GEng 139 – Satellite Geodesy

This presentation may contain errors that

will be corrected in class. It is the
responsibility of the student to take note of
these corrections. This presentation may
be considered as a supplementary material
only and should not be used as substitute to
the class discussions and reading materials.
Not everything that you need to know is
included in these notes.
 GEng111
GEng 139- General
– Satellite GeodesyI
Surveying

Lesson 1.1: Surveying: Definition, History and

Types

Department of Geodetic Engineering

Visayas State University

Martin Jan E. Mercurio

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, students will be
able to:
• Explain surveying as part of geomatic science
• Enumerate applications of surveying in
various fields
• Distinguish different types of surveying and
their scope

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 3
Historical perspective

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 4
Historical perspective

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 5
Current

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 6
Surveying
• How does the term surveying evolve throughout
the time in terms of the:
1. Equipment?
2. Extent of the area measured?
3. Possible surveying applications on smaller
and larger scales?

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 7
Surveying: Definition
• Traditionally defined as the art and science

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 8
 Surveying: Definition
• Traditionally defined as the art and science

© study.com

© iStock

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 9
Surveying: Definition (La Putt, 2007)
• Traditionally defined as the art and science
of measuring the Earth’s surface, and the
location of features on, above or below the
Earth’s surface
• Presented in a form of a chart or plan

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 10
Surveying: Expectation

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 11
Surveying: Reality

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 12
Surveying: Reality

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 13
Surveying: Reality

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 14
Surveying: Definition
• The term "surveying" has recently been considered
as one of the components of "geomatics science".
• Geomatics includes all methods of measuring and
gathering information about the physical earth and
environment, storing that information, and
disseminating a variety of resulting information to
a wide range of clients (Ghilani & Wolf, 2012).
• The application of geomatics in the measurement and
monitoring of our environment is growing
dramatically as the population grows, the demand
for natural resources (e.g. food, water, air, etc.)
also increases.

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 15
Surveying: Definition
• The term "surveying" has recently been considered
as one of the components of "geomatics science".
• Geomatics includes all methods of measuring and
gathering information about the physical earth and
environment, storing that information, and
disseminating a variety of resulting information to
a wide range of clients (Ghilani & Wolf, 2012).
• The application of geomatics in the measurement and
monitoring of our environment is growing
dramatically as the population grows, the demand
for natural resources (e.g. food, water, air, etc.)
also increases.

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 16
Surveying: History
• The first historically
documented professional
surveying responsibilities
can be attributed to the
famous thumb of Menna
dated 1400 BC
• Egyptians had been among
the first to survey the
land
• Drawings of rope
stretchers
• Cubit
• The geometry of the Great
Pyramid

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 17
Surveying: History
• Ancient Romans also
contributed to surveying
instrument development by
creating a groma (known as
Roman measurement cross) by
Heron of Alexandria
• The trained persons who
fixed boundaries of cities,
roads, etc. is called
agrimensores.

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 18
Surveying: History
• Leonardo da Vinci invented a
mechanical odometer designed
to measure the distance
traveled by a carriage

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 19
Surveying: History
• Mesopotamia
• The ancient Sumerians around
2000 B.C. were astronomers
studying the movements of
the planets and stars and as
mathematicians established
the 360-degree circle. They
also had a system of land
ownership. In ancient
Babylon, moving a boundary
marker placed by a surveyor
was punishable by death!

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 20
Surveying: History
• Chinese
• Still earlier (as early as 1600 B.C.)
it is said that the Chinese knew the
value of the lodestone (loadstone) and
possessed some form of magnetic
compass.

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 21
Surveying: History
• Arabs
• In 1450 the Arabs were aided by the
compass in charting the coastlines of
those countries that they visited.
When the Arabs made the use of the
astrolabe, nautical surveying can
really be said to have begun.

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 22
Surveying: History
• Europeans
• Plane tables were in use in Europe in
the 16th century, and the principle of
graphic triangulation and intersection
was practiced by surveyors in England
and elsewhere.

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 23
Surveying: History
• Philippines
• Although the first cadastral
survey (land survey for land
registration and titling
purposes) was conducted in
1913, the Philippines was
earlier surveyed and mapped
out by Spanish colonies.
Figure 5, is the first and
most important scientific map
of the Philippines, drawn by
Jesuit Father Pedro Murillo
Velarde in 1734.

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 24
Surveying: Modern
• Satellites
• Computers
• Digital equipment

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 25
Geodetic and Plane Surveys
• Geodetic Surveys - are surveys,
which take into account the true
shape of the earth, and require
corrections for curvature.
(higher order accuracy)

• Plane surveys - are the most

commonly practiced method of
surveying and treat the earth as
a flat or "plane" surface

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 26
Geodetic and Plane Surveys
• Geodetic Surveys - These are surveys which
consider the earth's true shape and require
curvature corrections. These are typically
carried out with great accuracy and
precision; and are used not only to
determine the Earth's field of size, shape
and gravity (the Geodesy science), but also
to establish highly accurate Control
Networks. Before the influx of Global
Positioning System (GPS) technology,
geodetic surveys is carried out by measuring
precisely the angles and distances of a
survey network.

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 27
Geodetic and Plane Surveys
• Plane Surveys - These surveys are the most
commonly used method of surveying and
treating the earth as a flat surface, or
"plane." Plane surveying has several
applications in the field of engineering,
mining, hydrographic, land surveying, among
others. Measuring the area of one’s land
property or defining legal boundaries or
laying out the roads or estimating the
volume of earthwork quantities – these are
few applications of plane surveys.

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 28
Importance of Surveying (Kavanagh, Ghilani, & Wolf, 2012)
• Surveying is one of the oldest and most significant
arts in the world.
• Used in defining boundary, subdivision
• Surveying has even more essential nowadays for our
modern way of life. The results of today's surveys
are used to:
• (1) map the Earth above and below sea level;
• (2) prepare air , land and sea navigation charts;
• (3) set private and public land ownership boundaries;
• (4) develop land-use and natural resource information databases that
help manage our environment;
• (5) determine the size, shape, gravity and magnetic fields of the
Earth; and
• (6) determine the charts of our planets and moons.

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 29
Specialized Surveying Types
• Control surveys
• Topographic surveys
• Land surveys
• Hydrographic surveys
• Alignment surveys
• Construction surveys
• As-built surveys
• Mine surveys
• Ground, aerial, and satellite surveys

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 30
Lesson Summary
• Surveying is one of the
oldest professions in the
world
• It is defined as the art and
science of measurement of
features on, above, or below
the earth's surface; and
presentation these
measurements in the form of
a chart or computer-based
chart, or plan.

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 31
Lesson Summary
• Depending on the extent
or computation assumptions, surveying
can be geodetic or plane. Further,
surveying is classified according to its
purpose and specialization.

10/5/2022 GEng111.v01.2022 32