Professional Surveyor Magazine Current Edition

History Corner: View from the Top

Practically, the most important office in any territory of the United States may not have been that of the governor but that of the surveyor general. Because one of the major objects of opening the new territories was to supply the treasury with money, the lands had to be surveyed and put on the market. Anyone moving into the territories would demand marketable title to such lands. The only way to achieve this goal and satisfy the settlers was to have someone in charge to properly lay out the lands in an understandable manner, clearly marked and easily recorded. That public servant was the surveyor general.

Hiring/Appointing Men

The main responsibility of the surveyor general was to hire competent men to properly mark the lands for easy sale. In an era when the vast majority of the people were illiterate and had difficulties "ciphering," finding capable men to go into the woods (and swamps, mountains, plains, etc.) was not an easy task. Finding men who were honest, able to withstand the hardships of the frontier, and able to properly conduct a survey according to the newly invented rectangular system was even more difficult.

Also, finding backers and the money to put up the high bonding for the job was not easy, especially when one considers that often the surveyor general had to receive or send money torn in half by two different curriers because of the problem of bandits (or native Americans).
Surveyors general who went into new territories near ones recently opened for settlement had an easier time of selecting competent surveyors from those who moved from one territory to another frequently with recommendations from the neighboring surveyor general. This often was a political appointment as much as locating and hiring competent help.

The office of the surveyor general of any territory was a political plumb for the party in power. It meant that one of their own was in charge of hiring surveyors, some of whom could be very friendly to land speculators, often influencing the choice of register and receiver for the district.

In almost every case the surveyors also were political appointees often connected with the surveyor general or those who appointed him. Surveyor general Robert Butler, once Andrew Jackson's legal ward, put six of the first surveyors in Florida into the field upon Jackson's recommendation. Luckily, each of the men appointed upon this recommendation proved to be very good at their work. General John Coffee was not as fortunate in Alabama, and some of his appointees lacked the basic skills of surveying, which ended up costing the government even more money because much of their work had to be redone. A listing of the surveyors employed in Florida after the Civil War reads like the roll call of ex-Union officers at a GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) meeting. Politics never left the scene on the American frontier.

Setting up Shop

Setting up shop also proved to be a major problem on the frontier. Getting regular supplies of equipment was an extremely difficult chore when roads and other methods of transportation were not available. As most modern surveyors know by looking at the original field notes of their respective states, even getting uniform paper was a complex task. In the surviving letters, paper for correspondence ranged from heavy weave cloth-based paper to what often appears to be wrapping paper for meat. The demands for drafting paper were frequent and plaintive. Ink became almost impossible to get in some offices, especially in the colors required for plats. Furniture was often of local make when more finished pieces were not available.

Instruments were always a problem for the surveyors general as well as the regular surveyors. Many instruments received in the offices of the surveyors general were defective or broken in shipment. In the case of deputy surveyor John Jackson of Tampa, Florida, the chain he ordered from the equipment store in New Orleans was a link and a half too long when measured in the local land office. Since the season was already progressing and the surveys had to be made, the surveyor general simply ordered him to make a note of this defect in the front of the field note books and let those follow who factor in the difference.

Experimenting

Surveyors general often were in the midst of "experiments" in land surveying promulgated by the General Land Office, which was originally under the Secretary of the Treasury, before the creation of the Department of the Interior. Everyone is familiar with the seven different methods tried in northeastern Ohio before Congress and the administration decided upon the six mile square of the current rectangular system. This was not the only experiment tried before a more or less regular system was decided upon. What size should a water body be before it is meandered by the deputy surveyor? In an earlier column I answered this question by noting that the concept of a "significant body of water" to 25 acres and almost all points in between was put forth in various sets of instructions over a long period of time.

How does one instruct surveyors to measure out Spanish, English, French, or even Indian grants if the measurements are different, landmarks are removed, field notes (when they existed) are in a different language, or no representative of the grant appears to show the surveyor where the initial point of the survey should begin?

When the Supreme Court makes a ruling on a grant, how should the surveyor general instruct his deputies on carrying out the court's intent when vague directions are given? For example, when Henry Washington was asked to find the meaning of the word "Alachua" and use that as the mid-point of his survey of the Arredondo Grant in central Florida, how do you instruct him to find this information?

Sometimes, as in Mississippi Territory, the Indians and Spanish were in such a state that governor Winthrop Sargent withheld making any appointments (and advised the secretary of the Treasury not to do so) until he had set up the territorial militia to bring some law and order to the area. In the meantime those who desired to settle the land squatted, settled on Indian lands, or moved into what was still Spanish territory.

This is not to mention the small problem of the Yazoo claims made by speculators in Georgia lands, which appeared to overlap those now claimed by Mississippi. After facing this problem and seeing many of his close associates receive lands via grants that many interpreted as fraudulent, Sargent was removed by President Thomas Jefferson, who had received numerous complaints about the deals being made in Mississippi. Land titles had to be solved and made public before people had trust in the government.

Paying for Surveys

One of the more common problems for the surveyors general was how to pay for the surveys of land grants and other land not a part of the rectangular system. Congress gave guidance in some instances, passing laws that allowed the surveyor general to charge the individual grantee with the costs of surveying his lands, after they had proven the validity of their title to various and sundry land commissions. The language of the Mississippi Territory specifically noted: "And provided, that the expense of surveying those tracts of land, to which the title of the claimants is confirmed by the articles of agreement... Shall not be advanced by the United States but shall be paid to the deputy surveyor, by the parties claiming same."

In all other cases for surveying the public lands of the United States the surveyor would be paid by the surveyor general out of the annual appropriation provided by Congress. The Mississippi case was, again, an experiment that did not work well in other areas, including Florida where the United States picked up the tab for surveying private land claims recognized under the treaty with Spain.

Multiple Surveys

One of the biggest headaches for the surveyors general was the fact that not all claims were decided before the regular public lands surveys were begun. This meant that over a period of many years, as the Supreme Court made its individual rulings, surveyors had to be sent back out into the field to survey the now recognized grants and make such notes to allow the draughtsman to formulate new plats for the same townships. In Florida there are townships with five or more plats because of the time frame in which the various grants within them were decided upon by the courts.

Land Speculation

Land speculation on the frontier affected many people, from U.S. senators such as Daniel Webster and Samuel L. Southard of New Jersey to surveyors general such as General Coffee. Webster and Southard speculated in western lands Ohio to Wisconsin, and the former went into debt over $100,000 when the Panic of 1837 wiped out his plans. Coffee had surveyed many of the Indian boundaries for the cessions in the Tennessee Valley before he was appointed surveyor general. Coffee was also closely aligned with Andrew Jackson and, for a while, William Crawford of Georgia. Jackson and Coffee speculated heavily in lands in northern Alabama, lands Coffee knew intimately and had the field notes for in hand. As surveyor general in Alabama, he had elaborate field notes made by his deputies.

According to Alabama historian James Doster, "Coffee treated the information therein as his private property and not only used it as a basis for his own speculations but sold the information to purchasers seeking it, at a very considerable profit to himself and his assistants, with whom he had a profit-splitting contract." It is well known that General Coffee was not alone in this kind of behavior, but as he is so well known in American history he stands out as an example of the misuse of privilege. Most others did not behave this way, and many left the job no richer than before they assumed its responsibilities.

To tie all these responsibilities together and make a successful office run as efficiently as envisioned by Congress and the GLO was not an easy task. Overall, most of the men served the office honorably, with dignity, and, with exceptions, few gave into the temptations for quick riches.

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Education in Surveying: Classes in 3D

by Zhanjing (John) Yu

Terrestrial 3D laser scanning has gained acceptance in the surveying field in the last few years. In a survey I conducted in 2006 among California land surveyors, 14 percent indicate they have adopted the technology and 34 percent plan to use it, and the percent by now is probably higher. However, the education community (community colleges in particular) has lagged behind in providing the surveying industry with qualified technicians in this area. A review of 65 civil engineering technology and land surveying programs in two-year colleges around the country in 2006 indicated that 3D laser scanning training at the community college level was almost non-existent.



Although there are many reasons why two-year colleges are far behind in preparing students for the new technology, the lack of standard curriculum and resources in the community colleges plays an important role. The gap is partially filled by many of the private training companies at a high cost to the surveying community.

