How to: Some Basic Principles for Leveling

Lecture Overview
Equipment Introduction to Leveling Observation, Field Notes, and
Computation

Errors and their effects

Equipment

Equipment

Level Instrument Tripod Staff/Pole Change plate (German: Frog/Frosch) Pole staff bubble (bull eye) Marker

Equipment: Level Instrument

Automated Levels

Easy to use (not power!) Needs experience Robust even in hostile environment

Digital Levels

Push-button technique No reading errors, special staff Readings are stored and analyzed digitally

Automated Levels (Compensator)

Bull Eye Pendulum

Tribrach
Courtesy: Deumlich, Vermessungskunde

Digital Levels
Uses Barcode staffs Internal storage of data

Download to the computer Automated height computation + adjustment

No feeling for quality anymore You frequently need power plugs

Equipment

Level Instrument Tripod Staff/Pole Change plate (German: Frog/Frosch) Pole staff bubble (bull eye) Marker

Equipment: Tripod
Wooden design or aluminum

From easy to sit

to

ops, this is high

Equipment

Level Instrument Tripod Staff/Pole Change plate (German: Frog/Frosch) Pole staff bubble (bull eye) Marker

Equipment: Staff/Pole
Wood, aluminum INVAR type for high precision leveling

Conventional (E-type)

Barcode for Digital Levels

Equipment

Level Instrument Tripod Staff/Pole Change plate (German: Frog/Frosch) Pole staff bubble (bull eye) Marker

Equipment: Change Plate

For long survey lines Allows change of instruments

Best is a metal change plate Screws e.g. at fences Sharp stones or nails

Beware of dark colors

Its not the IndonesianGerman Dictionary, Its the nail!

Equipment

Level Instrument Tripod Staff/Pole Change plate (German: Frog/Frosch) Pole staff bubble (bull eye) Marker

Equipment: Bubble
Keep the pole upright

Any tilt will disturb your readings

Equipment

Level Instrument Tripod Staff/Pole Change plate (German: Frog/Frosch) Pole staff bubble (bull eye) Marker

Survey Markers
Gives you a fixed point

Should be of good quality Should be long-term Preferable in bedrock, settled buildings, or bridges Do not use fences or walls

Introduction to Leveling

Some Basic Definitions

Level surface (e.g. the geoid)

A water surface with no motion Gravity gradient is the normal to the level surface The Instruments Bubble is in the normal (!) At the instruments axis, the horizontal surface is tangent to the level surface Over short distances (<100 m) the horizontal surface and the level surface will coincide For long leveling lines the effects of the gravity field must be considered

Horizontal surface

Basic Principle of Leveling

Measures height differences between points

Along a line
Several points from one occupation
Leveling rods Line of sight Back sight Fore sight

fs
bs
Dh = bs - fs

Gravity Gradient

Definitions
Back sight (BS)

The first reading from a new instrument stand point (i.e. take the height to the instrument) The last reading from the current instrument station (i.e. give the height to a benchmark) Any sighting that is not a back sight or fore sight

Fore sight (FS)

Intermediate sight (IS)

Reading a Staff
Read the [m], [dm] & [cm] Estimate the [mm]

1422

Check yourself for frequent used numbers (2/3) or (7/8)

Basic Rules for Leveling

Always start and finish a leveling run on a
Benchmark (BM or TGBM) and close the loops

Keep fore sight and back sight distances as

equal as possible

Keep lines of sight short (normally < 50m) Never read below 0.5m on a staff (refraction) Use stable, well defined change points Beware of shadowing effects and crossing
waters

