Problem with sdo_relate returning unexpected results

Question

I am having a problem with an oracle spatial query not returning what I feel is an appropriate result.
I have a bounding box that has 6 points from a table that should be inside it. There are several hundred points total in this table. I perform the following query and oracle returns only 4 points, well 5 but we will get to that later, within the area of the search.
SQL> Select feature_id
From city_points A
where (MDSYS.SDO_RELATE(A.GEOM, mdsys.sdo_geometry(2003, 8307, NULL, mdsys.sdo_elem_info_array(1,1003,1), mdsys.sdo_ordinate_array(-101.8417,-52.8083,-23.8417,-52.8083,-23.8417,-13.8083,-101.8417,-13.8083,101.8417,-52.8083)), 'mask=ANYINTERACT querytype=join') = 'TRUE');
I used a different application to perform the same type of query. The difference is that the application does the spatial query, not oracle. Further the application gets all of the points and performs this query on the client. What the application returns is correct both visually and spatially.
Two of the points not returned in the oracle spatial query are 300km inside the bounding box. This far exceeds the .5 m tolerance used in our decimal degrees data set (SRID 8307).
I have experienced this problem on 9.2.0.1. I then patched that instance to 9.2.0.7 and duplicated the problem. I then exported the data and imported into a 10g release 1 database and again duplicated the problem. I have tried to re-index the data to no avail.
I have also tried different querytypes also yielding less than expected results.
The data looks like this:
243
SDO_GEOMETRY(2001, 8307, SDO_POINT_TYPE(-58.45, -34.6, NULL),NULL, NULL)
254
SDO_GEOMETRY(2001, 8307, SDO_POINT_TYPE(-56.18333, -34.883334, NULL), NULL, NULL)
377
SDO_GEOMETRY(2001, 8307, SDO_POINT_TYPE(-70.666671, -33.449999, NULL), NULL, NULL)
385
SDO_GEOMETRY(2001, 8307, SDO_POINT_TYPE(-68.149999, -16.5, NULL), NULL, NULL)
388
SDO_GEOMETRY(2001, 8307, SDO_POINT_TYPE(-47.916667, -15.783333, NULL), NULL, NULL)
427
SDO_GEOMETRY(2001, 8307, SDO_POINT_TYPE(-57.640066, -25.270295, NULL), NULL, NULL)
The number is the id field, the rest is the geometry.
The oracle spatial query above only returns id #s 359, 377,243,254,427
There are five returned records. The extra value is outside the bounding area. So it should not have been returned at all. It is all too strange.
I have seen this with different geometry types (points lines and area) as well.
If anyone has suggestions, I would appreciate your comments.
Thanks,
John

Answer 1

John,,
What you are seeing is the behavior you should expect in the geodetic space.
When you have a very long line connecting from longitude -101 to -23, that line
does not follow the same latitude value.
Since these points are in southern hemisphere, the line connecting them
will curve downward (this is the great circle line).
If you really want a line connecting with constant latitude, you should
use the MBR type for the window geometry which densifies the
lines along constant latitude before passing it into relate.
SDO_GEOMETRY(2003, 8307, NULL,
sdo_elem_info_array(1,1003,3),
sdo_ordinate_array(-101.8417,-52.8083, 23.8417,-13.8083))
siva