Principles of levelling

profile direction
sightline is horizontal

backsight foresight

f2
b2
b1 f1

HA HB H B = H A + b1 – f 1
HA
 The equipment
E
pattern
graduated
10 mm
telescope
bars
stave

2
1

Holbro
pattern
2
5 mm • The collimation axis runs through the centre of
bars the telescope lenses.
•
1
N By centring the bubble of a spirit level attached
to the telescope tube, the collimation axis is made
horizontal.
•
Graticule
with cross -
Cross-hairs on the eyepiece graticule coincide hairs and
with the collimation axis. stadia lines
Invar
tape • Reading where the cross-hairs intersect the
in focal
plane of
eyepiece
Engraved stave graduations measures the height of the
lens
1 mm collimation axis from the ground point where the
stave is standing.
 Reading the stave
Positions estimated to 1 mm
2
1
Upper stadia line 2.065 m

Level 2.012 m
2
Lower stadia line 1.960 m

1 Instrumental stadia constant 100

N Distance from level to stave is
100  (2.065 – 1.960) = 10.5 m
 Zeiss pattern of high precision spirit level

Parallel plate micrometer  

Prismatic viewer superimposes images from both ends of the bubble

 Parallel plate micrometer
Rotate a thick parallel sided glass
plate until the stave image is moved
to make the top of a graduation
2 exactly fit the cross-hair 2
1 1

Rotation

2 calibrated
in 0.01 mm 2

1 1
N N

Level 2.01188 m
Principle of the automatic level compensator
Even if the collimation axis of the level telescope is not exactly
levelled, a horizontal incoming ray remains focused on the
centre of the eyepiece graticule

b
b

½b
g

The reflecting base of a prism supported by a bifilar suspension tilts

by half the angle b between the horizontal and the collimation axis of
the telescope. This axis is defined by the centre of the eyepiece lens
and the cross-hairs on the eyepiece graticule. After being reflected
by the tilted prism, an incoming horizontal ray is deflected by b and
so is aligned with the collimation axis.
 Bifilar suspension
3L

b
½b

g
g
2L
when the instrument is tilted by b,
the suspended reflector tilts by ½ b
in the opposite direction
Principle of the automatic digital level
A beam splitter inside the telescope converts the
part of the bar code image in the field of view into a * This
principle
digital sequence. This is cross-correlated with a is the
record of the whole bar code stored in the level
so that its position on the stave can be computed.
* same as
GPS

Stave is marked with

a pseudo-random
bar code so that a
particular sequence
occurs only at one
place on the stave.
 Systematic errors in level alignment

Collimation axis not horizontal

– tilt bubble tube with respect to telescope

adjustment
screw
hinge
 

This error is largely eliminated

with the automatic pendulum compensator
 Systematic errors in level alignment

Cross-hairs displaced

cross-hairs on the eyepiece graticule

do not coincide with the collimation axis
– adjust graticule position with fine grub screws Graticule
with cross -
(avoid doing this unless far from the correct alignment) hairs in
focal plane
of eyepiece
lens
 Testing for collimations errors

bB
fB

bA fA

A B

Adjust level bubble or graticule until bA – fA equals bB – fB

Important note:
collimation error cancels if level is halfway between staves
 Curvature of the level surface
The level surface through the telescope axis is curved but, ideally,
the sightline is a straight line

s
sightline

dh
curvature correction

Level surface has a

radius of curvature r
 Curvature correction
d h = r (1 – cos )
= 2r sin2(½ )
r
s = r sin 
     
s  2 r sin   cos   2 r sin  
2 2 2
2   s2
 sin   
2 4r 2 

s2
 dh 
2r

dh[mm]  0.78 (s [100m])2

Atmospheric refraction
 Atmospheric refraction
* Light does not travel in straight lines
* Light travels more slowly in air than in a vacuum
* The refractive index of air, m, is the ratio of the
speed in vacuum to the speed in air
c
m   1.000293
vair
* The refractive index is proportional to air density
m 1  Kr A

K  2.43  10  4 for r air  1.26 kg m 3

 Atmospheric refraction
* When passing from a faster medium to a slower
one, the ray is deflected towards the normal

i1 v1(fast)
sin(ii)/vi = constant
v2(slow)
i2

* If density layering of the atmosphere is spherical

with radius r
i1 v1(fast)
a
r sin(ii)/vi = m r cos(a) /c = constant
v2(slow)
i2
radius of curvature r B
 Atmospheric refraction
* Air density depends on temperature and pressure

Ro T r
according to the perfect gas law p  C
mo
r – air density;
T – absolute temperature (°C + 273.16);
Ro – molar gas constant;
mo – mean molecular weight of air (28.97)

Note: molecular weight of water vapour is only 18 so m is

reduced for humid air.
 Atmospheric refraction
* Air pressure changes with height

d p   r g dh D

Combine equations A – D to find the radius of curvature s

of a sight-line assuming
* air density layering in parallel to the geoid (sphere)
* vertical temperature gradient is constant
* sight lines are nearly horizontal (compare with triangulation)
 T
Observations
tangent to local horizontal
of Q from P
b light ray Q
a

