Comparison of Different Algorithms to Transform Geocentric to Geodetic Coordinates

The conversion from geocentr.ic to geodetic coordinates is among of the most important tasks in computational geodesy. This conversion is often complicated and time consuming. In order to deal with the large quantities of points, it is important to select the fastest possible algorithm without compromising the accuracy. From the numerical standpoint, the available conversion algorithms have to be solved either iteratively, through a linearization, or using an algebraic equation offorth degree. In this paper, five iterative algorithms and one closedform solutionfor transformationfrom geocentric to geodetic coordinates are compared for numerical efficiency. It is concluded that the simple iteration method implemented in Bowring's algorithm executes faster than the others. Only one iteration is sufficient to produce coordinates accurate to the comparable level of O.3. J0-16 rad, which exceeds the requirements of any practical application.