Given that Australia is large enough to be classified as a continent, the fact that it’s moving northwards by 7cm a year might sound pretty inconsequential.
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The problem is that local coordinates, used to produce maps and measurements, and global navigation satellite systems differ by more than one meter.
All that movement can build up tension that eventually releases in the form of an natural disaster, but the most immediate result is that it drags the entire landmass of Australia closer to the equator year after year, which means the country isn’t actually where we think it is anymore. With travel-friendly companies such as Uber planning on putting self-driving cars on the road, and cities all around the world experimenting with driverless buses, it’s only a matter of time before Global Positioning System accuracy becomes a matter of public safety-if not life or death.
You’d probably still be able to find Australia if you flew over there – it’s quite a big place, after all.
“With the applications that are coming in intelligent transport systems – like driverless cars – if you’re 1.5 metres out then you’re in another lane”, he said. Government body Geoscience Australia is updating the Geocentric Datum of Australia, the country’s national coordinate system, to bring it in line with worldwide data.
GEOSCIENCE AUSTRALIA’S DAN JAKSA, on the need to adjust the country’s latitude and longitude. Scientists worry that the latitudinal and longitudinal lines will be off by as much as 1.8 meters by 2020.
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“The lines are fixed to the continent but as time goes by, that position compared to a GPS position can create a difference, so every so often we need to change that”.
