered into water to measure the water depth.
People who specialise in making accurate measurements on the surface of the earth to make maps.
An optical instrument used by surveyors to measure angles to give exact locations of distant points.
The shape of the Earth's surface.
Shows the shape of the surface, including altitude as well as natural and physical features - sometimes called a contour map.
A type of maths that measures the angles and sides of triangles and uses this information and set formula to find the unknown sides and angles. This type of maths can also be used to find the location of distant points.
Services such as water pipes and power lines.
An activity where people can locate and log interesting locations anywhere in the world.