Recognizing the problem, the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advanced Technological Education program awarded a grant to Evergreen Valley College (EVC) in San Jose, California to develop a 3D laser scanning in land surveying curriculum for implementation by EVC and other schools. The project involves surveying and engineering educators and professionals from several organizations. The resultant curriculum is based on an industry survey, inputs from the industry advisory committee, and reviews of the latest development in the field. This article presents an outline of the curriculum, including lecture and lab contents as well as implementation of the curriculum at Evergreen Valley College.

Course Design and Learning Outcomes

The course was designed as a three-credit-units class with two hours of lecture and three hours of lab per week for one semester. When this was proposed, some suggested that there may not be enough content to support a three-credit-units course. The original proposal also included airborne 3D laser scanning (lidar), but the advisory committee recommended that only terrestrial 3D laser scanning be included. In the course development and implementation process, we realized that there is more than enough content for a three-credit-units class in terrestrial 3D laser scanning alone.

Terrestrial 3D laser scanning in land surveying is relatively new, and currently there is no textbook dedicated to this subject, although some remote sensing and surveying textbooks do include discussions on it. Teaching materials had to be gathered through papers, reports, conference presentations, etc., so the NSF project had to review thousands of pages of materials and more than 250 pages of lecture notes and lab activities. The primary source of information is the internet and vendor hardware and software manuals.

The advisory committee also played important roles in the information gathering process. The developed teaching materials are based on the collected information and discussions with the advisory committee. At the recommendation of the committee and review of the applications in the field, the learning outcomes for the course were defined as follows. Upon the completion of the course, students should be able to

• explain the working principles of 3D laser scanning,
• explain the impact of reflectance of various surfaces on scanning,
• operate a scanner,
• collect data under various field conditions,
• use scanning software to register the data correctly,
• use scanning software to import and export data to and from CAD software,
• perform topographical surveying with a scanner,
• perform as-built surveying with a scanner,
• apply scanning knowledge to solve problems in engineering and land surveying,
• perform scanning data analyses, and
• prepare reports, drawings, and 3D-models for various applications.

Course Outline

Twelve lecture modules were developed for the course, covering theoretical background, field operations, and post-processing. The first module gives an historical review of the evolution of EDM, from the geodimeter to 3D laser scanning, including the tellurometer, total stations, and GPS. A comparison of the two types of 3D laser scanning (airborne and terrestrial) is given. Also discussed are 3D laser scanning applications as well as scanning's impact on land surveying.

Module two discusses the theoretical background of how distance is measured in 3D laser scanning. The impacts of temperature, atmospheric pressure, and humidity on the index of refraction are compared using the CFF, Edlen, and Ciddor methods. Also discussed are laser fundamentals (including the lasing process, structure of a lasing device, and laser properties), the two measurement methods (time of flight and phase shift), and finally the major components of a terrestrial 3D laser scanning system.

Module three discusses two factors affecting the performance of 3D laser scanning: reflectance (albedo) and beam divergence. The objective is to help students realize the impact of these factors on measurement range and scanner accuracy so that they can plan scanning operations accordingly. Also discussed is the reflectance of commonly encountered surfaces in scanning such as soil, vegetation, concrete, and asphalt, as well as the impact of water, organic carbon contents, and surface roughness on surface reflectance. Regarding beam divergence, beam diameter as a function of wavelength, initial diameter, and distance are studied.

Module four is based on a survey of 3D laser scanner vendors about their hardware and software specifications and performance. The objective is to give students an opportunity to compare the performance of 3D laser scanners and associated software from different vendors so that they can make an informed decision when acquiring a 3D laser scanning system. The survey covered more than 40 aspects of hardware and software.

Module five introduces the post-processing software environment. Basic operations are demonstrated, such as displaying the point clouds and images and performing measurement in the 3D View windows. Also discussed are cloud- and target-based registration.

Module six gives students theoretical background about cloud registration and georeferencing, mainly coordinate transformations. Students also learn to use the georeferencing feature in the post-processing software.

Module seven shows the steps to perform 3D laser scanning following the traditional surveying flow with field software (a flowchart on the traditional surveying flow is presented). Detailed field operations of this approach are discussed.

Modules eight through ten discuss segmentation, sampling, subproject creation, contour generation, profile/cross-section creation, polyline drawing, mesh creation, volume calculation, image matching, and ortho-projection.

Module 11 covers 3D modeling. Topics include cloud-based modeling, geometry creation, and geometry modification. As-built inspection is also introduced.

Module 12 discusses data export and working with other CAD software. Three types of exports are discussed: point cloud coordinates to .asc (ASCII) files, geometries to .dxf files, and photo images and ortho-images to .tif files. In addition, the process of importing .asc and .dxf files into CAD software such as AutoCAD Land Desktop is provided in detail.

Thirteen labs were also developed for the course. Labs one through four deal with laser safety, equipment setup and configuration, field software, and operations. These four labs do not exactly conform to the lecture modules, so some lecturing is needed in the lab.

Labs 5 through 13 match the lecture modules well, so lecturing in the lab is usually unnecessary. Based on my experience, students prefer to spend more time on hands-on work in the lab.

At the end of each lecture module, a list of questions/problems is given that can be assigned as part of the homework.

Experience at EVC

This course was offered at Evergreen Valley College during the spring semester of 2009, and I taught the class. We believe it's one of the first such classes offered at a community college in the country. Twenty-one students enrolled; five were PLS, several of them were LSIT, and only two or three students did not have a full-time job.

The equipment used in the course was the Trimble GX 3D laser scanner controlled by a laptop running PointScape. The post-processing software was Trimble RealWorks Survey V. 6.2.

An end-of-semester survey showed that most students are either confident or somewhat confident about performing the tasks specified in the learning outcomes, indicating that the course's design and contents are reasonable and the learning objectives are achievable.

Several students commented that they liked the class but want more lab time. The lab situation was exacerbated by the fact that only one scanner was available for the class. Overall, however, we consider the first offering of this class a success. To learn more details about the curriculum, check: http://faculty.evc.edu/z.yu/nsf2/curriculum.htm.

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Dr. John Yu is a professor of engineering at Evergreen Valley College where he teaches engineering and surveying courses. He is also the principal investigator for an NSF project on incorporating 3D laser scanning into land surveying curriculum.

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LTE: Letters to the Editor

Gigglebytes Not Funny

To Professional Surveyor Editors,

"Day of the Blitzkrieg" by Thomas G. LaCorte (Oct. 2009) is a funny story that, I assume, will get many laughs around the office.

But the facts of the situation are that a PROFESSIONAL caused damage to personal property which in turn caused monetary losses to that landowner. Land surveying is an investigative science. Would you trust the professional opinions of a person who has not yet learned that living creatures will flee from imminent death? Additionally he has nationally published a statement that he falsified field notes!

Again I am embarrassed by the actions of a "colleague" and the trade publication that represents my profession.

Disheartened continually,
-Michael J. Mattis, Jr IPLS

To Michael J. Mattis J.R. I.P.L.S.

First, it is incomprehensible to me how a professional could accuse another professional of falsifying field notes over the statement "a quick note to" an individual. The words that followed were used to close that portion of a funny story. I never mentioned the term "field notes" or "field book" in my story for the very reason that somebody would accuse me of what you have accused me. Again I say incomprehensible.

Second, there were no monetary losses to the landowner. I met with the owner but chose not to include that in my story. He already had an exterminator on contract (hence the placard); they made a return visit at no charge (part of his contract). In fact he thanked me for finding the source of his problem. The driveway had the "look" of a fresh coat of paint (it was washed clean by an afternoon thunderstorm).

Third, I write my "funny stories" in the form of a journal; it is just my style. It seems to work well for me and I get nothing but positive feedback from all my readers. Well up until now that is. So please remember, before you write that next letter to the editor with the words "the facts of the matter are" or "he falsified field notes," you're reading a funny story written and edited for entertainment purposes only; all the facts may not be revealed. It is after all a column called "Gigglebytes."

Respectfully,
-Thomas G. LaCorte PSM

* * *

Shoring Up Levees

On page 14 is a picture of a flood wall in Sedona, Arizona.

