POSI T I O N I NG A ND ME A S U R E ME NT, E L EVATED APRIL 2020

SURVEYING
GEODESY
EDUCATION
GNSS

THE MANY
FACETS OF
SURVEYING
INSIDE
16 Understanding Epochs
22 Teaching Roots and Research
27 GNSS for Engineers without Borders
 GO FURTHER.

Trimble® R12 GNSS System

with ProPoint™ GNSS
Engine Technology
Engineered for improved accuracy and
productivity in challenging GNSS conditions,
with ground-breaking signal management and
rugged durability. Get ready for performance
that takes you further.

Trimble.com/R12

© 2019, Trimble Inc., All rights reserved. GEO-182 (01/2020)

Looking Forward By Gavin Schrock, PLS
April 2020 Volume 7 Number 4

Another Curveball
Publisher Neil Sandler
[email protected]

Editor in Chief Shelly Cox

[email protected]

Editor Gavin Schrock, PLS

O
[email protected]

Director of Sales and Chuck Boteler

Business Development [email protected]

ut of the blue, we’re le, but a deluge of bad tidings multiple disciplines—includ- Creative Director Karen Peacock
facing another cur- for surveying and geo (nearly ing those who have been pro- [email protected]

veball. The cur- everyone). actively broadening their scope Accounting and Angie Duman
Classifieds
rent global concern After more than a decade of services. Read these profiles [email protected]

(COVID-19) was of steady recovery, we’re often in this month’s article, “The Circulation [email protected]
generally not an- in situations of plenty: work Many Facets of Surveying.” Phone: 1 (844) 862-9286

ticipated, and the situation backlogs, struggles to find One piece of advice given Editor, Pangaea Jeff Salmon
and Located
changes daily. Who knows if, enough qualified staff, and by Esri president Jack Dan- [email protected]

by the time this is published, being able to afford to mod- germond when I asked him Editor, Field Notes Scott P. Martin
[email protected]
the situation will have calmed ernize gear and workflows. how to prepare for other
dramatically—or just as easily That could end, and rapidly. changes ahead was, “It might European Editor Nicholas Duggan
[email protected]
turned the other way? Think two or three levels up- be better to be more of a gen-
Thus far disruptions have stream: large and growing eralist than a specialist.” As Proofreader Claire Napier
[email protected]
only generally affected our engines of our economy are automation and other changes
respective professions, AEC, the service, hospitality, and hit our professions, in some Contributing Writers Marc Delgado, PhD
Nicholas Duggan, FRGS
and other client constitu- travel sectors. They are already cases we are becoming more CGeog (GIS)
Geoff Jacobs
encies we serve—not much taking a huge hit—and how the overseers of processes than Kevin Lidtka
Joseph Kerski, PhD, GISP
beyond the broader societal long will it be before that the direct hands. This has Matteo Luccio
Jeff Salmon
disruptions. At least not yet. could translate to postponed made it easier to be effective in Anthony Whitlock, PLS
But, unless there is some un- or cancelled projects? multiple areas.
precedented resolution, we The hit from the previous We are used to the feast-
should be prepared for dis- downturn was not completely or-famine cycles in our pro- Copyright © 2020 xyHt magazine. Printed in U.S.A. No
material may be reproduced in whole or in part without
ruptions, especially down- across the board. Residen- fessions, but do we need to written permission from the publisher. The publisher
assumes no responsibility
stream from other sectors. tial and commercial develop- accept that as a given? Will for unsolicited material, the
accuracy of information supplied
For example, a lot of geo- ment felt impacts more than surveyors and geo folks and by manufacturers, or opinions
related events have been post- utilities, public works, and firms become more adept in expressed by contributors.

poned or cancelled, and access transportation. We saw practi- more fields and therefore more
to public records counters may tioners broadening their skill- ready to adapt as needed? Of Partners and Affiliates
have been limited or tempo- sets and portfolios to adapt. course, diversifying needs to
rarily suspended. Surveying With that in mind, when be well thought-out. As busi-
and geo education schools are xyHt first heard the murmur- ness coach Richie Norton
temporarily closed—more ings of this potential crisis, says, “Dig a well before you’re
may move online. The field we decided to accentuate the thirsty, but dig over water.”
aspects of our work are by many facets of surveying and Today we face the dual
default done in relative isola- geo, so we interviewed folks in hazards of both overreac- THE
IMAGING & GEOSPATIAL
TIAL
TION SOCIETY
INFORMATION
tion, but some office work has tion (that can be disruptive
moved to tele-work. and costly), and under-reac-
I hesitate to open this can We should be tion (that could turn out even
of worms, yet it has often been prepared for worse). I’m writing with the
said that when Wall Street hope that cool heads prevail.
sneezes, we catch the cold. It disruptions, In the interim, the work
was only about a dozen years goes on, we continue to be
ago when a big downturn cre- especially nice to each other, and I for
ated a sharp drop in so many downstream one will continue to enjoy ta-
client industries: not a trick- cos on Tuesdays. ■
from other
sectors.
APRIL 2020 xyHt 1
 Stonex USA | 54 Regional Dr | Concord New Hampshire 03301
For a Stonex dealer near you contact Ray
Phone: 603-848-9983 | [email protected]

New Stonex GNSS Receivers

S700A S850A
TWO VERSIONS E-BUBBLE
4G | BLUETOOTH | WIFI 4G | BLUETOOTH | WIFI
WEB-UI | IP67 WEB-UI | IP67

w w
Ne Ne
S900 | S900A
IMU | E-BUBBLE
4G | BLUETOOTH | WIFI
WEB-UI | TWO BATTERIES
IP67 | DOUBLE FREQUENCY RADIO

www.stonexamerica.com
 CONTENTS APRIL 2020

xyHt [ISSN 2373-7018 (print), ISSN 2373-7735 (online), CPC CPM No.
41437548] is free upon request to qualified subscribers in the United States.
The Canadian subscription rate is US $20/year. The International subscription
rate is US $40/year. Periodicals postage paid at Frederick, MD and additional
post offices. xyHt is published 12 months a year by Flatdog Media, Inc.,
20 W. 3rd Street, Frederick, MD 21701.

POSTMASTER: Send changes of address to: xyHt Subscriptions, PO Box 986

Levittown, PA 19055-9998. Send Canadian changes of address to: Box 697
STN A, Windsor, ON N9A 6N4, Canada. For advertising, editorial, or other
information, write to Flatdog Media, Inc. or call 301-682-6101.

ANOTHER
FEATUREs more
1 CURVEBALL
By Gavin Schrock, PLS

10 22

5 LOCATED
FACT OR FAKE?

NEW PRODUCTS

UNMANNED NEWS

EVENTS, AND MORE

9 CONTRIBUTORS Teaching Roots

and Research
One of Southeast Asia’s oldest
surveying schools is promoting

32 MAPS AS ART
Global Ocean Circulation The Many Facets of
Surveying
the use of geospatial technolo-
gies and thriving in the digital
age.
Surveyors have traditionally done a variety
of essential and interesting work—and they
continue to do so. We’ve asked surveyors 27
from various work disciplines what inspires GNSS for
them. Remote Water
Resources
A surveyor volunteers his time
and expertise to help supply
fresh water to an isolated village
in the Andes.
16

Datum Epochs
Understanding epochs for accurate meas-
Farrah Etcheverry followed her father's
urements and locations in dynamic tectonic
footsteps into the profession and has areas.
expanded Etcheverry Land Survey's
services in Arizona, into mapping, UAS,
and more.

APRIL 2020 xyHt 3

 Send your Located items
to [email protected]

Located
Snapshots of what’s new and fascinating / Compiled (and often written) by Jeff Salmon

Unmanned News
ASV to Clean Water
and Collect Data
A NEW ATLANTA-BASED COMPANY has
developed a unique drone for a new applica-
tion: waterway cleanup and data collection.
RanMarine USA’s ASV (autonomous surface ve-
hicle) units will be equipped with lidar to avoid
collisions, along with up to 15 4G IoT sensors
for measuring factors such as temperature, pH,
depth, green algae, or hydrocarbons. The ASV
will use GPS waypoints and autonomous soft-
ware to follow set pathways collecting waste
and data.
bit.ly/WasteShark-ASV

Africa’s First Drone Academy

THE AFRICAN DRONE AND DATA and State University that has developed
ACADEMY (ADDA) is now teaching stu- the curriculum. The inaugural class of the
dents to make drones that will create ADDA includes 16 students from Malawi
maps, deliver medical supplies, and moni- and 10 from across Africa. More than half
tor farms. UNICEF supports ADDA, togeth- of the students are women.
—Marc M. Delgado, [email protected]
er with the Virginia Polytechnic Institute

Robotic Boats for Mapping Ocean Floor

THE INTERNATIONAL SEABED 2030 project innovative, low-emission unmanned fleet that
was created to map the 80% of the ocean floor is deploying geophysical sensors to deliver ac-
that hasn’t been already mapped by 2030. One curate, high-quality data for offshore mapping
way they intend to accomplish this is by bring- tasks and hydrographic surveys.
ing marine robotics to the task. Enter Ocean bbc.in/32iAGuM
—[email protected], @dragons8mycat
Infinity. This US- and UK-based firm is using an

