Topic outline
General
Welcome to Geomatics & Land Surveying I
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INTRODUCTION TO GEOMATICS AND LAND SURVEYING
Welcome to week 1! This may be the first week of our class, but it is a BIG week, full of information and activities to help you get started. But then again, in a condensed 8-week hybrid class, every week will be a big week.
INTRO TO ENGINEERING SCALES & MEASUREMENT TOOLS
Welcome to week 2: Let the games begin! Now that we've exercised our critical thinking skills, it's now time to start thinking about going outside and doing some field measurements. In order to do this, we need to be able to do several things; First, we need to learn how to communicate by using hand signals and using field terms and phrases which many people think sounds like a foreign language. Second, we need to learn how to measure in tenths of feet using tape measures in the field and the engineer's scale back at our computer workstations. Lastly, we need to learn how to identify, use, and care for those really cool electronic distance measuring (EDM) devices like the electronic Data Collector, Total Station, and varying Robotic devices. Wear appropriate clothing because we're going outside!!
ELEVATIONS, CONTOURS, AND SETUP OF THE LEVEL & FIELD NOTES OVERVIEW
Welcome to week 3: Time to break out the Level and measure Elevations! The Level is the easiest survey instrument to setup and measure vertical heights with. The level of accuracy you can achieve with a Level and the Philadelphia rod can be up to a thousands of a foot; used for those high precision and high dollar construction sites!! We use the level and similar devices to measure differences in elevations. These differences in elevations give us the ability to produce contour lines that show us the "lay of the land." Contour lines allow us to draft hills, valleys, cliffs and other natural or man-made ground features on our maps. For our field lab and assignments, remember to think in tenths of a foot….NO INCHES!!
INTRO AND SETUP OF ELECTRONIC TOTAL STATION AND DATA COLLECTOR OVERVIEW
Welcome to week 4: It’s now time to break out the Total Station and measure horizontal and vertical angles along with a distances so we can accurately locate geographic features on the surface of the earth. This is where we apply the math knowledge we practiced in Week 1! Lucky for us, all x, y, & z coordinates and relative measurements will be automatically stored in our Data Collectors but a good Geotech will always record relevant Field notes and sketches as a way to ensure quality control measures for field mapping are being met. As we progress into more advanced technologies and measuring devices, the opportunity for errors increase, therefore, a Geotech should understand how each measuring device, in this case a Total Station, is applying the basic principles of Coordinate Geometry and Trigonometry--this allows troubleshooting for measurement errors to be easier find and correct. First, let’s figure out how to Setup the electronic Total Station and Data Collector—or as we like to say in the field, “Let’s setup the Gun and Get to Work”.
INTRODUCTION TO CAD MAPPING
Welcome to week 5: It’s time to make our way back to the office and download and import our points into a Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) program. The advent of CAD and GIS programs has changed the mapping profession over the last twenty five (25) years by allowing all of us to share our maps electronically with one another. In a perfect world, all Geotechs would use the same mapping styles, symbols, layers, point numbers, and map layout but that’s not how it is. Every region, country, county, city, and private business has their own preferences in CAD software used and map expectations. Understanding basic Cartography, Map elements, and the System of standardized folder, layer, and point naming and numbering will allow you to take advantage of CAD’s automatic mapping functions when you import your field points. Map making is an Art form! Whether you’re hand drafting or using a CAD program your maps will be viewed, critiqued, and hopefully admired -- the “initial” CAD setup is the key to success!
INTRODUCTION TO CAD MAPPING: TOPOGRAPHIC MAPPING OVERVIEW
Welcome to week 6: There are many avenues to explore in CAD mapping; you can design a house, subdivision, highways, or plan an entire city! In our particular case, where interested in locating and mapping natural and man made features along with ground elevations to produce contours, a map commonly referred to as a Topographic map, (Topo map for short). Our topo map will be at a scale commonly used by Engineers and Surveyors for Site Plans; A Site Plan is a map that shows proposed land improvements along with a topo map to illustrate the planned development.
It's time to put everything we've collected and measured in the field onto paper.
FINAL MAP PROJECT OVERVIEW
Welcome to week 7: Ok, we’ve got our field data imported into CAD, created contours and have begun connecting the dots—It’s now time to put the finishing touches to our Topo Map and plot a map for our Final Map Project. Final Line work, Labels, and Plotting of your maps for review and final submission is our focus for this week. You'll also exercise quality control measures on your draft plots to ensure map errors are eliminated. This is the time to plug in your headphones and allow your artistic side to shine through—nothing passes the time better than getting lost in your music and drafting your map. By All Means, Rock Out!
This week you'll be required to finish your Final Map Project for submittal to your instructor.
FINAL MAP PROJECT PRESENTATION
Welcome to week 8: And That’s a Wrap! It’s been Fast and Furious with lots of information and hands on exercises which will serve you well in the GeoSpatial field. Though we’ve covered a lot of material we’ve only scratched the surface of the Geomatics and Mapping tools at our disposal. As you progress in this ever changing mapping profession, remember that it’s impossible to know “everything” but your “bag of tricks’ will forever expand as you come across new technologies and situations that force you to apply the basics you learned in this class.
This week you’ll be required to do a short ten (10) minute presentation to the class on your Final Map Project. You’ll be required to quantify your methods and reasoning’s for the use of layers, symbols, line work, map elements, and overall map style and layout for your Site Plan.