W
level
surfaces
arc length l
P geocentric angle q

s
radius of curvature of light ray

R+h
radius of curvature of level surface
 Atmospheric refraction
1 Logarithmically differentiate B with respect to arc length l

dh dm da cot a cot a dm
da  cot a  cot a   
Rh m dh Rh m dh
2 Curvature of ray path
a is the angle between the curved ray path and level surface,
which is also curved. Incremental change in direction of ray is

d  d (q  a ) dl

Radius of curvature s of light ray

R+h
1 d (q  a ) d (q  a ) dq da
ds    cos a  cos a
s ds sec a dl dl dl
dh dq
a
cos a da cos a dm K dr
dl   sin a     cos a
Rh dh m dh m dh
 Atmospheric refraction

3 From C and then D

dp Ro r dT Ro T dr
   r g
dh mo dh mo dh

dr mo p  mo g mo dT 
   
2 
 
dh Ro T  Ro Ro dh 

4 From 2 and 3
1 mo K cos a p  mo g dT 
 
2 
 
s Ro T  Ro dh 

Note: the gravitational pressure term is 0.03417, so Ro/(mog) is 29.3 K m-1.

Under very extreme conditions, the vertical temperature gradient, which is negative, can
exceed this in the first few millimetres above a very hot surface, thereby creating a mirage.
 Atmospheric refraction
Light does not travel in straight lines
s
sightline

dh
net curvature and
refraction correction

ray path has a radius of curvature s

level surface has a radius of curvature r
coefficient of refraction k is r /s ~ 0.13
net curvature and refraction correction dh = (1 - k) s2 / (2r)

Note: curvature and refraction effects are generally cancelled

if the level is half way between the staves
 Assessing errors in levelling
Given proper care and attention, levelling can be very accurate
* individual reading error 0.02 mm
* Errors are predicted to accumulate like    2 L  s 2 L2

For Levelling of High Precision, and L in km

the systematic error term, s , must be s  0.2 mm and
the random-walk error term, , must be   1 mm

A series of rules called Lallemand’s formulae are used to determine

s and  from the misclosures of a series of unconnected
there-and-back lines and from large levelling networks.
 Geopotential corrections
Stokes’ integral theorem showed that the sum of levelling increments is not unique but
each one must be weighted by the local value of gravity to give a measure of potential
energy difference - the geopotential number, c. This is unique. A geometrical form of
height is found by dividing the geopotential number by a conventional value of gravity

c 
 gi d H i H 
g
c


i
Table 1 shows that the difference between H and d H is negligible for
moderate differences in height and short levelling lines.

When the elevation range and the north-south distance are large the effect can amount
to a few decimetres.

The worked example in Table 2, where the difference between a Helmert orthometric
height and a normal and dynamic height is evaluated, shows that difference choices of
the conventional gravity scaling factor g also makes a difference of a few decimetres.

Because the dominant causes of changes in gravity are height and latitude, in the
absence of real gravity measurements, classical geopotential corrections to levelling
used the variation of normal gravity as the scaling factor.
 Table 1 Geopotential corrections
Example of routine student levelling distance ~ 600 m
level backsight foresight ground ground stave geo po tential number
position height height height foresight stave position Closure error Gravity increments
increment increment
Forw ard levelling
0.000 0.928 base 0.047 9.80132420 9.095629
1 0.928 1.080 -0.152 -0.152 0.132 N1 -0.008 9.80132316 1.293775
2 1.212 0.765 0.447 0.295 0.903 N2 -0.008 9.80132274 8.850594
3 1.668 0.775 0.893 1.188 2.194 N3 -0.046 9.80132166 21.504100
4 2.969 0.311 2.658 3.846 2.627 N4 9.80132019 25.748068
5 2.938 0.367 2.571 6.417 3.070 intermediate before N5 9.80131975 30.090052
6 3.437 2.658 0.779 7.196 0.000 N5 -0.038 9.80131931 0.000000
7 2.658 0.208 2.450 9.646 2.292 intermediate before N6 9.80131861 22.464622
8 2.500 0.728 1.772 11.418 2.001 N6 9.80131800 19.612437
9 2.729 0.339 2.390 13.808 1.736 intermediate before N7 9.80131714 17.015087
10 2.075 0.349 1.726 15.534 3.476 N7 -0.068 9.80131628 34.069375
11 3.825 0.375 3.450 18.984 1.385 intermediate before N8 9.80131579 13.574822
12 1.760 0.645 1.115 20.099 2.520 N8 -0.005 9.80131539 24.699315
13 3.165 0.490 2.675 22.774 1.565 intermediate before N9 9.80131487 15.339058
14 2.055 0.950 1.105 23.879 2.380 N9 0.054 9.80131434 23.327128
15 3.330 0.455 2.875 26.754 1.375 N10 0.019 9.80131291 13.476805
16 1.830 1.418 0.412 27.166 -1.418 N11 0.000 9.80131116 -13.898259
geopotential number 266.262608
corrected height difference 27.166019
Reverse levelling
17 1.412 N11 9.80131116 13.839451
18 1.412 1.843 -0.431 -0.431 -1.394 N10 9.80131291 -13.663030
19 0.449 3.359 -2.910 -3.341 -3.248 N9 9.80131434 -31.834669
20 0.111 3.833 -3.722 -7.063 -3.625 N8 9.80131539 -35.529768
21 0.208 3.389 -3.182 -10.244 -2.529 intermediate 9.80131584 -24.787528
22 0.860 2.180 -1.320 -11.564 -2.156 N7 9.80131628 -21.131638
23 0.024 3.732 -3.708 -15.272 -3.584 (can't find N6) 9.80131729 -35.127921
24 0.148 3.910 -3.762 -19.034 -2.888 intermediate 9.80131830 -28.306207
25 1.022 1.920 -0.898 -19.932 -1.753 N5 9.80131931 -17.181713
26 0.167 3.980 -3.813 -23.745 -3.859 intermediate 9.80132049 -37.823296
27 0.121 2.308 -2.187 -25.932 -1.294 N3 9.80132166 -12.682910
28 1.014 1.945 -0.931 -26.863 -0.792 N2 9.80132274 -7.762648
29 1.153 1.600 -0.447 -27.310 -0.008 N1 9.80132316 -0.078411
30 1.592 1.495 0.097 -27.213 -1.495 Base 9.80132420 -14.652980
geopotential number -266.723267
corrected height difference -27.212983
sum 47.360 47.407 -0.047 Closure error -0.046964
key (1) (2) (3) interpo lated gravity
(1)  H n = backsight n - foresight n
(2) H n = H n-1 +  H n
(3) (  H s ) n = backsight n+1 - foresight n
 Conventional height conversions
Table 2: worked example

