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Promoting Advancement in Surveying and Mapping
No. 247
geoscience
Four Corners in right place A superhighway for wind power Newton’s law of universal gravitation revisited plus:
Surveying the American West with tellurometers and a helicopter MagniďŹ cent maps
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The shortest distance between two points is not a trip back to the tripod.
TRIMBLE S8 TOTAL STATION “Back and forth.” Easily two of the most hated words for any surveyor. Except perhaps, “again”. Trimble® VISION™ technology brings new levels of productivity to the Trimble S8 Total Station by dramtically reducing trips back to the tripod. Now you can see everything the instrument sees from your controller. Why walk back? With the longer range EDM you can stay put and use your controller to aim, acquire, and capture measurements to reflectorless surfaces – at more than twice the distance you’re used to. The Trimble S8 also gives you live video streaming with surveyed data on the screen to confirm your task list. With photo documentation, you have visual verification for all data before leaving the site. Eliminating an even costlier form of back and forth. Trimble VISION is the latest in a long line of innovations designed to make surveying more productive, in the field, in the office, and wherever the next opportunity takes you. NOVEMBER 8-10, 2010
www.trimble.com/trimbles8 © 2010, Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights reserved. Trimble and the Globe & Triangle logo is a trademark of Trimble Navigation Limited, registered in the United States and in other countries. Trimble Access is a trademark of Trimble Navigation Limited. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. SUR-183
www.trimbledimensions.com
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a a g s , c a g i s , g l i s , n s p s S E R V E T O PROMOTE THE INTERESTS OF GEODESISTS, CARTOGRAPHERS, GIS EXPERTS & SURVEYORS
ACSM Bulletin ISSN 0747-9417 Editor Ilse Genovese Publisher Curtis W. Sumner ACSM BULLETIN
The official professional magazine of AAGS, CaGIS, GLIS, and NSPS
American Association for Geodetic Surveying (AAGS): Barbara S. Littell (president), Curtis L. Smith (president-elect), Michael L. Dennis (vice president), Ronnie Taylor (immediate past president), Daniel J. Martin (treasurer). Directors: Edward E. Carlson, Karen Meckel [www.aagsmo.org, 240.632.8943] Cartography and Geographic Information
Society (CaGIS): Scott Freundschuh (president), Kari J. Craun [president-elect], Terri Slocum (vice president), Alan Mikuni (immediate past president), Kirk Eby (treasurer). Directors: Gregory Allord, Jean McKendry, Robert M. Edsall, Michael P. Finn, R. Maxwell Baber, Sarah Battersby, Charley Frye
[www.cartogis.org, 240.632.9522]
Geographic and Land Information Society (GLIS): J. Peter Borbas (president), Coleen M. Johnson (vice president), Robert L. Young (immediate past president), Stacey Duane Lyle (treasurer), William M. (Bill) Coleman (secretary). Directors: David R. Doyle, Bruce Hedquist, Francis W. Derby, Joshua Greenfeld [www.glismo.org, 240.632.9700] National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS): A. Wayne Harrison (president), William R. Coleman (president-elect), Robert Dahn (vice president), John R. Fenn (secretary/treasurer), John D. Matonich (immediate past president), Patrick A. Smith (chairman, Board of Governors), J. Anthony Cavell (secretary, Board of Governors). Directors: Stephen Gould (Area 1); Lewis H. Conley (Area 2); Joe H. Baird (Area 3); Wayne A. Hebert (Area 4); Jan S. Fokens (Area 5); Larry Graham (Area 6); Jeffrey B. Jones (Area 7); Henry Kuehlem (Area 8); Carl R. CdeBaca (Area 9); Timothy A. Kent (Area 10) [www.nspsmo.org, 240.632.8950] ACSM Congress: Jerry Goodson (chair, NSPS). AAGS delegates: Daniel J. Martin (chair-elect), Steve Briggs; Wes Parks (alternate). CAGIS delegates: Doug Vandegraft, Alan Mikuni; Aileen Buckley (alternate). GLIS delegates: Robert Young, J. Peter Borbas; William Coleman (alternate). NSPS delegates: John Matonich (treasurer), Rich Barr; John Fenn (alternate). John Swan (NSPS Foundation representative, associate member); Patrick Kalen (Council of Sections Representative, associate member), John Hohol (Sustaining Member Council representative), Curtis W. Sumner (secretary, ACSM Executive Director) Editor Ilse Genovese 6 Montgomery Village Avenue, Suite 403, Gaithersburg, MD 20879. Ph: 240.632.9716, ext. 109. Fax: 240.632.1321. E-mail: <ilse.genovese@acsm.net>. URL: www.webmazine.org
Photography: James Wengler, PLS, CFedS, Port Angeles, WA
© 2008 American Congress on Surveying and Mapping.
