Surveying

Lecture – Traversing & co-ordinate

calculation
Dr David Connolly
 Outline of today’s lecture:
• Recap – Angle measurement
• What and why we use control surveys
• Rectangular and polar coordinate systems
• What traversing is and fieldwork procedures
• Traversing calculations
• Total stations
• Networks
• Tutorial
Angle measurement vs levelling

Levelling

Angle
measurement
 Recap: Theodolites
• Telescope mounted on sensitive horizontal & vertical protractors
• Used for measuring angles only
• Electronic (automated display) or optical (manual reading)
• Classified by the smallest reading they can take
 Horizontal angles
• Used for:
– Bearings and directions in control
surveys
– Setting out all types of structure
• Is the angle θ on horizontal
plane through T between
vertical planes containing
TA and TB
• Horizontal circle pivots on Vertical
axis

vertical axis. Unaffected by

Objective
V
Horizontal H le
axis ng
O al a
rtic
Ve

point height Sight

axis
S

Eycpiece Vertical
circle
0,
00
0
go
n

ta l angle
Horizon
Horizontal
Circle
 Vertical angles
• Used for:
– Determining the height of
points via trigonometry
– Often used for slope
calculations
• Unaffected by horizontal dist
between points
• Vertical angles to A and B
from T are:
αA – angle of elevation
αB – angle of depression
Vertical
axis
Objective
V
Horizontal H le
axis ng
O al a
rtic
Ve
S
Sight
axis Eycpiece Vertical
circle
0,
00
0
go
n

ta l angle
Horizon
Horizontal
Circle
 Setting up a theodolite
• Very similar to setting up a
level, total station and tripod-
mounted GPS antenna
• General steps
1. Setup tripod
2. Centre theodolite
3. Level theodolite
4. Remove parallax
 Target types
• Need targets at measurement points
• Tripod mounted target
– Time consuming setup
• Detail pole target
– Must be vertical & above point – use bubble
• Mini-prism target
Example – St Giles Cathederal

X Y Z
 Reducing angles - horizontal
Fill in the angles and mean
angles as in the table
below
 Measuring vertical angles
Very similar process to horizontal angles:
1. Take FL vertical angle readings
2. Theodolite rotated 180o in horizontal axis and then transited
3. Take FR vertical angle readings
Typically, only 1 set of angles taken (rather than 2 for horizontal)
 Checking for errors
Horizontal - FL & FR angles should differ by 180o
Vertical - FL & FR angles should sum to 360o
Sources of error
Today: Traversing
 D28SM
• 3 types of table that needed for this
course
• Levelling
• Angle measurement
• Traversing (today)
• Challenging at first, but after a few tries
– they become simple!
 Background
Vertical control = levelling
Horizontal control = traversing
- Similar to angle measurement
 Control surveys
• Engineering surveying measurements are based on a
network of horizontal and vertical reference points called
control points. (Today = horizontal!)
• Control points are used for mapping & setting out
• These networks are used on site in the preparation of
maps and plans, they are required for dimensional control
(setting out) and are essential in deformation monitoring
 Control surveys
• How/where to define the coordinates of the initial
control points on a construction site?
– A control survey is performed
– Used at start of construction or engineering project
• Usually specified using rectangular coordinates (e.g x
and y)
 Co-ordinate systems
• How to define coordinates of control
survey?
• Using 2 types of co-ordinate systems
– Rectangular
– Polar
 Rectangular co-ordinates
• Any point (e.g. ‘P’), has coordinates:
– Ep = easting (i.e. x co-ord)
– Np = northing (i.e. y co-ord)
– Both must be positive! If not,
move origin
– Notation: (Ep, Np)
– North = usually arbitrarily
chosen (e.g. existing control
points)
– The focus of D28SM!
 Rectangular co-ordinates & bearings
• Direction of a line between 2 points = it’s ‘bearing’
• ‘whole circle bearing’ = a line in the range 0o-360o,
measured clockwise from a reference point (i.e. North)
 Calculating rectangular co-ordinates
• Simple algebra/trigonometry (right angle triangle)
• If A(EA, NA) and the angle θAB is known, then B(EB, NB)
calculated as:
𝐸𝐵 = 𝐸𝐴 + ∆𝐸𝐴𝐵 = 𝐸𝐴 + 𝐷𝐴𝐵 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝐴𝐵

𝑁𝐵 = 𝑁𝐴 + ∆𝑁𝐴𝐵 = 𝐸𝐴 + 𝐷𝐴𝐵 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃𝐴𝐵

Where:
∆𝐸𝐴𝐵 = 𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝐴 𝑡𝑜 𝐵
∆𝑁𝐴𝐵 = 𝑛𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝐴 𝑡𝑜 𝐵
𝐷𝐴𝐵 = ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝐴 𝑡𝑜 𝐵
𝜃𝐴𝐵 = 𝑤ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝐴 𝑡𝑜 𝐵
 Class example: rectangular coordinates

• If co-ordinates of A are: (3.11617mE, 447.245mN)

• DAB = 57.916M, and θAB = 37o11’20’’
• DAC = 85.071M, and θAC = 205o33’55’’
• Calculate coordinates of points: B and C
– Answer in-class
 Polar co-ordinates
• Alternative system to rectangular co-ordinates
• Less common than rectangular, but still widely used
• Rectangular = define absolute co-ords
• Polar = define relative co-ords
– Uses horizontal distance and
whole-circle bearing
 Polar co-ordinate calculation
• Whole circle bearing calculation (θAB) – must use sketch
to define quadrant. Then we will know equation.
 Class example: polar co-ordinates

The coordinates of A and B are EA = 469.721m, NA =

338.466m and EB = 501.035m, NB = 310.617m.

Calculate the horizontal distance DAB and the whole

circle bearing AB.

Answer in-class
 Traversing
• A means of providing horizontal control
• Using a series of control points
• Uses a combination of angle and distance
measurements used to determine rectangular
coordinates

A 2

(b)
1
 Traversing
• Link traverse and polygon (aka loop) transverse
• ‘Closed’ traverses start & finish at known points
– This allows better error checking
– Higher accuracy

A 2

(b)
1
 Reconnaissance
• Traverse stations should not be chosen randomly
– Choose points of max visibility
– Consider how future building works will affect visibility
– Minimise no. of stations (minimise centring errors)
– Easily accessible
– http://oxblue.com/demos/time-lapse-movies.php
• Site must be visited before hand (before finalising
positions)
• Relevant area information must
be analysed (e.g. digital maps)
• Better planning = better traverse
 Station marking
• Control point markers = ‘traverse stations’
• Most common = wooden pegs
– Only 50mm above ground (to prevent disturbance)
– Steel nail/pin on top
– Duration = 2-3 months max
– Increase duration – encase in concrete
 Station marking
• Want to avoid disturbance
• In soft ground – use ‘ground markers’
• Better stability – e.g. anchors
• Better suited to accidental displacement and
vandalism
 Station marking
• For hard surfaces (e.g. brick/pavement) – use
‘masonry nails’
• Can use steel/plastic coloured marking washers –
helps identification
• Commonly seen on pavements in UK
 Traversing procedure
• After traverse stations chosen, need to measure
angles
• Use a theodolite or total station
• Care is required – centring errors are carried through!
• Minimise errors using ‘3 tripod traversing’
– Advantage = error does not propagate. Instead confined to
each station
 3 tripod traversing procedure
• Measuring angle ABC
– Tripod and target are setup, centred and levelled at A
– Total station (or theodolite) setup at B in the usual way
– Tripod and target are setup, centred and levelled at C
• Enables:
– Horizontal angle at B to be measured
– Distances BA and BC to be measured
 3 tripod traversing procedure
• Measuring angle BCD
– Tripod and prism from A moved and re-setup at D
– At B, total station moved and placed on tripod at C
– Prism from C now placed at B
• Enables:
– Horizontal angle at C to be measured
– Distances CB and CD to measured
– Distances BC and CB can be checked
 3 tripod traversing procedure
• Measuring angle CDE
– Tripod and target moved to E
– Total station at C and prism at D are interchanged
• This process is repeated until traverse finished
– Can be used for link & closed traverses
 Traversing calculations
• Use measured angles and distances to find coordinates
• 4 steps required:
1. Check errors (pre-processing)
2. Calculate whole circle bearings
3. Calculate relative coordinate differences
4. Adjust coordinate differences to account for misclosure
5. Calculate coordinates of control points

