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I am asking a theoretical question here. I was comparing the areas calculated by MapInfo with the ones calculated by ArcGIS and I always add differences. When Googling that, I ended-up to that link explaining the differences : Area calculation MapInfo/FME. Basically, the default method for MapInfo uses spherical while the defaut method for ArcGIS is cartesian. When I changed the default parameter of both GIS, I ended-up having the results of the other GIS, so both are correct.

But now, whitch result is better or I'd rather say « righter », spherical or cartesian?

Thanks

orange
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1 Answers1

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In simple terms, spherical area takes account of the curvature of the surface of the earth whereas cartesian measurements are calculated as if the objects were on a flat plane. Generally speaking this means that spherical measurements should be more accurate.

T_Bacon
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  • As an aside, there is a GIS StackExchange site which may be a better place for questions like this - https://gis.stackexchange.com/ – T_Bacon Aug 08 '17 at 15:09