Credit: Ocean Infinity

APRIL 2020 xyHt 5

 Various
Mars’ Mysterious Song

QGIS Brings Back

the Globe
QGIS HAS its globe back! QGIS going 3D was
pretty cool, but it was a shame that there was
no 3D globe; those of you who have used earlier
versions of QGIS will remember that there used
to be a “Globe plugin.” Well, I’m happy to say
that it’s back and better than ever! Now called
“Globe Builder,” it provides a lovely method for
presenting those global issues.
bit.ly/QGISGlobe
—[email protected], @dragons8mycat

Credit: NASA

IN ADDITION TO RECORDING terious hum to a similar one on Earth. The Half-meter Accuracy
“MARSQUAKES” on the red planet, Earth-bound mystery hum was tracked to on a Smartphone?
NASA’S InSight lander has discovered an underwater volcano; no explanation
another interesting phenomena: the Mars yet for the Martian one. NSL’S (Nottingham Scientific Ltd) FLAMINGO is
hum. Scientists have compared the mys- bit.ly/MarsHumming a live geolocation positioning service for smart-
phones that delivers half-meter (0.5m) accuracy
for immediate integration into smartphone apps.
A recent Google API provided access to meas-
ured distances to the GNSS satellites. FLAMIN-
GO has used this data to enable a service that
combines precise point positioning (PPP) and
Asia’s First Open-access Lidar Dataset real-time kinematic (RTK) concepts for smart-
phones and IoT.
IT TOOK THE ERUPTION OF TAAL, one of the bit.ly/FlamingoGeo
—[email protected], @dragons8mycat
world’s smallest volcanoes, for researchers in
the Philippines to allow for the free use of its li-
dar dataset. Asia’s first open-access lidar dataset
comes from the DREAM/Phil Lidar Program and Do you know about our
includes various files within 20km of the volcano’s Measure This! podcast?
crater. Data is available at a spatial resolution of
1 meter. As Taal volcano is just one of the two- XYHT’S PODCAST is in full swing with latest
dozen active volcanoes in the Philippines, this episodes interviewing:
release is aimed to help in disaster risk reduction, • Rohan Verma, Joseph Kerski, Zack Pieper, and
planning, and reconstruction in the region. • this issue’s John Hamilton.
bit.ly/OpenLidar Listen or subscribe at https://
—Marc M. Delgado, [email protected] anchor.fm/measure-this/

6 xyHt APRIL 2020

 Fact or Fake?
For April Fools’ Day, try your hand at figuring out
which news items are fact and which are fake.
Answers are at the bottom of this page.

Leaf Blower-powered
Drone
UAS EXPERIMENTERS have created a drone
powered by an electric leaf blower; they used a
commonly available cordless leaf blower to suc-
cessfully launch and fly a drone. Will this lead
to a revolution in autonomous household lawn
maintenance? Only time will tell.

Scientists to Clean Space

Debris with a ‘Tow Truck’
REMOVING THE NEARLY 2,000 LIVE SAT-
ELLITES and more than 3,000 failed ones in
the Earth’s outer space
will be a huge job, but
not for the experienced
team of space debris re- Credit: ESA
searchers at the Swiss
startup, ClearSpace. The ESA Probe to Study Sun—at Night
first mission, aptly called
Credit: NASA ClearSpace-1, is planned HERE’S A BIG QUESTION: How will the to overcome this challenge: the mission
for launch by the European Space Agency (ESA) ESA’s Solar Orbiter accomplish its mis- will operate only at night to protect the ex-
in 2025 and will remove an item of space debris sion without being destroyed by the Sun’s pensive probe from the Sun’s harsh rays.
from orbit using a tow truck. The captured space intense heat? Fear not, the mission’s op- Crisis averted!
debris and tow truck will then be deorbited to erational procedures have been designed
burn up in the atmosphere.

Micro-lidar Inspects for

Arterial Blockage
RESEARCHERS AT ENVIROSIGHT have
shrunk their pipe-inspection technology to per-
form the same function but inside a human artery.
Similar to the full-sized machine, The Rovver X
Micro can inspect the walls of the artery, gather-
ing high-resolution images as well as lidar infor-
mation showing areas with blockage. The doctors
can use the 3D data to clean the blockage and
potentially save the patient from a heart attack.
—Kevin Lidtka, [email protected]

space, and then drag it to the Earth’s atmosphere where it will burn.
oping a sophisticated robot with four arms that will grab the debris in
definitely not use a tow truck. Instead, ESA and ClearSpace are devel-
the ESA plans to remove space debris, the ClearSpace-1 mission will
Clean Space Debris with a Tow Truck is fake. Although it’s true that
animals are harmed.
an entire living pigeon, to mimic the flight characteristics of birds; no Credit: David Lentink
Cyborg Drone is fake. Researchers are using pigeon feathers, not
tion, maybe some day.
Cyborg Drone Takes to the Skies
IS PETA COOL WITH THIS? Probably not.
doesn’t exist yet, but who knows; with advances of micro-miniaturiza-
Micro-lidar Inspects for Arterial Blockage is fake. This technology ing “soft drones.” At what cost, Dr. Frankenstein,
limited distances.
Scientists at Stanford University have crafted a at what cost? While it’s true that city dwellers
cybernetic organism (cyborg for short) pigeon- often refer to pigeons as “rats with wings,” this
indeed created a leaf blower-powered drone and flown the craft for
Leaf Blower-powered Drone is fact. A group of experimenters has
knew that.
shadow of Earth, distinctions like night or day disappear. But you
drone in order to advance drone safety by creat- seems unnecessarily cruel.
sending a probe to study the sun, once a space probe leaves the
ESA Probe to Study Sun—at Night is fake. Although the ESA is
Answers:

APRIL 2020 xyHt 7

 New Products/News

Carlson’s Vsx7
GNSS Receiver
CARLSON MACHINE CONTROL’S Vsx7 is a
multi-frequency position and heading receiver
designed for machine control and can be in-
stalled on excavators, drills, pile drivers, and
more. Paired with the Carlson A45 antennas, the
Vsx7 features high-precision positioning in Athe-
na RTK, Atlas L-band, and SBAS and heading
accuracy of up to .01 degrees. The Vsx7 system
is designed to operate in harsh conditions from Trimble TerraFlex Supports
-40 degrees F. to 158 degrees F. LTI TruPulse Laser Rangefinders
THIS RELEASE OF TRIMBLE TERRA- LTI TruPulse laser rangefinders built di-
Septentrio’s Online Shop FLEX software supports capturing re- rectly into TerraFlex and a new guided
mote features using the TruPulse series offset workflow, users can capture more
THIS WEB SHOP offers customers multi-constel- laser rangefinders developed by Laser features, more accurately, safely, and
lation, multi-frequency GNSS technology. The first Technology, Inc. (LTI). With support for efficiently.
product available for sale online is mosaic, Septen-
trio’s most compact GNSS receiver module.

Hexagon’s M.App X 2020

THIS IS the latest version of Hexagon’s Geospa- better analysis. The latest version adds browser
tial's cloud-deployable enterprise solution for solution, LuciadRIA, as its mapping engine to
imagery intelligence. It features new capabili- improve hardware performance and support 2D
ties that enable users to display critical infor- and 3D displays of the same map.
mation and view the same map in 2D or 3D for

AAG Annual Meeting AUVSI Xponential GeoBusiness UESI Surveying and Geomatics
EVENTS

4/6-4/10 5/4-5/7 5/20-5/21 5/31-6/2

Denver, Colorado Boston, MA London, UK Lawrenceburg, IN
Postoned to 8/10-8/12

AEC Next Tech Expo/SPAR 3D Geolgnite Esri International UC Commercial UAV Show
6/3-6/5 6/22-6/24 7/13-7/17 9/15-9/17
Chicago, IL Ottawa, Canada San Diego, CA Las Vegas, NV

8 xyHt APRIL 2020

 Contributors
Right:
Marc Delgado
Richard Maher
Mike Meredith

Left:
James R.
Nicolau IV
Jamie Oliver
John Stenmark

Marc Delgado, Mike Meredith, Jamie Oliver

PhD PhD Jamie (Global Ocean Circula-
tion, page 32) has worked in the
Marc (Teaching Roots and Re- Mike (Global Ocean Circulation,
British Antarctic Survey’s crea-
search, page 22) is a GIS special- page 32) is an oceanographer
tive services team for over 15
Leica Nova MS60 ist and one of xyHt’s 40 under 40
laureates. His PhD is in geogra-
and science leader at the British
Antarctic Survey (BAS) in Cam-
years as publications and edu-
cation manager and has spent
THE MS60 MULTISTATION combines up- phy. He crisscrosses continents bridge, UK. He is head of the po-
time at Rothera Research Sta-
teaching GIS. “Knowing that lar oceans team at BAS, which
graded faster 3D laser scanning capabilities, old surveying schools—such has research foci on determin-
tion in Antarctica as part of his
GNSS connectivity, and digital imaging with a role in developing the Bafta-
as at the University of the Phil- ing the role of the polar oceans
nominated educational website:
high-end total station. The unit features several ippines—continue to withstand on global climate, the ice sheets,
www.discoveringantarctica.
laser scanning updates, including a scanning the test of time makes me believe and the interdisciplinary ocean
org.uk.
that the surveying profession will system. “This projection not only
speed of up to 30,000 pps, optimized scan-area thrive in the digital age.” emphasizes the ocean intercon- [email protected]
definitions, adapted scan managements, and an [email protected] nectedness, but also highlights
improved scanning path for zenith scans. The the centrality of the South-
MS60 is also has the AutoHeight feature, ena- ern Ocean in the global ocean John Stenmark, LS
circulation.”
bling users to automatically measure the instru- Richard Maher, John (GNSS for Remote Water
[email protected] Resources, page 27) is a writer
ment’s height with a button press. PLS and consultant working in the
Rich (Datum Epochs, page 16) geospatial and associated in-
is a professional land survey- James R. Nicolau dustries. He has more than 25
or in California and has owned years of experience in applying
KDM Meridian, a surveying firm, IV, PLS advanced technology to survey-
for 20 years. He is active in the James (The Many Facets of ing and related disciplines. "En-
California Spatial Reference Surveying, page 10) is a pro- gineers without Borders will use
Center and the California Land fessional land surveyor and this information to establish a
Surveyors Association (CLSA) past president of the San Diego durable, sustainable water sup-
and is the president of the Or- chapter of the California Land ply that will improve the lives of
ange County Chapter of CLSA. Surveyors Association. He also Curingue residents.”
“The importance of the epoch serves on boards and other pro- [email protected]
date of survey measurements fessional organizations. “I’ve in-
is often overlooked or misun- terviewed professionals across
derstood by the participants in- the world with the goal of get-
volved at all levels of geospatial ting a good backsight on our
projects, resulting in the dilution profession.”
Black Swift’s Quadcopter of positional accuracy of un- [email protected]
for Inspections quantifiable magnitude.”
[email protected]
THE BLACK SWIFT E2 UAS is designed for
automated industrial and structural inspections.
Leveraging advances in computer vision and ma- What is xyHt?
chine learning, this is an intelligent drone that can Each of the conventions humans have used to visualize and convey representations of this physical world
be combined with an inspection payload, making can be expressed via the simple variants of “xyHt”
it capable of completely autonomous flights. x: left-right
y: fore-aft
H: up-down (orthometric height)
t: time

APRIL 2020 xyHt 9

 By James Nicolau IV, PLS

The Many Facets of Surveying

Surveyors have traditionally done a variety of essential and
interesting work—and they continue to do so. We’ve asked
surveyors from various work disciplines what inspires them.

T o get an idea of where we are going, it’s important to stop and 1. What attracted you to surveying, and
when did you begin your career?
take a look at where we have been. This rings especially true for 2. How did you get into your current type of
work, and what are key aspects you like about
those of us who have chosen to be professional land surveyors this type of surveying?
3. What are your biggest challenges, current-
and geospatial engineers. We’ve historically done a wide variety ly, and what are the most exciting aspects of our
profession?
of work, and, if anything, that variety is growing. 4. Would you recommend this type of work
to young people considering careers? What are
“Backsighting,” for the uninitiated, is the act of beloved profession. While overall that presents your thoughts about the current state of the
referencing a known object or point to deter- great opportunity, conversely it may be over- profession?
mine the position of other points and features whelming to some just starting off, unsure what 5. Given the amount of new/added technol-
moving forward. For this article I’ve interviewed steps to take. ogy available to us, how has that changed your
surveying practitioners across the world, and in With the growth of digital media there have day-to-day work?
multiple disciplines, with the goal of getting a been much more outreach and interest in our 6. When you hear of new processes being
good “backsight” on our profession, and to en- profession. Whether this is due to the intrigue utilized, how long before you consider testing
courage those considering entering our profes- of drones, other autonomous vehicles, lidar, 3D them in your work routine?
sion or just starting out to look at what brings gaming, or modeling platforms like Blender, 7. How do you see the profession changing in
us together. more people are beginning to take a deeper look the next 10 years?
This is an exciting time to be a part of this into one of the oldest professions and bring new The following is a digest of responses from
profession and related industries, as we are all life to it. a long list of surveyors I contacted. You can read
standing in the face of a giant momentum shift. I asked one or more of the following ques- their extended answers online, and we will pro-
There is seemingly more and more opportunity tions to each surveying practitioner, and their an- vide more responses from other surveyors in var-
available to those who choose to practice in our swers are based on these. ious disciples in future print issues.

10 xyHt APRIL 2020

APRIL 2020 xyHt 11
 MONICA PARADA
The chief cadastral surveyor for the province
of Córdoba in Argentina compares disciplines.
I received my degree in 1997, but at first I
didn’t work as a land surveyor, I started in me-
chanical engineering. Years later, I turned to land
surveying—I am really happy with my choice.
The engineering classes in a land surveying
degree in Argentina cover most of the topics of
that subject: legal aspects of land surveying, GIS,
astronomy, topometry, and many more, giving us
the knowledge to perform a wide variety of work.
I know about geospatial engineering, and I
can say that land surveying and geomatics en-
gineering are similar, but in them you work dif-
ferent jobs in the field of land management,
because only a land surveyor can validate legal
land survey documents. When the land surveyor
signs and stamps the documents and builds trust,
all information is accurate and legally compliant.
places that I would never otherwise see. I often
FARRAH ETCHEVERRY liken it to a daily treasure hunt.
The common point between both is the ex-
ponential growth that GIS has gone through.
A boundary surveyor in Arizona follows family Surveying is never, ever the same; it’s new I believe that our profession, as one of the
footsteps and expands her services into map- every single day. It’s like solving new puzzles all oldest in the world, has been evolving in a
ping, and more.
the time, and the most rewarding part is seeing spectacular way, including that today the chal-
I honestly didn’t have much choice in be-
every piece come together in the form of a map lenges to be overcome are more complicated
coming a surveyor! I was born into the world of
or other type of deliverable. and sophisticated.
a small, privately owned firm and was immersed
And the technology is a blast. How many I believe that we will continue advancing at
in all kinds of surveying, ranging from boundary
people get to fly drones and used high-powered the pace set by new technological innovations
retracement and drone topography to big con-
scanners, GPS, and robotic instruments on a dai- in every field where surveying is applied. Sur-
struction layout. I love it all. veyors were—are—and will be indispensable
As I got older, I became more interested in ly basis? I think the reason most surveyors en-
joy the job so much is because it is challenging. for our society.
the mapping portion of my father’s work. Once I
started working with him, both in the office and It requires focus, dedication, research, physical
in the field, there was no turning back! ability, mental wherewithal, common sense, and
For me, the most exciting aspect of land sur- computer smarts. You have to be able to trouble-
veying is the freedom. Being a land surveyor al- shoot, think on your feet, and adapt to any situa-
lows me to travel, to be outdoors, and to hike to tion thrown at you on the spot.

ty to travel to different regions of the country.

OLENA AVDIIENKO I initially got a job offer in the field of road
A young surveyor in Ukraine finds a career in construction. It was a new experience for me in
road construction surveying. this type of surveying.
I performed topographic surveys at the I like it when projects for major road re-
beginning of my career. This process was not pairs correspond to reality. We have problems
easy for me given the fact that I did not have with this in our country; designers sometimes
any related education or experience; I was at- use old topographic surveys, and after checking
tracted to the profession because of the abili- the project I must redo it. This leads to a lag in
the work schedule.
I recommend surveying to young people
who have a technical mindset, mathematical
abilities, and mindfulness. In addition, training
and good physical preparation are very impor-
tant, as the surveyor spends a lot of time in the
field. Then they will love their work and enjoy
the work process.

