CF-1.6 <--> WKT/PROJ.4 translation

Coordinate system keywords (starting with CF-1.7)

CF	OGC WKT	PROJ.4	Note
projected_coordinate_system_name	PROJCS	N/A
geographic_coordinate_system_name	GEOGCS	N/A
horizontal_datum_name	GEOGCS|DATUM	+datum
reference_ellipsoid_name	GEOGCS|DATUM|SPHEROID	+ellps
towgs84	GEOGCS|DATUM|TOWGS84	+towgs84
prime_meridian_name	GEOGCS|PRIMEM	+pm

Mapping from CF Grid Mapping Attributes to CRS WKT Elements

Adapted from ​https://cf-pcmdi.llnl.gov/trac/wiki/Cf2CrsWkt

CF Grid Mapping Attribute	Corresponding WKT Syntax (1)
earth_radius	SPHEROID["<reference_ellipsoid_name>", <semi_major_axis>, 0.0, ...]
false_easting	PARAMETER["False easting", <value>]
false_northing	PARAMETER["False northing", <value>]
grid_mapping_name	no known equivalent
grid_north_pole_latitude	no known equivalent
grid_north_pole_longitude	no known equivalent
inverse_flattening	SPHEROID["<reference_ellipsoid_name>", <semi_major_axis>, <inverse_flattening>, ...]
latitude_of_projection_origin	PARAMETER["Latitude of natural origin", <value>]
longitude_of_central_meridian	PARAMETER["Longitude of natural origin", <value>]
longitude_of_prime_meridian	PRIMEM["<prime_meridian_name>", <longitude_of_prime_meridian>, ...]
longitude_of_projection_origin	PARAMETER["Longitude of natural origin", <value>]
north_pole_grid_longitude	no known equivalent
perspective_point_height	PARAMETER["Viewpoint height", <value>]
scale_factor_at_central_meridian	PARAMETER["Scale factor at natural origin", <value>]
scale_factor_at_projection_origin	PARAMETER["Scale factor at natural origin", <value>]
semi_major_axis	SPHEROID["<reference_ellipsoid_name>", <semi_major_axis>, <inverse_flattening>, ...]
semi_minor_axis	no direct equivalent, the SPHEROID element is used to define ellipsoid geometry
standard_parallel (one parallel)	PARAMETER["Latitude of standard parallel", <value>]
standard_parallel (two parallels)	PARAMETER["Latitude of 1st standard parallel", <value>], PARAMETER["Latitude of 2nd standard parallel", <value>]
straight_vertical_longitude_from_pole	PARAMETER["Longitude of origin", <value>]
projected_coordinate_system_name	PROJCS["<projected_coordinate_system_name>", ...]
geographic_coordinate_system_name	GEOGCS["<geographic_coordinate_system_name>", ...]
horizontal_datum_name	GEOGCS["<name>", DATUM["<horizontal_datum_name>", ...] ]
reference_ellipsoid_name	GEOGCS["<name>", DATUM["<name>", SPHEROID["<reference_ellipsoid_name>", ...] ] ]
towgs84	GEOGCS["<name>", DATUM["<name>", TOWGS84[<7 params>] ]
prime_meridian_name	GEOGCS["<name>",PRIMEM["<prime_meridian_name>",<value>]

Common projection parameter names

CF	OGC WKT	PROJ.4	EPSG name	Note
false_easting	false_easting	+x_0	False easting / Easting at false origin	(2)
false_northing	false_northing	+y_0	False northing / Northing at false origin	(2)
scale_factor_at_projection_origin	scale_factor	+k_0	Scale factor at natural origin	(1)
scale_factor_at_central_meridian	scale_factor	+k_0	Scale factor at natural origin	(1)
standard_parallel[1]	standard_parallel_1	+lat_1	Latitude of 1st standard parallel
standard_parallel[2]	standard_parallel_2	+lat_2	Latitude of 2nd standard parallel
longitude_of_central_meridian	longitude_of_center / central_meridian	+lon_0	(1)	(1)
longitude_of_projection_origin	longitude_of_center / central_meridian	+lon_0	(1)	(1)
latitude_of_projection_origin	latitude_of_origin / latitude_of_center	+lat_0	(1)	(1)
straight_vertical_longitude_from_pole	central_meridian	+lon_0	(1)	(1)