The magazine assumes no liability for any statements made or opinions expressed in articles, advertisements, or other portions of this publication. The appearance of advertising in the ACSM Bulletin does not imply endorsement or warranty by the ACSM Congress of advertisers or their products.
t h e a c s m b u l l e tin is an official publication of
A A GS
American Association for Geodetic Surveying
C Agi s
Cartography and Geographic Information Society
G L IS
Geographic and Land Information Society
N SPS
National Society of Professional Surveyors
NSPS Foundation,
Inc
NSPS Foundation, Inc
ACSM Sustaining Members Autodesk, Inc. ♦ Berntsen International Blueline Geo ♦ Earl Dudley Associates ♦ ESRI First American Data Tree ♦ Hugo Reed & Associates Leica Geosystems ♦ LIS Survey Technologies Corporation Magellan ♦ NOAA , National Geodetic Survey Professional Publications, Inc ♦ Reed Business – GEO Roadway ♦ Robert Bosch Tool Corporation Schonstedt Instrument Co ♦ SECO Manufacturing Sidney B. Bowne, LLP ♦ Sokkia Corporation Surv-Kap, Inc ♦ Topcon Positioning Systems Trimble Navigation USDI Bureau of Land Management/Cadastral Survey U SDI Fish & Wildlife Service U SDI Minerals Management Service Victor O. Schinnerer & Company
october 2010 ACSM BULLETIN
A C S M
Among our contributors
Bulletin
j o h n b . s t a h l , pls ,
(“Surveyor’s Story Is Set in Stone,” p. 10), is a licensed professional land surveyor in the states of Utah and Montana<Cornerstone. Surveys@att.net> cfeds
r. w. g l a s s e y (“The Savvy Surveyor: Helicopters and Haven,” p. 25) works for PLS Inc in Issaquah, Washington.<lancer.bear@ gmail.com>
n a h o m a. g e b r e, esq.,pe (“Ask Vic!—Successors and Assigns,” p. 37), is Risk Management Attorney with Victor O. Schinnerer & Co., Inc <Nahom.A.Gebre@schinnerer. com>
w w w. w e b m a z i n e . o r g
the publisher: The American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) and its
member organizations—AAGS, CaGIS, GLIS, NSPS, and NSPS Foundation, Inc.; Sustaining Members; and Associate Councils. editorial policy: The American Congress on Surveying and Mapping publishes the ACSM Bulletin to provide current scientific, technical and management information in the fields of surveying, cartography, geodesy, GIS, and photogrammetry, and to communicate news on developments in the geospatial data industry of interest to the member organizations of ACSM. ACSM is not responsible for any statements made or opinions expressed in articles, advertisements, or other portions of this publication. The appearance of advertising in the ACSM Bulletin does not imply endorsement or warranty by ACSM of advertisers or their products. Submit articles, press releases, and all other matter for consideration for publication to Ilse Genovese, Editor, ACSM Bulletin, 6 Montgomery Village Ave., Suite 403, Gaithersburg, MD 20879. E-mail: <ilse.genovese@acsm.net>. Phone: 240/632-9716, ext. 109; Fax: 240/632-1321. restrictions and permissions: Articles to which ACSM does not own rights are so identified at the end of the article. Permission to photocopy for internal or personal use may be obtained by libraries and other users who register with the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) by paying $2.50 per copy per article directly to CCC, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923. [Fee Code: 07479417/97 $2.50. © 2010 American Congress on Surveying and Mapping.] This consent does not extend to copying for general distribution, advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, or resale. Other requests to photocopy or otherwise reproduce material in this magazine should be addressed to the Editor, ACSM, 6 Montgomery Village Avenue, Suite 403, Gaithersburg, MD 20879. Phone: 240/ 632-9716, ext. 109. Fax: 240/ 632-1321. circulation and copyright: ACSM Bulletin (ISSN 0747-9417) is published
n. w. j. h a z e l t o n
(“It’s All About the Wheat: A Fable,” p. 22), is professor of Geomatics at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska. <nwjh@mac.com> or <afbh3@uaa.alaska.edu>