I am somewhat familiar with the area as my daughter and son-in-law have a home not too far from Sedona and we visit the area every time we go to Arizona.

How ridiculous can one get-a flood wall in the desert!

Everyone should know by now not to build in local draws so they won't be flooded by a flash flood. The idiots behind the wall deserve to be flooded for building where they did. Those walls are expensive!

-Theodore Albrecht, PE
via email

* * *

New School on the Bloc

To whom it may concern,

I just wanted to take a moment and thank you for publishing the "New School on the Bloc" article on your September release. I traveled to Amealco, Mexico with EMI a few years back and it was a great experience. It was great to use surveying to help the less fortunate. I'm happy to see the article because it's important for surveyors to use their gifts and abilities for the good of others (at no cost).

Thank you,
-Alex Arguelles
Atlanta, GA

Mr. Gibson:

Thanks for including the article "New School in the Bloc" in the September, 2009 issue of Professional Surveyor. It is a great article speaking on how surveyors can volunteer their time and expertise for the benefit of many. Like yourself, I also met Mr. Bob Smith of Engineering Ministries International at the ACSM conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, this past February, and talked at length about the services that they provide to organizations around the world. I have not been able to find the time in my schedule to volunteer my time to one of their projects, but I truly look forward to being a part of an EMI team in the near future.

-Randall S. Stelzner, PLS, CFedS
Riverton, WY

* * *

#191 Solution

I looked at the solution to problem 191. Since it appeared that the solution depended on a pattern continuing, I thought the note below might be of some interest.
Any nonnegative integer can be written in the form:


Dividing by 9 yields:


where the qk's are all integers. The remainder when dividing an integer by 9 is the same as dividing the number formed by summing its digits by 9. Continuing this reasoning shows that except for numbers divisible by 9, the SDQ of a number is equal to its remainder when divided by 9. Of course, the SDQ of a number divisible by 9 is 9. The procedure above is the same as the method for deciding if a number is divisible by 3.

No prime number is divisible by 9. If any integer n has an SDQ of 3, then for some integer q,


Unless q = 0 and the integer is 3, no other prime number can have an SDQ of 3.
Incidentally, I must say that I enjoy the problem corner. I regularly give these problems to interested students, particularly in trigonometry classes.

-Richard
Math & CS, Chicago State University

Dear Richard Solakiewicz,

Thank you for your excellent note on the extension of problem #191. It is an important contribution to SDQ and prime numbers. Therefore I am requesting that it be published in the magazine to afford you the credit it deserves.
-Benjamin Bloch
P.S. Your students are indeed fortunate to have such an excellent professor.

#191 SDQ?
Hi there,

Just a little problem with #191.

I don't know what the acronym SDQ stands for so I am unsure as to which mathematical functions to run the prime numbers in the puzzle through. I know it will develop a test pattern for prime numbers but I don't know how. I understand space is a serious constraint in the publishing world but please (let us know in parenthesis) what an acronym stands for. IMHO it would help all of us who weren't in the armed forces from finding ourselves in a FUBAR position on gleaning some knowledge from this section because we didn't understand the capital letters.

-Mason Doane
Montpelier, VT

Hi Mason,
SDQ (single digit quality) is a function discovered by Problem Corner contributor Dr. Benjamin Bloch. In previous problems involving SDQ we've referred to its definition or sent readers to earlier problems on our website where it's explained (first in #131), but I neglected to do that for #191.

Dr. Bloch will run a full review of SDQ in the December issue for #195. Hope you catch it. And thanks for writing in.

-Shelly Cox
Managing Editor

Correction
October's Surveying the Capitol column refers to PALs, which stands for Provisionally Accredited Levees, not Personally Accredited Levees as we indicated.

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Aerial Perspective: Can Mapping Save the Planet?

by Sandra Wade-Grusky



In the summer of 2008, a monumental event occurred that almost passed unnoticed by the U.S. media. Canadian scientists revealed that part of the Arctic ice shelf broke off and formed two islands. This shearing represented the largest break in polar ice in three years and quite possibly one of the most dramatic examples of the effects of global warming. As older, thicker ice melts away leaving the waters surrounding the North Pole open, it's apparent that both the North Pole and the planet may be "on thin ice."

While global warming has been acknowledged by most scientists and publicized by the media, the phenomenon is not widely understood by the general public. Basically, scientists have noticed that, since the time records were first kept on concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, levels of CO2 and other trace gases (methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons [HFCs], perfluorinated compounds [PFCs], and sulfur hexafluoride) that affect our global climate have increased significantly. Many people believe that human activities have been a large contributor to this increase.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, human activities release approximately 25 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere yearly. Nearly 30 percent of that output is absorbed by the oceans, about 30 percent is thought to be absorbed by forests, and the remaining 40 percent stays in the atmosphere. In fact, the amount of "greenhouse gases" such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is currently higher than at any time in the last 400,000 years, according to the most recent report of the International Panel on Climate Change.

According to some projections based on computer models of the atmosphere, if these gases continue to accumulate, an average warming of 3◦ to 8◦ F could occur over the next 100 years through enhancement of Earth's naturally occurring "greenhouse effect" - the process by which the atmosphere traps infrared radiation emitted by the Earth, warming the Earth's surface in a process similar to what occurs in a greenhouse.

The changes wrought by the impact of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are likely to manifest in an increase in disruptive weather patterns, such as destructive hurricanes, wide-scale drought, wildfires, and other potentially disastrous events. Fortunately, warning bells like this recent incident in the North Pole are not going unheeded, either by the scientific community, world governments, or the mapping community.

What Does Mapping Have to Do with Global Warming?

Although extensive research has focused on global warming and how human activity contributes to the phenomenon, more data is needed. More data will reduce uncertainty, which in turn will help policy makers, concerned citizens, scientists, and engineers agree on what should be done to minimize the negative impacts of climate change.

The need for more data provides many opportunities for the GIS industry. For example, one of the ways to reduce human impact on global warming is to reduce the number of carbon emissions in the environment. This requires measuring the world's carbon budget and assessing how various parts of the world contribute to it. Scientists in Oregon found that forests in that state take in the equivalent of between 30 and 50 percent of carbon released statewide annually in fossil fuel emissions. Trees absorb carbon through photosynthesis, but they also release it through respiration. Therefore, forest canopies are useful for measuring changes caused by these processes.

Carbon measuring sites around the United States and other countries have been established to take broad-brush measurements of forest canopy and large-scale atmospheric circulation of greenhouse gases. Taking these measurements is not as straightforward as it might seem. Scientists can't simply measure the current CO2 uptake and project that number into the future because the region's forests are in flux. Therefore, historical information is needed in forest growth processes in order to track changes over time.

Lidar Plus Photogrammetry

Researchers have found that a combination of lidar and photogrammetric techniques works best to measure and map forest canopy height changes. The height of forest canopies can be measured with reasonable accuracy using small footprint lidars by subtracting the last return altitude (ground) from the corresponding first return altitude (canopy surface). The technique is considered superior to photogrammetric methods because the ground level, which is difficult to see on aerial photos of dense forests, can be identified with lidar.

While lidar is used to capture present forest states, photogrammetric methods are used to chart historical changes. Researchers at the University of Michigan are replacing the first return lidar data by altitude models derived from aerial photos in order to map forest canopy height changes of the past decades.

While humans breathe oxygen, plants breathe carbon dioxide, which makes forests act as carbon sinks, absorbing the millions of tons of carbon dioxide produced by human activities. Therefore, scientists are examining forest canopies not just to gauge emissions but to determine the role forests play in helping offset climate warming by removing carbon from the air. Forests can even become sources of carbon emissions in certain climactic conditions, which makes scientific monitoring even more important.

Acknowledging the importance of forest canopies spurred the formation of the Canopy Research Network (CNR) in 1993. CRN was funded by a planning grant from the National Science Foundation to develop methods to collect, store, display, analyze, and interpret 3D spatial data related to forest canopies. An ancillary goal is to guide the field of canopy research by informing it and helping to steer its direction.

Another way to learn more about climate change is to examine changes in water and land cover, as well as land cover use. Remote sensing is extremely useful for this purpose. During the previous decade, the capabilities of remote sensing and land-cover databases have been improved, this strengthening their reliance for multi-scale environmental studies.

