Advanced Surveying - 2021 entry

A highly practical module designed to give you advanced knowledge and surveying skills, building on from the basics covered in CSMM134. Course covers advanced techniques such as geodesy and GPS and some specialized surveying methodologies such as hydrographic surveying, laser scanning and the use of gyro-theodolites. Course is integrated with practicals on surveying instruments and software. The module is rounded off with a survey fieldtrip so the students can apply all their knowledge acquired in CSMM134 and CSMM139 to the survey of an abandoned mine site.

The module aims to develop your skills in advanced surveying techniques (using instruments and associated computational packages).

On successful completion of this module, you should be able to:

Module Specific Skills and Knowledge:

1. Understand advanced surveying techniques, basic geodesy and calculations;

2. Use surveying equipment, including GPS, total stations and laser scanning;

3. Undertake surveys using the equipment provided, correctly record data and perform the appropriate survey calculations.

Discipline Specific Skills and Knowledge:

4. Utilise a wide range of academic skills in data acquisition (through the use of equipment), interpretation (through calculation) and communication of results.

Personal and Key Transferable / Employment Skills and Knowledge:

5. Demonstrate problem solving, learning skills and data handling and manipulation;

6. Show mapping skills through field-based activities and assessments;

7. Display interactive and group-working skills, through working in small teams throughout the assignments and field-based exercises.

- Elevation control by the method of precise levelling;

- Determination of the three main EDM errors and their associated accuracies and examining their effect on short and long distance measurement;

- Statistical analysis and rejection theory as applied to surveying data, to determine the quality of observed data;

- GPS - principles, limitations, use, practical training, plotting of results;

- Positional control and determination using both intersection and resection, with particular reference to "Tienstra's" formula for position determination using resection;

- Geodesy - principles and application to orientation / location of local grid systems;

- Determination of true north, using gyrotheodolites;

- Laserscanning – principles and applications;

- Hydrographic surveying – principles and applications;

- Field trip exercise: one week field trip to abandoned mine site, to conduct complete survey of site and undertake environmental assessment.

If a student is referred or deferred, the failed / non-completed component(s) will be re-assessed at the same weighting as the original assessment.

ELE: http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/

Reading list for this module: