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11-3. Using an alternative CRS

The Geospatial Explorer can render maps in a variety of Coordinate Reference Systems (CRS). In this tutorial you will switch the default CRS to a polar view centred on the North Pole.

  1. Using your own config from earlier exercises open the Settings tab. In the Navigation section, change the Quick location to Custom (Manual Entry) and enter in the following to set the location to the North Pole:

    • Latitude: 90
    • Longitude: 0
    • Zoom level: 4

  2. In the CRS section, set the Default Coordinate Reference System to EPSG:3413 — WGS 84 / NSIDC Sea Ice Polar Stereographic North.

  3. Switch the basemap to Blue Marble or Stadia Satellite to see the polar view clearly. To do this:

    • Go to the Layers tab and open the Base Maps section.
    • If you do not already have them, add the Blue Marble and Stadia Satellite background maps from the recommended base maps list.
    • Select the Edit button on Blue Marble or Stadia Satellite and turn on its Display on load toggle.
    • Save the base map changes.

  4. Open Preview. The map should now open looking down on the North Pole.

  5. If you are using a config from the core tutorials, toggle on the Above Ground Biomass layer. Note how the data reprojects on the fly in the polar CRS.

Tip

Try returning to Settings → Navigation later and switching the CRS back to EPSG:3857 or EPSG:4326 to compare how the same start location and layer look in a different CRS.

If you want to continue with other tutorials, you may find it easier to switch back to the default EPSG:3857 and a more familiar start location after exploring the polar view.

Info

The Geospatial Explorer ships with the default Coordinate Reference Systems shown in the Default Coordinate Reference System dropdown. If you need a CRS that is not listed, you can add it under Custom Projections by entering the appropriate PROJ.4 definition.

Data is reprojected on the fly from its source CRS to the display CRS, so custom Coordinate Reference Systems can also be useful for supporting specific datasets even when the display CRS is one of the built-in options.