ACSM BULLETIN october 2010
bimonthly—February, April, June, August, October, and December—by the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM), 6 Montgomery Village Avenue, Suite 403, Gaithersburg, MD 20879. Copyright 2010 American Congress on Surveying and Mapping. Periodicals postage paid at Gaithersburg, Md., and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to ACSM Bulletin, Member Services Department, 6 Montgomery Village Avenue, Suite 403, Gaithersburg, MD 20879. membership inquiries: Membership Coordinator, 6, Montgomery Village Ave., Suite 403, Gaithersburg, MD 20879. Ph: 240.632.9716 ext. 105. Fax: 240.632.1321. E-mail: <trisha.milburn@acsm.net>. URL: www.acsm.net/ membership.html. subscriptions: The 2010 subscription rate for the printed publication is $100 (U.S. addresses) or $115 (foreign addresses). Subscription rates for the online version are—online only: $100 (U.S. and International); online and print: $126 (U.S.) or $140 (International). Single copies are sold to non-members at $8 per copy, plus handling and postage. Membership dues include an annual subscription to the ACSM Bulletin ($40), which is part of membership benefits and cannot be deducted from annual dues. Single copies are sold to members (U.S. and foreign) at $6 per copy, plus handling and postage. Subscriptions handled by The Sheridan Press Subscriber Services: Ph. 717.632.3535 ext. 8188; Fax: 717.633.8920; E-mail: <mbaile@tsp.sheridan.com>. advertising: Current advertising rates displayed at http://www.webmazine. org. Inquiries: John D. Hohol, 608.358.6511. E-mail: <jhohol@gmail.com>. printed by: The Sheridan Press, 450 Fame Av., Hannover, PA 17331. cover design: Ilse Genovese, ACSM, Gaithersburg, MD.
A C S M
Bulletin october 2010 no. 247
www.webmazine.org
Four Corners
Apps for the Digital Darkroom
10 “Surveyor’s story is set in stone” — By John Stahl
17
Extracting the most from digital photos— By Geoffrey Fowler
Magnificent Maps 20 A rare map exhibit at the British Library — By Tom Harper
Down in the Village
22 A fable about the land and managing resources — By N.W.J. Hazelton
The Atlantic Wind Connection
31
Building a superhighway for wind— By Juliet Eilperin and Debbi Wilgoren
Where Do I Err in My Calculations?
41
Newton’s law of universal gravitation revisited— By Neil B. Christiansen
official magazine of the american congress on surveying and mapping
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Around the Nation
First solar projects on federal lands approved 26 How video games build leaders 32 The “Internet operating system” concept 33 The mysterious Rosetta Stone 36
Perspectives
The Savvy Surveyor: Helicopters and heaven in a surveyor’s life 27 What would a complete connection to place include? 40
Reports
The JGAC midterm report 34 Ask Vic! Issuing certification to clients and their “successors and assigns” 37 New 2010 CSTs 42
TechBits
Revolutionizing architecture 36 Capturing the grit and grid of Manhattan 42
History
“Heater Pieces” in Yankee territory 38
on the cover
Front cover: Fall colors (bottom): Highway 112, Clallam County, WA. (Top) Elwha valley, Clallam County, WA. Back cover: Dry Creek near Port Angeles, WA. Photos © James Wengler, PLS, CFedS.
THE SURVEY SUMMIT Join the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM), Esri, and many of your peers from around the world for the inaugural Survey Summit. During this premier conference, you will explore the newest technology, trends, and business opportunities available for the surveying, engineering, and geospatial fields.
"UUFOE t 1SFTFOU t &YIJCJU +VMZ o t 4BO %JFHP $" 4BO %JFHP $POWFOUJPO $FOUFS The Survey Summit will host a diverse audience and offer a high level of networking and content unparalleled by other conferences, making it the ideal arena to exhibit or share your successes. By presenting your best practices, solutions, and lessons learned, you will enrich the experience for yourself, your organization, and other attendees. For more information and to submit an abstract to present at the Survey Summit, go to thesurveysummit.com.
