ArcMap Exported (KML/KMZ) Meridians and Parallels do not match/ align with that of Google Earth

Question

I was trying to draw kml that are (one degree in gap) meredians and parallels for Austrailia. e.g see i tried to draw 142 degree and 11 degree lines using fishnet in arcmap but when imported into Google Earth they shifted a bit. I used WGS84(EPSG:4326) when creating lines.I supposed that google earth uses EPSG:4326 (I also tried EPSG:3857) as described at here, here and here.

Now how can i achieve 100% matched kml in arcmap. My extent is 100E, 50S to 155E, 3S.

My KML

Below are the steps i did to generate KML as attached above-

1. Open Create Fishnet Tool in a dataframe set to WGS84(EPSG:4326) and assign the parameters as -

My fishnet setting-

2. From the spatial extent i am generating fishnet on i.e. 100E, 3S to 155E, 50S i counted the number of parallels(50-3=47) and meridians(155-100=55) and used this number as row and column number in the fishnet tool as shown above.

3. Then i used Densify tool to generate sufficient points in the lines(0.001 degrees distance interval) whereas projection does not shifts the whole feature.

4. I defined the projection of the layer WGS84(EPSG:4326) using Define Projection tool(I also tried EPSG:3857)

5. Finally i reprojected the line layer into WGS84(EPSG:4326) using Project tool(I also tried EPSG:3857)

6. And exported the lines into kml using Layer to KML tool.

Now, Problem is when i zoom in the exported kml in google earth i see a shift as shown in the attached.So i need a kml(with generation method) in the above spatial extent(100E, 50S to 155E, 3S) that matches exactly with the grid of google earth irrespective of zoom level

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System datails:

I am in Windows 8 and Arcmap Advanced 10.3.0.4284 and by WGS84 i mean as below

GCS_WGS_1984
WKID: 4326 Authority: EPSG

Angular Unit: Degree (0.0174532925199433)
Prime Meridian: Greenwich (0.0)
Datum: D_WGS_1984
  Spheroid: WGS_1984
    Semimajor Axis: 6378137.0
    Semiminor Axis: 6356752.314245179
    Inverse Flattening: 298.257223563

Answer 1

WGS84 is not a projection, it is a Datum, there is a key difference between the two. You could have WGS84 in a geographic projection, or a UTM projection, or many other projections. You want to make sure that not only are you using WGS 84, but are also using the correct projection. Google Earth uses Simple Cylindrical projection with a WGS84 datum, you are likely using a geographic projection as that is the default for Arc. Google earth attempts to reproject such that other projections fit into it nicely but this does not always happen perfectly. Try different projections and see if they translate more easily into google earth.

Answer 2

The meridians in your Google Earth picture look like they are displaying at every 0.0035 degrees. It looks like you are measuring the distance between your data, which is placed correctly at 142E, and the 141.9985E meridian.

The measured distance between 142E and 141.9985E is right around 170 meters.

Your data looks correct, but you are validating against the wrong meridians and parallels.