Specific projection parameter names

Projection	Name	CF	OGC WKT	PROJ.4	EPSG name	EPSG code	GeoTIFF ID	Note
AEA	Albers Equal Area	albers_conical_equal_area	Albers_Conic_Equal_Area	+proj=aea	Albers Equal Area	9822	CT_AlbersEqualArea
		standard_parallel[1]	standard_parallel_1	+lat_1	Latitude of 1st standard parallel	8823	!StdParallel1
		standard_parallel[2]	standard_parallel_2	+lat_2	Latitude of 2nd standard parallel	8824	!StdParallel2
		longitude_of_central_meridian	longitude_of_center	+lon_0	Longitude of false origin	8822	NatOriginLong
		latitude_of_projection_origin	latitude_of_center	+lat_0	Latitude of false origin	8821	NatOriginLat
false_easting			false_easting	+x_0	Easting at false origin	8826	FalseEasting
false_northing			false_northing	+y_0	Northing at false origin	8827	FalseNorthing
AE	Azimuthal equidistant	azimuthal_equidistant	Azimuthal_Equidistant	+proj=aeqd	N/A	CT_AzimuthalEquidistant		EPSG:9832 is 'Modified Azimuthal Equidistant'
		longitude_of_projection_origin	longitude_of_center	+lon_0			ProjCenterLong
		latitude_of_projection_origin	latitude_of_center	+lat_0			ProjCenterLat
false_easting			false_easting	+x_0	FalseEasting
false_northing			false_northing	+y_0	FalseNorthing
LAEA	Lambert azimuthal equal area	lambert_azimuthal_equal_area	Lambert_Azimuthal_Equal_Area	+proj=laea	Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area	9820	CT_LambertAzimEqualArea
		longitude_of_projection_origin	longitude_of_center	+lon_0	Longitude of natural origin	8802	ProjCenterLong
		latitude_of_projection_origin	latitude_of_center	+lat_0	Latitude of natural origin	8801	ProjCenterLat
false_easting			false_easting	+x_0	False easting	8806	FalseEasting
false_northing			false_northing	+y_0	False northing	8807	FalseNorthing
LCC-1SP	Lambert conformal	lambert_conformal_conic	Lambert_Conformal_Conic_1SP	+proj=lcc	Lambert Conic Conformal (1SP)	9801	CT_LambertConfConic_1SP	(3) ​link
		standard_parallel	latitude_of_origin	+lat_1	Latitude of natural origin	8801	NatOriginLat	standard_parallel=latitude_of_projection_origin
		longitude_of_central_meridian	central_meridian	+lon_0	Longitude of natural origin	8802	NatOriginLong
		latitude_of_projection_origin	latitude_of_origin	+lat_0	Latitude of natural origin	8801	NatOriginLat
		N/A	scale_factor	+k_0	Scale factor at natural origin	8805	ScaleAtNatOrigin	(3) always 1
false_easting			false_easting	+x_0	False easting	8806	FalseEasting
false_northing			false_northing	+y_0	False northing	8807	FalseNorthing
LCC-2SP	Lambert conformal	lambert_conformal_conic	Lambert_Conformal_Conic_2SP	+proj=lcc	Lambert Conic Conformal (2SP)	9802	CT_LambertConfConic_2SP	(3) ​link
		standard_parallel[1]	standard_parallel_1	+lat_1	Latitude of 1st standard parallel	8823	!StdParallel1
		standard_parallel[2]	standard_parallel_2	+lat_2	Latitude of 2nd standard parallel	8824	!StdParallel2
		longitude_of_central_meridian	central_meridian	+lon_0	Longitude of false origin	8822	FalseOriginLong
		latitude_of_projection_origin	latitude_of_origin	+lat_0	Latitude of false origin	8821	FalseOriginLat
false_easting			false_easting	+x_0	Easting at false origin	8826	FalseEasting
false_northing			false_northing	+y_0	Northing at false origin	8827	FalseNorthing
CEA	Lambert cylindrical equal area	lambert_cylindrical_equal_area	Cylindrical_Equal_Area	+proj=cea	N/A	CT_CylindricalEqualArea		(3) CF says EPSG 9834/9835 ?
		longitude_of_central_meridian	central_meridian	+lon_0			NatOriginLong
		standard_parallel[1]	standard_parallel_1	+lat_ts	!StdParallel1			default to 0
false_easting			false_easting	+x_0	FalseEasting
false_northing			false_northing	+y_0	FalseNorthing
