Calculates the distance (in meters) between two (sets of) locations on an ellipsoid.
The formula devised by Thaddeus Vincenty is used with an accurate ellipsoidal model of the earth (ellipsoid). The default ellipsoidal model is ’WGS84’, which is the most globally accurate model.
pt1 and pt2 are two-column matrices of the form [latitude longitude]. The units for the input coordinates angles must be degrees. Optional argument ellipsoid defines the reference ellipsoid to use.
Sample values for ellipsoid are the following:
| Model | ellipsoid |
|---|---|
| WGS 1984 (default) | referenceEllipsoid(7030) |
| GRS 1980 | referenceEllipsoid(7019) |
| G.B. Airy 1830 | referenceEllipsoid(7001) |
| Internacional 1924 | referenceEllipsoid(7022) |
| Clarke 1880 | referenceEllipsoid(7012) |
| Australian Nat. | referenceEllipsoid(7003) |
The sample model values are the following:
| Model | Major (km) | Minor (km) | 1 / f |
|---|---|---|---|
| WGS 1984 | 6378.137 | 6356.7523142 | 298.257223563 |
| GRS 1980 | 6378.137 | 6356.7523141 | 298.257222101 |
| G.B. Airy 1830 | 6377.563396 | 6356.256909 | 299.3249646 |
| Internacional 1924 | 6378.388 | 6356.911946 | 297.0 |
| Clarke 1880 | 6378.249145 | 6356.51486955 | 293.465 |
| Australian Nat. | 6378.1600 | 6356.774719 | 298.25 |
Usage:
>> vincenty ([37, -76], [37, -9]) ans = 5830.081 >> vincenty ([37, -76], [67, -76], referenceEllipsoid (7019)) ans = 3337.843
See also: distance, referenceEllipsoid.
Package: mapping