For example, satellite observations of the flow of glaciers have shown the thinning and retreating of glaciers, including Greenland's ice sheet, whose margins have been thinning by tens of meters over the last decade. Last year, Airborne 1 completed a mapping project in Greenland where we observed the retreat of the ice sheet first-hand.

As we continue to learn more about global warming, we see an increase in funding and resources directed towards alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar, to mitigate the impact of traditional, fossil-fuel-burning methods that release greenhouse gases. GPS coupled with GIS and remote sensing can play a strong role in analyzing and communicating optimal renewable energy sites. In fact, GIS/GPS is uniquely positioned to analyze and monitor the development of renewable energy to make certain that sites are optimally positioned and that the generated power is delivered efficiently.

Can mapping save the planet? Maybe not alone, but it can certainly contribute to our human effort to save it. And if we're really on thin ice, mapping can certainly tell us how thin it
really is.

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When Sandra Wade-Grusky wrote this article, she was marketing manager for Airborne 1 in El Segundo, California.

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Business Leader: Ken Peacock, Forestry Suppliers

When Jim Craig started this company in 1949, he probably had no idea it would become a direct-mail supplier and repair service for natural resource professionals worldwide. Based in Jackson, Mississippi, the firm features thousands of products for the forestry, environmental science, surveying/engineering, horticulture, grounds maintenance, and educational markets.

With a graduate degree in forestry and experience as a consulting forester, Craig started his business as Jim Craig's Supply Service. Operating from their home, he and his wife Dorabel exhibited merchandise at gatherings for foresters, and the fledgling business grew. In December 1951, Jim and Dorabel set up an exhibit of forestry equipment for delegates at the national convention of the Society of American Foresters in Biloxi. The response exceeded expectations, and virtually overnight the business began to spread nationwide.

In 1952, Jim Craig's Supply Service became Forestry Suppliers, Inc. The company has carried survey equipment from the beginning, but it saw a surge in this area in the mid 1960s as other sectors like forestry adopted surveying techniques. As evidence of its success, the business has expanded and moved into new quarters many times over the years. We interviewed Ken Peacock, vice president of marketing, to learn more about this successful venture.




How much of your business comes from surveying equipment? How has that percentage changed over the years?

While I can't share specific numbers with you, I can say that the surveying and engineering market has been one of our core markets for a long time. It has kept pace with the other markets we serve and is still a major focus for us. We have continued to expand our product offering to this group each year. We sell a full array of products from robotic total stations to accessories and supplies like flagging.


How are you weathering the recession? Have you come up with any successful strategies you can share?

The most successful strategy for weathering any storm is preparation. It's in how you treat customers and run your business every day in the good times and bad. Treat your customers like you would want to be treated. Our customers need the types of products we sell to run their business, so it's our responsibility to fill that need and do it in a timely, efficient, cost effective manner. If we don't, someone else will.

With that said, I don't think there is a market out there that hasn't been negatively affected by the economy over the last year, but you can't change the economy, so you just have to focus on every opportunity you're blessed with. We offer most of the popular brands and a complete line of instruments. We also ship quickly-every order we receive by noon each day is on the truck that night. Anyone needing something shipped out that same day up to 5 p.m. (our closing time) will be done; all someone has to do is ask us. Also, having most accessories has allowed customers to source product through one company, which makes things easier-one shipment, one invoice, one point of contact, etc.


You've lasted since 1949. What do you consider the key to your success?


We focus on the role we play, which is sourcing the products that our customers need in a way that makes sense for them. One of our strengths is in providing a single source for a very wide range of product needs. For example, in the education market we sell a lot of custom-made kits because they want a lot of different products in one box to teach a particular activity. We source all of the product, package it the way they want, label it the way they want, and can ship it to as many different locations as they want us to and in some cases have gotten in the car to meet them somewhere for a delivery that had to be there.


What types of surveyors do you sell to the most? Any particular type you specialize in?


Hard to nail that one down. We sell to a wide range of surveyors from a one-man consulting business to one that works for a Fortune 500 company. Of course, we also sell to related markets like construction, education, and a variety of natural resource markets. I think we have done a good job over the years of building our systems on being able to accommodate any size customer regardless of their specific need.

One of our more popular stories around here happened a few years ago. A customer wanted waders and apparently didn't know what size she needed. She sent us an order form, a check, and a piece of paper where she had traced her bare feet. Rather than return her check or ask for more information, our operations team went to work, and we found a sales representative in the building that matched our customer's foot size. We then found the appropriately sized waders for our sales rep, and the order shipped that day. The customer followed up and said the fit was perfect!


Do you sell surveying equipment for forestry applications? What types?


While there are some needs within the forestry industry for traditional surveying equipment, the day-to-day needs are different and much more specialized. It has been interesting over the years to see how technology has overflowed from one market to another to solve the specific needs of each industry. Data collectors, digital measurement instruments, and software are all recent examples of how survey technology has evolved in other markets to reduce man-hours and people to perform jobs.


We understand you're developing a new product. Do you do this often? What process do you go through? Do you develop new surveying products?

One challenge for our technical staff is not only finding new products that exist in the market but also developing products to make a professional's job easier. For example, about ten years ago we began discussion at the Golf Course Superintendent Show. It seems superintendents were having trouble measuring the square footage of a greens for fertilizer applications, aerification, sanding jobs, etc., all of which factored into their budgeting and costing needs. Their method of collecting such information was very antiquated and time-consuming. We partnered with one of our long time suppliers to develop a product called the XScape that measures square footage by making electronic readings to a transponder placed in the center of the green. The cumbersome exercise became a simple process. An idea from a customer became a new innovative product for the market.


It sounds like you deal with people around the world. What territory do you cover?


We do sell around the world and to many different markets. It's fun to see what's going on in the news and feel like you've helped out in some small way. A few years back we had a big hand in supplying equipment when NASA was looking for parts of the space shuttle that exploded over Texas. When Hurricane Katrina hit, the National Guard, FEMA, and MEMA etc. were parked at our back dock loading supplies like saw chaps, cots, etc. We didn't have power or phones but we got them whatever we could.

We've supplied wildland firefighting equipment all over the world, and it's neat to see those guys wearing and using the gear that we sell-you see them on the news. It may be an archaeological dig somewhere in South America, trapping some exotic species of animal for research in Africa, or a pipeline coming through right here in our own backyard. We supply the tools that all types of outdoor professionals use day in and day out.

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Feature: Save the Trees

by Trip McLaughlin

Many people venture to the front range of the Rocky Mountains just west of Denver in Colorado for skiing, hiking, and mountain biking. Their rugged beauty make for an ideal destination vacation spot. But these mountains are becoming a little less beautiful at a rate that concerns scientists and many others.

The north central part of Colorado's mountains, including Routt, Grand, Summit, and Eagle counties, is experiencing a mountain pine beetle epidemic that has wiped out many of the lodgepole pines in these areas. These counties have seen exponential kill rates from year to year, and an estimated 1.5 million acres have been infested. While the mountain pine beetle occurs naturally, continued warm winters and drought conditions add to the spread. Coupling mature stands of lodgepole at the end of their lifespan and years of successful fire suppression with no other forest management makes Colorado's forests right for the epidemic.

Mountain pine beetles have a one-year life cycle, during which they mate and form a tube under the bark where they spend the winter. The larvae continue to feed through the spring and emerge as adults in July. Besides feeding on the tree, the beetles transmit fungi that contaminate the tree. These fungi grow within the tree and aid in the beetle's destruction of it. Once the beetle infests the tree, nothing can be done to save it. Controls to prevent the spread exist in nature, such as woodpeckers and insects, but they cannot keep up with an infestation of this order. Another control is temperature, but this requires five days of -30◦ temperatures, which has not occurred.

Spraying the trees or using pheromone packs can protect the trees in areas but not on a large scale. The timing of the application, amount of coverage, and the chance of rain can impact the effectiveness of the treatment. And lately, these chemicals have shown up in sewer systems, which are not equipped to properly treat them.

