<p>Spatial reference systems are coordinate systems that can be geographical coordinate systems defined on a model ellipsoid or projection coordinate systems.</p>

<p>A projection coordinate system is defined by four groups of parameters: </p>

<ol>
<li>model ellipsoid, </li>
<li>projection type</li>
<li>projection parameters</li>
<li>measurement unit</li>
</ol>

<p>EPSG codes refer to complete spatial reference systems or model ellipsoids.</p>

<p>You are saying that you want an EPSG code for projection coordinate systems that  use WGS84 as model ellipsoids and Mercator, Lambert conformal conical, and stereographic projections. These projections require additional parameters such as the central meridian and origin latitude. Choice of parameters depends on your region of interest.</p>

<p>You could start with <strong><a href="http://spatialreference.org/ref/epsg/4326/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">EPSG:4326</a></strong> which is a geographical coordinate system with degrees as units.</p>

<p>Next, since your region of interest seems to be in the south of Brazil, consider <strong><a href="http://spatialreference.org/ref/epsg/32722/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">EPSG:32722</a></strong> that stays for <strong>Universal Transverse Mercator zone 22S</strong> and uses the WGS84 ellipsoid.</p>

<p>For a Lambert Conformal Conic projection consider <strong><a href="https://epsg.io/102015" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ESRI:102015</a></strong> that stays for <strong>South America Lambert Conformal Conic</strong>. This spatial reference uses a model ellipsoid that is different from WGS84, so this might be a problem for you. The standard parallel numbers for this projection are 5S and 42S meaning that the distortion would be greater for regions that lie away from these latitude, i.e. the Northern hemisphere or the Antarctic regions.</p>

<p>Finally for a Stereographic Polar you might consider <strong><a href="https://epsg.io/3031" rel="nofollow noreferrer">EPSG:3031</a></strong>. An <strong>Antarctic Polar Stereographic</strong> projection coordinate system that uses WGS84 as a model ellipsoid.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-27T01:18:28.067Z
Note: 102015 is actually an Esri code, not an EPSG one.
mkennedy
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-27T06:32:53.333Z
@mkennedy thank you for the correction. This seems to be also a mistake in QGIS `srs.db`.
Dima Chubarov
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-27T19:21:15.600Z
@DmitriChubarov Yes, pretty much everyone says the authority for any well-known ID / code is EPSG, but their code range is 1 - 32766.
mkennedy
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-20T15:28:31.513Z
Dear @Dimitri Chubarov, thank you for your answer, but the example is from Brazil but the idea is that it can be used anywhere. What I want to do is to tell R what are the spatial references of my objects so that it can plot the domains into a map.
Sergio
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-20T05:33:20.570Z
2018-04-27T06:07:23.570Z
2018-04-27T06:07:23.570Z
Dima Chubarov
<p>I'm building an R package (<a href="https://github.com/ibarraespinosa/wrftools" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://github.com/ibarraespinosa/wrftools</a>) to read namelist.wps and return a dynamic map which you can make zoom. In my case, it would be very beneficial because writing a namelist.wps can be tricky. The problem is that I need to know the EPSG or spatial reference (<a href="http://spatialreference.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://spatialreference.org/</a>) to transform the spatial data to WGS84. 
Hence:
<strong>What are the EPSG code for:
Lambert conformal, Mercator and polar stereographic projections</strong></p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>Edit 1: According to the <a href="http://www2.mmm.ucar.edu/wrf/users/docs/user_guide_V3/ARWUsersGuideV3.9.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">WRF Manual</a> , page 3-10: "As a general guideline, </p>

<ol>
<li><p>the <strong>polar stereographic</strong>  projection is best suited for high-latitude WRF domains, </p></li>
<li><p>the <strong>Lambert conformal</strong> projection is well suited for mid-latitude domains, and </p></li>
<li><p>the <strong>Mercator projection</strong> is good for low-latitude domains or domains with predominantly west-east extent."</p></li>
</ol>

<p>What I want to do is to tell R how to recognize these projections (spatial references), so that I can plot into the map.</p>

<p>Note: The example is from Brazil but the idea is that it can be used anywhere.</p>

<p>I would like to know:</p>

<p>If projection is <em>lambert</em>, the EPSG code is XX or the spatial reference is "+proj=lcc +lat_1=YY..."</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/c5OEC.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/c5OEC.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-27T01:30:18.080Z
WRF model looks like it takes a lot of custom spatial references. They're not going to be in [EPSG](http://www.epsg-registry.org).
mkennedy
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-27T02:22:24.813Z
Dear @mkennedy, so, which are these custom spatial references?
Sergio
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-19T23:24:36.740Z
You will get a better result asking questions like this on [GIS Stack Exchange](https://gis.stackexchange.com).
Spencer
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-19T23:51:48.467Z
I would like to caution you, however, that you're currently asking about projection algorithms, and a projection algorithm is only one part of a spatial reference's specification. So you're probably going to have to reformulate your question before you can get an answer.
Spencer
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-20T15:17:46.127Z
@Spencer, yeah, perhaps, but these projections come from WRF model, so, I'm assuming that WRF model experts would know about this
Sergio
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-28T04:03:56.923Z
Did you ever get an answer? I am looking for the same information.
M.O.
<meteorology><wrf><wrf-chem>
WRF: EPSG code or spatial reference for Lambert conformal, Mercator and polar stereographic projections
Sergio
# WRF: EPSG code or spatial reference for Lambert conformal, Mercator and polar stereographic projections

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-04-19)

I'm building an R package (<https://github.com/ibarraespinosa/wrftools>) to read namelist.wps and return a dynamic map which you can make zoom. In my case, it would be very beneficial because writing a namelist.wps can be tricky. The problem is that I need to know the EPSG or spatial reference (<http://spatialreference.org/>) to transform the spatial data to WGS84.
Hence:
**What are the EPSG code for:
Lambert conformal, Mercator and polar stereographic projections**

Thanks

Edit 1: According to the [WRF Manual](http://www2.mmm.ucar.edu/wrf/users/docs/user_guide_V3/ARWUsersGuideV3.9.pdf) , page 3-10: "As a general guideline,

1. the **polar stereographic** projection is best suited for high-latitude WRF domains,
2. the **Lambert conformal** projection is well suited for mid-latitude domains, and
3. the **Mercator projection** is good for low-latitude domains or domains with predominantly west-east extent."

What I want to do is to tell R how to recognize these projections (spatial references), so that I can plot into the map.

Note: The example is from Brazil but the idea is that it can be used anywhere.

I would like to know:

If projection is *lambert*, the EPSG code is XX or the spatial reference is "+proj=lcc +lat\_1=YY..."

Thanks

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/c5OEC.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/c5OEC.png)

**Tags:** meteorology, wrf, wrf-chem

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: You will get a better result asking questions like this on [GIS Stack Exchange](https://gis.stackexchange.com).  
> **username_2**: I would like to caution you, however, that you're currently asking about projection algorithms, and a projection algorithm is only one part of a spatial reference's specification. So you're probably going to have to reformulate your question before you can get an answer.  
> **username_0**: @username_2, yeah, perhaps, but these projections come from WRF model, so, I'm assuming that WRF model experts would know about this  
> **username_1**: WRF model looks like it takes a lot of custom spatial references. They're not going to be in [EPSG](http://www.epsg-registry.org).  
> **username_0**: Dear @username_1, so, which are these custom spatial references?  
> **username_3**: Did you ever get an answer? I am looking for the same information.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2018-04-20. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

Spatial reference systems are coordinate systems that can be geographical coordinate systems defined on a model ellipsoid or projection coordinate systems.

A projection coordinate system is defined by four groups of parameters:

1. model ellipsoid,
2. projection type
3. projection parameters
4. measurement unit

EPSG codes refer to complete spatial reference systems or model ellipsoids.

You are saying that you want an EPSG code for projection coordinate systems that use WGS84 as model ellipsoids and Mercator, Lambert conformal conical, and stereographic projections. These projections require additional parameters such as the central meridian and origin latitude. Choice of parameters depends on your region of interest.

You could start with **[EPSG:4326](http://spatialreference.org/ref/epsg/4326/)** which is a geographical coordinate system with degrees as units.

Next, since your region of interest seems to be in the south of Brazil, consider **[EPSG:32722](http://spatialreference.org/ref/epsg/32722/)** that stays for **Universal Transverse Mercator zone 22S** and uses the WGS84 ellipsoid.

For a Lambert Conformal Conic projection consider **[ESRI:102015](https://epsg.io/102015)** that stays for **South America Lambert Conformal Conic**. This spatial reference uses a model ellipsoid that is different from WGS84, so this might be a problem for you. The standard parallel numbers for this projection are 5S and 42S meaning that the distortion would be greater for regions that lie away from these latitude, i.e. the Northern hemisphere or the Antarctic regions.

Finally for a Stereographic Polar you might consider **[EPSG:3031](https://epsg.io/3031)**. An **Antarctic Polar Stereographic** projection coordinate system that uses WGS84 as a model ellipsoid.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Dear @Dimitri username_4, thank you for your answer, but the example is from Brazil but the idea is that it can be used anywhere. What I want to do is to tell R what are the spatial references of my objects so that it can plot the domains into a map.  
> **username_1**: Note: 102015 is actually an Esri code, not an EPSG one.  
> **username_4**: @username_1 thank you for the correction. This seems to be also a mistake in QGIS `srs.db`.  
> **username_1**: @DmitriChubarov Yes, pretty much everyone says the authority for any well-known ID / code is EPSG, but their code range is 1 - 32766.  

---

