Datum

'This article describes a concept from cartography and geodesy. Datum is also the singular form of data.

In geology, geography, cartography, surveying and other disciplines, a datum is a reference surface against which measurements can be made.

For instance, sea-level is commonly used as a datum against which height (or depth) of topographic features can be measured. Whilst the use of sea-level as a datum is useful for geologically recent topographic features, it should be remembered that sea-level has not stayed constant throughout geological time (see Vail-curve).

On maps, heights and depths will typically be given in height above datum or depth below datum. Ordnance Survey maps define the Ordnance Survey Datum or OSD which is usually sea-level, but should be checked in the map legend.

External links

• UK Ordnance Survey (http://www.ordsvy.gov.uk/)
• US National Geodetic Survey (http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/)