What is levelling?

• A measurement process whereby the

difference in height between two or more
points can be determined

BS FS

Difference in height
H=BS-FS
When do we level?
• Typical examples include :
 To establish new vertical control (BM or TBM)
 To determine the heights of discrete points
 To provide spot heights or contours on a plan
 To provide data for road cross-sections or volumes
of earthworks
 To provide a level or inclined plane in the setting
out of construction works
Definitions
• Level surface
 A surface over which water will not flow
 The direction of gravity is always normal to a level
surface

• Horizontal surface
 A horizontal surface will be tangent to a level
surface
 Over short distances (<100 m) the horizontal
surface and the level surface will coincide
Definitions (cont.)

direction of gravity

horizontal
surface

level surface
limit of practical
coincidence (~100 m)
Reading an “E-face” staff

0.339

0.33

0.3
Collimation error
• Occurs when the line of sight (as defined by
the cross-hairs) is not horizontal
• Leads to an incorrect staff reading

line of sight error

horizontal line
Two-peg test
• Identifies whether the level has a collimation
error
• Allows the collimation error to be determined
• See the plane surveying web site for the two-
peg test procedure
More definitions
• Datum
 A reference surface to which the heights of all
points in a survey or on a site are referred
 May be arbitrary or a national height datum
 In Australia we have the Australian Height Datum
(AHD)
 The surface which defines the AHD is
(approximately) Mean Sea Level (MSL)
More definitions
• Reduced Level (RL)
 The height of a point above the datum

• Benchmark (BM)
 A stable reference point of known RL
 Usually used as the starting and finishing point when
levelling

• Temporary Bench Mark (TBM)

 A point placed (e.g. peg, nail, spike) to provide a
temporary reference point
More definitions
• Backsight (BS)
 Always the first reading from a new instrument
station

• Foresight (FS)
 Always the last reading from the current
instrument station

• Intermediate sight (IS)

 Any sighting that is not a backsight or foresight
More definitions
• Change point (CP)
 Location of the staff when the level is moved
 Change points should be...
 Stable
 Well defined
 Recoverable
 e.g. sharp rock, nail, change plate, etc...
Rules for levelling
• Always commence and finish a level run on a
Benchmark (BM or TBM)
• Keep foresight and backsight distances as
equal as possible
• Keep lines of sight short (normally < 50m)
• Never read below 0.5m on a staff (refraction)
• Use stable, well defined change points
Levelling procedures
• The example on the plane surveying web site
shows…
 Observation procedures
 Booking procedures
 Reduction procedures
A sample loop
Setup 4

CP 3
BM A

Kerb
Setup 3
Setup 1
Kerb

Setup 2

CP 1
CP 2
Post
 Booking the observations

BM A CP 3
Back Inter Fore Point
1.32 BM A
3.98 CP 1
Kerb
Setup 1
Kerb

CP 1
CP 2
Post
 Booking the observations

BM A CP 3
Back Inter Fore Point
1.32 BM A
2.56 3.98 CP 1
Kerb
1.25 Kerb
Setup 1
Kerb 3.65 Post
0.67 CP 2
Setup 2

CP 1
CP 2
Post
 Booking the observations

BM A CP 3
Back Inter Fore Point
1.32 BM A
2.56 3.98 CP 1
Kerb
1.25 Kerb
Setup 1 Setup 3
Kerb 3.65 Post
3.49 0.67 CP 2
Setup 2 2.58 Kerb
1.54 CP 3
CP 1
CP 2
Post
 Booking the observations
Setup 4

BM A CP 3
Back Inter Fore Point
1.32 BM A
2.56 3.98 CP 1
Kerb
1.25 Kerb
Setup 1 Setup 3
Kerb 3.65 Post
3.49 0.67 CP 2
Setup 2 2.58 Kerb
2.64 1.54 CP 3
CP 1 3.79 BM A
CP 2
Post
Reducing levels (Rise and Fall)
Back Inter Fore Rise Fall RL Comment
1.32 50.00 BM A
2.56 3.98 CP 1
1.25 Kerb
3.65 Post
3.49 0.67 CP 2
2.58 Kerb
2.64 1.54 CP 3
3.79 BM A


