General information on the spatial reference

The spatial reference - also known as a georeference - makes it possible to describe the position (location and height) of objects by specifying coordinate values. A uniform spatial reference is not only the basis for the recording and management of landscape-describing (geotopographic) objects and the real estate cadastre, but also an essential prerequisite for the spatially correct merging of geoinformation from a wide range of specialist disciplines and for analysing and presenting it together.

Coordinate systems

The coordinate systems required for this are created by the basic survey and represented in the local area by fixed points. In addition to conventional coordinate determination with the help of position and height fixed points, a method based on global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) has become established. Under the name SAPOS® (Satellite Positioning Service of the German Land Survey), correction data for GNSS receivers is permanently determined and made available for retrieval via modern communication media, so that this service can be used to determine coordinates with an accuracy of a few centimetres.