METHODS FOR DETERMINING DIFFERENCE IN ELEVATION

1. Measuring Vertical
Vertical Distances
Distances b TTa!ing
a!ing "r Electr"nic
Electr"nic Met#
Met#"$s
"$s
Application of a tape to a vertical line between two points is sometimes
possible. This method is used to measure depths of mine shafts, to determine
oorr elevat
oo elevation
ions
s in condom
condomini
inium
um survey
surveys,s, and in th
the
e layout
layout of multi
multisto
story
ry
building
buildings,
s, pipelines,
pipelines, etc. In certain situation
situations,
s, especially
especially on construction
construction
proect, electronic distance measurement devices are replacing the tape for
measuring vertical distances on construction sites.

%. Di&
Di&ere
erenti
ntial
al Le'e
Le'elin
ling
g
This is the most common method of determining di!erence in elevation, in
this method a telescope with suitable magni"cation is used to read graduated
rods held on "#ed points. A hori$ontal line of sight within the telescope is
established by means of a level vial or automatic compensator.
compensator.

BS FS

The basic procedure is illustrated in the "gure shown. An instrument is set up

appro#imately
appro#imately halfway between B% &oc' and point (. Assume the elvation of
B% &oc' is 'nown to be )*+.++ ft. After leveling the instrument, a plus sight
ta'en on a rod held on the B% gives a reading of ).* ft. A plus sight -S/,
also
also terme
termed d as backsight -BS/, is the reading on a rod held on a point of
'nown or assumed elevation. This reading is used to compute the height of
the instrument -0I/, de"ned as the vertical distance from the datum to the
instrument line of sight. 1irection of the sight 2 whether forward, bac'ward,
or sideways 2 is not important. Adding the bac'sight ).* ft to the elevation
of B% &oc', )*+.++ gives an 0I of )*).* ft.
If the telescope is then turned to bring into view a rod held on point (,
a minus sight -3S/, also called foresight -FS/, is obtained. In this e#ample, it
is 4.*+ ft. A foresight is de"ned as the rod reading on a point whose elevation
is desired. Subtracting the minus sight, 4.*+ ft, from the 0I,)*).* gives the
elevation of point ( as )*5.** ft.
 1i!erential leveling theory and applications can thus be e#pressed by two
e6uations, which are repeated over and over,

0I 7 elevB%  BS
and
elev( 7 0I 3 FS

In di!erential leveling, hori$ontal lengths for the plus and minus sights should
be made about e6ual. This can be done by pacing, by stadia measurements,
by coun
counti
ting
ng rail
rail leng
length
ths
s or pave
pavemement
nt oin
oints
ts if wo
wor'
r'in
ing
g alon
along
g a trac
trac'
' or
roadway, or by any other convenient method. Stadia readings are the most
precise of these methods and will be discussed in detail.

889ote: See the ne#t hand out for the discussio

discussion
n of Stadia %easurement.

(. )ar
)ar"*e
"*etri
tric
c Le'e
Le'elin
ling
g
The barometer, is an instrument that measure air pressure, can also be used
to "nd relative elevations of points on the ;arth<s surface since a change of
appro#imately 4+++ ft in elevation will correspond to a change of about 4 in.
of mercur
mercuryy -0g/
-0g/ in atmosp
atmospher
heric
ic press
pressur
ure.
e. Air
Air pr
press
essur
ures
es ar
are
e a!ecte
a!ected
d by
circumstances other than di!erence in elevation, such as sudden shifts in
temperature and changing weather conditions due to storms. Also, during
each day a normal variation in barometric pressure amounting to perhaps a
4++3ft di!erence in elevation occurs.

In barome
barometritric
c leveli
leveling,
ng, variou
various
s techni
techni6ue
6ues
s can be used
used to obtain
obtain correc
correctt
elevation di!erences in site of pressure changes that result from weather
variations. In one of these, a control barometer remains on a benchmar'
-base/ while a roving instrument is ta'en to points whose elevations are
desired. &eadings are made on the base at stated intervals of time, perhaps
every 4+ min, and the elevation recorded along with temperature and time.
;levation
;levation,, temperatur
temperature,e, and time reading
readingss with the roving
roving baromete
barometerr are
ta'en at critical points and adusted later in accordance with changes observe
at the control point.

