Blog
Where Theory Meets Practice: The Geiod and Leveling
As mentioned previously in this column, the geoid is the equipotential gravitational surface on which all elevations are referenced. An equipotential surface is where the force times distance is a constant. Gravity provides the force, and the distance is the height above this surface defined along the plumb line of an instrument. As shown in Figure...
Fraud in Surveying
Editor’s Note: If you think that today’s surveying and geomatics schools are simply cranking out technology-fueled “button pushers,” think again. In her senior paper, Claudia Barrueta, recent graduate of Fresno State’s Geomatics Engineering Program, offers a thought-provoking case study of a surveyor who recognized a fraudulent situation and chose to do the right thing (here a...
Australian Aerial Innovation
Airborne Research Australia brings unique capabilities—including powered gliders reported to be more economical than UAVs—to a wide range of research projects. Airborne Research Australia (ARA) is Australia’s National Research Aircraft Facility and is hosted within the School of the Environment at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia. ARA’s capabilities are unique in terms of their...
A Rendezvous with Mason and Dixon
An annual gathering of surveyors took on special significance in Philadelphia this year as attendees retraced the Mason-Dixon Line and learned about the astounding men who established it.In November of 1763, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon arrived on the shores of Philadelphia with an epic task: once and for all settling a heated boundary dispute...
20,000 Chains Under the Sea
This look at an international company that provides hydrographic surveying supplies and solutions reveals how surveyors can also ride the maritime boom.This particular day in the field has been hard. Precise levels are always a challenge to run, and the surveyor is weighing his options. First, he sets his level down at the first point...
Editor’s Desk: Ordered to Shut Down
Note: The federal government is running once again; here Dave Doyle (former chief geodetic surveyor for the NGS and our geodesy editor) explains NGS’s role in the shutdown, work-arounds in case this happens again, and what you can do to help prevent a denial of access to essential surveying data in the future. Maybe Joni Mitchell...
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