Description
The Compact Miller projection is a compromise cylindrical map projection. It compresses polar areas in comparison to the Miller cylindrical projection. The Compact Miller projection is a special case of the aspect-adaptive cylindrical projection with the height-to-width (aspect) ratio of 0.6.
The projection was introduced by Bernhard Jenny, Bojan Šavrič, and Tom Patterson in 2014. It is available in ArcGIS Pro 1.2 and later and ArcGIS Desktop 10.4 and later.
Projection properties
The subsections below describe the Compact Miller projection properties.
Graticule
Compact Miller is a cylindric projection. The meridians are equally spaced straight lines. The parallels and both poles are straight lines, perpendicular to meridians and the same length as the equator. The spacing between the parallels perceptually grows from the equator until about 55° north and south, then the spacing is almost constant to the poles. The graticule is symmetric across the equator and the central meridian. The height-to-width ratio of the whole map is 0.6.
Distortion
The Compact Miller projection is neither conformal nor equal-area. Shapes, areas, distances, directions, and angles are all generally distorted. Distortions are minimal in equatorial areas and increase toward the poles. Polar areas are exaggerated, less than the Miller cylindrical projection and more than the Patterson cylindrical projection.
Usage
The Compact Miller projection is primarily used for general world maps not requiring accurate areas. This projection is appropriate to map phenomena that change with longitude, for example, time zones.
Limitations
Supported on spheres only. For an ellipsoid, the semimajor axis is used for the radius.
Parameters
Compact Miller parameters are as follows:
- False Easting
- False Northing
- Central Meridian
Sources
Jenny, B., Šavrič, B. and Patterson, T. (2015). "A compromise aspect-adaptive cylindrical projection for world maps."International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 29 (6), p. 935-952. Doi: 10.1080/13658816.2014.997734
Patterson, T., Šavrič, B. and Jenny, B. (2014). "Introducing the Patterson cylindrical projection." Cartographic Perspectives, 78, p. 77-81. DOI: 10.14714/CP78.1270