+. Trig"n"*e
rig"n"*etric
tric Le'eling
Le'eling
The di!erence in elevation between two points can be determined by
measuring -4/ the inclined or hori$ontal distance between them and -*/ the
$enith angle or the altitude angle to one point from the other. Thus in the
"gure shown below, if the slope distance S and the $enith angle -$/ or altitude
angle = between > and 1 are observed, then ?, the elevation difference
between > and 1, is:
? 7 s8cos $
? 7 s8sin=
 T
Trigonometric
rigonometric @eveling
@eveling for short lines

Alternatively, if hori$ontal distance 0 between > and 1 is measured, then ? is

? 7 Hcot$
r
? 7 Htan=

The di!erence in elevation -elev/ between points A and B in the "gure

shown is given by

elev 7 hi  ? 3 r

Chere
Cher e hi is th
thee heig
height
ht of th
the
e in
inst
stru
rume
ment
nt above
above poin
pointt A and
and r the
reading on the rod held at B when $enith angle z or altitude angle α is read. If
r is made e6ual to hi, then these two values cancel in the above e6uation and
simplify the computations.
9ote the distinction between HI and hi. Although both are called height
of th
the
e in
inst
stru
rume
ment
nt,, th
the
e te
term
rm HI is the elevat
elevation
ion of the instru
instrumen
mentt above
above
datum, while hi is the height of the instrument above an occupied point.

For a longer line, earth<s curvature and refraction must be considered.

The "gure below illustrates the situation. 0ere an instrument is set up at >
over point A. Sight 1 is made on a rod held at point B, and $enith angle $ m, or
altitu
altitude
de angle
angle =m, is obse
observ
rved
ed.. The
The tr
true
ue di!e
di!ere
renc
nce
e in elev
elevat
atio
ion
n -
-el
elev
ev//
between A and B is vertical distance 0B between level lines through A and B,
which is e6ual to 0D  DF  ? 2 ;1 2 r. Since 0D is the instrument height hi,
DF is the earth curvature, and ;1 is refraction &, the elevation di!erence can
be written as

elev 7 hi  ?  hcr 3 r
 T
Trigonometric
rigonometric @eveling
@eveling for long lines

;#ample:

• In the "gure shown, a vertical angle of 4EG< is read to a target 4.*Em

abov
ab ove
e poin
pointt B. The
The meas
measurured
ed incl
inclin
ined
ed dist
distan
ance
ce,, s is )*
)*E.
E.*H
*Hmm and
and the
the
elev
elevat
atio
ion
n of poin
pointt A is 4*E.
4*E.G
Gmm abov
above e the
the datu
datum.
m. If the
the heig
height
ht of the
the
instrument at A is 4.EGm, determine the di!erence in elevation between A
and
an d B and
and ththe
e elev
elevat
atio
ion
n of B, cocons
nsid
ider
erin
ingg the
the e!e!ec
ects
ts of curva
curvatu
ture
re and
and
refraction.
Sample:

• A vertical angle of 34**G< is measured to the top of a water tan' from an

instrument set up on a hill G)G.++ m away from it. The telescope of the
instrument is 4.Gm above the ground whose elevation is *.5Em. %a'ing
due allowance for the earth<s curvature and refraction, determine the
elevation of the base of the water tan' if the tan' is E*m high.
INSTR,MENTS ,SE IN LEVELING -DIFFERENTIAL LEVELING

Categ"ries "/ Le'els

Instruments used for di!erential leveling can be classi"ed into four categories:

4. 1ump
1umpy y @evel
evels s
*. Til
ilti
ting
ng @eve
@evelsls
E. Auto
Automa mati tic
c @ev
@evel els
s
. 1igi
1igitatall @eve
@evels ls

Although each di!ers in design, all have two common components:

a. a telescope
telescope to create
create a line
line of sight and
and enable
enable a reading
reading to be
be ta'en
ta'en on a
graduated rod
b. a system
system to
to orient
orient their
their line of sight
sight

Du*! Le'el

1umpy @evel is the most widely used direct leveling instrument. It consists of a
telescope which "#es the direction of the line of sight and which can be rotated
through E+J in the hori$ontal, a bubble tube attached to the telescope, a leveling
head which
head which su
suppo
pports
rts the telescop
telescope
e and
and permit
permits
s the bubble
bubble in the tube to be
centered, and a supporting tripod.
Tilting Le'els

Tilting levels are use for the most precise wor'. Cith these instruments, 6uic'
appro
app ro#im
#imate
ate leveli
leveling
ng is ac
achie
hieved
ved using
using a circul
circular
ar vial
vial and the leveli
leveling
ng screws
screws..
Krecise level in preparation for readings is then obtained by carefully centering a
telescope bubble. This is done for each sight, after aiming at the rod, by tilting or
rotating the telescope slightly in a vertical plane about a fulcrum at the vertical a#is
of the instrument. A micrometer screw under the eyepiece controls this movement.

The tilting feature

feature saves time and increases accuracy, since only one screw
screw need be
manipulated to 'eep the line of sight hori$ontal as the telescope is turned about a
vertical
vertical a#is. The telescope
telescope bubble
bubble is viewed through
through a system of prisms
prisms from
from the
observer<s normal position behind the eyepiece. A prism arrangement splits the
bubble image into two parts. >entering the bubble is accomplished by ma'ing the
image of the two ends coincides.

