Unit - 1 Surveying and Leveling

Surveying
“Surveying is the art and science of determining the relative positions of various points or stations on the
surface of the earth by measuring the horizontal and vertical distances, angles, and taking the details of
these points and by preparing a map or plan to any suitable scale.”

Leveling
Leveling is a branch of surveying which deals with the measurement of relative heights of different points
on, above or below the surface of the earth. Thus in leveling, the measurements (elevations) are taken in
the vertical plane.

Objective of Surveying
The object of surveying is to prepare a map or plan to show the relative positions of the objects on the
surface of the earth. The map or plan is drawn to some suitable scale. It also shows boundaries of districts,
states, and countries too. It also includes details of different engineering features such as buildings, roads,
railways, dams, canals etc.

Uses of Surveying
The surveying may be used for following purposes:
To prepare a topographical map which shows hills, valleys, rivers, forests, villages, towns etc.
To prepare a cadastral map which shows the boundaries of fields, plots, houses and other properties..
To prepare an engineering map which shows the position of engineering works such as buildings, roads,
railways, dams, canals.
To prepare a contour map to know the topography of the area to find out the best possible site for roads,
railways, bridges, reservoirs, canals, etc.
Surveying is also used to prepare military map, geological map.
For setting out work and transferring details from the map on the ground.

Primary Divisions of Surveying

We know that the shape of the earth is spheroidal. Thus the surface is obviously curved. Surveying is
primarily divided into two types considering the curvature of the earth’s surface.
• Plane Surveying
• Geodetic Surveying
Plain Surveying
The plain surveying is that type of surveying in which earth surface is considered as a plane and the
curvature of the earth is ignored. In such surveying a line joining any two stations is considered to be
straight. The triangle formed by any three points is considered as a plane triangle, and the angles of the
triangle are considered as plain angles. Surveying is carried out for a small area of less than 250 km 2. It is
carried out by local or state agencies like R & B department, Irrigation department and Railway
department.

Geodetic Surveying
The geodetic Surveying is that type of surveying in which the curvature of the earth is taken into account.
It is generally extended over larger areas. The line joining any two stations is considered as curved line.
The triangle formed by any three points is considered to be spherical and the angles of the triangle are
considered to be spherical angles. Geodetic surveying is conducted by the survey of India Department and
is carried out for a larger area exceeding 250 km2 .
Plain Surveying Vs Geodetic Surveying

Fundamental Principles of Surveying

Two basic principles of surveying are:
Always work from whole to the part, and
To locate a new station by at least two measurements (Linear or angular) from fixed reference points.
Always work from whole to the part:
According to the first principle, the whole survey area is first enclosed by main stations (i.e.. Control
stations) and main survey lines. The area is then divided into a number of divisions by forming well
conditioned triangles.

The main survey lines are measured very accurately with precise survey instruments. The purpose of this
method of working is to control accumulation of errors. During measurement, if there is any error, then
it will not affect the whole work, but if the reverse process is followed then the minor error in
measurement will be magnified.

To locate a new station by at least two measurements (Linear or angular) from fixed reference points.
According to the second principle the points are located by linear or angular measurement or by both in
surveying. If two control points are established first, then a new station can be located by linear
measurement. Let A & B are control points, a new point C can be established.

Following are the methods of locating point C from such reference points A & B.
The distance AB can be measured accurately and the relative positions of the point can be then plotted
on the sheet to some scale.
Taking linear measurement from A and B for C.
Taking linear measurement of perpendicular from D to C.
Taking one linear measurement from B and one angular measurement as ∕ ABC
Taking two angular measurement at A & B as angles / CAB and / ABC.
Taking one angle at B as / ABC and one linear measurement from A as AC.
Classification of Surveying
Survey can be classified into various categories depending on Instruments and methods used.

Classification Based on Instruments.

Chain Survey:
This is the simplest type of surveying in which only linear measurements are made with a chain or a tape.
Angular measurements are not taken.

Compass Survey:
In Compass Survey, the angles are measured with the help of a magnetic compass.

Chain and compass survey:

In this survey linear measurements are made with a chain or a tape and angular measurements with a
compass.

Plane Table Surveying

It is a graphical method of surveying in which field works and plotting both are done simultaneously.
Theodolite Survey
In Theodolite survey the horizontal angles are measured with the Theodolite more precisely than compass
and the linear measurements are made with a chain or tape.

Leveling Survey:
This type of survey is used to determine the vertical distances (elevations) and relative heights of
points with the help of an instrument known as level.

Photogrammetric Survey:
Photogrammetric is the science of taking measurements with the help of photographs taken by
aerial camera from the air craft.

EDM Survey:
In this type of survey all measurements (length, angles, co-ordinates) are made with the help of
EDM instrument ( i.e.. Total Station).

Classification Based on methods:

Triangulation:
Triangulation is basic method of surveying, when the area to be surveyed is large, triangulation is adopted.
The entire area is divided into network of triangles.
Traversing:
A Traversing is circuit of survey lines. It may be open or closed. When the linear measurements are done
with a chain and a tape and the directions or horizontal angles are measured with a compass or a
Theodolite respectively the survey is called traversing.

Classification based on Purpose:

Geological Survey:
In this both surface and subsurface surveying are conducted to locate different minerals and rocks. In
addition, geological features of the terrain such as folds and faults are located.

Mine Survey
Mine Survey includes include both surface and underground surveys. It is conducted for the exploration
of mineral deposits and to guide tunneling and other operations associated with mining.

Archaeological Survey
It is conducted to locate relics of antiquity, civilization, kingdoms, forts, temples, etc.

Military Survey
It has very important and critical applications in the military. Aerial surveys are conducted for this purpose.
It is conducted to locate strategic positions for the purpose of army operations.
Classification based on Nature of field:

Land Survey
Land Survey is done on land to prepare plan and maps of a given area. Topographical, city and cadastral
surveys are some of the examples of land surveying.

Hydrological Surveying
This survey is conducted on or near the body of water such as lake, river, coastal area. This Survey consists
of locating shore lines of water bodies.

Astronomical Survey
This survey is conducted for the determining of latitudes, longitudes, azimuths, local time, etc. for various
places on earth by observing heavenly bodies ( sun or the stars).

Aerial Survey
An aerial survey is conducted from aircraft. Aerial cameras take photographs of the surface of the earth
in overlapping strips of land. This is also known as photographic survey.

Plan and Maps

One of the basic objectives of surveying is to prepare plans and maps.

Plan
A plan is the graphical representation to some scale, of the features on, near or below the surface of the
earth as projected on a horizontal plane. The horizontal plane is represented by plane of drawing sheets
on which the plan is drawn to some scale However the surface of the earth is curved it cannot be truly
represented on a plane without distortion. In plane surveying the area involved are small, the earth’s
surface may be considered as plane and hence plan is constructed by orthographic projections. A plan is
drawn on a relatively large scale.

Map
If the scale of the graphical projection on a horizontal plane is small, the plan is called a map. Thus
graphical representation is called a plan if the scale is large while it is called a map if the scale is small.

On plan, generally only horizontal distances and directions or angles are shown. On topographical map,
however the vertical distances (elevations) are also represented by contour lines.
Scale
It is basic requirement for the preparation of plan or map Scale is used to represent large distances on
paper. The ratio by which the actual length of the object is reduced or increased in the drawing is known
as the ‘Scale’ for example. If 1 cm on a map represents a distance of 10 meters on the ground, the scale
of the map is said to be 1 cm = 10 m.