12 xyHt APRIL 2020

CAROLINE BRADLEY
A geology and Earth sciences major with a
fascination for the ocean found a path to hy-
drographic surveying.
Through my geology degree at the Col-
lege of Charleston, I was introduced to the
BEAMS (BEnthic Acoustic Mapping) pro-
gram where undergraduates can take a SeaMap
course in which they learn how to process ba-
thymetric data. The knowledge I gained from
these courses introduced me to hydrography.
Originally, I was just curious as to where
this profession could take me. With the field
being as small as it is and staffing being an
issue, I was excited to travel and learn more
about new marine environments. I grew up on
the beach in South
Jersey and have al-
ways had a fascina-
tion with the ocean.
are staffing and training (mentoring), equally.
The most ex- JAKE FABIAN Moreover, it is crucial that those who do discov-
citing aspect of our
profession, in my Working in a multi-discipline firm involves er the career learn what is going on behind the
opinion, is that that following the footsteps—and the leaps and keystrokes that they’ll be making every day—to-
every new project is bounds—of surveying evolution. day’s tools can cram a great deal of science be-
its own puzzle, no My career began with an internship in hind a button-push.
matter the job scope. The most challenging the transportation department at a smaller We also must stay true to “following in the
aspect is troubleshooting. There are multiple municipality, helping with everything from footsteps” while still working in the leaps and
systems at play when you survey, so mak- level loops to design-oriented topographic bounds that modern equipment and comput-
ing sure all systems are a go, communicating surveys and drafting. I was taking part-time ing allow us.
properly, and collecting the best data are all classes as a nontraditional student, initially Most importantly—whether that data is
a must. looking at an engineering degree. used to form a smart city, retrace an origi-
When I think about where this field will Eventually I wanted to find a way to com- nal survey, build a chain of title, or develop
be in the next 10 years, I think there will be a bine my love of the outdoors with the math- a site within a virtual environment, etc.—it
greater shift to drone work. Of course, I would ematical abilities I was developing. I had a will still require professional-level evaluation
want to see these advances perform in sea tri- strong interest in cadastral work, but I also and ethical conduct. In that respect, I see the
als and take a look at the data they can pro- wanted to fill out my experience base in other role of the land surveyor changing very little
duce. If these factors are all beneficial, I would surveying specialties. compared to the tools that they’ll be using to
hope to acquire the technology quickly. The biggest challenges to the profession do the job.

drone flights and data processing to, at first, civil lend themselves to a much wider range of ap-
ZACH PIEPER engineering firms plications than most people realize. I think sur-
A surveyor with roots in the land likes the vari-  I love variety. One day we could be build- veyors and geospatial professionals will become a
ety that the mainstreaming of UAS has brought ing a bare earth surface from drone lidar for a more important part of every project.
to the surveying. new force main project. The next, it could be
I grew up on a farm in Iowa, so work start- infrared images for a roof leak inspection at a
ed as soon as I could wrap my hands around a large manufacturer, or even drawing planime-
wrench or a hold up a grade rod. We did all of try from a drone flight for a waterpark several
our own field grading and drainage. That’s where states away. We watch the horizon closely for
I got my first taste of surveying. new tech. If the value is clear, we jump right
My “professional” career started in 2003 into figuring it out. 
with Caterpillar’s marketing training program. Like all the STEM professions, there is a
My business partners and I saw an opportunity lot of opportunity for geospatial, but we need
when the FAA allowed the 333 exemptions for to expose more young people to our corner of
commercial drone operations.  Once we had our the industry. 
333 in hand, we were off and running, offering Many of the new survey tools and software

APRIL 2020 xyHt 13

CHRISTOF LAMBERCHT
A Belgian engineering surveyor reflects on the
digital transformation of the profession.
I started as a surveyor trainee in 1986 and
became a professional land surveyor in 1989,
licensed since 2005. (Licensing was intro-
duced in Belgium in 2004.) I started mainly
on construction sites in the heavy steel in-
dustry, but I also worked on pipeline as-built
surveys and tank deformation in the petro-
chemical industry.
Working at a large engineering company lets
me work on larger infrastructure projects. Some-
times you can work five days a week and do five
completely differ-
ent jobs, all on the
same project.
This highlights
the most exciting
aspect of our pro-
fession: it has so
many aspects! You
have the technical
skills and the high-
tech instruments,
lenge. I think with the advancements in tech-
sometimes the hard labor of the fieldwork, and ADAM ZWEIG nology, like machine control, many traditional
the historical aspect of delving in the ancient ca- A railroad surveyor keeps an eye on advances. entry-level positions could go away.
dastral sketches and notes. My stepfather is a surveyor, and growing If you don’t keep up with the latest hard-
Over the years we have moved to a com- up I helped him out occasionally and decided ware and software, the profession will pass
plete digital process. The only paper notes we to go for it full time. A majority of the firms I you by. Especially with software, the look and
still make are for inverts in manholes—we’re
have worked for have been heavy in the con- feel of the interface is constantly changing
looking at automating that process as well. We
struction field. I started doing construction and improving.
still talk about teams, but for the past 10 years
work for a few railroads and found that I really It’s hard to keep up with these updates and
for regular work we use one-person teams
enjoyed the rail work. improvements if you don’t keep up to date
with GNSS and total stations.
In the next 10 years I believe more lidar and It is a great time to be a surveyor with all with the releases.
SLAM tools will make their way to the field. the advances in technology and new and in- The equipment we use to locate the rail en-
Field time will be further reduced, and we will novative products and software. Some of the ables us to gather more data exponentially in a
need more processing power at the office. It has tools and solutions we use today, I couldn’t much shorter time frame. If a product fits and
been this way ever since the personal computer even imagine when I first started. benefits our workflow, we move very quickly
was introduced. But I can see staffing becoming a chal- to test new products.

BLM is the successor agency to A challenge for the BLM is

DOMINICA VAN KOTEN the General Land Office, the fed- transitioning to a fully digital land
The new Washington, D.C., chief cadastral sur- eral organization responsible for tenure and surveying system. The
veyor for the BLM emphasizes stewardship. the original survey and disposal of BLM has more than 200 years of
I began my career with the Bureau of the United States public domain paper surveying and title records
Land Management (BLM) Alaska State Of- lands. in its custody. We have been suc-
fice in 1991 as an intern working summers I recommend the surveying cessful at transitioning portions,
while attending Ferris State University. I had profession to anyone interested in yet key parts are still manual. I
taken a drafting course in high school, and math, science, technology, and his- keep an open mind about using
the teacher said he thought I would make a tory. One of the biggest challenges new tools to accomplish our mis-
good surveyor because of my drafting skills. for surveying is bringing new people into the sion and communicate efficiently.
When I learned about the history of the profession. There are more jobs in the survey- I expect the profession will continue explor-
public land surveying system, I knew I want- ing field than there are graduates of surveying ing new technology and tools for fieldwork and
ed to be part of the BLM surveying team. The programs. land records stewardship.

14 xyHt APRIL 2020

JOHN HAMILTON, PLS
A surveyor finds adventure in monitoring, geo-
desy, and engineering.
In between various stints at college, I was
working as a paralegal at a law firm; in 1981 I
was offered a position as a survey tech with the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Because I was a
big fan of the outdoors, I felt that was a better job
to have than being in a law office.
I graduated from Purdue University with a
BSCE degree, with a major in geodesy, right at
the time that GPS was first becoming a useful
tool for surveyors. I made the decision to special-
ize in high-accuracy engineering surveys and ge-
odetic control, which proved to be a good fit for
my background. Also, learning to write software
has enabled me to become much more efficient
in the office and is something I use daily.
Surveying is a constantly changing field, with
new technologies coming regularly that improve
productivity and open new opportunities for
surveyors. As autonomous positioning becomes
more accurate, I see the potential for misuse of
coordinates and maps only increasing. It will be
necessary for surveyors of the future to become
experts in datums and mapping in general.
The exponential increase in data availability
will require us to become experts in not only data
collection but also data manipulation and stor-
age, as well.
(Listen to Hamilton talk about his fascinat-

iG8
ing work on our podcast, Measure This! https://
anchor.fm/measure-this/). ■ Network Rover: $7,735
Base / Rover Pair: $15,294
RTK GNSS
Same as cash 10% down - 24 month financing OAC

small, lightweight, rugged, reliable

GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou + SBAS 

Any-Mix-Fix  fully enabled  200+ channels 
tracks and uses Galileo BeiDou, L2C, L5 today

Bright sunlight readable OLED panel 

keyboard for quick mode selections

Dual Batteries  hot swappable  11-hours

Connected: 3.75 GSM  built-in hotspot 

Wi-Fi  http  ftp Bluetooth  USB  Serial 
403-473 MHz TxRx Satel UHF

27 GB high-speed static observation memory 

8-stream  direct to RINEX logging 
iGage download and OPUS submittal tool

IP68  water and dust proof 

cast magnesium case 2.8 lbs. with batteries 
2-year warranty
www.iG8g.com +1-888-450-4922

APRIL 2020 xyHt 15

Datum Epochs

16 xyHt APRIL 2020

Understanding epochs for accurate
measurements and locations in
dynamic tectonic areas.

By Richard C. Maher, PLS

“EPOCH” IS A SCIENTIFIC TERM used to denote a

specific moment or period in time.
Land surveying and geodesy use a numerical
“epoch” in decimal years to state the moment at
which a given position—in geodetic latitude and
longitude or plane coordinates (e.g. northing and
easting) and ellipsoid heights—is valid with re-
spect to the geodetic datum.
The decimal year is equal to: year + day-in-
year/365 (366 for leap years). For example, Janu-
ary 1, 2010 is written as 2010.00; May 5, 1991 is
the 128th day and written as 1991.35.
The geodetic datum is a specific mathematical
shape and orientation of the Earth, of which there
are many; though for this discussion we are mostly
interested in the North American Datum of 1983
(NAD83), currently the most common geodetic
datum for surveying and mapping in the U.S.
By itself, without the defining “epoch” date tag,
“NAD83” alone is at best an incomplete state-
ment, lacking critical information to be useful.