Aut"*atic Le'els

Automa
Auto mati
tic
c le
leve
vels
ls of the
the inco
incorp
rpor
orat
ate
e a se
self
lf leve
leveli
ling
ng feat
featur
ure.
e. %ost
%ost of thes
these
e
instruments have a three screw leveling head, which is used to 6uic'ly center a
bull<s3eye bubble, although some models have a ball3and3soc'et arrangement for
this
this purpo
purpose.
se. Aft
fter
er the bull<
bull<s3e
s3eye
ye bubbl
bubblee is center
centered
ed manual
manually,ly, an automa
automatic
tic
compensator ta'es over, levels the line of sight, and 'eeps it level. Automatic levels
have become popular for general use because of the ease and rapidity of their
operation.
Digital Le'els

1igital levels are classi"ed in the automatic category because it uses a pendulum

compensator to Cith
circular bubble. levelitsitself, after an
telescope operator
and accomplishes
crosshairs, rough
the instrument leveling
could withto
be used a
obtain
obt ain re
readi
adings
ngs manual
manually, ly, ust
ust li'e
li'e any of the automa
automatic
tic levels
levels.. 0oweve
0owever, r, th
this
is
instrument is designed to operate by employing electronic digital image processing.
After leveling the instrument, its telescope is turned toward a special bar3coded rod
and focused. At the press of a button, the image of bar codes in the telescope<s "eld
of view is captured and processed. This processing consists of an onboard computer
compar
com paring
ing the captu
capture redd image
image to the ro rod<s
d<s entire
entire patter
pattern,
n, which
which is stostore
red
d in
memory. Chen match is found, which ta'es about  seconds, the rod readings is
displa
displayed
yed digita
digitally
lly.. It can
can be recor
recorded
ded manual
manuallyly or autom
automati
atical
cally
ly store
stored
d in the
instrument<s data collector.

The instrument<s ma#imum range is appro#imately

appro#imately 4++3m, and its accuracy in rod
readings is L+.Gmm. The bar3coded rods can be obtained with ;nglish or metric
graduations on the side opposite the bar code.

Tri!"$s

@eveling instruments, whether tilting, automatic, or digital, are all mounted on

tripods. A sturdy tripod in good condition is essential to obtain accurate results.
Several types are available. The legs are made of wood or metal, may be "#ed or
adustable in length, and solid or split. An adustable leg tripod is advantageous for
setups in rough terrain or in a shop, but the type with "#ed3length leg may be
slightly more rigid.

Le'el R"$s
A variety of rods are available, some of which are shown below. They are made of
wood, "berglass, or metal and have graduations in feet and decimals, or meters and
decimals.

LEVELING FIELD 0ROCED,RES AND COM0,TATIONS

Di&erential Le'eling

The "gure below illustrates the procedure

procedure followed in di!erential
di!erential leveling. In the
"gure, the elevation of new B% a' is to be determined by originating a leveling
circuit at established
established B% %il. In running this
this circuit, the "rst reading,
reading, a bac'sight, is
ta'en
ta' en on the established
established benc
benchmar'.
hmar'. From
From it, the 0I can be computed
computed by:by: 0I 7
elevB% 3 BS. Then
Then a foresight
foresight is ta'en
ta'en on the "rst intermediate
intermediate point, this
this is called
turning point -TK4/. And by the e6uation: elev# 7 0I 2 FS, the elevation is obtained.
The process of ta'ing
ta'ing a bac'sight, followed
followed by a foresight,
foresight, is repeated over and over
until the circuit is completed.

As shown in the "gure, four instrument setups were re6uired to complete half of th
circuit -the run from B% %il to B% a'/. Field notes for this e#ampleare shown on
the ne#t "gure
"gure.. As ill
illust
ustrat
rated
ed in this
this "gur
"gure,
e, tabula
tabularr form
form of "eldno
"eldnotes
tes is use
used
d
fordi!
fordi!er
erent
ential
ial leveli
leveling,
ng, and thethe additi
addition
on and subtra
subtracti
ction
on to comput
computee 0Is and
elevations is done directly in the notes. These notes also show the data for the
return run from B% a' bac' to B% %il to complete the circuit. It is important in
di!erential leveling to run closed circuits so that the accuracy of the wor' can be
chec'ed.

As noted, the intermediate points upon which the rod is held in running a di!erential
leveling circuit are called turning points -TKs/. Two rod readings are ta'en on each, a

foresight followed
de"nite high point.by a bac'
Steel sight.
turning Turning
pins points spi'es
and railroad should driven
be solid obects
into with a
"rm ground
ma'e
ma' e e#cel
e#cellen
lentt turnin
turning
g points
points when
when perma
permanen
nentt obec
obects
ts ar
are
e no conven
convenien
iently
tly
available.
In di!erential leveling, hori$ontal lengths for bac' sight and fore sights should be
made about e6ual. This can be done by pacing, taping or stadia measurements.

T
Turning
urning points are also numbered consecutively but not described in detail, since
they are merely a means to an end and usually will not have to be relocated.