Reducing levels (Rise and Fall)
Back Inter Fore Rise Fall RL Comment
1.32 50.00 BM A
2.56 3.98 2.66 47.34 CP 1
1.25 Kerb
3.65 Post
3.49 0.67 CP 2
2.58 Kerb
2.64 1.54 CP 3
3.79 BM A


Reducing levels (Rise and Fall)
Back Inter Fore Rise Fall RL Comment
1.32 50.00 BM A
2.56 3.98 2.66 47.34 CP 1
1.25 1.31 48.65 Kerb
3.65 Post
3.49 0.67 CP 2
2.58 Kerb
2.64 1.54 CP 3
3.79 BM A


Reducing levels (Rise and Fall)
Back Inter Fore Rise Fall RL Comment
1.32 50.00 BM A
2.56 3.98 2.66 47.34 CP 1
1.25 1.31 48.65 Kerb
3.65 2.40 46.25 Post
3.49 0.67 CP 2
2.58 Kerb
2.64 1.54 CP 3
3.79 BM A


Reducing levels (Rise and Fall)
Back Inter Fore Rise Fall RL Comment
1.32 50.00 BM A
2.56 3.98 2.66 47.34 CP 1
1.25 1.31 48.65 Kerb
3.65 2.40 46.25 Post
3.49 0.67 2.98 49.23 CP 2
2.58 Kerb
2.64 1.54 CP 3
3.79 BM A


Reducing levels (Rise and Fall)
Back Inter Fore Rise Fall RL Comment
1.32 50.00 BM A
2.56 3.98 2.66 47.34 CP 1
1.25 1.31 48.65 Kerb
3.65 2.40 46.25 Post
3.49 0.67 2.98 49.23 CP 2
2.58 0.91 50.14 Kerb
2.64 1.54 CP 3
3.79 BM A


Reducing levels (Rise and Fall)
Back Inter Fore Rise Fall RL Comment
1.32 50.00 BM A
2.56 3.98 2.66 47.34 CP 1
1.25 1.31 48.65 Kerb
3.65 2.40 46.25 Post
3.49 0.67 2.98 49.23 CP 2
2.58 0.91 50.14 Kerb
2.64 1.54 1.04 51.18 CP 3
3.79 BM A


Reducing levels (Rise and Fall)
Back Inter Fore Rise Fall RL Comment
1.32 50.00 BM A
2.56 3.98 2.66 47.34 CP 1
1.25 1.31 48.65 Kerb
3.65 2.40 46.25 Post
3.49 0.67 2.98 49.23 CP 2
2.58 0.91 50.14 Kerb
2.64 1.54 1.04 51.18 CP 3
3.79 1.15 50.03 BM A


Reducing levels (Rise and Fall)
Back Inter Fore Rise Fall RL Comment
1.32 50.00 BM A
2.56 3.98 2.66 47.34 CP 1
1.25 1.31 48.65 Kerb
3.65 2.40 46.25 Post
3.49 0.67 2.98 49.23 CP 2
2.58 0.91 50.14 Kerb
2.64 1.54 1.04 51.18 CP 3
3.79 1.15 50.03 BM A
10.01 9.98 

Reducing levels (Rise and Fall)
Back Inter Fore Rise Fall RL Comment
1.32 50.00 BM A
2.56 3.98 2.66 47.34 CP 1
1.25 1.31 48.65 Kerb
3.65 2.40 46.25 Post
3.49 0.67 2.98 49.23 CP 2
2.58 0.91 50.14 Kerb
2.64 1.54 1.04 51.18 CP 3
3.79 1.15 50.03 BM A
10.01 9.98 
(0.03) 
Reducing levels (Rise and Fall)
Back Inter Fore Rise Fall RL Comment
1.32 50.00 BM A
2.56 3.98 2.66 47.34 CP 1
1.25 1.31 48.65 Kerb
3.65 2.40 46.25 Post
3.49 0.67 2.98 49.23 CP 2
2.58 0.91 50.14 Kerb
2.64 1.54 1.04 51.18 CP 3
3.79 1.15 50.03 BM A
10.01 9.98 6.24 6.21 
(0.03) 
Reducing levels (Rise and Fall)
Back Inter Fore Rise Fall RL Comment
1.32 50.00 BM A
2.56 3.98 2.66 47.34 CP 1
1.25 1.31 48.65 Kerb
3.65 2.40 46.25 Post
3.49 0.67 2.98 49.23 CP 2
2.58 0.91 50.14 Kerb
2.64 1.54 1.04 51.18 CP 3
3.79 1.15 50.03 BM A
10.01 9.98 6.24 6.21 
(0.03) (0.03) 
Reducing levels (Rise and Fall)
Back Inter Fore Rise Fall RL Comment
1.32 50.00 BM A
2.56 3.98 2.66 47.34 CP 1
1.25 1.31 48.65 Kerb
3.65 2.40 46.25 Post
3.49 0.67 2.98 49.23 CP 2
2.58 0.91 50.14 Kerb
2.64 1.54 1.04 51.18 CP 3
3.79 1.15 50.03 BM A
10.01 9.98 6.24 6.21 
(0.03) (0.03) (0.03) 
Reducing levels (Rise and Fall)
Back Inter Fore Rise Fall RL Comment
1.32 50.00 BM A
2.56 3.98 2.66 47.34 CP 1
1.25 1.31 48.65 Kerb
3.65 2.40 46.25 Post
3.49 0.67 2.98 49.23 CP 2
2.58 0.91 50.14 Kerb
2.64 1.54 1.04 51.18 CP 3
3.79 1.15 50.03 BM A
10.01 9.98 6.24 6.21 
(0.03) (0.03) (0.03) 
Loop misclosure
• Misclosure
 The amount by which the measured height
difference (Hmeas) differs from the known height
difference derived from the RLs of the starting
and finishing benchmarks (Hknown)

Misclosure = Hknown - Hmeas

An acceptable misclose?
• Small misclosures in closed level loops are
expected because of the accumulation of
errors
• If the misclosure is small, it can be adjusted
• If the misclosure is large, the loop (or part of
it) must be repeated
• Misclosures can also result from errors in
published BM levels and from BM instability
Testing the misclose
• The amount of misclosure we are prepared to
accept depends on the accuracy we are
hoping to achieve
• For routine levelling, the third order levelling
standard is adopted…

misclosure  12k mm

• where k is the length of the loop in km

Continuing the example
• The misclosure is +30 mm
• The length of the loop is 0.7 km
• The misclosure limit is…
12(0.7) = ±10 mm

• The misclosure of +30 mm is too big

• The loop must be repeated (or find the error)
Adjusting the misclose
• Adjustment is carried out to ensure that the
measured and known RLs of the closing
benchmark agree
• The misclosure is linearly distributed
according to the number of set-ups
• The adjustment per set-up for the previous
example is (0.03/4)...
Adjusting the misclose
Measured RL Point Adjustment Adjusted RL

50.00 BM A
47.34 CP 1
48.65 Kerb
46.25 Post
49.23 CP 2
50.14 Kerb
51.18 CP 3
50.03 BM A
Adjusting the misclose
Measured RL Point Adjustment Adjusted RL

50.00 BM A 0.000 50.000

47.34 CP 1 0.008 47.332
48.65 Kerb
=1*(0.03/4)
46.25 Post
49.23 CP 2
50.14 Kerb
51.18 CP 3
50.03 BM A
Adjusting the misclose
Measured RL Point Adjustment Adjusted RL

