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June 2014
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movement known as Maasina Rule, which lasted from
1944 to 1952. Subsequently, in response to the worldwide
movement for
, the Solomons set out on the
path of constitutional development. The country was formally
renamed Solomon Islands in 1975, and independence was
attained on July 7, 1978”
(Encyclopaedia Brittanica, 2014)
.
Slightly smaller than Maryland, the Solomon Islands have
a coastline of 5,313 km, and its terrain is comprised of mostly
rugged mountains with some low coral atolls. The lowest point
is the Pacific Ocean (0 m), and the highest point is Mount
Popomanaseu (2,310 m)
(World FactBook, 2014)
.
Thanks to Mr. John W. Hager, the Astro Stations observed
in the Solomon Islands include: Cruz, at “Cruz Astro 1947,” Φ
o
= 9° 25’ 27.61” S, Λ
o
= 159° 59’ 10.14” E, α
o
= 99° 46’ 39.3” to Az.
Mark from south, International ellipsoid, elevation = 2.20 feet.
Reported under water, 23 Oct. 1961. Established by the 657th
Eng. Astro. Det. March 1947.
CZ-X-6, Φ
o
= 11° 34’ 13.3920” S, Λ
o
= 166° 52’ 55.8300”
E, International ellipsoid, H
o
= 10.5 feet. Area is Santa
Cruz Islands, Islands of Ndeni (Nendo), Utupua, Vanikoro
(Vanikolo). I don’t know whether or not it includes the Reef
Islands. CZ-X-8, Φ
o
= 9° 47’ 43.8000” S, Λ
o
= 167° 06’ 24.3000” E,
International ellipsoid. Duff Islands. GUX 1 (1960), at GU.X.1
Jean, Φ
o
= 9° 27’ 05.272” E, Λ
o
= 159° 58’ 31.752” E, α
o
= 300°
16’ 31.045” to GU.X. 2 from north, International ellipsoid,
H
o
= 576.25 feet. Also listed at DOS Astro Gux 1. Source
is “
Co-ordinate List British Solomon Islands Protectorate
,”
Honiara, Guadalcanal, 23 Oct. 1961. Swallow Islands, at 1966
SECOR Astro, Φ
o
= 10° 18’ 21.42” S, Λ
o
= 166° 17’ 56.79” E.
International ellipsoid”.
The official datum of the Solomon Islands is GUX 1 ASTRO
FIX and the only Grid system ever used is the UTM Zone 57, all
referenced to the International ellipsoid where
a
= 6,378,388
m and
1
/
f
= 298. This appears to be the “working system” for
cadastral applications. Current mapping is referenced to the
WGS84 Datum. According to
TR 8350.2
, the transformation
parameters
from
GUX 1 ASTRO Datum
to
WGS84 Datum
are: ΔX = +252 m ± 25 m, ΔY = –209 m ± 25 m, ΔZ = –751 m
± 25 m. The magnitude of the parameters that would apply
to the Swallow Islands likely would be significantly smaller,
perhaps by an order of magnitude or more, because of the
superior timing of the SECOR satellites over spring-wound
chronometers used for the classical Astro Stations.
In September of 2013, the Solomon Islands reported on the
condition of their geodetic control to the FIG Small Island
Developing States Symposium in Fiji. Recent attempts to
correspond with the Chief Surveyor have been unsuccessful
because of a recent catastrophic typhoon that hit the Solomon
Islands and flooded areas remain in disarray at the time of this
April 2014 writing.
The contents of this column reflect the views of the author, who is
responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein.
The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of
the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing and/
or the Louisiana State University Center for GeoInformatics (C
4
G).
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