0owever, if possible,
if reruns on long linesitare
is advisable
necessarytobecause
select turning points"eldwor'
of blunders, that can can
be relocated, so
be reduced.
Before a party leaves the "eld, all possible note chec's must be made to detect any
mista'
mis ta'es
es in arithm
arithmeti
etic
c and verif
verify
y achiev
achieveme
ementnt of an accept
acceptabl
ablee clo
closur
sure.
e. The
The
algebraic sum of the bac' sights and foresights applied to the "rst elevation should
give the last elevation. This computation chec's the addition and subtraction for all
0Is and turning points unless compensating mista'es have been made. In the notes
above, note that the page chec' is secured by adding the sum of bac' sights, +.*,
to starting elevation *+GE.4), and then subtracting the sum of foresights, +.*4, to
obtain *+GE.*4, which chec's the last elevation.

As previously noted, leveling should always be chec'ed by running closed circuits or

lo
loop
ops.
s. This
This can
can be done
done eith
either
er by ret etun
unin
ing
g to the
the star
starti
ting
ng benc
benchm
hmar
ar',
', as
demo
de mons
nstra
trate
ted
d in th
thee "eld
"eld note
notes
s abov
above,e, or by endi
ending
ng the
the circ
circui
uitt at an
anot
othe
herr
benchmar' of e6ual or higher reliability. The "nal elevation should agree with the
starting elevation if returning to the initial benchmar'. The amount by which they
di!er is the loop misclosure. 9ote that n the "eld notes, a loop misclosure of +.+E ft
was obtained.

9ote that in running a level circuit between benchmar's, a new instrument setup
has to be made before starting the return run to get a complete chec'.

Krecision:

Krecision in leveling is increased by repeating observations, ma'ing fre6uent ties to

esta
establ
blis
ishe
hedd benc
benchm
hmarar's
's,, us
usin
ing
g high
high 6ual
6ualit
ity
y e6ui
e6uipm
pmen
ent,
t, 'eepi
eeping
ng it in good
good
adust
adustmen
ment,t, and perfor
performin
mingg the measur
measureme
ementnt pr
proce
ocess
ss carefu
carefully
lly. 0ow
0oweve
ever,
r, no
matter how carefully the wor' is e#ecuted, errors will e#ist and will be evident in the
form of misclosures. To determine whether or not wor' is acceptable, misclosures
are computed with permissible values on the basis of either number of setups or

dis
distan
tance
cere6uirements.
proect cover
covered.
ed. ?arious
ariFor
ouse#ample,
or
organ
gani$a
i$atio
tion
onna set pr
preci
simpleecisio
sion
n standa
standard
construction rds
s based
basan
survey, ed allowable
on their
their
misclosure of > 7 +.+*ft Mn might be used, where n is the number of setups.

The Federal
ederal Deodetic
Deodetic >ontrol
>ontrol Subcommit
Subcommittee
tee -FD>S/
-FD>S/ recommend
recommends
s the followin
following
g
formula to compute allowable misclosures:

C = m √K

> is the allowable loop or section misclosure, in millimeters

m is a con
const
stan
ant,
t, it can
can be
be ,
, G,
G, ,
, ),
), and
and 4*mm
4*mm depe
depend
ndin
ing
g on
on
the classes of level or on the use of a level

N th
the
e tota
totall len
lengt
gth
h leve
levele
led
d, in '
'iilome
lomete
ters
rs,, for
for loop
loops,
s, it
it is the
the
total perimeter distance -circuits that begin and end on
the same benchmar'/

Sample Kroblem 4:

From the given data of a di!erential leveling as shown in the tabulation:

Station Bac' Foresight ;levation

Sight -FS/ -m/
 -BS/,
4 G.)5 m EH*.*G
* 5.+E m .*H m
E E.) m .*G m
 5.*G m 5.+) m
G 4+.4H m G.G5 m
 H.*H m .G m
5 .H m

a. Find the di!ere

di!erence
nce in elevatio
elevation
n of station
station 5 and station
station G.
b. Find the di!ere
di!erence
nce in elevatio
elevation
n of station
station 5 and station
station .
c. Find the
the ;leva
;levatio
tion
n of stati
station
on E.

Sample Kroblem *:

In th
the
e pl
plan
an belo
below
w show
showss a di!e
di!ere
rent
ntia
iall leve
leveli
ling
ng fr
from
om benc
benchm
hmarar'
' to anot
anothe
herr
bench
ben chmar
mar',
', along
along each
each line
line re
repr
prese
esents
nts a sight
sight in th
the
e actual
actual ro
rod
d re
readi
ading
ng.. The
direction of the "eld wor's is indicated by the number of turning points.

a. >ompute the corrected c. >ompute the corrected

elevation of TK*. elevation of TKE.
b. >ompute the corrected
elevation of B%*. d.

e.
f.

g.

h.

i.

.

'.

l.

m.

n.

o.

p.

6.

r.

s.

t.

u.

v.

w.