Step 5

Step 2

Step 3 Step 4
Break
 Traversing example - Polygon
We perform a traverse around a building on the Heriot Watt
Edinburgh campus. It is a polygon traverse with
measurements taken at points A-F. The total station has a
smallest reading interval of 10”. Our goal is to calculate the
coordinates of points B-F (assume we know point A).
 Traversing example - Polygon
Assume we have performed a traverse using a theodolite and
tape. We obtain the distance/angle data shown below. We know
the coordinates of point A, and need the coordinates of B-F
Arbitrary N

” 6m
0’00 4.49 138º54’30”
105
.34
º0 7 4m
70
A
115º11’20”
E
110º29’50”
Bearing AF = 70º00’00”
m

Coordinates A = 350.000 mE, 500.000 mN

85.974

57.482 m

All lengths corrected and reduced to horizontal

All angles are mean observed angles
10” total station used

130º36’00”
95º00’10” D

B m
131.
308 67
m
0.3
129º49’10” 6

C
 Traverse form
• We need to use our traverse form to
properly record & calculate coordinates
• But before this – we should check the
errors in our recorded data! (pre-process)
 Traversing calculations

Step 1

Check errors in field data

 Traversing calculations
• Step 1 - check errors
• Do observed angles sum to their required value?
• For a polygon traverse:
𝑆𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑁𝑇𝐸𝑅𝑁𝐴𝐿 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒𝑠 = 2𝑛 − 4 × 90𝑜
𝑆𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝐸𝑋𝑇𝐸𝑅𝑁𝐴𝐿 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒𝑠 = 2𝑛 + 4 × 90𝑜
𝑛 = 𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒𝑠

• For a link traverse: N=4

𝑆𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒𝑠
= 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔
− 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 + 𝑚 × 180𝑜

𝑚 = 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑒

𝑚 ≈ 𝑛 − 1 , 𝑛 𝑜𝑟 𝑛 + 1

N=5
 Traversing calculations
• Is error acceptable? Compare error to ‘E’:
𝐸 ′′ = ±𝐾𝑆 𝑛

Where:
𝐾 = 𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 1 − 3 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑆𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐? !?
𝑆 = 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑒. 𝑔. 20′′ , 5′′ , 1′′

• If misclosure acceptable (e < E)

– Error is divided equally between all observed angles
– Example below – summing internal angles shows a 00o 1’ 00” misclosure
• If misclosure unacceptable (e > E)
– Angles must be re-measured
 Traversing calculations
• For our example around the William Arrol building:
𝑆𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑁𝑇𝐸𝑅𝑁𝐴𝐿 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒𝑠 = 2𝑛 − 4 × 90𝑜 = 2 × 6 − 4 × 90𝑜 = 720𝑜
𝑆𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝐸𝑋𝑇𝐸𝑅𝑁𝐴𝐿 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒𝑠 = 2𝑛 + 4 × 90𝑜 = 2 × 6 + 4 × 90𝑜 = 1440𝑜
𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = 720𝑜 01′ 00" − 720o 00′00" = 00𝑜 01′ 00"
𝑖𝑓 𝑘 = 3, 𝐸 = ±𝐾𝑆 𝑛 = 3 × 10" × 6 = 73" = 00𝑜 01′13"
Because 01’00” < 01’13”, misclosure is acceptable, so distribute throughout
each station to find corrected/adjusted angles (6 stations so adjust each by 10”)
Arbitrary N

m
0” 96 105
00’0 77.4 138º54’30” .34
º 4m
70
A
115º11’20”
E
110º29’50”
m
85.874

57.482 m

130º36’00”
95º00’10” D

B m
131.
308 67
m
0.3
129º49’10” 6

C
 Traverse form
• Now we know our field work is accurate, we can
proceed with our calculations.
• 1st write station letters in left hand column
• Need to find:
– Back bearing
– Adjusted left hand angle
– Forward bearing
Traversing calculations