WHERE EPOCHS ARE IMPORTANT

Knowing and applying the epoch of a position
(measured or given) can be very important in
states such as California, because the framework
to which we make typical measurements (lati-
tude/longitude or northing/easting) is fixed to the
North American Tectonic Plate.
When you see the terms “NAD83” (North
American Datum of 1983) or “CCS83” (Califor-
nia Coordinate System of 1983), you are referring
to a datum that is defined in mathematical terms
Site velocities with respect such that it remains relatively fixed to the North
to NAD 83(2011) epoch American Plate.
2010.00.
Credit: National Oceanic Many parts of California, along with several
and Atmospheric Admin- other westerly states, are on the wide deforming
istration (NOAA).
boundary (up to hundreds of kilometers) between
the North America Plate and the Pacific Plate or
the Cascadia Subduction Zone.
It is said that, “As California goes, so goes the
nation.” The San Andreas Fault System and the
numerous other fault systems along the west coast
are clear indicators this does not hold true as far as

APRIL 2020 xyHt 17

 BUILT JUNE 3-5, 2020
McCormick Place

STRONGER
CHICAGO, IL

TOGETHER
With conference programs full of rich content and a vendor-neutral expo hall floor – AEC Next,
SPAR 3D and USIBD collide to offer a diverse learning experience built to provide business
solutions, unparalleled networking and the latest technical advancements.

The future of AEC and 3D technology is here.

USE CODE SAVE100

for $100 off any conference pass
and/or free exhibit hall entry.

Register
Online @
aecnext.com or
spar3d.com/event
Produced by Diversified Communications

Autodesk

WF_594023_aec_spar20_xyht_half_ad.indd 1 1/27/20 4:22 PM

18 xyHt APRIL 2020
the physical land on which we live and stand.
The eastern boundary of the Pacific Plate is
moving globally to the northwest at 1.5 inch-
es (4 centimeters) each year, and the North
American Plate is heading southeast at about
0.75 inches (2 cm) per year. From the perspec-
tive of the North American Plate, the average
rate of northwesterly movement along the San
Andreas Fault is between 3-5 cm per year.
For simple conceptualization, we can imag-
ine the latitude and longitude arcs, the north-
ing and easting lines, or even a CAD X and
Y grid as a clear transparent overlay with grid
lines. This grid is essentially and purposeful- To-scale track of CGPS Sta-
tion TRAK (Orange County,
ly pinned to various places across the United CA) using published deter-
States, where the entire tectonic plate is as- mined coordinates, show-
ing the general northwest-
sumed to be very stable and keeping its shape erly movement of Southern
as one piece of land. California.
Credit: The Orange County
The result is that the coordinates of a point Surveyor’s Office, California.
in Kansas, South Dakota, Texas, or Florida re-
main the same over time, so long as the point
is not subject to a local movement (e.g. land-
slide). Once surveyed, the point can be relocat-
ed by use of reference to other control points
in the area or to any points on the North stantly. Unfortunately, the critical information tation of GPS soon required readjustments
American Plate. essential to working as accurately and precisely where coordinate values changed up to a me-
Even though the North American Plate it- with respect to a particular epoch date is often ter and resulted in new realizations with the
self is moving on the Earth, the NAD83 arcs, not requested, noted, maintained, or provided. designation of the “High-Precision Geodetic
lines and grids move with it. The actual move- This problem is abundant in both the public and Network” (HPGN) or a “High-Accuracy Ref-
ment is essentially hidden from users of ge- private spheres of data collection and publication. erence Network” (HARN). The epoch dates of
ographic or state plane coordinates while on The goal of this discussion is to provide the HPGN/HARN realizations varied by region
that tectonic plate. reader with an understanding of the impact and state but were commonly on the West
For those of us in an area that isn’t moving of this oversight and encourage practices that Coast in the 1991.35 epoch.
in lockstep with the North American Plate, preserve the full benefits of today’s position- While a few important national readjust-
using a datum such as NAD83 presents an ing capabilities. ments have since occurred since the wide-
extraordinary challenge. Each day, we move Providing or using a coordinate without spread integration of GPS (e.g. 2007.00,
northwesterly (nearly as fast as our finger- knowing the epoch immediately creates an 2011.00) to accommodate additional data and
nails grow), while that transparent grid over- unknown inaccuracy that may not truly ex- to improve accuracy, most coordinates in the
lay of NAD83 stays behind fixed to the North ist. Even if the data is not highly accurate, not continental United States have not “moved,”
American Plate. The coordinates of surveyed knowing or applying the epoch creates an un- in contrast to what we see on the West Coast.
points in this area progressively degrade over known shift. Local states and organizations in dynamical-
time, relative to the NAD83 geodetic datum. Note that it is not simply “survey points” ly moving areas like California have produced
It is imperative that the date at which the that suffer from this bad practice; aerial im- various intermediate updates as need and fi-
surveyed coordinates were valid relative to agery, alignments, linework, terrain mod- nances allowed, most of which are listed in the
the NAD83 geodetic datum is documented; els—anything with geospatial values can be example that appears above.
hence the Epoch Date tag. incorrectly matched with other data if the For a simple example of the effect of tecton-
specific epochs aren’t accounted for. A good ic movement, consider a single reference point
NO-EPOCH DANGERS example is the GIS map that shows proper- that has been assigned published values for sur-
Prior to our ability to easily and precisely locate ty lines shifted from fences or buildings. It’s a veying and geodetic use. TRAK is a GPS ref-
ourselves with respect to expansive datums such good bet that the datums of the varying data erence station established in 1994 in Southern
as NAD83, our measurements were locally tied sets were not aligned. California, maintained currently by Art An-
to reference stations, which, if in turn had “old” drew of the Orange County Surveyor’s Office.
coordinates, still gave us a way to know where GPS ADJUSTMENTS We will start with the first “accurate”
we were relative to what was then the best avail- NAD83 was developed prior to the wide- HPGN position in 1991.35 and end at the
able information—at least within the reach of spread integration of GPS. Ostensibly, the last currently published position by the Cal-
our generally available measurement tools. epoch of the original NAD83 is 1986. The ifornia Spatial Reference Center at epoch
Today, positional data is abundant, free, spans inaccuracies of this initial realization of the 2017.50. (This latest epoch realization/adjust-
vast distances, and is provided or requested con- datum were great enough that the implemen- ment was funded through contract with the

APRIL 2020 xyHt 19

 Above: Horizontal velocities in western CO-
NUS relative to the NAD_83(2011) realization
of the North American Datum of 1983.
Credit: NOAA.

Horizontal velocities in eastern CONUS rela-

tive to the NAD_83(2011) realization of the
North American Datum of 1983.
Credit: NOAA.

California Department of Transportation to When the epoch dates of prior survey meas- readily known or available, the value of this data
the great benefit of all geospatial profession- urements is known, several tools exist to make in terms of its accuracy (not precision) is imme-
als in California.) adjustments between dates using models de- diately suspect. “State Plane Coordinates” itself
To be clear, the same physical spot on the veloped from constant observations of numer- is not a complete datum statement.
ground and the ground itself is moving with re- ous stations across the United States. One such There are attempts in various specifica-
lation to the various datums, and each coordi- tool, with figures shown here for making clear tions and standards to draw out and preserve
nate is highly accurate; however, depending on the disparity of velocity of stations between the important measurement information like the
the datum and reference epoch, the coordinates East and West Coasts is HTDP. This software epoch date. Unfortunately, this information,
of station TRAK can vary by about 4 feet. allows users to transform positions across time if ever provided, is often not preserved along
The unanswerable question: if one doesn’t or Horizontal Time-Dependent Position. with the points, maps, and information.
have the epoch, where to put the coordinate
on the ground? Or, what does a newly meas- USE COMPLETE DATUM INFO CALIFORNIA COORDINATE SYSTEM
ured coordinate mean in relation to other The solution to the problem understanding As a guideline for explaining the impor-
data? If given the epoch of a coordinate val- and implementing epoch dates into the prac- tance of documenting this information, the
ue, the appropriate adjustment can be made to tice of those creating and working with geo- California Public Resources Code (PRC)
place the coordinate in its correct location rel- spatial data. §§ 8801-8819 “California Coordinate Sys-
ative to the datum. Without fail, the provider of georeferenced tem” is an excellent resource. In fact, the
Another way to visualize it is that for any information should state the complete datum PRC mandates this practice in various ways.
coordinate, the intended point on the ground is information, including epoch date, for all po- Examples include:
moving northwesterly (in most of California). sitioning data published and used. Without
If I stake a given value for which I do not know this, there is already a problem that should be PRC § 8813.3
the epoch, using the very latest epoch (i.e. to- resolved before anyone relies upon or accepts (a) After December 31, 2005, when a sur-
day), then I can paint an arrow northwesterly the information. Again, “NAD83” itself is not vey that uses or establishes a CCS83 value or
and tell the requestor that the real point they a complete datum statement. values is shown on any document, the station
are looking for is either here where I staked it Those who are given any georeferenced in- or stations to which the CCS83 value or values
or some distance northwesterly up to 4 feet, de- formation should request that the complete da- are referenced and connected and the CCS83
pending on how old their coordinate’s epoch is. tum statement be included. Again, if this isn’t value or values and the published or stated ac-

20 xyHt APRIL 2020

curacy or accuracies of that reference station or
stations shall be shown also on the document. CONNECTED INFRASTRUCTURE
PRC § 8815.1
When CCS83 coordinates are shown on any
ENABLED BY RFID
map, corner record, or other document, the map,
corner record, or document shall state the epoch
(date), in a decimal year format to two decimal
places, that is the basis of the coordinate values
shown. The epoch shall be shown on the map,
corner record, or other document by an appro-
priate note on the map, corner record, or docu-
ment or by adding a suffix in parentheses after
CCS83 that states the epoch; examples, “CCS83
(1991.35),” “ CCS83 (2002.00),” and so forth.