. D"uble2R
D"uble2R"$$
"$$e$
e$ Di&ere
Di&erential
ntial Le'e
Le'eling
ling

y. 1ouble3ro
1ouble3rodded
dded lines
lines of levels
levels are sometimes
sometimes used
used on important
important wor'.
wor'. In this
procedure, bac' sights and foresights are ta'en on two turning points, using
two
two rods
rods from
from each
each setu
setup,
p, and
and th
the
e read
readin
ing
g carr
carrie
ied
d sepa
separat
rate
e note
note foform
rm
columns. A chec' on each instrument setup is obtained if the 0I agrees for
both lines. This same result can be accomplished using ust one set of turning
 points, and reading both sides of a single rod that has two faces, that is, one
side in feet and the other in meters. These rods are often used in precise
leveling.

3. Reci!r
Reci!r"ca
"call Le'eli
Le'eling
ng

aa.Sometimes
aa. Sometimes in leveling across topographic
topographic features such as rivers, it is diOcult
or impossible to 'eep bac' sights and fore sights short and e6ual. &eciprocal
@eveling may be utili$ed at such locations.

ab.

ac. As shown in the "gure,

"gure, a level is set up on one side of a river at (, near A,
and rod readings are ta'en on points A and B. Since (B is very long, several
readings
readings are ta'en
ta'en for averaging
averaging.. &eading,
eading, turning
turning the leveling
leveling screws
screws to
throw the instrument out of level, releveling, and reading again, does this.
The process is repeated two, three, four or more times. Then the instrument
is moved close to P and the same procedure
procedure is followed.

ad.

ae.

af.
af.

ag.

ah.

ai.

a.

a'.Sample Kroblem E:

al. A &eciproca
&eciprocall leveling
leveling is observed
observed across a wide river and the reciproc
reciprocal
al level
readings were ta'en between points A and B as follows. Cith instrument set
 up near A, the rod readings on A are *.*)E m and *.*)G m. The reciprocal
level readings on the opposite side of the river at point B are E.4), E.4H,
E.*4 and E.** m. Cith the instrument set up near B the rod readings on B
are .5)m and .5 m, and the rod readings on the on the opposite side of
the river at point A, the rod readings are E.4E, E.4+, E.4 and E.4.

a. >ompute
>ompute the di!eren
di!erence
ce in elevation
elevation betwee
betweenn A and B with the instrume
instrument
nt set
up near A.
b. Chat is the
the true di!eren
di!erence
ce in elevati
elevation
on between
between A and BQBQ
c. If the eleva
elevation
tion A is
is E++ m, what
what is the
the elevatio
elevation
n of BQ
am.

an.

ao.

ap.

a6.

ar.
ar.

as.

at.

au.

av..
av

aw..
aw

a#.

ay..
ay

a$.

ba.

bb.

bc.

bd.

be.

b/
b/..

bg. T#ree24ire Le'eling

bh.As implied by its name, three3wire leveling consists in ma'ing rod reading on
the upper, middle, and lower crosshairs. Formerly it was used mainly for
 precise wor', but it can be used on proect re6uiring only ordinary precision.
This method has the
the following advantages:

a. Krovidin
Kroviding
g chec's
chec's against
against rod reading
readingss are available
available
b. Kroducing
Kroducing accuracy
accuracy because
because averages of three
three readings
readings are
are available
available
c. Fur
urni
nish
shin
ing
g st
stad
adia
ia meas
measururem
emen
entt of si
sigh
ghtt leng
length
thss to assi
assist
st in bala
balanc
ncin
ing
g
bac'sight and foresight distances.

bi.
bi. In th
thre
ree3
e3wi
wire
re pr
proc
oced
edur
uree th
the
e di!e
di!ere
renc
nce
e betw
betwee
een
n the
the uppe
upperr and
and midd
middlele
readings is compared with that between the middle and lower values. They
must agree within one or two of the smallest units being recorded -usually
+.4 or +.* of the least count of the rod graduations/R otherwise the readings
are repeated. An average of three readings is used as a computational chec'
agai
ag ains
nstt the
the midd
middle
le wi
wire
re.. As note
notedd in the
the stadi
stadia
a surv
survey
eyin
ing
g meth
method
od,, the
the
di!e
di!errence
ence betw
betwee
eenn the
the uppe
upperr and
and lowe
lowerr readi
eading
ngss mult
multip
ipli
lied
ed by the
the
instrument stadia interval factor gives the sight distances. In leveling, the
distances are often not important. Chat is important is that the sum of the
bac' sights is about e6ual to the sum of the foresights, which eliminate
eliminate errors
due to curvature, refraction, and collimination errors.

b.

b'.

bl.
bm.
bm. A sam
sample
ple set
set of "el
"eld
d not
notes
es fo
for thr
three3w
ee3wir
ire
e meth
metho
od is pr
pres
esen
entted iin
n th
the
"gure above. Bac' sight readings on B% A of +.54), +.EE, and +.GG+ n ta'en
on the upper, middle, and lower wires, respectively, give upper and lower
di!e
di!ere
renc
nces
es -mul
-multi
tipl
plie
ied
d by 4++/
4++/ of ).).G
G and
and ).).E
E m, whic
whichh agre
agreee with
withinin
acceptable tolerances. Stadia measurement
measurement of the bac' sight length -the sum
of the upper and lower di!erences/ is 4. ) m. The average of three bac'

sight
sight re
readi
reading.ading
ngs
The s on B%
stadia
A
, +.EE5
foresight m, of
length agrees within
4G.H m +.+++5
at this m within
setup is of the+.H
middle
m of
the bac'sight length, and is satisfactory. The 0I -4+.5H m/ for the "rst
setup is found by adding the bac'sight reading to the elevation of B% A.
Subtracting the foresight reading on TK4 gives its elevation -4+E.*G m/.
This process is repeated
repeated for each setup.
setup.

bn.

b".

b!. 0r"5le le'eling

b6.Before
b6.Befo re engine
engineers
ers can prop
properl
erly
y design
design linear
linear facili
facilitie
ties
s suc
such
h as highw
highways
ays,,
railro
railroad,
ad, transm
transmiss
ission
ion lines,
lines, canals
canals,, sewers
sewers,, and water
water mains,
mains, they
they ne
need
ed
accurate information about the topography along the proposed routes. Kro"le
leveling, which yields elevations at de"nite points along a reference line,
provides the data.

a. Sta6ing
Sta6ing an$ Stati"
Stati"ning
ning t#e
t#e Re/erenc
Re/erence e Line
br.
br. 1ep
1epend
ending
ing on the partic
particula
ularr proe
proect,
ct, the re
refer
ferenc
encee line
line maybe
maybe a singl
single
e
straight
straight segment,
segment, as in the case of a short sewer lineR
lineR a series of connecte
connectedd
straight segments oined by curves, which occur with highways and railroads.
The re6uired alignment for any proposed facility will normally have been
selected as the result of a preliminary design, which is usually based on a
study of e#isting maps and aerial photos. The reference alignment will most
often be the proposed
often proposed construction
construction centerlin
centerline,
e, although
although fre6uently
fre6uently o!set
reference lines are used.

bs
bs.. To sta'e
sta'e propo
propose
sedd refer
referen
ence
ce line
line,, 'ey poin
points
ts such
such as the
the starti
starting
ng and
and
ending points and angle points will be set "rst. Then intermediate sta'es will
be placed on line, usually aat 4++3ft intervals if the ;nglish system of units is
used, but sometimes at closer spacing. if the metric system is used, sta'es
are usually placed 4+3, *+3, E+3, or +3m spacing, depending on conditions.

bt. In ro
route sur
surveying, a sys
system cal
called stationing is used to specify the
relative hori$ontal position of any point along the reference line. The starting
point is usually designated with some arbitrary value, for e#ample in the
;nglish sytem of units, 4+  ++ or 4++  ++, although +  ++ can be used. If
the beginning point was 4+  ++, a sta'e 4++ ft long along the line from it
would be designated 44  ++, the one *++ ft along the line 4*  ++, etc. The
term full station is applied to each of these points set at 4++3ft increments.
This is the usual increment
increment sta'ed in rural
rural areas. A point located
located between two
 full sttions, say ).H+ ft beyond station 45  ++, would be desigated 45 
).H+. Thus, locations of intermediate points are speci"ed by their nearest
preceding full station and their so3called plus. For station 45  ).H+, the plus
is ).H+. If metric system is used, full stations are 4 'm -4+++ m/ apart. The
starting point of a reference line might be arbitrarily designatd as 4  +++ +r
4+  +++, but again +  +++ could be used. In rural areas, intermediate

points designated
again are normallyby
settheir
at *+3, E+3 orIf +3m
pluses. increments
the beginnng along
point the4 line,
was andand
 +++, are
sta'es were being set at *+3m intervals, then 4  +*+, 4  ++, 4  ++, etc,
would be set.

bu.
bu. St
Stat
atio
ioni
ning
ng not
not only
only provi
provide
des
s a conv
conven
enie
ient
nt unam
unambi
bigu
guou
ous
s method
method for
for
specif
spe cifyin
yingg positi
positions
ons of points
points along
along the re
refer
ferenc
encee line,
line, it als
also
o gives
gives the
distances between points. For e#ample, in the %etric system stations 4  4*+
and *  ++ are H*+ m apart