M-1SP	Mercator (1SP)	mercator	Mercator_1SP	+proj=merc	Mercator (variant A)	9804	Mercator_1SP	(3)
		longitude_of_projection_origin	central_meridian	+lon_0	Longitude of natural origin	8801	NatOriginLong
		scale_factor_at_projection_origin	scale_factor	+k_0	Scale factor at natural origin	8805	ScaleAtNatOrigin
false_easting			false_easting	+x_0	False easting	8806	FalseEasting
false_northing			false_northing	+y_0	False northing	8807	FalseNorthing
M-2SP	Mercator (2SP)	mercator	Mercator_2SP	+proj=merc	Mercator (variant B)	9805	N/A	(3)
		longitude_of_projection_origin	central_meridian	+lon_0	Longitude of natural origin	8801
		standard_parallel[1]	standard_parallel_1	+lat_ts	Latitude of 1st standard parallel	8823
false_easting			false_easting	+x_0	False easting	8806	FalseEasting
false_northing			false_northing	+y_0	False northing	8807	FalseNorthing
Ortho	Orthographic	orthographic	Orthographic	+proj=ortho	Orthographic	9840	CT_Orthographic
		longitude_of_projection_origin	central_meridian	+lon_0	Longitude of natural origin	8802	ProjCenterLong
		latitude_of_projection_origin	latitude_of_origin	+lat_0	Latitude of natural origin	8801	ProjCenterLat
false_easting			false_easting	+x_0	False easting	8806	FalseEasting
false_northing			false_northing	+y_0	False northing	8807	FalseNorthing
PS-A	Polar stereographic	polar_stereographic	Polar_Stereographic	+proj=stere	Polar Stereographic (variant A)	9810	CT_PolarStereographic	(3)
		straight_vertical_longitude_from_pole	central_meridian	+lon_0	Longitude of natural origin	8802	StraightVertPoleLong
latitude_of_projection_origin			N/A	+lat_0	Latitude of natural origin	8801	NatOriginLat	+90/-90
		scale_factor_at_projection_origin	scale_factor	+k_0	Scale factor at natural origin	8805	ScaleAtNatOrigin
false_easting			false_easting	+x_0	False easting	8806	FalseEasting
false_northing			false_northing	+y_0	False northing	8807	FalseNorthing
PS-B	Polar stereographic	polar_stereographic	Polar_Stereographic	+proj=stere	Polar Stereographic (variant B)	9829	N/A	(3)
		straight_vertical_longitude_from_pole	central_meridian	+lon_0	Longitude of natural origin	8802
latitude_of_projection_origin			N/A	+lat_0	Longitude of origin	8801	+90/-90
standard_parallel			latitude_of_origin	+lat_ts	Latitude of standard parallel	8832
false_easting			false_easting	+x_0	False easting	8806	FalseEasting
false_northing			false_northing	+y_0	False northing	8807	FalseNorthing
St	Stereographic	stereographic	Stereographic	+proj=stere	N/A	CT_Stereographic		EPSG 9809 is “Oblique Stereographic” or “Double Stereographic”
		longitude_of_projection_origin	central_meridian	+lon_0			ProjCenterLong
		latitude_of_projection_origin	latitude_of_origin	+lat_0			ProjCenterLat
		scale_factor_at_projection_origin	scale_factor	+k_0			ScaleAtNatOrigin
false_easting			false_easting	+x_0	FalseEasting
false_northing			false_northing	+y_0	FalseNorthing
TM	Transverse Mercator	transverse_mercator	Transverse_Mercator	+proj=tmerc	Transverse Mercator	9807	CT_TransverseMercator	(3)
		scale_factor_at_central_meridian	scale_factor	+k_0	Scale factor at natural origin	8805	ScaleAtNatOrigin
		longitude_of_central_meridian	central_meridian	+lon_0	Longitude of natural origin	8802	NatOriginLong
		latitude_of_projection_origin	latitude_of_origin	+lat_0	Latitude of natural origin	8801	NatOriginLat
false_easting			false_easting	+x_0	False easting	8806	FalseEasting
false_northing			false_northing	+y_0	False northing	8807	FalseNorthing

Notes:

(1) Multiple CF/WKT translations, see projection-specific translations. (2) Parameter used in every projection. (3) See projection-specific notes.