PRC § 8877
When a CGC83 value or values are shown on
any document, the document shall include the
following:
(a) A statement that the geodetic coordi-
nate value or values shown are a CGC83 value
or values; exceptions shall be noted.
(b) The station or stations to which
the CGC83 value or values are referenced
and connected and the geodetic coordi-
nate value or values and the published or
stated accuracy or accuracies of said ref-
erence station or stations.
800.356.7388 | inframarker.com
(c) The epoch of the CGC83 value or values
shown. The epoch shall conform to provisions
of subdivision (b) of Section 8876.
In the case of the California Public Re-
sources Code, it should be noted that these
laws are not solely applicable to the licensed
professional (e.g. Land Surveyor).

I prepared this explanation to organize the

information, concepts, and advice I repeat too
often. My intent is to share these thoughts
with those to whom I give and receive data
from. Please feel free to distribute as it may
help you in your work.

EDUCATION
ONLINE RESOURCES
• An excellent and technical report on the dif-
ficulty of maintaining a fixed geodetic datum
in California is discussed in “Investigations
into a Dynamic Datum for California” at
http://sopac-csrc.ucsd.edu/wp-content/up
2020 Surveying Education Award—
loads/2019/12/SIOTask4Report_final.pdf
• The last currently published position by
Compete for the $25,000
the California Spatial Reference Cent- grand prize | Enter by May 18, 2020
er is at http://csrc-old.ucsd.edu/docs/csrs
Epoch2017_50_ProjectReport.pdf
• HTDP: http://ngs.noaa.gov/TOOLS/
Htdp/Htdp.shtml ■ Discover more | ncees.org/surveyingaward

APRIL 2020 xyHt 21

 SURVEYING
GEODESY
EDUCATION
GNSS

Teaching Roots and Research

W One of Southeast Asia’s oldest
hen Louie Balicanta learn more about how they keep
walks inside the their academic program relevant
high-ceilinged cor- surveying schools is promoting in the geospatial digital age.
ridors of Malcolm Hall on his Here are my takeaways.
way to teach land surveying, he the use of geospatial technologies
knows how much responsibility Adaptive Approach
rests on his shoulders. Not only
and thriving in the digital age. to Learning
is he an assistant professor at With the rapid evolution of tech-
the Department of Geodetic En- By Marc M. Delgado, PhD nology, universities must make
gineering of the University of the sure that their academic pro-
Philippines, but Balicanta is also “Land surveying was one of detic Engineering Department grams are focused on devel-
its current chairperson, manag- the initial aims of the establish- one of Southeast Asia’s oldest oping the capabilities of their
ing 400 students and two dozen ment of the surveying school,” existing surveying schools, it students. Doing so guarantees
faculty members in this 83-year- Balicanta says. Professors were is also leading the way in the that they can meet the current
old learning institution. trained in the U.S., and they Philippines and in the Asian and future needs of the commu-
“Our vision in the department came back to teach in the coun- region to promote the use of nities that they serve.
is to be recognized as a global try. “Scholarships were provided geospatial technologies in and “Geodetic engineering edu-
geomatics engineering institu- by the American government outside of the classroom. Its cation is influenced by the fast-
tion,” shares Balicanta with pride. so that graduates would be lat- graduates are recognized for changing technology; thus there
He is a geodetic engineer and er employed by the Bureau of their skills and can be found is a need for us educators to pro-
holds a master’s degree in urban Lands as surveyors,” he adds. working around the world. Even vide strategies to cope with this
planning. “We aim to continually In 1937, the four-year geodet- xyHt magazine’s prestigious rapid change,” says Balicanta.
improve our resources—and that ic engineering curriculum was annual 40 under 40 award has “To make our academic program
includes our faculty, non-teaching officially introduced, succeeding taken notice: since 2017, five relevant to the changing needs
staff, and facilities—so that we the original two-year surveying of the department’s former stu- of the modern times, our curricu-
can better serve our society.” course. Decades later, in 1964, dents are laureates. lum undergoes revision every
The department’s beginnings the Training Center for Applied What makes this feat striking five years.”
coincided with a time when new Geodesy and Photogrammetry for an octogenarian surveying He then shares something
lands in the Philippines were be- was established. institution is that the department noteworthy that other institutions
ing opened. In 1925, it started as “This truly paved the way for has achieved all this despite the might learn from: “When we re-
a training school for surveying the department to do geodetic usual financial challenges that vise the curriculum, it includes
that offered a two-year associ- training, research, and exten- beset most public universities. consulting with industry stake-
ate course during the American sion,” says Balicanta. What’s their winning formu- holders through networking.”
colonial period. Now, not only is the Geo- la? I talked to five professors to Another important part of the

22 xyHt APRIL 2020

 Left: Members of the Geodetic
Engineering Department.
Above: Engineer Jak Sarmiento teaches
graduate courses on geodesy and GNSS.
Below: Students operate a total station
for their surveying class.

learning process is the ability

of teachers to teach. I talked to
John Louie Fabila, lecturer of ge-
odesy and one of this year’s xyHt
40 under 40 professionals, and
he shared with me his teaching
approach.
“I try to balance between
teaching theories and hands-on
activities,” Fabila says. “Bom-
bard students with just theories
and you lose them early on. So,
I try to first provide easy practi-
cal activities to get the students
hooked on the topic, then later
I inject the theories, and after-
wards I allow them to do inten-
sive activities that require more
critical thinking.”
Known for giving witty lec-
tures, Fabila shares that he is still
learning how to become an ef-
fective educator. “I guess what
works for me is contextualiza-
tion and humor. Teaching theo-
ries in isolation rarely works, so
I try to connect it to something
tangible like its practical use and
its importance in the industry,”
he says.
“I then add humor because
it diffuses the monotony of be-
ing in the classroom. If I made
you smile a bit and roll your eyes

APRIL 2020 xyHt 23

over the silliest jokes, that means Three of these satellites have
you’re still listening to my lecture, since been launched into space
right?” he says with a big grin. and are now capturing useful
Ariel Blanco, professor of geospatial data for the coun-
GIS and one of xyHt’s 40 under 40 try. Another xyHt 40 under 40
honorable mentions in 2017, has a awardee in 2018, Mark Tupas, is
different teaching approach. involved in these research ac-
“I would like my students tivities. He leads the design of
to be lifelong learners,” Blanco the data processing, archiving,
says, believing that students and distribution sub-system for
learn in different ways and paces. the ground receiving station of
“Over the last 22 years of teach- microsatellites.
ing, my approach has evolved Balicanta shares that their
from simply teaching theories and participation in building satellites
doing practical work to a mix that is their most important research
now combines group discussions, activity to-date. “The two space-
interviews, exploration walk, and related research projects, the
online courses.” DIWATA and STAMINA4SPACE
Although mixing learning programs, have provided an op-
techniques may work for some, portunity for department to de-
Jak Sarmiento, who teaches velop microsatellites.”
graduate courses on geodesy “We are now involved with
and GNSS, believes that similar the management of the Phil-
attention should be given to the ippines’ space assets,” adds
basics. “I’m going against the Sarmiento.
general trend of an applications- The department is also lead-
based teaching so I intentionally ing the country in its use of lidar
focus on strengthening the stu- technology to monitor natural
dents’ scientific fundamentals.” resources and natural disasters
Sarmiento believes that it Engineer Louie Balicanta is Department is keeping that tradi- from space. Just this year, it has
chairperson of the Geodetic
is important for students to be Engineering Department. tion alive. released Asia’s first open-access
fundamentally grounded. “Eve- “We have created research lidar data to aid in reconstruction
rybody can learn to manipulate hance their character, integrity, groups and laboratories in the efforts after the eruption of Taal
a software, but not everyone and empathy. last years, and we plan to es- volcano, one of the world’s small-
can understand the theories be- “For me, you become an ef- tablish more,” says Blanco, who est active volcanoes.
hind the knowledge built by the fective educator if you are able has been involved in remote “The DREAM/PhilLiDAR is
pioneering men and women of to inspire and enable students to sensing and lidar research pro- the biggest research project
geodesy.” apply the geospatial approach jects. “One of the most notice- in the history of the country,”
The same holds true for Erica and tools. Learning geodetic en- able changes in the department shares Sarmiento. “I led the li-
Elazegui who teaches survey- gineering is geospatial enable- is the strengthening of our re- dar data acquisition team which
ing and mathematical methods. ment!” he shares. search and development capa- was composed of young engi-
“I always tell my students that bilities. Also, we have a greater neers and scientists. We ac-
our goal in class is to understand Nurturing drive to connect with our coun- complished something that many
the most basic concepts so that Strong Research terparts in Asia.” people thought we couldn’t do,”
when we go further to complex
Collaborations This drive to collaborate he adds.
lessons, it would be easier for One of the common themes dur- with international counterparts However, while most of the
them. Also, I try to teach them ing my conversations with the has been fruitful. Since 2014, research projects are on geo-
how to be resourceful, practical, professors is the department’s the department has been ac- matics, Blanco emphasizes the
and time-efficient through practi- solid research background tively working with Japanese re- unique and important role of
cal activities,” she says. through local and international searchers and local institutions surveying in these activities.
Like Elazegui, Blanco also collaborations. The University in the development of micro and “Be it traditional or modern,
believes that more than just of the Philippines consistently nano satellites, particularly in we have strong foundations on
teaching and learning new tech- ranks as one of the best in Asia, calibrating their remote sensing surveying. This distinguishes
nologies, an effective teacher and it has a strong research tra- payloads and in the processing our work from other similar pro-
helps students develop and en- dition. The Geodetic Engineering of geodata. jects,” he says.