Step 2

Calculate bearings
 Step 2 – Bearings notation example Arbitrary N

• Decision to calculate traverse in

m
0” 96 105
0’0 77.4 138º54’30” .34
º0 4m
70
A
115º11’20”

direction X->Y->Z (arbitrary – could go

E
110º29’50”

m
85.874

57.482 m
opposite direction) 130º36’00”
D
95º00’10”

• XY and YZ are ‘Forward bearings’ –

B m
131.3
08 m 67
.3
129º49’10” 60

same direction as calculation (i.e. θxy,

C

θyz)
• YX and ZY are ‘Back bearings’ –
opposite direction as calculation (i.e.
θyx, θzy)
• Back bearings & forward bearings
differ by ±180o
• ϒY = ‘left hand angle’ at Y because it
lies to left of Y relative to direction X-
>Y->Z.
 Step 2 – Bearings
𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 = 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 + 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒
𝜃𝑌𝑍 = 𝜃𝑌𝑋 + 𝛾𝑌
 Step 2 – example
N

AF
arin
g F • Continuing our example – start at A
be
ack • AF = back bearing, AB = forward bearing
B
• Left hand angle adjusted (as described
A previously)
Adjusted left-hand angle at A • WCB’s must start with a known/assumed
bearing (e.g. 70o00’00’’)
Arbitrary N

F
Forward bearing AB
” 6m
0’00 7.49 138º54’30”
105
.34
º0 7 4m
70
A
115º11’20”
E
110º29’50”

m
85.874

57.482 m
Anticlockwise direction of computation
B

𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑Calculation
𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐴𝐵 of forward bearing AB
95º00’10”
130º36’00”
D

= 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐴𝐹 B
131. m
67
+ 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝐴
308
m
0.3
129º49’10” 6

= 70𝑜 00′ 00′′ + 115𝑜 11′ 10′′ = 185𝑜 11′ 10′′ C

 Step 2 – example
• Similarly, for forward bearing BC:
𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐵𝐶
= 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐵𝐴
+ 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝐵
• But…we don’t know the back bearing
BA yet!
Arbitrary N

F
DF
” 6m
0’00 7.49 138º54’30”
105
.34
º0 7 4m
70
A
115º11’20”
E
110º29’50”
m
85.874

57.482 m

130º36’00”
95º00’10” D
DF
B m
131.
308 67
m .3
129º49’10” 60

C
 Step 2 – example
• To calculate back bearing BA, we
use the fact that forward &
backward bearing differ by 180o
𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐵𝐴 = 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐴𝐵 ± 180𝑜
= 185𝑜 10′′ ± 180𝑜
= 365𝑜 11′ 10" 𝑜𝑟 05𝑜 11′ 10′′
= 05𝑜 11′ 10′′ 𝑡𝑜 𝑘𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 0𝑜 𝑡𝑜360𝑜
Arbitrary N

” 6m
0’00 7.49 138º54’30”
105
.34
º0 7 4m
70
A
115º11’20”
E
110º29’50”
m
85.874

57.482 m

130º36’00”
95º00’10” D
DF
B m
131.
308 67
m .3
129º49’10” 60

C
 Step 2 – example
• Now we can calculate forward bearing BC:
𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐵𝐶
= 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐵𝐴
+ 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝐵
= 05𝑜 11′ 10 + 95o 00′00
= 100𝑜 11′ 10"
Arbitrary N

m
0” 96 105
00’0 74.4 138º54’30” .34
º 4m
70
A
115º11’20”
E
110º29’50”
Bearing AF = 70º00’00”
m

Coordinates A = 350.000 mE, 500.000 mN

85.974

57.482 m

All lengths corrected and reduced to horizontal

All angles are mean observed angles
10” total station used

130º36’00”
95º00’10” D

B m
131.
308 67
m .3
129º49’10” 60

C
 Traverse form
• After performing this calculation
for each point, we have the values
for the second column in our
traversing table
 Traverse form
• We now convert the forward
bearings into decimal form &
write them in the ‘whole-circle
bearing’ column
 Traverse form
• Our table now looks like this.
The first 4 columns have been
completed
 Traversing calculations

Step 3

Calculate coordinate differences

 Step 3 – coordinate differences
• Have already found: whole circle bearings & line lengths
– But our goal is to calculate the coordinates of each point!
• To calculate final coordinates, we first find the relative
distances between each point
• Thus: find coordinate differences
of traverse lines: ΔE, ΔN Arbitrary N

• Very similar to polar->rectangular F

conversion (class ex earlier)

A

• E.g. Traverse ABCDEFA, line AB + BC E

C
 Step 3 – coordinate differences Arbitrary N

• First, considering line AB

F

• We know slope length & angle

A

• We need to calculate:
D

ΔE and ΔN (i.e. ΔEAB and ΔNAB) B

∆𝐸𝐴𝐵 = 𝐷𝐴𝐵 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝐴𝐵 C

= 85.874 sin 185𝑜 11′ 10′′)

= 85.874 × −0.0903491

= −7.762𝑚

∆𝑁𝐴𝐵 = 𝐷𝐴𝐵 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃𝐴𝐵

= 85.874𝑐𝑜𝑠 185𝑜 11′ 10′′)

= 85.874 × −0.995906

= −85.522𝑚
 Step 3 – coordinate differences Arbitrary N

• Next, considering line BC F

• As usual, we know slope length & angle A

• Again, we need to calculate:

ΔE and ΔN (i.e. ΔEAB and ΔNAB) B
D

∆𝐸𝐵𝐶 = 𝐷𝐵𝐶 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝐵𝐶 = 131.308 sin 100𝑜 11′ 10′′) C

= −129.238𝑚

∆𝑁𝐴𝐵 = 𝐷𝐵𝐶 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃𝐵𝐶 = 131.308 𝑐𝑜𝑠 100𝑜 11′ 10′′)

= −23.221𝑚
 Sample traverse form
After calculating coordinate
differences for all points, our
traverse form now looks like this
 Traversing calculations

Step 4

Misclosure check/adjustment
 Step 4 – misclosure check Arbitrary N

We have calculated the differences (ΔE, 0

”
’00 7.49
7
6m
138º54’30”
105
.34
º0 4m
ΔN) between each point. Now we need A
70

115º11’20”
to check for misclosure errors. If we 110º29’50”
E

find errors then we must adjust the

m
85.874

57.482 m
previously calculated differences (ΔE,
ΔN) 95º00’10”
130º36’00”
D

B m
131.
308 67
m .3
129º49’10” 60

C
 Step 4 – misclosure check
• Aim = zero error, but unrealistic – we
∆𝐸 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 = 0
always have errors!
∆𝑁 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 = 0
𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 = 𝑒 = 𝑒𝐸2 + 𝑒𝑁2

• To gauge accuracy of traverse, compare ‘e’ with

traverse distance:
∑𝐷
𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 = 1 𝑖𝑛
𝑒

𝐷 = 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔

 Step 4 – misclosure check
• Continuing our example:
∑∆𝐸 = 𝑒𝐸 = −7.762 + 129.238 + 46.246 + 0.602 − 98.285 − 70.003 = +0.036𝑚

∑∆𝑁 = 𝑒𝑁 = −85.522 − 23.221 + 38.801 + 57.479 + 37.914 − 25.479 = −0.028𝑚

• As expected: ƩΔE ≠ 0, ƩΔN ≠ 0, thus using prev equations:

𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 = 𝑒 = 0.036 2 + −0.028 2 = 0.046𝑚

𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑙𝑦: ∑𝐷 = 514.871𝑚

514.871
𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 = 1 𝑖𝑛 = 1 𝑖𝑛 11,200
0.046

• If fraction linear misclosure < tolerance = eE and eN distributed throughout

traverse (e.g. bowditch or equal adjustment)
• If fraction linear misclosure > tolerance = re-measure distances & angles
 Linear misclosure - adjustment
• We found misclosure – we need to fix it!
• 2 adjustment methods: ‘Bowditch’ & ‘equal adjustment’
• Bowditch method
– Values of adjustment = proportional to length of individual traverse lines
– Commonly used for steel tape measurements
𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒
𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 𝛿𝐸 = −𝑒𝐸 ×
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒

Using previously calculated errors:

85.874 85.874
𝛿𝐸𝐴𝐵 = −0.36 × = −0.006𝑚 𝛿𝑁𝐴𝐵 = +0.28 × = −0.005𝑚
514.871 514.871

131.874 131.308
𝛿𝐸𝐵𝐶 = −0.36 × = −0.009𝑚 𝛿𝑁𝐵𝐶 = +0.28 × = +0.007𝑚
514.871 514.871
 Linear misclosure - adjustment
• Equal adjustment method
– Values of adjustment = proportional to length of individual traverse lines
– Commonly used for total station measurements (i.e. error independent
of distance)
𝑒𝐸
𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 𝛿𝐸 = 𝑛 = 𝑛𝑜. 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠
𝑛

Using previously calculated errors:

+0.028
−0.036 𝛿𝐸 = = +0.005𝑚
𝛿𝐸 = = −0.006𝑚 6
6

Then, after all adjustments, the following should hold:

∑𝛿𝐸 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 = −𝑒𝐸 ∑𝛿𝑁 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 = −𝑒𝑁

 Linear misclosure - adjustment
• Equal adjustment
– Values of adjustment = proportional to length of individual traverse lines
– Commonly used for steel tape measurements

Using previously calculated errors:

85.874 85.874
𝛿𝐸𝐴𝐵 = −0.36 × = −0.006𝑚 𝛿𝑁𝐴𝐵 = +0.28 × = −0.005𝑚
514.871 514.871

131.874 131.308
𝛿𝐸𝐵𝐶 = −0.36 × = −0.009𝑚 𝛿𝑁𝐵𝐶 = +0.28 × = +0.007𝑚
514.871 514.871
 Traverse form
Now add the coordinate
adjustments to our traverse table
 Linear misclosure - adjustment
• Then, by adding our correction adjustments (δE, δN) to
out original values (ΔE, ΔN), we can calculate our final
values (ΔE, ΔN).

• For example, for our top row:

∆𝐸𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 = ∆𝐸𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 + 𝛿𝐸 = −7.762 + −0.006 = −7.768

∆𝑁𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 = ∆𝑁𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 + 𝛿𝑁 = −85.522 + 0.005 = −85.518

 Traverse form
Now our coordinate adjustments are
finished
Traversing calculations

Step 5

Coordinate calculation
Step 5 – final coordinate calculation

• Finally, using same as example as before,

– If A = 350.000 mE, 500.000mN, & using the Bowditch
adjustment method:

𝐸𝐵 = 𝐸𝐴 ± ∆𝐸𝐴𝐵 = 350.000 − 7.768 = 342.232𝑚

𝑁𝐵 = 𝑁𝐴 ± ∆𝐸𝐴𝐵 = 500.000 − 85.517 = 414.483𝑚

Similarly, coordinates of C are calculated:

𝐸𝐶 = 𝐸𝐵 ± ∆𝐸𝐵𝐶 = 342.232 + 129.229 = 471.461𝑚

𝑁𝐶 = 𝑁𝐵 ± ∆𝐸𝐵𝐶 = 414.483 − 23.214 = 391.269𝑚

All other coordinates are calculated in the same way. A is re-calculated as a check
Final traverse form
Tutorial