GEODETIC SURVEYING (GEO320)

Height
References

MUHAMMAD FAIZ BIN PA’SUYA

Department Surveying Science and Geomatic
 Geodetic surfaces
• All activities in surveying are referred to three surfaces, or
also known as geodetic surfaces. These surfaces are:
a) Topographical surface
b) Geoid
c) Mean Sea Level
d) Ellipsoid

• In geodesy, the reference surface are used to determine the :

a. Vertical component (height, H)
b. Horizontal component (e.g. geographic coordinates
Lat,long)
 Geodetic surfaces

a. Topographical surface
• Topography surface is the physical
surface of the earth which represent
the actual surface of the earth,
including land and sea.
• This is the surface where all
measurements and observations are
carried out. However, this surface is
not uniform.
 Geodetic surfaces

b. Geoid
• Defined as the equipotential surface of the
Earth’s gravity field.
• Has a constant gravity potential and to
which the direction of gravity is always
perpendicular.
• An important surface for geodetic
computations- serves as the reference
surface for height systems.
• In land surveying, it defines the horizontal
direction in which surveying instrument are
set to be level with the surface
 Geodetic surfaces

c. Mean Sea Level

• The MSL is the average height of the sea surface
over a 19-year cycle using tide gauge
observations
• Theoretically, geodesist was understood and
believed that MSL coincide with the geoid,
or the difference of the two surfaces was
negligible.
• Thus, determination of vertical reference of the
vertical datum is the task of determining the
position of the mean sea level.
• Based on the average tidal observation for a
certain period, a local MSL can be obtained.
 Geodetic surfaces
d. Ellipsoid
• Ellipsoid - a mathematical reference surface and to which
the direction of normal line is always perpendicular to it
• It is a reference surface for the description of the
horizontal coordinates (i.e. geographic coordinates) of
points of interest
• Geoid and MSL is a rather complex surface to be defined
mathematically and can not be used as reference surface to
describe the horizontal components (e.g. geographic
coordinates).
 Heights Types used in Geodesy

Vertical Datum
• Vertical datum is a base measurement point (or sets of points)
from which all elevations or height of point are determined.
• Basically, there are two heights usually used to determined the
height of point corresponding to the two reference surfaces :
a) Orthometric heights (H)
b) Ellipsoidal Height (h)
 Heights Types used in Geodesy

a) Orthometric heights (H)

• The distance from a point on the surface
of the earth to the geoid/MSL and
measured along the plumb line normal to
the geoid.
• Due to the fact that equipotential surfaces
are not parallel, this plumb line is a bent
line. Orthometric heights can be derived
using geometric or trigonometric
levelling.
• For practical purposes this height used on
maps
 Heights Types used in Geodesy

b) Ellipsoidal Height (h)

• Ellipsoidal heights (h) refer to a
reference ellipsoid
• Defined as the distance from the point
measured along a normal to the
reference ellipsoid.
• Ellipsoidal heights can be derived
from geocentric cartesian coordinates
provided through GPS observations.
• But this is not the height found on
maps
 Heights Types used in Geodesy

Geoidal Height (N)

• The separation between the ellipsoid

and geoid is the geoid height or
geoid undulation (N)
• Determined from measurements of
the Earth’s gravity field.
• The geoid height allows the relation
between the ellipsoidal height (h),
which can be obtained by GPS, and
the orthometric height (H) or we
called it as height determination
using GPS
 Heights Types used in Geodesy

HEIGHT RELATIONSHIPS
Heights Types used in Geodesy
 GNSS Leveling
• According to wide spread use of
GNSS, a greater attention has started to
be paid to determine orthometric height
with an aim to replace the geometric
levelling measurements with GNSS
measurements
• This method is called as GNSS
leveling and using combination of
GNSS derived ellipsoidal heights (h)
with geoidal information, N
 GNSS Leveling
• Advances in the technology of GNSS has revolutionized the
measurement to allow the determination of horizontal
position and height
• GNSS technology provide an alternative method to gain height
more easily-ellipsoidal height
• However, the ellipsoidal height are not uniformly opposed to
height derived from benchmarks-orthometric height
• But, ellipsoidal height can be converted into orthometric
height accurately, if separation distance between the geoid
and ellipsoid (also known as geoid height) are known.

H=h-N
 GNSS Leveling
• GPS leveling is combination of GPS derived ellipsoidal
heights (h) with geoidal information (N)
• There are two type of GPS Leveling
i. Absolute
ii. Relative
• In a more practical work, as there was difference in the value
of h and N, a measure of the relative is often practiced
 GNSS Leveling (Absolute)
In an absolute sense, N is used as follows:
H=h-N
Example;
If h = 62m and N = -12m
H = 62 - (-12) = 74m.
A

Topography
h H

Geoid

Ellipsoid
 GNSS Levelling (Relative)
Example 2
• In a relative (baseline) sense where the change in N is used:
In relative heighting: A B

• NA = hA – HA HB
hA HA hB Topography
• NB = hB – HB
Hence; Geoid

AB = HB – HA NA NB

• = (hB – NB) – (hA – NA) Ellipsoid

• = (hB – hA) – (NB – NA)

• = hBA - NBA
 GNSS Leveling
• Example
• If H1 = 636.5m (known); h1 = 623m; h2 =581m; N2 =
-17m; N1 = -15m
Δh = 581 - 623 = - 42m
ΔN = -17 - (-15) = - 2m
ΔH = (- 42) - (- 2) = - 40m
H2 = 636.5 + (- 40) = 596.5 m
 GNSS Leveling
Elipsoid Height(h)
• GNSS Observation (Static, Fast Static, RTK, Network
RTK and etc)

Geoid Height (N)-Geoid model

• Local Geoid Model- MyGeoid -(RM3.00 /point (JUPEM)
• Global Model- GGM02 (Free)
• Global Model- EGM96 /EGM2008 (Free)
• Global Model- OSU89/91A (Free)
 Earth Gravitational Model EGM2008

Freely Download http://alltrans-egm2008-calculator.soft112.com/download.html

Realization Local Precise Geoid Model
(MyGEOID)
 Local Precise Gravimetric Geoid

• The Department of Survey and

Mapping Malaysia (DSMM) has
embarked the Airborne Gravity
Survey, with one of the objectives is
to compute the local precise
gravimetric geoid for Malaysia within
cm level of accuracy.
• The Malaysian airborne gravity
survey was done on a 5 km line
spacing, covering Sabah and Sarawak
(East Malaysia) in 2002 and
Peninsular Malaysia in 2003.
 Digital Elevation Model

Gravity Satellite
Terrestrial gravity

local precise
gravimetric geoid
for Malaysia

Satellite Altimetry Airbone Gravity

 Gravimetric Geoid
N = NEGM + Ngravity + NDEM

Gravimetric Geoid for Peninsular

Malaysia- WMG03A

Gravimetric Geoid bagi Sem.Malaysia

Gravimetric Geoid for Peninsular

Malaysia - EMGG03C
 Vertical datum bias

• Theoritically, geoid can be

assumed coincide with MSL
• However, there is a difference
between the geoid and the mean
sea level (MSL) known as the
vertical datum bias
• NGVD = Gravimetric Geoid
 Fitted Geoid-MyGeoid
How to solve?
•Fitting the GPS-levelling
and the gravimetric geoid to
produce Malaysia’s first ever
geoid model – MyGEOID

•MyGeoid-fits the gravimetric

geoid to local Mean Sea
Level of Peninsular Malaysia
as well as that of Sabah and
Sarawak.
 MyGEOID

Fitted Geoid MyGEOID

Accuracy of fitted geoid models of WMGeoid04 and EMGeoid05
is 0.033 and 0.042 meter respectively, and can be used for height
determination !!
WMGeoid04

EMGeoid05
 MyGEOID

MyGEOID
• Precise gravimetric geoid fitted to local Vertical Datum
• used with the GRS80 ellipsoid as referenced ellipsoid.
• Allows GPS users in Malaysia measure orthometric height values ​at
the level of precision of ± 5cm across the country
• Can used for height determination in survey work that requires the
accuracy within 5cm such as ;
i. topographic mapping and engineering survey,
ii. monitoring of buildings
high soil deposition.
iii. establishment of the height control in the highlands
and isolated
 Global Geoid Model
Earth Gravitational Model 1996 /2008
• Global geoid model
• used with the World Geodetic System1984 (WGS84) ellipsoid
as referenced ellipsoid.
• measure orthometric height values ​at the level of precision of
less than 1meter.
THANKS…..
Thanks