24 xyHt APRIL 2020

Keeping Its Roots her response was positive about
in Surveying her future prospects.
“I see myself working for the
How does traditional surveying fit
government, may it be in projects
in the department’s curriculum as
here in the department or in the
more advanced geospatial tech-
country’s National Mapping Agen-
niques become more available?
cy. But I also want to go abroad,
“Geodetic engineers in the
to Australia, and save up for an
Philippines are the only profes-
NGO or a foundation that I want to
sionals mandated by our coun-
start,” she says confidently.
try’s law to do land surveying;
thus the department can not Keep Moving
and will not forgo teaching tradi- Forward
tional surveying topics,” shares
Balicanta. Like most public universities,
Such is the case that in terms the department is facing its own
of technical support to profes- challenges in teaching geodetic
sional surveyors in the country, engineering. “We can go head-
Balicanta says that the depart- to-head in terms of skills with
ment is actively involved in the other countries, but we need
modernization of the Philippine more classrooms. We need more
Geodetic Reference System labs. We need more equipment.
(PGRS). We need more faculty posi-
“What we do is to introduce tions,” says Sarmiento.
new methods using current tech- Despite these challenges, he is
nology in doing long-standing still hopeful. “We keep moving the
land survey methods such as lo- game forward. We have the high-
cation and area determination,” est number of faculty members
he adds. with post-graduate degrees in the
Sarmiento maintains that take up geodetic engineering. Luisito Pernia is the department’s department’s history, but we need
equipment custodian, shown to be able to keep them.”
there has not been a change of We must strengthen our infor- here with a total station ready for
focus from traditional survey- mation campaign and be more students to use. As for their graduates, Bali-
ing to current geospatial topics. aggressive in showcasing its rel- canta shares his pride in the qual-
“Surveying is, and forever will evance to current affairs. Social dillano who is on her last year as ity of geodetic engineers whom
be, our core competency,” he media works,” shares Sarmiento. an undergraduate. they have produced. “We are
says. “What happened was an Elazegui agrees. “Most stu- “My favorite subject is GIM proud of our graduates. Maybe
expansion of our competencies dents assume that we only do 175 or ‘Geographic Information their competitiveness is brought
as we built our research capaci- traditional surveying. They are Systems: Theory and Applica- about by the department’s con-
ties for the past ten years. We surprised during our course tions.’ Out of all the other major scious effort to train our students
don’t sit still.” orientation that we also teach course subjects I have taken, to be leaders who will provide
Fabila agrees. “I would not mathematical methods, pro- I genuinely enjoyed it a lot. It’s socially relevant solutions to our
say a change of focus away from gramming, remote sensing, and satisfying to see that I can easily country’s problems.”
surveying, but rather an accre- GIS,” she adds. make spatial representation of As I end the interview with
tion of topics that people are She has also noted that there any data,” she shares. Balicanta and the other profes-
starting to realize what we geo- has been a huge change of focus Students seem to get excited sors, he tells me that teaching
detic engineers can do.” from traditional surveying to oth- when they see the how geo- geodetic engineering is really
Yet, the current crop of stu- er geospatial topics, especially detic engineering encompasses not just about learning how to
dents seems to be shying away when students choose their un- the whole gamut of the spatial use technology. “It is important
from traditional surveying. Could dergraduate thesis topics. “They data life cycle, from Earth data that we must teach our students
it be because of the pervading commonly pick topics under GIS, acquisition, spatial data organi- the principle that any spatially
public perception that geodetic remote sensing, and photogram- zation and management, to geo- related problem can be solved
engineering is just all about land metry,” she says. information visualization and using geomatics. With this, our
titling and land surveys? Indeed, GIS remains a popu- analyses. graduates can go and do things
“This is indeed a challenge lar course among students of the I asked Ordillano what she beyond the more traditional land
in terms of encouraging kids to department; just ask Marion Or- plans to do after graduating, and surveying applications.” ■

APRIL 2020 xyHt 25

 i90 GNSS
All-in-one solution

Enable GNSS survey

Anytime, Anywhere

Boost survey and stakeout

speed by up to 30%

WWW.CHCNAV.COM

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN

Surveying &
Geomatics 2020
Lawrenceburg, Indiana | May 31 – June 2

Surveying: The Road to Successful Engineering

KEY DATES
Presentation/ Advance Registration Ends
Poster Deadline May 29, 2020
February 14, 2020
ASCE National Student
Early Bird/ Speakers Surveying Competition
Registration Ends May 30, 2020
April 8, 2020
OFFICIAL CONFERENCE & HOTEL VENUE
Cancellation/Hotel Doubletree Hilton Hotel &
Block Deadline The Lawrenceburg Event Center
May 15, 2020 51 Walnut Street Lawrenceburg, IN 47025
(812) 539-8888

For more information visit: surveyingconference.org

26 xyHt APRIL 2020

SURVEYING
GEODESY
EDUCATION
GNSS

GNSS
A surveyor
volunteers his
time and expertise

for Remote
to help supply fresh
water to an isolated
village in the Andes.

Water Resources
By John Stenmark

As part of the water

project, Curingue
residents work on
building a structure
for water collection,
storage, and pumping.

APRIL 2020 xyHt 27

 H
igh in the Andes Mountains of
Ecuador, the village of Curingue
has no centralized water sup-
ply system. The lack of reliable
water means villagers face hardship and in-
creased risk of health problems.
In 2018, Engineers Without Borders (EWB)
began work to install infrastructure that could
deliver water to Curingue. The effort required
accurate positioning to provide accurate data
for design and construction.
At an elevation of roughly 11,800 feet,
Curingue is an isolated rural community.
There is no cellular phone service and only
limited electricity for the roughly 210 people
living there. When EWB proposed to provide a
water supply system, they needed data about
water sources and the area’s steep terrain.
But they soon discovered that there were
no existing large-scale maps or geograph-
ic information for the area. In order to plan
the work, EWB needed to develop accurate
maps and elevation information, but the re-
mote location had no existing geodetic con-
trol points—a complication that could add
time and uncertainty to the mapping effort.
Among the EWB volunteers in Curingue
was John Hamilton, a U.S. surveyor who spe-
cializes in precise measurement and control
over large areas. With three decades of expe-
rience on four continents, Hamilton has plenty
of experience dealing with sparse control and
remote locations. A long-time GNSS user, he
examined possible approaches to gathering
Above: Hamilton’s profile data shows the large elevation change and steep terrain accurate data for the mapping effort.
traversed by the planned Curingue pipeline. His options included conducting long-
observation GNSS sessions and then post-
processing the data to establish reference
stations for RTK. But accessing data from
Ecuador’s network of continuously operating
GNSS reference stations (CORS) proved prob-
lematic. In addition, Curingue’s mountainous
landscape made using conventional RTK with
UHF radios unfeasible.

