GEOTEKNIK

THERORY - CLOSED TRAVERSE

A closed traverse is a series of connected lines whose lengths
and bearings are measured off these lines (or sides), which enclose
an area. A closed traverse can be used to show the shape of the
perimeter of a fire or burn area. If you were to pace continuously
along the sides of a closed traverse, the finishing point would be the
same as the starting location.
INSTRUMENT NO

ITEM

QUANTITY

TRAVERSE

PRISM

TRIPOD

WOODEN STAKES

NAIL

HAMMER

COMPASS

PROCEDURE
PROCEDURE

DETAILS OF WORK

Data Aquisition

1. Bury the wooden stakes at the

settled area. Nail the center point

of the stakes
2. Using a Total Station/Theodolite,
run a closed traverse such that it
includes the two hubs ; station 1
and 2 (wooden stakes) of your
designated area (previously
established) and the two
horizontal control points (X,Y).
Establish the traverse at station 2,
and the prism at station 1 and 2.
3. Start your compass on station 2
and direct it to a prism at station
to calculate the true north angle.
4. Start your traverse on station 1 of
the area you staked out. Record
the instrument height.
5. Measure the horizontal angle and
distance between the two
adjacent points. Each person will
set up and run the instrument for
at least one point of the traverse.
6. Each horizontal angle should be
measured using traverse in direct
and reverse position. Record the
average of the angles.
7. Compute the misclosure for the
geometry and check that the
internal angles of your parcel sum
to (n-2)*180 (should be within
30 of 360 ). If the sum of the
interior angles is off by more than
30, do resurvey.
8. Balance the angles as outlined in

the overview section.

9. Using the starting angle (from the
control points) and your adjusted
angles, compute the angles of all
of your traverse legs.
10.Using your measured horizontal
distances and the angles,
compute the latitudes and
departures of all sides of your
parcel.
11.Sum up the latitudes and
departures and determine the
misclosure in the X and Y
direction. Compute the linear
misclosure and the relative
precision in proportion to the total
distance od the traverse
(1/10,000).
12.Adjust the misclosure using the
Bowditch method. Check that the
adjusted latitudes and departures
add to zero
13.Compute the coordinates of your
parcel corners using the starting
coordinates of one of the control
points.