Projection-specific notes

EPSG codes below correspond to "EPSG dataset coordinate operation method" codes.

Lambert conformal 1SP / 2SP

The 1SP variant corresponds to EPSG code 9801 - Lambert Conic Conformal (1SP), with CF latitude_of_projection_origin=standard_parallel and WKT scale_factor=1. A scale factor less than 1 means that there are 2 standard parallels (see ​http://www.remotesensing.org/geotiff/proj_list/lambert_conic_conformal_1sp.html), but it cannot be translated to the CF 1SP variant, therefore the 2SP variant should be used instead. The 2SP variant corresponds to EPSG code 9802 - Lambert Conic Conformal (2SP).

Lambert cylindrical equal area

The scale_factor_at_projection_origin variant is not recommended as it does not translate to and from WKT/PROJ.4. Snyder formulas 10-2b and 10-2 can be used to relate scale_factor_at_projection_origin, standard_parallel1 and latitude_of_projection_origin but the latter is not part of this projection's parameters. It has been proposed to deprecate or remove this variant from the CF spec (see CF trac ticket #75).

Mercator 1SP / 2SP

The scale_factor_at_projection_origin variant corresponds to EPSG code 9804 - Mercator (1SP) or Mercator (variant A), and the standard_parallel variant corresponds to EPSG code 9805 - Mercator (2SP) or Mercator (variant B).

Polar stereographic

The standard_parallel variant corresponds to EPSG code 9829 - Polar Stereographic (Variant B), while the scale_factor_at_projection_origin variant corresponds to EPSG code 9810 - Polar Stereographic (Variant A). As WKT/PROJ.4 require the standard parallel, [Snyder] formula 21-7 can be used to compute it from scale_factor_at_projection_origin if that variant is used.

Transverse Mercator

Transverse Mercator can be translated to PROJ.4 using either +proj=tmerc (Transverse Mercator) or +proj=utm (Universal Transverse Mercator) by computing zone number from longitude_of_central_meridian. For example, a TM projection with longitude_of_central_meridian=-117 would have the corresponding PROJ.4 string: '+proj=utm +zone=11 +datum=NAD27 +units=m +no_defs '

Status of NetCDF CF-1.5 projection handling capability in work-in-progress NetCDF driver upgrade

This page was created to list/track progress as a supplement to work in October 2011 on wiki:NetCDF_Improvements, specifically wiki:NetCDF_exportUpdateChanges.

The list of supported CF-1.5 projections is shown at ​http://cf-pcmdi.llnl.gov/documents/cf-conventions/1.5/apf.html .

The table below shows tested ability to export projections from a GDAL raster - originally in GeoTIFF - to NetCDF CF-1.5 in each supported projection.

The shorthand projection names listed below correspond to their names in the source files and hopefully are fairly self-explanatory - they've been listed in the same order as that shown on the CF-1.5 appendix page.

Note: the current import capability has been tested to be the inverse of the export capability. We would appreciate any help in obtaining valid test files for each of these projections. If and when we are able to test capability to import NetCDF CF-1.5 variants that don't have a direct OGC WKT equivalent, we should add a supplementary table.

Projection	Name	CF Export	CF Import	NetCDF Java	Updated	Note
AEA	Albers Equal Area	Yes	Yes	Yes	18/10/11	Tested regular 2SP version - see AEA note below.
AE	Azimuthal equidistant	Yes	Yes	No	18/10/11	See (1) below
LAEA	Lambert azimuthal equal area	Yes	Yes	Yes	18/10/11
LCC1SP	Lambert conformal	?	Yes*	?	18/10/11	See note below.
LCC2SP	Lambert conformal	Yes	Yes	Yes	18/10/11
CEA	Lambert Cylindrical Equal Area	Yes	Partial	No	18/10/11	Tested regular OGC WKT with std_parallel version (CF-1 has alternative scale_factor_at_projection_origin version, see notes below). See (1) below re NetCDF-Java loading.
M-1SP	Mercator	Yes	Yes	No	18/10/11	See (1) below
M-2SP	Mercator	Yes	Yes	Yes*	18/10/11	Parameters appear correct, loads in NetCDF Java and IDV, but appears translated slightly (a few arc-minutes) from expected position
Ortho	Orthographic	Yes	Yes	Yes	18/10/11
PS	Polar stereographic	Yes*	Yes	No*	21/12/11	Believe we can translate parameters correctly, but see comments below. Translated file opens in NetCDF-Java IDV, but doesn't display as correctly georeferenced.
Rot Pole	Rotated pole	No	No	No	18/10/11	See projection comments below
St	Stereographic	Yes	Yes	Yes	18/10/11
TM	Transverse Mercator	Yes	Yes	Yes	18/10/11

General notes:

(1) For projections that won't load correctly as referenced grids in NetCDF Java, we've contacted the developers to ask for clarification/testing support. In most cases, the CF-1 attributes seem appropriate.

• Update 20/10/2011: One of the NetCDF lead developers has acknowledged NetCDF Java hasn't handled these projections previously, and is going to upgrade: see ​http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/mailing_lists/archives/netcdf-java/2011/msg00159.html

Issues with CF-1 implementation of specific projections:

• AEA : The OGC WKT version has 2 Std parallels - whereas the CF-1.5 version says it can have either 1 or 2 std parallels. How should the CF 1SP version be converted to OGC WKT, and vice-versa?
  • Currently the driver, on import and finding an AEA with only 1 std parallel, will set the 2nd std parallel in the WKT as identical to the first.
• LCC : The OGC WKT 'Lambert_Conformal_Conic_2SP' maps clearly to LCC in CF-1 with 2 std parallels. The CF-1 spec claims that a 1SP version can be used, but it doesn't include a 'scale_factor' as does the OGC WKT 'Lambert_Conformal_Conic_1SP'.
  • For import: Given discussion and example on #3324, and also support from NARCCAP project: it seems the CF-1 LCC 1SP projection is a 'degenerate' LCC-2SP with both SP's at the same location. Thus seems we can read with both 'std_parallel' (1 value) and 'latitude_of_projection_origin' mapping to latitude_of_origin (WKT) and setting scale_factor=1? This is the code's current behaviour (though perhaps could do more error-checking).
  • For export: given the LCC-1SP can specifically include a scale_factor to control the projection (see ​http://www.remotesensing.org/geotiff/proj_list/lambert_conic_conformal_1sp.html), it seems this can't be directly exported to NetCDF without throwing away the scale factor.
    • Perhaps the reasonable thing for now is to export the scale_factor to NetCDF, so it can at least be read back in. Otherwise, we'd have to try to translate the LCC-1SP to a LCC-2SP on the fly.
• CEA : The CF-1 conventions claim this can be encoded with a 'scale_factor_at_projection_origin' alternative to standard parallel - how would this conversion be done from/to OGC WKT (which requires central_meridian and standard_parallel_1)?
• PS : This projection's parameters in CF-1 are significantly different from ​http://www.remotesensing.org/geotiff/proj_list/polar_stereographic.html. In particular the CF-1 equivalent for 'latitude of natural origin' seems to be 'standard_parallel'. CF-1 defines either standard_parallel or scale_factor_at_projection_origin, which is incompatible with OGC WKT (and OGR) that requires both. Snyder's eq. 22-7 allows to relate standard_parallel and scale_factor_at_projection_origin, given that the standard_parallel is defined as the latitude where scale_factor=1. Implementation as of Dec. 21:
  • WKT scale_factor maps to CF scale_factor_at_projection_origin
  • WKT central_meridian maps to CF straight_vertical_longitude_from_pole
  • WKT latitude_of_origin maps to WKT standard_parallel
  • WKT to CF: if WKT latitude_of_origin is positive then CF latitude_of_projection_origin is +90, else it is -90 (North vs. South Pole), scale factor is not exported
  • CF to WKT: is standard_parallel is not defined, compute it from scale_factor using Snyder 22-7
• Rot pole : Not able yet to test: as seems GDAL needs support of advanced proj4 strings that can handle rotated coord systems (see bug #4285).