Vertical position

Vertical position or vertical location is a position along a vertical direction above or below a given vertical datum (reference level). Vertical distance or vertical separation is the distance between two vertical positions. Many vertical coordinates exist for expressing vertical position: depth, height, altitude, elevation, etc. Points lying on an equigeopotential surface are said to be on the same vertical level, as in a water level. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), more specifically ISO 19111, offers the following two definitions: depth: "distance of a point from a chosen reference surface measured downward along a line perpendicular to that surface." height: "distance of a point from a chosen reference surface measured upward along a line perpendicular to that surface"; ISO 6709 (2008 version) makes the following additional definition: altitude: "height where the chosen reference surface is mean sea level" The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) offers similar definitions: altitude: "the vertical distance of a level, a point or an object considered as a point, measured from the mean sea level (MSL);" height: "the vertical distance of a level, a point or an object considered as a point, measured from a specific datum." ICAO further defines: elevation': "the vertical distance of a point or a level, on or affixed to the surface of the earth, measured from mean sea level." I.e., elevation would be the altitude of the ground or a building. Several physical quantities may be defined based on the definitions above: Depth below seafloor Depth in a well Drying height Dynamic height Ellipsoidal height Geocentric altitude Geopotential Heights in geodesy Height above mean sea level Height above average terrain Height above ground level Measured depth Normal height Orthometric height Thickness (geology) True vertical depth Vertical distance quantities, such as orthometric height, may be expressed in various units: metres, feet, etc.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related concepts (22)

Related courses (3)

Related lectures (31)

PHYS-100: Advanced physics I (mechanics)

La Physique Générale I (avancée) couvre la mécanique du point et du solide indéformable. Apprendre la mécanique, c'est apprendre à mettre sous forme mathématique un phénomène physique, en modélisant l

ENV-140: Fundamentals of geomatics

Bases de la géomatique pour les ingénieur·e·s civil et en environnement. Présentation des méthodes d'acquisition, de gestion et de représentation des géodonnées. Apprentissage pratique avec des méthod

PHYS-101(g): General physics : mechanics

Le but du cours de physique générale est de donner à l'étudiant les notions de base nécessaires à la compréhension des phénomènes physiques. L'objectif est atteint lorsque l'étudiant est capable de pr

Height above mean sea level

Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric heights. The quantity is called "metres above mean sea level" in the metric system, while in United States customary and imperial units it would be called "feet above mean sea level". Mean sea levels are affected by climate change and other factors and change over time.

Vertical position

Dynamic height

Dynamic height is a way of specifying the vertical position of a point above a vertical datum; it is an alternative for orthometric height or normal height. It can be computed by dividing the location's geopotential number by the normal gravity at 45 degree latitude (a constant). Dynamic height is constant if one follows the same gravity potential as one moves from place to place. Because of variations in gravity, surfaces having a constant difference in dynamic height may be closer or further apart in various places.

Trampoline: Analyzing Vertical Motion of a Mass-Spring System PHYS-101(g): General physics : mechanics

Discusses the analysis of vertical motion of a mass-spring system.

Ball Rolling on Hemisphere PHYS-101(g): General physics : mechanics

Analyzes the motion of a ball on a hemisphere surface with forces and equations of motion.

Derived variables: summary MOOC: Geographical Information Systems 2

Explores characterizing relief in regions and determining local relief indicators.