Comparative Analysis of Jordan Transverse Mercator (JTM) and Cassini-Soldner Projection (CASS)

Abstract

Jordan uses two coordinate systems; one based on the Palestine 1923 Datum, Cassini-Soldner projection (CASS), and a more recent one called “Jordan Transverse Mercator” (JTM). The JTM Projection System is based on the “International Hayford 1927” Datum. The Department of Land and Survey (DLS) is responsible for managing the cadastral maps of Jordan. Maps in the Cassini-Soldner projection cover 17% of Jordan and maps in the JTM projection cover the rest of the country. This study is devoted to compare CASS with JTM in Jordan. Adopting a reference frame was done in Jordan to support development of a spatial data infrastructure (SDI). On the other hand, depending on affine adjustment process using ArcMap, version 10.2.2, CASS projection was transformed to JTM. In conclusion, the transformation from CASS to JTM, according to the method used in this study, gave accurate results of approximately 10cm. This is a potent result that encourages the transfer of all maps from CASS to JTM.