Fieldwork Exercise No.

4
Closed Compass Traverse

Student’s Name: ________________________ Student Number: _______________________

Date of Performance: ____________________ Instructor’s Name: ______________________

I. Objective

1. To determine the magnetic bearings of each line of a closed compass traverse.

2. To learn how to adjust a closed compass traverse.

II. Equipment

1. Surveyor’s or Brunton Pocket Compass

2. Range poles
3. Pegs or Chaining Pins
4. Hubs
5. Steel tape

III. Procedure

1. Establish at least five traverse stations at designated points on the field assigned to be surveyed.
Call these stations (or corners) A, B, C, and so forth.
2. Set and level the compass at A and release the needle of the compass so that it will swing freely
on its pivot.
3. Sight the compass on the last traverse station and read the magnetic bearing. Record this as the
back bearing of the last line in the traverse.
4. Sight B and read the compass box. Record this as the forward bearing of line AB.
5. Transfer the compass to B. Sight A and read the compass box and record this as the back bearing
of line AB.
6. Proceed to the next station and repeat the above procedures of determining forward and back
bearings for each line. Continue until the last traverse station is occupied and the forward
bearing of the last line has been read and recorded, accordingly.
7. Using a steel tape, measure the length of each line in the traverse twice and record the mean as
the actual length of the line.
8. Tabulate observed and adjusted values accordingly.

IV. Calculation

1. The interior angle at each station of the traverse can be computed easily from the observed
forward and back bearings taken from the station regardless of whether or not the needle is
affected locally.
2. The angular error of closure is determined by subtracting the sum of the computed interior
angles of the traverse from (n-2) x 180 deg, where n is the number of sides in the traverse.
 3. The correction for each computed interior angle is determined by dividing the angular error of
closure by the number of traverse stations. The computed value is then added algebraically to
each computed interior angle to determine the corresponding adjusted interior angle.
4. Go over the observed bearings and determine which line in the traverse is free from local
attraction or which could be arbitrarily chosen as the best line. The adjustment of traverse lines
affected by the local attraction is then made by starting from the unaffected or best line.
5. The forward and back bearings of all other lines in the traverse affected by local attraction can
then be easily computed and adjusted by again drawing a sketch thus making all calculations
obvious.
6. Finally, tabulate the adjusted bearings of the traverse. Refer to the accompanying sample
format shown below.

V. Data and Results

Table 4a. Closed compass traverse data

LENGTH OBSERVED BEARINGS COMPUTED ADJUSTED
LINE STA CORR.
(m) FORWARD BACK INT. ANGLE INT. ANGLE
AB 330.75 N 34°55’E S 35°00’W A
BC 305.43 N 56°30’W S 56°45’E B
CD 325.28 S 75°45’W N 76°00’E C
DE 201.10 S 42°15’W N 42°15’E D
EF 225.25 S 38°45’E N 39°00’W E
FA 375.55 S 85°15’E N 85°30’W F

Sketch:
 Table 4b. Closed compass traverse (adjusted bearings)
ADJUSTED BEARINGS
LINE LENGTH (m)
FORWARD BACK
AB 330.75
BC 305.43
CD 325.28
DE 201.10
EF 225.25
FA 375.55

VI. Reference

Surveying Laboratory Manual. Juny Pilapil La Putt. Baguio Research and Publishing Center. 2012 Reprint.