I would like to check that I am using the most appropriate map projection for some area calculations.
I need to run some area calculations for large features in Northern Canada. The smallest is approx 21,000 sq. km, the largest approx. 38,000 sq. km. They lie between 65°00'0"N and 83°15'00"N and approx 64°W and 93°W.
I've been doing some research and propose using the "North_Pole_Lambert_Azimuthal_Equal_Area" projection provided in ArcMap. With Central Meridian and Latitude of Origin modified to run through the approximate middle of each feature in question. Although it looks like if I keep the Latitude of Origin at 90.00000 as per the default, the area numbers do not change.
Data is in geographic, in shapefiles. Data Frame coordinate system to be set to map projection to be used (LAEA projection). Using XTools pro to populate the table specifying output projection to be same as data frame (i.e. the LAEA projection) and units=kilometres
Any Comments? Thank you for your time.