Goode Homolosine Projection

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Introduction

Goode Homolosine Projection is a map projection method proposed by John Paul Goode, an American geographer in the early 20th century. This projection combines the characteristics of the Mollweide Projection and the Sinusoidal Projection. It is an equal-area projection and can accurately represent the area of regions around the world.

Its biggest feature is “interrupted”. This projection deliberately divides the ocean area to minimize the shape and area distortion of the land part. Therefore, it has achieved a good balance between area accuracy and shape preservation while maintaining a clear view of the global landforms, and is well received.

Projection Basic

In order to use the Goode projection, the following data formats supported by GIS software or map drawing libraries are usually used:

1. Shapefile (.shp): vector data format, commonly used to store geographical information such as administrative divisions, land, rivers, etc.
2. GeoTIFF (.tif): raster data format, used to display satellite images or surface distribution.
3. GeoJSON (.geojson): lightweight vector data format suitable for web maps.
4. KML/KMZ: geographic information expression format used for platforms such as Google Earth.
5. Projection description: Since the Goode projection is not widely defined by the standard WKT (Well-Known Text) or EPSG code, it is usually necessary to customize the projection parameters.

Pros

1. Equal-area: The areas of different places can be compared accurately without area distortion.
2. Highlight the visual effect of land: By dividing the ocean area, the shape of the land looks more natural.
3. Suitable for educational use: It can clearly show the global land distribution and facilitate geography teaching.
4. Good visual balance: It takes into account both area and shape, and is beautiful overall, suitable as a display map.

Cons

1. Destroy the continuity of the ocean: Due to the segmentation process, it is not suitable for representing routes or meteorological analysis.
2. Inaccurate direction and distance: Especially in polar regions or near the segmentation line, the sense of direction is easily distorted.
3. Complex implementation: Because it is not included in standard systems such as EPSG, custom settings may be required when using it.
4. Not suitable for interactive maps: The experience is not good when panning and zooming on the web page.

Application Scenario

The Goode projection is widely used in geography education, population density distribution maps, visualization of forests and climate zones, and thematic maps related to environmental issues. It is particularly suitable for map production that requires accurate comparison of global areas, such as reports from international organizations or research units. When used to represent issues such as forest loss or desertification distribution, it can accurately convey geographic information without exaggerating the area, thereby enhancing the credibility of the visual and content.

Example

1. Goode homolosine projection of the world.

2. Thematic map of the Earth’s environment produced using the Goode projection.

Related GIS Projections

Mercator Projection

Transverse Mercator Projection

Wagner Projection

Longitude / Latitude Projection

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goode_homolosine_projection
2. https://manifold.net/doc/mfd9/goode_s_homolosine_projection.htm
3. https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/mapping/properties/goode-homolosine.htm#:~:text=Goode%20homolosine%20is%20an%20equal%2Darea%20(equivalent)%20projection.,of%20the%20projection%20is%20accurate.