bv..
bv

b. Fiel$
Fiel$ 0r"ce$u
0r"ce$ures
res /"r 0r"5le
0r"5le Le'e
Le'eling
ling

bw..of intermediate
bw Kro"
Kro"le
le lev
level
elin
ing
g cons
consis
foresights ists
ts sim
simpl
ta'en ply
at yre6uired
of di!
di!er
eren
enti
tial
al llev
points evel
elin
alonging
gthe
wi
with
th the
the add
addit
reference itio
ion
n
line.
The "gure below illustrates an e#ample of the "eld procedure.procedure. Stationing for
the e#ample is in feet. As shown in the "gure, the leveling instrument is
initially set up at a convenient location and a bac' sight of 4+.4G ft ta'en on
the benchmar'. Adding this to benchmar' elevation yields a 0I of E5+.E ft.
Then intermediate foresights are ta'en on points along the pro"le at stations
as +  ++, +  *+, 4  ++, etc. - if the reference line<s beginning is far
removed
remo ved from the benchmar',
benchmar', di!erential
di!erential levels running
running through
through several
turning points may be necessary to get the instrument into position to begin
ta'ing intermediate foresights on the pro"le line/. 9otice that the note form
pro"le contains all the same column headings as di!erential leveling, but is

modi"ed to include another column labeled Intermediate Sight.U

b#..
b# Chen
Chen dist
distan
ance
ces
s to inter
interme
medi
diat
ate
e sight
sights
s becom
becomee too long,
long, or if terr
terrra
rain
in
variat
var iation
ions
s or vegeta
vegetatio
tions
ns obstru
obstruct
ct the ro rod
d re
readi
adings
ngs ahead
ahead,, the leveli
leveling
ng
instrument must be moved. ;stablishing a turning point as TK4 as in the
"gure does this. After reading a foresight on the turning point, the instrument
is moved ahead to a good vantage point both for reading the bac'sight on
the turning point, as well as to ta'e additional rod reading along the pro"le
line ahad. The instrument is leveled, the bac'sight ta'en on TK4, the new 0I
comp
comput uted
ed,, and
and th
thef
efur
urth
ther
er inte
interm
rmed
edia
iate
te sigh
sightt ta'
ta'en.
en. This
Thispr
proc
oced
edur ure
e is
repeated until the pro"le is completed.
by..
by

b$.

ca.

cb.
cb. Chet
Chetheherr the
the st
stat
atio
ioni
ning
ng is in feet
feet or mete
meters rs,, inte
interrmedi
mediat
ate
e sigh
sights
ts are
are
usually ta'en at all full stations. If stationing is in feet and the survey area is
in rugged terrain or in an urban area, the speci"cations may re6uire that
readings also be ta'en at half3 or even 6uarter3stations. If stationing is in
meters, depending on conditions, intermediate sights may be ta'en at +3,
E+3, *+3, or 4+3m increments. In any case, sights are also ta'en at high and
low points along the alignment, as well as at changes in slope.

cc. Interm
Intermedi
ediate
ate sights
sights should
should always
always be
be ta'e
ta'enn on criti
critical
calU
U point
points
s such
such as
railro
railroad
ad trac's
trac's,, highwa
highway y center
centerlin
lines,
es, gutter
gutters,
s, and draina
drainage ge ditch
ditches.
es. As
presented in data above, rod readings are normally only ta'en to the nearest
+.4 ft -;nglish system/ or nearest cm -metric system/ where the rod is held
on the ground, but on critical points, and for all bac' sights and foresights
 ta'en on turning points and benchmar's, the reading recor
recorded
ded to the nearest
hundredth of a foot -;nglish/ or the nearest mm -metric/.

cd.
cd. In pro"
pro"le
le leve
leveli
ling
ng,, leng
length
th of inte
interrmedi
mediat
ate
e fo
forresig
esight
hts
s va
vari
ries
es,, an
and
d in
general they will not e6ual the bac' sight length. Thus errors due to an
inclined line of sight and to curvature and refraction will occur. Because errors
from these sources increase with increasing sight lengths, on important wor'
the instrument<s condition of adustment should be chec'ed, and e#cessively
long intermediate foresight distances should be avoided.

ce. In
Inst
stru
rume
ment
ntss heig
ighhts -0i
0is/
s/ and elev
eleva
ation
tions
s of all
all tur
urnning
ing poi
points are
comp
comput uted
ed imme
immedidiat
atel
ely
y afte
afterr each
each bac'
bac' sigh
sightt and
and fofore
resi
sigh
ght.
t. 0owe
0oweve
ver,
r,
elevations for intermediate foresights are not computed until after the circuit
is cl
clos
osed
ed on eith
either
er th
thee init
initia
iall benc
benchm
hmar'
ar' or anot
anothe
herr. Then
Then thethe circ
circui
uitt
misclo
mis closur
sure
e is comput
computed,
ed, and if accept
acceptab
able,
le, an adust
adustmen
mentt is made
made and
elevations of intermediate points are calculated. The procedure is described
in the following subsection.

cf
cf.. As in
in di!e
di!ere
renti
ntial
al leveli
leveling,
ng, the page
page chec
chec'
' shoul
should
d be
be made
made for each
each lef
left3
t3

hand sheet. 0owever in pro"le leveling, intermediate foresights play no part

in this computation. As illustrated in the data, the page chec' is made by
adding the algebraic sum of the column of bac' sights and the column of the
foresights to the beginning elevation. This should e6ual the last elevation
tabulated on the page either a turning point or the ending benchmar' if that
is the case, as it in the e#ample on the shown data.