With the death of the trees coming on such a large scale, the risk of wildfire and adverse effects on water quality, property values, and tourism all become concerns that must be addressed. The wildfire risk increases for a time due to the number of trees still standing with needles on them. Then again, the risks rise as the trees begin falling to the ground. As the canopy cover changes and the trees begin to fall, overland flow conditions may change, impacting the water quality in some areas. These areas may experience greater sediment flows or erosion issues. Much of the central Rockies in Colorado have a strong and thriving tourism industry. Many ski resorts and popular family vacation destinations are experiencing the mountain pine beetle epidemic. The view of brown trees can detract from some peoples' "Colorado Experience," not to mention recreational impacts to trails and roads blocked by falling trees.

Come Up with a Plan

One of the most effective methods for dealing with the mountain pine beetle epidemic is a quality forestry management plan. These plans address appropriate treatments, from spraying and cutting fuel breaks to long-term management solutions and restoration. While cutting every dead tree would be ideal, it's not always financially feasible for large areas. Fire breaks and lines are cut to combat the epidemic in these areas. Infested trees around homes and developed areas are identified and removed, while remaining healthy ones are treated to protect them from the mountain pine beetle.

Located just west of Denver in the Rocky Mountains near ski resorts, the Town of Dillon and the surrounding area lies in the heart of the mountain pine beetle epidemic. A Cut Above Forestry and North Line GIS worked together to develop a GIS-based forestry management plan for the town. This plan would not only identify existing conditions but also provide tools to plan for long-term management of the situation.

Recently collected six-inch pixel aerial imagery and lidar point data provided Dillon with excellent base data. This gave the town accurate contour data and clear imagery to help in project design and planning. To further develop the data for GIS management, a Laser Technology TruPulse 360 laser rangefinder paired with a GPS unit running ESRI's ArcPad software were used to map tree stands, ground features, and other features of interest. One advantage to using the rangefinder is that it can be paired with most any GPS unit using ArcPad.

Depending on a variety of factors, two different GPS units were used. A Topcon GMS-2 with a PGS-A5 antenna and a Magellan MobileMapper were used with the TruPulse 360. Traditional GPS collection processes were altered to incorporate the use of the rangefinder, which drastically decreased collection time and provided more information than a GPS can on its own. To help incorporate the use of the rangefinder, custom data collection forms were designed for use in ArcPad, facilitating transfer of data to the GIS.

Field crews could capture multiple tree stands and individual trees along with heights and distance from power lines and homes without having to physically visit each location. Dead trees or ones that needed to be cleared were easily identified, but trees planned for treatment were also collected. This would allow the effectiveness of treatment or protection methods to be tracked. With the trees to be protected located, crews can revisit the same trees each year using GPS and record or view treatment information.

In addition, using points collected with the rangefinder and GPS allowed for modeling of important drainages vital to protecting the water quality of the area. Now field crews can revisit the drainages and quickly collect their size and location using the rangefinder to track channel changes in depth, width, and path of travel.

Power lines and homes of concern were also collected. The rangefinder allowed the span, height, and location of power lines to be collected in a third of the time of traditional methods. Homes with trees too close for comfort were identified for wildfire mitigation. The use of the rangefinder allowed field crews to quickly identify these homes in the field rather than waiting to process the data with GIS in the office.

Import Field Data to the GIS

Once the GPS and rangefinder data were collected in the field, they were turned over to GIS analysts to bring into the GIS using data check-in and -out tools available for ArcPad. A workflow was developed to efficiently move data back and forth from the GIS to the GPS units for use in the field. The GIS will allow Dillon to evaluate treatment methods and forest health within its boundaries. Once the locations are captured in the field and the data entered into the GIS, the town will be able to use the custom forms for ArcPad to revisit each location, record the changes, and provide a field evaluation that will be imported into the GIS to update the existing data. By using the GIS analytical tools, the town can display the progress and effectiveness of their program in a spatial manner with paper and digital maps.

Since snow comes early to Dillon, the field season to perform this work is very short. Using the rangefinder paired with a GPS provided data collection at a significant time-savings. In turn, the quicker collection time meant the tree crews could begin work sooner and allow the town to see results from their management plan quicker than with traditional methods. The Town of Dillon now has a working GIS and custom ArcPad forms to aid in their forestry management. This will provide the tools to accurately track the program's successes and hurdles in a spatial manner. By using the field collection tools paired with a GIS, the town can efficiently manage its forests. This information will allow better placement of firebreaks, removal of dead trees, and protection of healthy ones but also will help provide a roadmap for restoration efforts that will lead to a forest healthier than it was before the epidemic. Having more diversity in vegetation and trees from the restoration efforts means the mountain pine beetle will not be as devastating to the landscape in the future.

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Trip McLaughlin is a project manager for North Line GIS in Breckenridge, Colorado. He has worked on a variety of GIS-based forest health projects and community wildfire protection plans.

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Conference Recap: Intergeo 2009 Exceeds Expectations

In choosing Karlsruhe, Germany's newest city, as the location for this year's Intergeo, September 22 to 24, organizers knew that attendees would feel right at home. This technologically advanced city of 300,000 was home to Mercedes co-founder Karl Benz, site of the first email being sent in Germany, home to more than 600 IT firms, and the setting for nine universities, including the highest rated technical university.

However, even though it was all business at Intergeo 2009, the German trappings, including the usually excellent beer and bratwurst stands, reminded everyone that it was after all still Octoberfest.

The modern conference hall for this year's gathering was a few kilometers or a modern tram ride away from the historic part of this Black Forest city where the Octoberfest beer gardens were full at night.



In virtually all aspects, including overall attendance, the number of companies exhibiting, and expansion beyond German borders, Intergeo exceeded the expectations of most involved. In what has been a decidedly down global economy, organizers of this self-proclaimed "world's most important congress trade fair for geodesy, geoinformation, and land management" were clearly pleased with the overall results this year.

"This year, participation by companies from 30 countries saw us break the '30' barrier for the first time and increase the proportion of visitors from outside Germany by five percent over the last two years to a figure that now stands at 22 percent," says Olaf Freier, CEO of Hinte GmbH and Intergeo project manager, underlining the global value and importance of Intergeo as the number one international industry forum.

"Here in Karlsruhe, Intergeo has once again demonstrated very impressively that it is the industry's most important international meeting point, even in difficult times," said a delighted Dr. Hartmut Rosengarten, chairman of the Intergeo Exhibitor Advisory Board, on behalf of the exhibiting companies, who provided yet another impressive showcase of their innovative skills, quality, and range of offerings on an exhibition space measuring 25,000 square meters.

With more than 16,000 visitors, a further rise in the proportion of international visitors to a total of 22 percent and 1,450 congress participants, Intergeo again laid claim to being the world's most important congress for this industry.

In a keynote speech, Willi Zimmerman of Leipzig, 2005 recipient of Intergeo's highest honor, the DVW Award, who has worked for the German Agency for Technical Cooperation, spoke about "land as a resource in the context of global politics and ecology," calling for new approaches to global land governance. Specifically, he said there is a dire need for sustainable land management based on legal principles. Because this does not exist in most parts of the world, "well-intentioned' development cooperation tools, standards, and procedures often fail to achieve the expected effect.

In the realm of emerging technologies, there were nine conference presentations devoted to the use of sensors and microprocessors in everyday geodata applications, focusing on current and future opportunities in the areas of geoinformation, positioning, remote sensing, and satellite technology.

In the expo halls, exhibits were well attended, and there were numerous introductions. Leica, for example, introduced Viva, a new generation surveying system designed to combine the latest state-of-the-art technologies into a new portfolio of total stations, GNSS receivers, controllers, and on-board software.

Topcon/Sokkia demonstrated the increased value and presence of their newly formed "Two Brands, One Company" relationship. Topcon emphasized the need to address the needs of a faster moving industry. Under the theme "Precision in Motion," Topcon's growing line of products includes its new mobile measuring platform IP-S2, now introduced for a wider market. Sokkia demonstrated how their line of products adequately fills in the gaps that Topcon once missed.

Trimble demonstrated the connectivity of all its products designed to integrate the workflow for all phases of survey and geospatial applications. In addition to Trimble's integrated surveying solutions, their exhibit featured solutions encompassing a wide range of positioning and imaging solutions.

Riegl showed off it newest mobile laser scanning system, the VMX-250, designed to be compact and user friendly. The system will most likely be used for mapping of highways, railroads, waterways, and urban corridors.