Precise GNSS in
Difficult Terrain
To achieve accurate and reliable position-
ing, Hamilton turned to a position service, the
Trimble CenterPoint RTX. The service enables
users to achieve survey-grade GNSS posi-
tioning (better than 2cm horizontal and 5 cm
vertical accuracy) anywhere on Earth.
Hamilton had gained experience using the
system on projects in the U.S. and Canada

28 xyHt APRIL 2020

Above: EWB volunteers (l to r) Ken Hendrick,
John Hamilton, and James Kelly spent a
week working in difficult terrain while on the RTX
project to provide water to Curingue.
Trimble RTX is a global implementation of ered to rovers from geostationary L-Band
Opposite: The EWB teams captured the precise point position (PPP) that does not
location of buildings in Curingue to support
satellites or IP connections. After a brief
pipeline design efforts. need to rely on local bases, as traditional convergence of the solution, Trimble Cen-
RTK or post processing would. Instead, terpoint RTX can yield survey-grade pre-
a global array of high-precision GNSS cisions in real-time, without having to set
tracking stations develop precise clock, up bases, connect to RTN, or have to deal
and was confident that it could provide the
orbit, and other modeled data that is deliv- with radios or internet connections.
needed accuracy even in the remote Ecuado-
rian mountains.
Using a single Trimble R10 GNSS receiver,
Hamilton and his volunteer colleagues cap- compile critical vertical profile information for prove the lives of Curingue residents. Work is
tured the 3D location of water sources that the pipe. They also located ravines and roads already underway on the collection point, which
would supply the village. He also collected that would affect the construction. Finally, includes its own storage tank and pump station.
measurements at sites selected for the water they visited each house in the village to col- Hamilton is already planning a return visit
collection point and pump station, an interme- lect position and elevation data. to Ecuador, where he will work on a similar
diate pump station, and a water storage tank Hamilton said they needed roughly one project in a different village.
located above the village. week to complete all the survey work. (Listen to Hamilton talk about his fascinat-
The team worked along the route of the EWB will use the information to establish a ing work on our podcast, Measure This!
proposed pipeline collecting GNSS data to durable, sustainable water supply that will im- https://anchor.fm/measure-this/ ■

APRIL 2020 xyHt 29

 CLASsIFIED ADVERTISING Contact [email protected]
to place your classified ad.

Equipment Equipment

GNSS MEASUREMENT TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION

F90 BY

GNSS SURVEYING
MULTI-CONSTELLATION
RECEIVER WITH L-BAND AND SBAS

NEW 4G WORLDWIDE
SXPAD
1500
NETWORK

CALL US FOR YOUR

Get your xyHt
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS | SINCE 1972
CUSTOM QUOTE!
t-shirt
geneq.com [email protected] 1 800 463-4363
while they last.
Instrument Repair

(Back)

Software

WORLD LEADING LEAST SQUARES Visit xyht.com to order.

ADJUSTMENT SOFTWARE
Instrument Repair
Unlimited number of stations and
observations Navigation Electronics, Inc.
124 Toledo Drive
Import foreign data types of any kind with
Lafayette, LA 70506
GeoLab’s custom import tool 337-237-1413
Automated adjustments through the Website: www.neigps.com
SmartAdjust feature Georgia Office: 770-729-8005
Simultaneous network adjustments of Alabama Office: 256-665-5589
all observation types Mississippi Office: 662-347-1117
Arkansas Office: 870-273-6333
Florida Office: 850-228-2070
Watch GeoLab in Action & See a Demo Video | www.geolabsolutions.com/demo

30 xyHt APRIL 2020

 CONTACT ANGIE DUMAN TO PLACE YOUR AD
CLASsIFIED ADVERTISING
Education

College of the Canyons Troy University University of Maine

Land Surveying Surveying and Geomatics Sciences Program Surveying Engineering Technology
26455 Rockwell Canyon Road Department of Geospatial Informatics Program
Santa Clarita, CA 91355 346 Wallace Hall Building 5711 Boardman Hall, Room 119
(661) 362-5096 Troy, AL 36082 Orono, ME 04469-5711
Email: [email protected] Phone: (334) 670-5693 (207) 581-2340
Fax: (334) 670-3796 E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.canyons.edu/SURV
Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.umaine.edu/set/svt/
Associate of Science Degree
Website: www.troy.edu
Courses offered ONLINE (
BS Degree, ABET-ASAC accredited
Video Conferencing)
University of Florida
New Mexico State University
Geomatics Department
Geomatics Program Want to see
304 Reed Laboratory
1060 Frenger Mall – Room 130
Las Cruces, NM 88003
Gainesville, FL 32611-0565 your ad here?
(352) 392-9492
Phone: 575-646-6748
Fax: (352) 392-4957
Email: [email protected] or Contact:
Email: [email protected]
[email protected]
Website: http://sfrc.ufl.edu/geomatics/
Website: https://et.nmsu.edu/academics/ [email protected]
BS Degree, ABET-ANSAC
surveying-engineering/
MS & PhD Degrees
Fully online program and +2 option.
Online Certificates in Geomatics, Mapping
BS Degree
with Unmanned Aerial Systems, & Geospatial
Analysis
Online MS Degree

APRIL 2020 xyHt 31

MAPS AS ART

Global
Ocean
Circulation
By Michael P. Meredith, PhD
and Jamie Oliver
This projection also emphasizes the key
role of the Southern Ocean (the ocean around
Antarctica) as the central junction point in all
by vector tracing an old hand-drawn illustra-
tion of the Spilhaus projection. After tidying
up the trace, the lines of latitude and longi-
THIS PROJECTION shows the globe as an of the world’s ocean circulation. tude were redrawn, text labels added, and an
ocean surrounded by land rather than the We used a Spilhaus projection (designed in up-to-date outline of Antarctica inserted. This
conventional depiction of continental land 1942 by Athelstan Spilhaus, one of the early de- process enabled the map to scale up for print-
masses surrounded by ocean. This is im- velopers of the bathythermograph), onto which ing at poster size if required while retaining an
portant because it highlights the intercon- we added a simple schematic of the global illustrative style and topographic/bathymetric
nected nature of the global ocean—a key ocean circulation (simplified to just two layers— detail. The projection was published by Mer-
feature in determining global climate due to upper and lower—although the real ocean cir- edith in Ocean Challenge, “The global impor-
the amount of heat that the ocean transports culation is far more complex, of course). tance of the Southern Ocean and the key role
around the world. The map was created in Adobe Illustrator of its freshwater cycle.” ■

32 xyHt APRIL 2020

 Legal-Aid
TM Introducing! New Software!
Now supports TM

AGT Topo/DTM
AutoCAD 2020
Create Legal Descriptions in Seconds...
Right from AutoCAD®, Civil 3D®, or DXF™ files! An affordable mapping companion for your existing
COGO or surveying software. Import point data from
Legal descriptions are automatically created from your existing COGO software and create TIN models,
entities in your AutoCAD drawing. All phrases are Contours, Topo maps, boundary surveys and more.
customizable so you can create legals that reflect
your style.... not ours!
- Save Time! www.agtcad.com
- Reduce Errors! for more info!
- Improve Consistency!

- Import ASCII point files,

DXF, and ProCogo files
Legal descriptions as - Quickly and easily
easy as 1-2-3 create DTM TIN
models of a surface.
1. Start Legal-Aid from the command line
- Create contours from
2. Select the parcel or boundary lines from your drawing TIN models complete with major - Create and automatically insert custom
3. Do final editing, then print your legal or paste it back into and minor intervals and symbols (blocks) from feature codes.
AutoCAD as MTEXT configurable contour smoothing. - Includes built-in COGO routines.
For use with AutoCAD 14 or above, Land Desktop, - Label bearings/distances and - Complete set of Training Videos.
Civil 3D (all versions), or software that can create a DXF file. curve data. - Affordable pricing!

ProCogo XL
TM TM
Visit www.agtcad.com
for a complete list of features. Info-Retriever 15 For details, visit
www.info-retriever.com
CAD, COGO, Data Collection,
DTM and Contouring!
New! Automatically
subdivide a parcel
New! Mirror a building
footprint!
Improved Deed-Reader
Alpha-numeric and auto-
scaling COGO points
Data collector support* Now with
Import aerials and DTM & Contouring - New! Create a jobs location map
scanned maps in Google Earth™.
Export to Google Earth Fast, Easy and Affordable! - New! Agenda view for calendar. Info-Retriever “brings a
- New! Drag-n-Drop file attachments. collection of business tasks
Import data from a data collector, do Export drawings to AutoCAD and - New! More Forms! into a single program. A great
your surveying calculations and plot as other CAD/GIS programs via DXF - New! Improved QuickBooks Support, tool for an industry where
you go, then finish the plat and write and Shapefiles. Linework can be and more! (see our web-site)
exported to Google Earth. records and data seem to
legal descriptions all with this fast, - Record and retrieve client files, jobs become scattered easily.
easy, and affordable ProCogo XL. Supports 9 different units including and survey control.
Even those content with the
Meters, Chains, and Varas. - Scan and store drawings and
Includes “Legal-Aid for ProCogo XL” accounting and scheduling
documents.
as well as ProCalc, surveyors RPN systems they are currently
Network versions are available. - Quickly recall jobs with search history.
and curve calculator software. using could benefit from the
Very affordable pricing. - Track and bill for time and material.
record keeping capabilities of
Optional DTM and contour mapping. - Create invoices, statements & reports.
this package.”
Visit www.agtcad.com for - Mail-merge and mailing list
Import and process data collector files - Stewart Spencer, PLS
more info and to see a demo. - Training Videos
(*.raw and *.rw5).
- Affordable pricing! Visit our web-site for more information!

Pricing, more info, and demo videos at

www.agtcad.com, or call 1-800-548-9223 or 1-770-509-3661
Autodesk, AutoCAD, Civil 3D, and DXF are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc./Autodesk Canada Co. in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand
names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. ProCogo, Info-Retriever, Legal-Aid, and AGT Topo/DTM are trademarks of Emerald Data, Inc.