c. Dra
Dra7i
7ing
ng an$
an$ using
using t#e
t#e 0r"5l
0r"5le
e

cg. Krior to the drawing the pro"le, it is "rst necessar sary to compute
elevations along the reference line from the "eld notes. 0owever, this cannot
be done until an adustment has been made to distribute any misclosure in
the level circuit. In the adustment process, 0Is are adusted, because they
will a!ect computed pro"le elevations. The adustment is made progressively
in prprop
opor
orti
tion
on to th
thee to
tota
tall numb
numberer of 0I
0Is
s in the
the circ
circui
uit.
t. Th
The
e pr
proc
oced
edur
ure
e
illustrates in the data shown, where the misclosure was +.+E ft. Since there
were three 0I<s, the correction applied to each is 3+.+EVE 7 3+.+4 ft per 0I.
Thus correction of +.+4 was applied to the "rst 0I, 3+.+* ft to the second, and
+.+E ft to the third. Adusted 0I<s are shown in the data above in parenthesis
abov
ab ove
e th
thei
eirr unad
unadu
ust
sted
ed valu
values
es.. It is nece
necessa
ssary
ry to cocorr
rrec
ectt turn
turnin
ing
g poin
pointt
elevations since there are of no conse6uence. After adusting the 0I<s, pro"le
elevations are computed by subtracting intermediate fore sights from their
corresponding adusted 0I<s. The pro"le is then drawn by plotting elevations
on the or ordin
dinate
ate versus
versus their
their corr
corresp
espond
onding
ing statio
stations
ns on ththee absci
abscissa
ssa.. By
connecting adacent plotted points, the pro"le is reali$ed.
ch.

ci.

c. In drawing pro"les, the vertical scale

is gene
genera
rall
lly
y e#ag
e#agge
gera
rate
ted
d with
with resp
respec
ectt to thethe hori
hori$o
$ont
ntal
al scal
scale
e to ma
ma' 'e
di!erences in elevation more pronounced. A ratio of 4+:4 is fre6uently used,
but atness or roughness of the terrain determines the desirable proportions.
Thus, for a hori$ontal
hori$ontal scale of 4 in 7 4++ ft,
ft, the vertical scale might
might be 4 in. 7
4+ ft. The scale actually employed should be plainly mar'ed.

c'. Klotted pro"les are used for many

purposes, such as:

4. 1eterm
1etermini
ining
ng the depth
depth of cutcut of "ll on propose
proposed d highwa
highways,
ys, railroa
railroads
ds
and airports.
*. Studying
Studying grade3cro
grade3crossing
ssing problems
problems..
E. Investigat
Investigating
ing and selectin
selectingg the most economical
economical grade,
grade, location
location,, and
depth
dep th for sewers
sewers,, pipeli
pipelines
nes,, tunnel
tunnels,
s, irr
irrig
igati
ation
on ditch
ditches,
es, and other
other
proects.

cl.

cm. The rate of grade (or gradient or percent grade) is the rise or fall in
feet per 4++ ft, or in meters per 4++ m. Thus grade of *.G W means a *.G ft
di!rence
di!rence in elevation
elevation per 4++ ft hori$ontally
hori$ontally.. Ascending
Ascending grades are plusR
descending grades, minus. A gradeling of 3+.4GW, chosen to appro#imately
e6uali$e cuts and "lls, is shown on the "gure above. Along this grade line,
elevations drop at the rate of +.4G ft per 4++ ft. The grade begins at station +
 ++ where it appo#imately meets #isting ground at elevation EE.+ ft, and
 ends at station H  E and elevation E4. ft where again it appro#imately
meets e#isting ground.

cn. The term grade is also used to denote the elevation of the"nished
surface on an engineering proect.

co.

cp. Sample Kroblem:

c6.
c6. The
The "gur
"gure
e belo
below
w sh
show
owss a sc
sche
hema
mati
tic
c ar
arra
rang
ngem
emenentt of a pro"
pro"le
le leve
levell
route from B%4 and B%*. The values indicated represent
represent bac'sight, foresight,
and
an d in
inte
term
rmed
edia
iate
te fo
fore
resi
sigh
ghtt read
readin
ing
g ta
ta'e
'en
n on stat
statio
ions
ns alon
along
g the
the rout
route.
e.
;levation of B%4 7 E*).+5 m.

a. Find the di!er

di!erence
ence in elevatio
elevation
n between
between stations
stations G and H.
b. Find the
the eleva
elevatio
tion
n of TK*.
TK*.
c. Find th
the
e eleva
elevatio
tion
n of B%*.
B%*.

cr.
cr.

cs.

ct.

cu.

cv.
cv.

cw..
cw

c#.

cy.
cy.

c$.
da.

db.

dc.
dd.
de.