TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Topographical surveying was the focus of this project among the other branches of

Surveying. Topography means the shape or configuration of the earth’s surface.

It is subdivided into three aspects. Namely:

(i) Hypsography – i.e relief features

(ii) Hydrography – i.e the water and drainage features.

(iii) Culture – i.e the man - made features.

Topographical surveying is the branch of surveying that determines the position of

natural or artificial features of a locality, both in plane and elevation to represent them by means

of conventional sign on a map known as topography. A typical topographical map is useful for

the planning and designing of construction project like roads, bridges, building etc. It is also

essential for professionals like military personnel, miners, engineers and agricultural

practitioner’s e.t.c.

The following objectives were pursued for the achievement of the aim of demarcation of

the boundary of the land of this practical work:

Reconnaissance: - It involves planning and visiting the site in so as to have a general

view of the project site.

Traversing: - This is a sequence of connected straight lines whose directions and

distances have been precisely measured.

Perimeter Leveling: - This is the process of determining difference in height between

points on the earth’s surface.

Detailing: - This is an act of fixing details such as buildings, roads, electric poles etc.
 Spot heighting: - This is used to give heights, values of different points within the project

site.

2.0 INSTRUMENT USED

i. One (1) DGPS and its tripod ET – 05 (South T68543)

ii. One (1) Robber and base

iii. One (1) Plumb bobs and string

iv. One (1) Cutlass

v. One (1) Field book

vi. One (1) Linear tape (50m)

2.1 TEST OF INSTRUMENTS

Having collected the instruments to be used from the department, the following tests were

carried out on DGPS and level instrument so as ascertain the stability of the instrument.

2.2 DGPS

Setting up DGPS instruments involves several steps:

i. choose a suitable location

ii. set up the base station

iii. set up the rover

iv. perform initializations

v. set up communication

vi. configure software

vii. perform quality control

viii. start surveying

2.3 FIELD OPERATION

These include the set of operations performed on the field in order to obtain the necessary data

required for the production of Topographical map of the project site. Listed below were the

operations involved.

2.4 TACHEOMETRY

Tacheometry is a branch of surveying in which difference height and distance between

ground points are determined optically. It operates on the geometry of an isosceles triangle. It

can also be defined as the swift optical distance measurement process where DGPS were used

for obtaining distance, height and fixing of detail.

2.5 DETAILING

This stage involved fixing of the natural and artificial features that exist on ground into

record. Examples of such features include existing buildings, trees, well etc. The detailing

operation was executed by means of tacheometry method of observation. The instrument was set

up on a nearby station along the boundary lines. The Rover was set to bisect the base at the edge

of each detail were also taken and recorded.

3.0 PROCEDURES FOLLOWED

It involve the following:

3.1 RECONNAISSANCE

Reconnaissance is a pre-requisite of any survey project to be carried out. It is the study of

the subject matter as regard to a particular survey of an area of land. During reconnaissance, the

purpose, specification and required accuracy of the survey will be closely examined as these will

effects the choice of instruments and method of survey to be employed. The reconnaissance

carried out comprises of office planning and field planning.

3.1.1 OFFICE RECONNAISSANCE

This involves the planning carried out before visiting the project site. It involves

acquiring various information related to area of interest ,i.e the longitude and latitude of the

place, the type of instrument required to yield the expected accuracy, the acquisition of

coordinate of available control for orientation, consultation of previous executed project which

covers the area of interest, specification given and The purpose of the survey. This serves as the

basis for our planning.

3.1.2 FIELD RECONNAISSANCE

This involved a visit to the project site and to locate the controls to be used. The

members of the group (6) took a walk to the site to take a visible picture of the project site and

the location of the exact route along which the work is to be done. Necessary equipment’s like

cutlass and tape were used in selecting the stations and lines were cut thoroughly to permit

intervisibility. Pegs were finally used to mark the actual traverse points. And Recce diagram fig

3.1 was produced.

3.1.3 SELECTION OF STATIONS

The boundaries as shown in the recce diagram were laid down by marking points on the

ground (station).

The factors considered in selecting these stations include:

i. Intervisibility between two points.

ii. Firmness of the ground at the selected point.

iii. Working convenience over the station.

iv. Points were passerby cannot disturb.

3.2 OBSERVATION PROCEDURES

Here are the general observation procedures using DGPS

i. pre-observation checks: ensure the DGPS instruments are functioning correctly.

ii. Occupation: set up the rover at the survey point.

iii. Measurement: start the DGPS measurement process.

iv. Observation time: Record data for a minimum of 5-10 minutes to ensure accurate

results.

v. Data storage: store the collected data in the DGPS instrument or external data

collector.

vi. Data transfer: transfer the collected data to a computer or processing software.

3.3 DATA PROCESSING

This is the process of preparing data acquired from the field by the way of reduction and

adjustment, which yields the final numerical value of the boundary point, direction, height, and

spot height.

The result obtained are useful for the preparation of maps, plans (Topographical plan) by

means of plotting. The processing of field data was done under the following

1. Angle deduction

2. Area computation

3. Tacheometry computation

4. Data presentation

3.3.1 FIELD BOOK REDUCTION

Every field book was reduced to generate the final data set to be used in the final

computations.
3.4 RESULT

3.5 PLAN PRODUCTION

3.5.1 DIGITAL PLAN PRODUCTION

The final coordinates of the boundary pegs were used to plot the perimeter

graphically. The details and spot heights were also plotted using auto AutoCAD and the

contours were plotted with surfer. The plan showing the contour, details and also

showing the spot heights was produced.

4.0 SUMMARY, PROBLEM ENCOUNTERED, AND CONCLUSION

4.1 SUMMARY

This report focused on various methods used in execution of topographical survey and of the

citizenship and leadership centre, fika LGA. The practical was carried out using the basic survey

principles and methods. The major field survey operation includes reconnaissance which

involves field and office reconnaissance, followed by data acquisition which involves third order

DGPS, perimeter leveling to determine height of points, tacheometry for detailing and spot

heightening. All the Data acquired from the field were deduced, computed and adjusted

according to specification and results were analyzed and found to be within the expected

accuracy. Finally, computed data were presented in graphical form both in digital using

AutoCAD software and the analogue and a comprehensive report on how the whole operation

was carried out.

4.2 PROBLEM ENCOUNTERED

During the execution of the practical the problem encountered was Unfavorable weather

condition for tacheometric observation contributed to the delay in the completion of the

fieldwork.
4.3 CONCLUSION

The result obtained, had obviously shown that the purpose and significance had been

achieved subjected to human and instrumental limitations. The result obtained from the

computation and analysis of data when compared with expectable accuracies, had also shown

that the practical was successfully executive according to the laid down rules and regulations.