The arc measurement of Delambre and Méchain refers to the measurement of a meridian arc in France conducted in the late 18th century by the French scientists Jean-Baptiste Delambre and Pierre Méchain. This undertaking was an essential part of the effort to establish a definitive metric system and to provide a basis for the definition of the meter. Delambre and Méchain measured the arc of the meridian between Dunkirk in the north of France and Barcelona in the south.