Thursday, July 10, 2014

The Jobs Of Different Kinds Of Surveyors

By Carey Bourdier


When you think about surveyors, you probably conjure up an image of someone standing on a road or parcel of land looking through some type of complicated surveying device. While land surveying is certainly one type of surveying, there are several other types and each type accomplishes a different but highly important task.

Engineering surveyors accomplish a multitude of important tasks. Before every road, house, bridge and skyscraper are built, surveyors are on the job measuring the grade and slope of the land, setting boundary lines and ensuring that the ground and foundations of structures are level. Roads must be graded and sloped properly in order to be safe, and a surveyor helps with this, as well. They use tools such as theodolites, clinometers, tripods, levels and sometimes a total station, which includes a theodolite and an electronic distance meter.

An engineering surveyor is sometimes also called a land surveyor, but a true land surveyor is probably more concerned with setting boundaries and helping to create precise maps. A land surveyor might also be a cartographer, which is a professional mapmaker who might create many different types of maps, from road maps to physical or topographic maps.

Surveyors are important engineers to have on hand during the construction and ongoing operation of different kinds of mining operations. Mining surveyors typical have a degree in mining engineering, geological engineering or metallurgical engineering, taking classes in a variety of subjects from chemistry and geology to more specific classes about aspects of surveying. These surveyors generally use the total station to make many of their calculations, but they also use a variety of photogrammetric instruments.

Surveyors certainly don't just work on land; their skills are need for oceanic endeavors, as well. Hydrographic surveyors use many different types of electronic surveying equipment, alidades, three-arm protractors and surveyor's compasses to complete their tasks. These tasks include helping with dredging operations, finding natural resources offshore and creating navigational maps for both ships and underwater crafts.

Some hydrographic surveyors also deal with construction projects, such as constructing bridges that stretch over large bodies of water, constructing harbors and docks, and even helping to lay cables across the floor of a body of water.




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