Bosch/CST Berger demonstrated a growing line of new products under the relatively new partnership, although CST Berger will remain an independently operating unit under Bosch.

Vexcel/Microsoft introduced the UltraCamXp wide angle camera, permitting lower flying aircraft to collect data at the same ground sampling distance as higher flying aircraft.

Carlson Software stressed the more than 400 new features and enhancements among its 2010 line of products, including Carlson Survey, Carlson Civil, Carlson Hydrology, Carlson Takeoff, Carlson GIS, Carlson Mining, Carlson Field, and its newly released Carlson Construction. Carlson Survey 2010 boasts more than 35 survey specific improvements.

Hemisphere GPS used Intergeo to launch its newest dual frequency GPS receiver. Powered by Eclipse technology, the new receiver uses Omnistar HP/XP signals for decimeter positioning and RTK for fast, reliable long-range centimeter level performance.

Magellan presented its new Proflex 500 multi-constellation GNSS receiver as well as its new MobileMapper 6, a low-cost professional receiver for the GIS market that offers sub-meter post-processed accuracy.

Altus Positioning Systems announced their 50th dealer: Attenberger, a long-established supplier of survey products. Altus CEO Neil Vancans remarked, "We are delighted to have such a well established and professional firm to represent us in Germany and Austria."

Several Australians were wandering the expo area and manning a booth promoting next year's FIG (International Federation of Surveyors) Congress slated for April 11 to 16 in Sydney. The Congress will bring together more than 2,000 surveying professionals from more than 100 countries. For details visit www.fig2010.com.

Intergeo 2010 will be held in Cologne, Germany October 5 to 7.

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Rules of the Game: The Unmarked Corner

The March, 2008 article in this column dealt with corners (see Vol. 28, No. 3, “What is a Corner—Really?”). It presented definitions of a corner: “defined by the court system as the intersection of two converging lines or surfaces; an angle, whether internal or external; as the ‘corner’ of a building, the four ‘corners’ of a square, the ‘corner’ of two streets. A mere variation in a line does not constitute a ‘corner’ (Christian v. Gernt. et al., Tenn. Ch., 64 S.W. 399 1900).

The lay definition according to Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, also sometimes relied on by the courts, has been stated as “the point or place where two converging lines, sides, or edges meet; angle.” It also says, “many equate a marker to a corner, when often it is not. A boundary corner is the point of intersection of two boundary lines; a marker is a physical object either placed or adopted by someone to call attention to the corner. And a marker may or may not occupy the position of the corner.”

Most of the time retracement surveyors and their aids are searching for markers, when at all times we should be searching for corners, along with evidence thereof. Without this mindset, three potential, very real problems occur.

1. When no marker is found, the surveyor assumes there is no corner, so he or she applies the (inappropriate) methods of apportionment or relying on courses and distances.
2. Instead of there being one marker to call attention to the corner, two or more are found. The ready assumption then is that one of them is the correct one, but which one?
3. Or, worse yet, the surveyor concludes that no marker is correct and so sets an additional one, according to the measurements and with the inherent errors in the current survey process, which only adds to the confusion.

In the second instance, three possibilities exist. Either one of the markers is correct, or they are all incorrect. In the third scenario, surveyors are doing each other a grave disservice and demonstrating to the world that we cannot agree with one another on the correct position of a corner. And since we relied on measurements to determine their position for the marker, we may or may not even be close to the actual location of the corner. I know of at least one instance where five surveyors each set their own monumentation all close to one another, but all about 150 feet from the original corner that was later found.

While a few courts have sort of implied that markers are corners (and in some instances they are), markers must have certain characteristics to be classed as monuments. “Objects, to be ranked as monuments, have been required to have certain physical properties such as visibility, permanence, and stability, and definite location, independent of measurements” (11 C.J.S. Boundaries, § 5). According to Black’s Law Dictionary, a monument is “a visible mark or indication left on natural or other objects indicating the lines and boundaries of a survey.” It has also been defined as “some tangible landmark established to indicate a boundary.”

Once again, “The terms ‘corner’ and ‘monument’ are used often largely in the same sense, although a distinction should be noted to clarify the difference. The term ‘corner’ denotes a point determined by the survey process, whereas a ‘monument’ is the physical structure erected for the purpose of marking the corner point upon the earth’s surface” (Bureau of Land Management Manual of Instructions, 1947, § 349).

In the last article I included the case of Arneson v. Spawn (49 N.W. 1066 S.D., 1891), wherein the court said, “If the original corners, as established by the government surveyors, can be found, or the places where they were originally so established can be definitely determined, such location must control, without regard to whether they were located with mathematical correctness or not” (emphasis mine).

In the case of Home Owners’ Loan Corporation v. Dudley et al., (141 P.2d 160 Utah, 1943), the court discussed the fact that the plaintiff attempted to introduce evidence to show that a relocated monument was not in the original location. This court stated: “The original location of a monument controls, and, if it is obliterated, the court is concerned in ascertaining where it was originally located” (emphasis mine). It went on to emphasize the original location, closing with “a survey monument relocated by proper authority is presumed to be placed where the surveyor originally located it, until and unless the contrary is shown by competent evidence.” Too often the latter is true rather than the former.

The case law is clear and consistent. The original corner, marked or unmarked, governs above all. An unmarked corner owes its characteristic to one of two possibilities. Either it was never marked, or it was marked and the marker has since been moved, destroyed, or has deteriorated. Again, the courts are clear. Its position: what was is still what is.

Also in the last article I mentioned the case of Matthews v. Parker (299 P. 354, 163
Wash. 10 1931): “A corner may be a mathematically determinable point, such as where markers were never set although title lines and corners have been established and recognized.” This court stated that “the center of a section is not a physical government monument, but it is a point capable of mathematical ascertainment, ‘thus constituting it, in a legal sense, a monument call of the description.’”

In 1960, in Wallace v. Hirsch (142 Colo. 264), the Colorado court faced a similar situation. The description read: “thence South 63º 05 West 2910 feet, more or less, to the SW corner of the NW ¼ of the SW ¼ of said Section 20.” The distance of 2910 feet will not take the line to the corner; the correct distance to the corner is 3070 feet, thus resulting in a disagreement between the parties as to which controls, the bearing and distance or the unmarked SW corner of the NW ¼ of the SW ¼ of Section 20.

The court stated first the general rule of construction that “courses and distances are the least reliable of all calls, and that a call which designates a point capable of precise and exact location takes precedence over a call for a course and distance if there is a repugnancy between the two.” Second, “hence, the ‘SW corner of the NW ¼ SW ¼ of said Section 20’ describes a point on the earth’s surface which can be located with mathematical certainty. So, under the general rules of construction this call takes precedence over a call for course and distance.”

Early on, in Hartshorn v. Wright (Fed. Case No. 6,169 [Pet. C.C. 64] U.S., 1813), the Federal courts recognized the unmarked corner: A detailed description closed with the wording, “…to a tree on the north side of the creek, and thence up the courses of the creek to a spot from whence a south course will strike the beginning.” The court stated, “this spot, though not marked by any visible object, is susceptible of precise location by aid of the compass, as there could be but one spot on the margin of the creek, whence a due south course would strike the beginning.”

And in the case of what has been called a nonexistent corner, the Colorado court stated, “A corner which has never existed cannot be said to be lost or obliterated and established under the rules relating to the establishment of lost or obliterated corners, but should be established at the place where the original surveyor should have put it” (Lugon v. Crosier, 240 P. 462, 78 Colo. 141 1925). The court elaborated by saying that “if the monument were lost or obliterated there would be some reason to attempt to re-locate it.” However, “when it is a myth, never on the ground, the natural, straight-forward and sensible way is to establish the corner at the place where the original surveyor ought to have put it.”

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Editor's Desk: Sustainability = Opportunity

In this issue, we're trying something a little different. This is the first issue we've ever done with a focus on surveying for sustainability. We thought it appropriate with all the talk of climate change, carbon footprints, green building, and other environmental issues.

Another reason for covering sustainability: It presents opportunities for surveyors. While naysayers claim taking environmental measures will increase taxes and cost us jobs, the opposite is actually true in the long run. Environmental projects like building a solar power array or a green building do have higher upfront costs, but they save energy and money in the long run, and those upfront costs will come down over time as these technologies become more mainstream. The common mantra: What is good for the environment is good for business.

One of our feature stories covers a brownfield reclamation project in which a former military base is converted to homes, commercial space, entertainment facilities and restaurants, open space, and walkways. Another one talks about eradicating a mountain pine beetle infestation with the help of measurements taken of pine tree positions to populate a GIS. They demonstrate opportunities created for surveyors that most of us know about by now.

But one area that holds possibly even more potential for survey work hasn't come to the forefront until recently: carbon sequestration. Memorize that mouthful so you can throw it out at the next cocktail party you attend. Simply put, this involves putting carbon dioxide in places where it won't harm the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas emitted in a number of ways, including the burning of fossil fuels and the conversion of forest to agriculture. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased in recent decades, causing climate change.

Two things are fueling the movement to carbon sequestration. We'll continue to burn fossil fuels extensively for coming decades until supplies run out and renewable energy such as solar and wind power become more viable on a large scale. And many people see legislation coming from Congress to curb climate change.

Carbon sequestration can take two forms. Land, vegetation, and oceans absorb much of the carbon dioxide emitted from the burning of fossil fuels. We can manage our lands to maximize this. Some say sufficient land is available to mitigate significant amounts of CO2 emissions at relatively low cost. And scientists are researching storing it in geologic venues such as spent oil and gas wells and unmineable coal seams. Either way you go, somebody needs to measure and quantify the resources for doing this. Enter land surveyors, aerial mappers, photogrammetrists, and GIS practitioners.

Research has begun to quantify the ability of vegetative land cover and oceans to absorb and store carbon dioxide. Mapping has been done at 1-km resolution. But scientists want something better, saying land cover data available at a higher spatial resolution could improve estimates of the effects of land-use change. Several projects use moderate-resolution data obtained from Landsat satellites.

Whether it comes through renewable energy or carbon sequestration, new markets await surveyors and other geomatics professionals in the sustainability realm. It all sounds exciting to me.

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Book Review: "Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America", by Thomas L. Friedman

Why review a book about energy and the environment in a magazine dedicated to land surveying? There are many reasons. For starters, as the comedian George Burns once said, "I look to the future because that's where I'm going to spend the rest of my life." In this work-a-day world, we are so engaged with slaying today's dragons that we often fail to see the other challenges and opportunities that lie ahead of us. Looking to the future is always a good idea. While trying to predict the future is problematic at best, we can certainly identify trends that may well affect us later.

The relative success of the land surveying industry, like any industry, is tied to larger socio-economic issues. It behooves all of us to understand the bigger picture and to be aware of how these trends will affect us, as an industry and as individual businesses. The two main issues Mr. Friedman covers in this book are the environment and energy, issues that are inextricably intertwined and that affect the future of the land surveying industry.

In short, Hot, Flat, and Crowded addresses the challenges and opportunities that face our nation, which are challenges and opportunities that face land surveyors as well. More importantly, the author proposes that a "Green Revolution" could create a key industry that the United States could capitalize on and that would provide not only a new industry and an engine for economic growth, but world leadership in a post-9/11 world.

This issue of Professional Surveyor Magazine covers sustainability, with many articles on the "How To" topic. Think of this book as the "Why To" angle.

A Brief Overview

Thomas L. Friedman is a four-time Pulitzer Prize winner and the foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times. He is widely read, not just at a popular level, but among policymakers. I'm told that our new President has read this book. The point here is that at least some of his ideas are without question being considered by an administration that has promised to take environment and energy issues seriously.

Let's start with Hot, i.e. climate change. Mr. Friedman points out that the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports on climate change and other sources to emphasize the crisis of what he calls "Global Weirding."

At this point I should inject a thought. While Mr. Friedman considers the issue of global climate change to be a closed case, I know from discussions with friends of every political stripe that not everyone is as convinced as he is. Just the other day this topic came up in conversation, and a self-described liberal stated that she was not convinced on this issue. Here's the thing: I don't think your stance matters, because the end goal of reducing dependence on fossil fuels, regardless of your stance on climate change, would provide us with two undeniable benefits.

The first is a reduction in pollution, and the second a reduction in our dependence on "petro-dictators" such as Hugo Chavez, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Vladimir Putin, and the rulers of various Middle Eastern states. In Hot, Flat, and Crowded Mr. Friedman introduces his "First Law of Petropolitics." He explains his law: "In oil-rich petrolist states, the price of oil and the pace of freedom tend to move in opposite directions." In his view, our oil addiction doesn't just change the climate but also the international system as well by

1. strengthening extremist Islamic states,
2. financing the turnaround of democratic trends in the Middle East, Latin America, and Russia,
3. creating ugly geo-political situations such as China getting in bed with genocidal Sudan for its oil and this nation's blind eye to the oppression of woman and religious freedom within Saudi Arabia, and
4. funding both sides of the war on terror by supporting oil-rich extremist Islamic states.

Next let's look at the last two concepts, Flat and Crowded. In Mr. Friedman's previous best-seller, The World is Flat, he explains how the internet and the telecommunications revolution worked together with globalization to make the world essentially "flat." He carries this theme further in Hot, Flat, and Crowded by showing how the phenomenon of global flattening has vastly expanded the world's middle class and raised many millions out of poverty at a time when Earth's population is exploding, hence the Crowded.

The planet's exploding population and its burgeoning new middle class is using America's energy-intensive lifestyle as their model. This trend will only increase, leading to ever-higher demands for energy and, if we don't find alternatives for fossil fuels, will further exacerbate both climate change and the negative effects of "The First Law of Petropolitics."

Energy Technology Revolution

To combat both climate change and the energy problem, Mr. Friedman proposes an ET (energy technology) revolution to match the IT (information technology) revolution. He further proposes that the United States take the lead in this revolution, not only to solve the world's energy/climate problems, but as a vehicle to reclaim America's leadership in the world. In addition to developing "Fuels from Heaven" i.e. solar and wind, Mr. Friedman proposes the creation of a smart energy grid. I found the discussion of this "smart grid" to be one of the more interesting parts of the book. From an economic standpoint, this Green Revolution could provide land surveying with a great deal of work. Constructing alternative energy sources such as wind farms and solar plants and a new, revitalized energy grid would necessarily require the efforts of land surveying firms on a very large scale.

How would an ET revolution transform our nation and its economy? We'll finish off with an excerpt from an interview of Mr. Friedman on the subject posted on Amazon.com's website. " . . . but I am here to tell you that in a world that's hot, flat and crowded, ET - energy technology - is going to be as big an industry as IT - information technology. Maybe even bigger. And who claims that industry - whose country and whose companies dominate that industry - I think is going to enjoy more national security, more economic security, more economic growth, a healthier population, and greater global respect, for that matter, as well."

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Feature: New Life for an Old Base

By Steve Hawxhurst and Rob Gehrke

Land surveying and mapping innovation, ingenuity, and experience are proving indispensable components for success in sustainable design as our nation embarks on the most environmentally conscious era in history. Along with this, the ability to solve complex ownership issues, encroachment dilemmas, right-of-way disputes, and retrofit requirements are critical for projects in older urbanized areas.

The Naval Training Center Redevelopment in San Diego, California provides a perfect case study for understanding how surveying and mapping can help achieve success for a sustainable design project. On April 30, 1997, after nearly 75 years of continuous operation, the U.S. Navy officially closed the San Diego Naval Training Center (NTC) military base under the Federal Base Realignment and Closure Act. The City of San Diego Redevelopment Agency became the official Local Redevelopment Authority, and within two years, it began the planning phase for a project known as the Liberty Station Community.

Located on prime waterfront property on the San Diego Bay, the site was replete with many unique opportunities, including the potential to construct the first city waterfront park since the landmark Mission Bay Park project was completed more than 30 years before. A host of other uses were also on the drawing board, including the creation of an art, cultural, and historic district to complement the city's heralded Balboa Park as well as new housing and civic, commercial, education, and resort facilities.