50.00 BM A 0.000 50.000

47.34 CP 1 0.008 47.332
48.65 Kerb 0.015 48.635
46.25 Post 0.015 46.235
49.23 CP 2 0.015 49.215
50.14 Kerb
=2*(0.03/4)
51.18 CP 3
50.03 BM A
Adjusting the misclose
Measured RL Point Adjustment Adjusted RL

50.00 BM A 0.000 50.000

47.34 CP 1 0.008 47.332
48.65 Kerb 0.015 48.635
46.25 Post 0.015 46.235
49.23 CP 2 0.015 49.215
50.14 Kerb 0.023 50.117
51.18 CP 3 0.023 51.157
50.03 BM A =3*(0.03/4)
Adjusting the misclose
Measured RL Point Adjustment Adjusted RL

50.00 BM A 0.000 50.000

47.34 CP 1 0.008 47.332
48.65 Kerb 0.015 48.635
46.25 Post 0.015 46.235
49.23 CP 2 0.015 49.215
50.14 Kerb 0.023
=4*(0.03/4)
51.18 CP 3 0.023
50.03 BM A 0.030 50.000
Adjusting the misclose
Measured RL Point Adjustment Adjusted RL

50.00 BM A 0.000 50.000

47.34 CP 1 0.008 47.332
48.65 Kerb 0.015 48.635
46.25 Post 0.015 46.235
49.23 CP 2 0.015 49.215
50.14 Kerb 0.023 50.117
51.18 CP 3 0.023 51.157
50.03 BM A 0.030 50.000
Errors in levelling
• Collimation
• Parallax
• Change point instability
• Instrument instability
• Staff instability
• Benchmark instability
• Refraction
Errors in levelling
• Staff reading and interpolation errors
• Staff verticality
• Instrument shading
• Temperature on staff
• Booking errors (e.g. using just 1 benchmark)
• Earth curvature
• Magnetic field effects on auto level
Applications of levelling
• Point heights (relative to a datum)
• Height differences (independent of datum)
• Longitudinal sections and cross sections
• Data for volume calculations
• Contouring
• Setting out
Establishing a new point

New point

Benchmark RLNEW

RLBM

Datum
Measuring height differences

H3

H2

Benchmark H1

RLBM

Datum
Profiles and cross-sections

Benchmark

RLBM

Datum
Plotting contours
B C
2.510 2.905

The RL’s for points A, B and C have been

determined by levelling. We are now
required to determine the location of the
contours using a 0.5 m contour interval.

1.100
A
 Plotting contours
B LINE AB
2.510 HAB = 2.51 - 1.10 = 1.410
DAB = 10 m
For the 1.5 m contour:
D = 10*(1.5 – 1.1)/1.41 = 2.84
For the 2.0 m contour :
D = 10*(2.0 - 1.1)/1.41 = 6.38 B
For the 2.5 m contour :
D = 10*(2.5 - 1.1)/1.41 = 9.93
1.41
1.4
0.9
0.4
A
2.84 6.38 9.93
1.100
A 10 m
 Plotting contours
B C
2.510 2.905

LINE AC
HAC = 2.905 - 1.100 = 1.805
DAC = 14.14 m
For the 1.5 m contour :
D = 14.14*(1.5 - 1.1)/1.805 = 3.13
For the 2.0 m contour :
D = 14.14*(2.0 - 1.1)/1.805 = 7.05
For the 2.5 m contour :
1.100 D = 14.14*(2.5 - 1.1)/1.805 = 10.97
A
 Plotting contours
B C
2.510 2.905

LINE BC
DHBC = 2.905 - 2.510 = 0.395
DBC = 10 m
no contours cross this line

1.100
A
 Plotting contours
B C
2.510 2.905
2.5

2.0

1.5

1.100
A