Helmert’s Orthometric height 2442.774 m

Latitude 9.0375° N
Measured gravity at station 9.774 5216 m s-2
Helmert’s orthometric
correction to surface gravity 1.034 57 mm s-2
0.04235 mGal/m
Helmert’s vertical average gravity 9.775 5562 m s-2
Geopotential number 23 879.47 m2 s-2
Normal gravity at 45° N 9.806 199 203 m s-2
Dynamic height (using g45) 2435.141 m
Normal gravity on ellipsoid beneath station 9.781 600 968 m s-2
Vertical average of normal gravity beneath station 9.777 831 668 m s-2
Normal height 2442.206 m

Typical practice uses the sum of unweighted levelling increments

between bench marks 3 – 10 km apart, then scales the apparent
height difference with a geopotential correction
 Levelling datum
Principle of the tide gauge

Drum rotation drives a

paper chart recorder
digitised hourly

Tide gauge
bench mark counter Permanent Service for Mean
balance Sea Level keeps results of
weight all tide gauge recordings
float
around the globe

to the sea
Long pipe filters out waves
pressure
sensor
 Problems with a height datum based on sea level

A height datum based on measurements of mean seal level at tide gauges

has several difficulties:
(i) the mean sea surface is not an equipotential – the direction of the wind
has a systematic long-term average, so the sea surface is raised into
mounds or hollowed into depression that are permanent. The global range
of wind-induced mean sea surface topography is about 2 m.
(ii) Apart from local anthropomorphic effects (eg water extraction), the
land surface rises or falls predictably on a time scale of thousands of years
because of rebound after loading by ice sheets that melted after the last
ice age. There are also more local and sometimes more rapid vertical
movement due to tectonic activity.
(iii) Associated with melting ice sheets is a change in the volume of water
filling the oceans. Sea level has risen by more than 100 m since in the last
14000 years probably continuing today at about 1 mm per year.
(iv) Global warming raises the temperature of the oceans and their
thermal expansion results in a further rise of about 1 mm per year.
 A global height datum based on Wo = Uo
Having a physical monument to define the levelling datum, usually one connected
to a tide gauge, is also problematical because different territories have different
datums and states in the interior of continents may need many thousands of
kilometres of levelling to tie their datum to sea level.
A global gravity model solves this problem. The parameters of the global gravity
model combined with the theory of the level ellipsoid enables the choice Wo = Uo
to be made with sufficient accuracy for it to serve as a global height datum. The
best fitting ellipsoid only depends on low degree harmonics. Future
improvements in local gravity coverage will only modify shorter wavelengths, that
is, the local shape of the level surface; they will not modify the very long
wavelengths that fix Uo. The values for Uo computed from recent global gravity
models have now converged.
Uo Uo – UoEGM08
Model date
m2 s-2 (unit 10-2 m2 s-2 ~ 1
Smithsonian Standard Earth III 1972 62636978.1694 mm)
11977.76

GRS80 1980 62636860.8500 245.82

EIGEN1s (CHAMP) 2001 62636856.8318 -156.01
EGM08 (GRACE) 2008 62636858.3919 0.00
GOCO02s (GOCE) 2011 62636858.3863 -0.56