About Coordinates

RSLog uses coordinates to insert the project or borehole locations on a map and to provide GIS capabilities across the application. The coordinate reference systems that are supported by RSLog are listed below. Please note that coordinate system is selected at the project level when you create a new project:

• Geographic (WGS 84): This coordinate system uses Latitude (specifies the north–south position of a point on the surface of the Earth) and Longitude (specifies the east-west position of a point on the surface of the Earth), both entered as decimal numbers. In RSLog when you place a point (borehole or project location) on the map, RSLog automatically saves the Latitude and Longitude of that point in the database. Alternatively, you can enter the coordinates manually.
• Projected: A Projected coordinate system is a type of spatial reference system that represents locations on Earth using Cartesian coordinates (x, y or Easting / Northing) on a planar surface created by a particular map projection. Thousands of projected coordinate systems have been specified for various purposes in various regions (e.g State Plane Coordinate System, British National Grid, etc). Projected coordinate system is used in international standards such as the EPSG (European Petroleum Survey Group) and ISO 19111 and in most geographic information system software.
• Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM): UTM is a map projection system for assigning coordinates to locations on the surface of the Earth. In order to use UTM coordinates in RSLog, in addition to Easting / Northing (m) you need to specify the UTM Zone of the project site. This enables RSLog to translate the UTM coordinates to Geographic coordinates which is required by the maps. The UTM Zone of a project is specified at the project level when creating a project, with the default UTM Zone set on the Settings page. In addition, RSLog can automatically detect your UTM Zone if user has enabled Location Services (see below).
• Local: In this system, user enters X and Y of the point relative to a local datum. Since this datum is unknown to RSLog, the program will not be able to utilize any GIS features (maps, cross section, etc.) for these projects.

For projects with UTM or Projected coordinate reference systems, RSLog internally converts borehole and project coordinates to Geographic coordinates (i.e. Latitude and Longitude) so that the points could be shown on a map.

Using Coordinates in RSLog

The coordinate system is selected from the Coordinate Reference System (CRS) dropdown on the project edit page. For Projected coordinate system, additional settings are available by clicking on the button next to the dropdown.

Entering Geographic Coordinates

If project's coordinate system is set to Geographic (WGS 84), the coordinates are entered as decimal values for Latitude and Longitude of that specific point. In this case, RSLog uses these coordinates for locating the boreholes and projects on the maps, GIS page and Cross-Section Designer page.

Entering Projected Coordinates

If project's coordinate system is set to Projected, the coordinates are entered as decimal values for Easting and Northing (feet or metres depending on the coordinates system used) of that specific point. In this case, RSLog converts these coordinates to Geographic coordinates (i.e. Latitude and Longitude) to place the boreholes and projects on the maps, GIS page and Cross-Section Designer page. For a Projected coordinate system to be used in RSLog, user should specify the code associated to the coordinate reference system. This code comes from two sources:

What is EPSG Code?		What is SPC Code?
EPSG is an organization that maintains a geodetic parameter database with standard codes (EPSG codes) for coordinate systems, datums, spheroids, and units. Every coordinate system gets assigned a unique number. To find out the EPSG code for your project, please consult the surveyor who provided you the coordinates.		The State Plane Coordinate System (SPCS), which is only used in the United States, is a plane coordinate system in which each individual state has between one to six zones. The SPCS covers 120 different zones that generally follow county boundaries. Each zone is identified by a unique FIPS code.

After selecting the Projected coordinate system for your project, click on the button next to the dropdown. This will open the dialog-box shown below:

On this page you can search for the Projected coordinate system by entering the code (EPSG / SPC FIPS), country (or county name for SPC), or part of the coordinate system name. Once your desired coordinate system is shown in the list, select that item from the list to view the details on the top-right portion of the page.

If you would like to make sure the right coordinate system is selected, enter the Easting / Northing of a known point and click Test. Make sure that the location on the map is correct. Then click Save.

Entering UTM Coordinates

If project's coordinates system is set to UTM, the coordinates are entered as decimal values for Easting and Northing (always in metres) of that specific point. In this case, RSLog converts these coordinates to Geographic coordinates (i.e. Latitude and Longitude) to place the boreholes and projects on the maps, GIS page and Cross-Section Designer page.

Once UTM is selected as project's coordinates system, user should specify the UTM Zones in which the project is located. The UTM Zone is typically defined by a letter and a number; For example U10 is used as the UTM Zone for projects located in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Entering Local Coordinates

In a Local coordinates system, project and borehole coordinates (X / Y or Easting / Northing) are entered in feet or metres depending on the project unit system. We do not recommend using this coordinates system mainly due to the fact that the coordinates could not be translated to Geographic coordinates and therefore maps, GIS page and Cross-Section Designer page would be unavailable for these projects.

Location Services

A location-based service is a general term denoting software services which use geographic data and information to provide services or information to users. During login to your RSLog account the Internet browser will ask you for permission to activate Location Services (see below). This allows RSLog to use your location when placing a borehole on a map or for calculating your UTM Zone automatically.

If you change your mind, you can always remove Location Services from the settings page of your browser.