Observation, Field Notes, and Computation

How to: A sample loop

New Benchmark NB2 S2

New Benchmark NB1

Tidal Hut TH S1

How To: Field Notes

New Benchmark NB2

S2

Back 1327 2365 2347

Inter

Fore 3982 0986 3724 1101

Point TH NB1 NB2 NB1 TH

New Benchmark NB1

3753

Tidal Hut TH
S1

Date, Observer, Instrument

Instrument Check

Back

Fore

SD

Compute levels
Back
1327 2365 2347 3753
+1

Inter

Fore
3982 0986 3724 1101 9793

dh
7345
1379 8624 2652

H
100 000

Comment

97 345
98 724

TH BM1 BM2 BM1

97 348
100 000 0

TH

9792

IST SOLL

-0001 0000 0001 (SOLL IST)

Loop misclosure
Misclosure Error

The difference of the measured height difference (DHmeas) to the known height (closed loops = 0, known benchmarks = height difference)

Misclosure = DHSOLL DHIST

Point errors at double observed points

Achievable Accuracy
Instrument dependent

Roughly from the instrument

NI002 = 0,2mm/km (doubled line) NI025 = 2.5mm/km (doubled line)

Survey line length dependent

ms = m1km s, s in km mH = (m1km/2) s, s in km #(middle of the line)

An acceptable misclose?
Small misclosures in closed level loops are
expected because of the accumulation of random errors and can be adjusted it) must be repeated

If the misclosure is large, the loop (or part of

Misclosures can also result from errors in published BM levels and from BM instability

Testing the misclose

The amount of misclosure acceptable using a
specific instrument and survey line length standard is adopted*

For our example, a second order leveling

misclosure 2,5s mm

where s is the length of the line in km

*Dependent on your contrys rules and the instrument used

Our example
The misclosure is +1 mm
The length of the loop is 0.4 km Acceptable error is
2.5(0.4) = 1.6 mm

The misclosure of +1 mm is within the limit Mean error for NB1 = 2.5/2* (0.4)

Errors and their effects

(many, but only a few addressed)

Errors in leveling, e.g.

Collimation, Parallax Change point / staff instability

Instrument or Benchmark instability

Refraction Uncalibrated staff or levels Reading, booking, or computation errors Fore- and backsight distances different

Systematic and Random Errors

Earth curvature
Refraction Collimation errors

Effect of Earth Curvature

Horizontal Level

(r +Dh)2 = r2 + s2 => Dh s2/(2r)

Distance (s) in m Effect (Dh) in mm www.fh-oow.de/institute/ima/personen/weber/VK_12/VL_VK1/geo_niv_6.htm 10 0,008 20 0,03 50 0,2 100 0,8 1000 80

Refraction

Mean Gradient: 0,2 C / m

www.fh-oow.de/institute/ima/personen/weber/VK_12/VL_VK1/geo_niv_6.htm

Collimation error
Occurs when the line of sight (as defined by
the lens axis and cross-hairs) is not horizontal Leads to an incorrect staff reading

error
horizontal line

Instrument test: Nhbauer

Stand point 1

Stand point 2

a2 = a2+2e a1 = a1+e b2 = b2+e b1 = b1+2e h = a2b2 h = a1b1 h2 = a2b2 = a2+eb2 = h+e h1 = a1b1 = a1b1e = he h =h2e With h1+e = h2e h2h1 e= 2

Summary

Procedure of leveling
1. The instrument must be check before use! (see lecture) 2. The instrument and level must be stable settled-up

3. The bubble tube must be leveled before the reading

Beware of sun exposure (will wander) Ensure the instruments pendulum is in-limit

4. The instrument must be set up in the middle between two staffs

Prevents curvature effects If impossible, use the same distances, but opposite for the next readings

5. You must not use the parallax screw between the backsight and foresight readings

Procedure of Leveling
6. Readings must be taken 30-50 cm above the ground
Surface refractions Beware also of temperature gradients (inside/outside buildings) !!!!

7. Staff should be set up vertically

8. A change plate should be used

9. Leveling must be done in two opposite directions but the same line (beware of gravity gradients)

10. Staff should be calibrated, especially if INVAR

11. Be careful when crossing rivers (large water surfaces)
Use same-time (mutual) observations Repeat it during different times of the day