Leveling

Chapter 4

Why do we perform leveling surveys?

To determine the topography of sites for design projects
Set grades and elevations for construction projects Compute volumes of earthwork

Old Datum: Mean Sea Level

Mean Sea Level (MSL)
Average height over a 19-year period 26 gauging stations along the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico

New Datum: NGVD88

National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1988 (NGVD88) Completed in 1991, refined 1929 survey Included 625,000 km of additional leveling Single tidal gauge bench mark located in Quebec, Canada Tidal gauge bench called Father Point/Rimouski

Operators at Father Point

Leveling Terms

Effects of Curvature and Refraction

The earths curvature causes a rod reading taken at point B to be too high. The effect of refraction is to make objects appear higher than they really are thus making the rod readings too low.

Effects of Refraction

Curvature Equations
Cf = 0.667 M2 = 0.0239 F2 (in feet)
And Cm = 0.0785 K2 (in meters) (Metric Units)

(U.S. Customary Units)

Where:
M distance in miles F- distance in thousands of feet K distance in kilometers

Refraction Equations
Rf = 0.093 M2 = 0.0033 F2 (in feet)
And Rm = 0.011 K2 (in meters) (Metric Units)

(U.S. Customary Units)

Where:
M distance in miles F- distance in thousands of feet K distance in kilometers The refraction correction is about one-seventh the effect of curvature but in the opposite direction.

Combined Equations
hf = 0.574 M2 = 0.0206 F2 (in feet)
and hm = 0.0675 K2 (in meters) (Metric Units)

(U.S. Customary Units)

where:
M distance in miles F - distance in thousands of feet K distance in kilometers

Effects of Curvature and Refraction

For 300 shot:
hf = 0.0206 (300/1000)2 = 0.0019 For 1000 shot:

hf = 0.0206 (1000/1000)2 = 0.0206

Under the most adverse conditions (very hot humid conditions) the error associated with refraction can be as high as 0.10 for a 200-foot shot.

Eliminating Effects of Curvature and Refraction

Proper field procedures (taking shorter shots and balancing shots) can practically eliminate errors due to curvature and refraction.

Trigonometric Leveling
Used in areas of very steep or rugged terrain or when you have inaccessible points.

Trigonometric Leveling Procedure

Equations:
If S and the vertical angle are determined: V = S sin V = H tan or or V = S cos z V = H tan z If H and the vertical angle are determined: The change in elevation between points A and B is:

elev = hi + V r
where: hi height of the instrument above point A

Equations (continued):
and:
r rod reading at B when the vertical angle is read If r is made equal to the hi, then the two values cancel and the computations are simplified.

These equations are applicable when shots are taken at less than 1000 feet. For shots longer than 1000 feet, the effects of curvature and refraction must be taken into account.

Trigonometric Leveling Procedure: Long Lines

Equations:
elev = hi + V + (C R) r
where: (C R) is computed from the equation: 0.0206 F2 See Example 4-1 on page 82 and Example 4-2 on page 83.