Success of the $850-million NTC Liberty Station project would depend on finding solutions to a complex mix of land surveying, mapping, engineering, environmental, social, economic, technical, and political challenges. The original base infrastructure was constructed in the early 1920s, and the re-use project design criteria called for innovative architecture that would maintain the integrity of the site's historic character and military heritage. The overall design effort had to address safety issues, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), water quality, drainage, sewer systems, water delivery systems, hardscape materials, access issues, and historical preservation.

The project required detailed and innovative surveying and mapping procedures to create the framework for an orderly and complete project database. Detailed topographic surveys were also needed to design the integration of new facilities with the older infrastructure and preserve existing curbs, sidewalks, and drain inlets. Detailed records were required to adaptively re-use 55 historic buildings on the site while bringing them up to current building standards and codes. Solutions for this complex mix of engineering challenges would require file structures and communication systems capable of handling a massive volume of survey and mapping information.

Extensive Surveying Required

RBF Consulting (RBF) was hired as the master engineer for the redevelopment of NTC under a contract with the Corky McMillin Companies. The RBF scope of services included a critical and complicated survey component. Survey and mapping work was needed for the detailed analysis and documentation of 125 existing non-historic buildings. Preparing and processing 10 new subdivision maps required cadastral surveying. Design surveys would support extensive site hydrology and water quality studies. Detailed as-constructed surveys supported the design of both structural and non-structural best management practices to protect water quality in the surrounding bay and harbor. Topographic mapping was requested to support the design of utilities including sewer, water, storm drain, and gas. Cross-section surveys allowed for the re-construction of interior streets and sidewalks.



All demolished materials were to be recycled on site as roadway base for street construction. This requirement created the need for continual topographic surveys and timely data processing to support ongoing materials quantity analysis. The construction of new streets was carefully scheduled to coincide with the stream of recycled base material. Topographic surveys were also performed to support the simultaneous design of residential, educational, commercial, resort, park, promenade, and historic district improvements.

Civil design for the widening of Rosecrans Boulevard, a major artery, became a huge challenge because of an existing jet fuel line and 69kv electrical lines that paralleled the street right-of-way. Rosecrans also has an extremely high volume of traffic that required a total of eight stages of traffic control for the staged widening construction.

At the beginning of the project, the State of California owned Rosecrans, and it was later dedicated to the City of San Diego. This created a host of right-of-way difficulties. Because of its close proximity to the San Diego International Airport, the street had runway strobe lights, noise-monitoring stations, and an FAA middle marker contained within its right-of-way.

Using detailed survey and mapping data, engineers developed an innovative design for supporting existing underground utilities, including the jet fuel and 69kv power transmission lines, while new utilities were constructed beneath them. To support the major fuel line, designers opted to use specially built I-Beams with straps to bear the line in place while trenching below it.

Due to the fact the entire 400-acre project area was extremely flat, surveys were performed in anticipation that sewer and storm drain lines would be constructed with less than one-half percent of fall. Even a slight error in the collection of topographic data would yield a design that would fail. To mitigate this potential problem, RBF surveyors frequently employed electronic digital levels and matching precision rods to achieve the necessary accuracies. These emit visible light rays that read bar codes displayed on the leveling rods, operating much like pricing scanners in the checkout lines of grocery stores. The instrument automatically stores the rod readings, eliminating the chance of human error.

Throughout the course of the decade-long Liberty Station project, survey technology continued to evolve. Much of the project's initial boundary and parcel line retracement field survey work had been performed with conventional total stations. Over the 10-year project window, the preferred type of instrumentation for field surveys shifted to GPS, especially with the increasing availability of survey-grade RTK instruments.

Regardless of the type of instruments used by surveyors, the real challenge at Liberty Station was in the organization and communication of the constant stream of survey information. On the mapping side, the creation of final maps needed for the re-subdivision of the base required intense analysis of complex deeds, senior rights issues, and a maze of dedications.

Interesting Issues Arose

Not surprisingly, some interesting title issues arose. The original grant to the United States specified that the base property was originally conveyed "for use as a naval training center forever." "Forever" is a term seldom used in deeds, but it had to be dealt with in this case because a Federal Base Realignment and Closure committee had determined that the specified need for a training center had passed. This created a conflict concerning land use. After exhaustive research, it was determined there were no living successors to the original grantor to whom the property might revert under the conditions of the original deed. This demonstrated that a purely pragmatic solution could be found to seemingly unsolvable problems by using a creative work-around solution.

Another major element concerned the fact that most of the project lies within the historic tidelands of San Diego Bay. In the California, tidelands are defined as lying between the mean high tide and mean low tide. The area below the mean low tide line and extending three miles seaward is known as submerged lands. Tidelands and submerged lands are vested with regionally diverse and legally complicated land title elements. The City and County of San Diego had originally obtained jurisdiction to the tidelands and submerged lands of San Diego Bay in 1911. Terms of the jurisdiction were tied to making port improvements and performing dredging operations to support the newer and larger steam-powered ships of the time.

William Kettner became the first San Diego representative to Congress in 1912 and secured funding to improve the harbor for Navy vessels. Congressman Kettner convinced the federal government to relocate the Goat Island Training Station in San Francisco to San Diego and even persuaded local businessmen to finance the purchase of the land needed for its operation for the Navy.

As a result, 135 acres of private land was donated, all of which lie above the mean high tide line. This was merged with another 142 acres originally owned by the City of San Diego that consisted of a combination of tidelands and submerged lands. Together, this gave the new Naval Training Center title to 277 acres of land and a mess of legal issues.

Over the years, the training center property was expanded by continually dredging and bulkheading the bay. Eventually, this created submerged or semi-submerged areas in residential areas that had never been designated as tidelands. Complex exchange documents were developed that gave the State of California and the San Diego Unified Port District the right to hold these "new" tidelands in trust for the public. This conveyance was unsuccessfully challenged in the courts, but other legal actions were taken alleging that title companies and developers had failed to disclose the possible effects of historic tidelands on residential areas.

Preliminary and final mapping for Liberty Station included a complex Record of Survey followed by the preparation of a parcel map with a final subdivision of all the base land into eight units. This required a total of more than 120 map sheets. In addition to tabulated easements and dedications, unique certificates were created to grant "Promenade" and "Arcade" easements to the city, creating access rights and use limitations for the site's historic buildings and other unique features.

Drainage a Main Concern

One of the main civil concerns of the entire redevelopment plan was the design of drainage improvements for the historic core and housing areas. Most of NTC site was built on semi-unconsolidated dredged bay deposits. This meant the site would be subject to possible liquefaction during earthquakes. To mitigate this, remediation was required. The drainage basin for the entire site drained into a backbone storm drain system that in turn drained through an outfall into San Diego Bay. Topographic surveys were performed in all areas for drainage and remedial grading design.

The waterfront at NTC will be opened to the public for the first time in over 80 years. The new 46-acre park will provide both active and passive recreational opportunities. Design of the "active use" area includes an aquatic complex, multi-use sport fields, a basketball court, and children's play area. The esplanade will be a landscaped pedestrian, bicycle, and recreational trail incorporated around the waterfront. From a water quality standpoint, the park's design has become a model for the City of San Diego and has various treatment concepts to treat "first flush" water. Residential, education, south, middle, and north promenades as well as Sellers Plaza and Ingram Plaza link to the park. Design of these promenades was integral to the pedestrian circulation throughout NTC.

During the process, the city held hundreds of community meetings, design charrettes, and public workshops where thousands participated. Since the public had not had access to this section of the waterfront since the base opened in 1923, regaining it was a key desire expressed in the meetings. This public process resulted in a comprehensive plan for Liberty Station that emphasized public use, a pedestrian-oriented environment, and a vibrant mix of uses that would replace the jobs lost when the base closed.

When complete, the Liberty Station project should create more than 8,000 permanent jobs and add $2.4 million in annual property tax revenue, including $750 million annually for set-aside for low/moderate income housing. Survey and mapping components of this sustainable technology project proved critical to the project's success. The project serves as a prominent example of the crucial role land surveys play in the success of sustainable design.

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Steve Hawxhurst, PLA is a senior associate with RBF Consulting. He has 27 years of experience in land surveying and mapping in commercial, industrial, public works, residential development, forensic, and ALTA surveys.

A civil engineer with RBF Consulting, Rob Gehrke, PE has 22 years of experience in the management of public works, commercial, residential, industrial, institutional, and military projects.

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