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In Point of Fact — —Positioning Missouri for the future. Professional land surveyors representing private firms from across the state contributed approximately $150,000 of professional services to the citizens of Missouri when they joined state and federal colleagues in August to begin the state’s Height Modernization Survey. “By pushing this button, said Missouri Governor Jay Nixon on opening day of the Missouri State Fair, we will begin a process going on all across the state with global positioning stations. Surveyors, the Department of Natural Resources, and our federal and state partners will begin a process that will culminate in about October when we map the heights of everything in the state.” Such data are extremely vital when keeping Missourians safe from floods. The Governor noted that “we don’t talk nearly enough about such data, but when we are making decisions about which levees to fix, or who needs to be moved out of a flooded area, and how we can make sure they are kept safe, then having an accurate baseline becomes extremely important.” Missouri farmers will benefit too. “The baseline data will make millions of dollars of difference for Missouri agriculture,” said Governor Nixon. “Millions. Plus, we’ll have data for gauging erosion and soil protection and making sure Missouri continues to be the number one agricultural state in the country.” Staff with MoDNR’s Geology and Land Survey Division’s Land Survey program will evaluate, verify, and process the data and enter it into the national database. Mark N. Templeton, MoDNR Director, expressed appreciation for all involved saying, “Without the generous donation of time, staff and equipment provided by private land surveyors, surveying equipment companies, and the work of the various government agencies, this project would not have been possible in the foreseeable future.” State and local governments can spend tens of millions of dollars each year adjusting engineering projects such as roads and buildings that are affected by the Earth’s shifting surface. Accurate, reliable and up-to-date heights are
ACSM BULLETIN october 2010
essential for a wide range of activities, including managing construction and infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, dams, and levees; alerting emergency planners to storm evacuation routes that are susceptible to storm surges; mapping flood plains to produce accurate flood zone maps; precisely controlling equipment used in agriculture, and snow removal; and allowing efficient fertilizer and pesticide use and reduce costs to counter pollution from chemical runoff, to name a few. —by Hylan Beydler, MoDNR. [Full article accessible at http://www.dnr.mo.gov/geology/landsurvey/ HeightModernizationSurvey.htm] —Chile miners rescue One by one, the 33 miners who have been trapped under 2,000 feet of rock in San Jose mine in the Chilean Atacama Desert for more than two months were pulled to the surface in mid-October, in a special capsule, then embraced by emotional family members as the end of their saga was beamed live around the world. The rescue operations, which involved a bumpy journey in the specially designed capsule along a 28-inch-wide emergency schaft, triggered an outburst of national pride. “Bienvenido a la vida,” President Pinera told Victor Segovia, the 15th miner to emerge. In English, the phrase means, “Welcome to life.” In Washington, President Obama said: “This rescue is a tribute not only to the determination of the rescue workers and the Chilean government, but also the unity and resolve of the Chilean people, who have inspired the world.” He also commended those from the United States and other nations who assisted in the rescue effort, including a NASA team that helped design the escape capsule, U.S. companies that manufactured parts of the rescue drill and the American engineer who flew in from Afghanistan to operate the drill. “Chile’s first astronaut is arriving!” yelled one of the rescuers, as the first man up, Florencio Avalos, was hoisted to safety.—by Juan Forero and Jonathan Franklin, Washington Post Foreign Service
—letters to the editor RE: The Evolution of a National Voice, ACSM Bulletin no. 246, August 2010 Gunther Greulich is to be commended for his compilation of perspectives on the surveying and mapping professions. I can’t help but be reminded that mankind seems to make the same mistakes over and over again. It’s too bad that our foresight does not seem to be nearly as good as our hindsight. While the founding of NSPS and the restructuring of ACSM may have seemed to be a brilliant move at the time, both actions have likely contributed to the problems we are seeing today. As others have said before me, the surveying and mapping professions need to become even more interwoven to survive as true professionals—collectively serving society and the public. If I were the sole decider, I would abolish all the member organizations and create a structure within ACSM where a wide gamut of spatial related professions would work together at the same table. Of course there will always be certain committee tasks that are specialized enough to only require participation by selected groups. On an even more grand scale, I would like to see the surveying and mapping organizations across the country form an affiliation that more closely resembles the American Institute of Architects (AIA) model with state chapters. As an example, the Minnesota Society of Professional Surveyors would be restructured and renamed ACSM–Minnesota. I realize the cooperation necessary by 50 state organizations is probably just a dream, but think about the efficiencies that could be built into such a model. The majority of our professional activities occur at the state level, but we still need the cohesiveness of a strong national organization. As a past NSPS Governor from Minnesota I have been a strong advocate for making national and state activities more seamless and creating a combined national–state membership that would only have a small impact on the dues amount currently collected by the state organizations. An ad hoc committee is investigating the possibility, but without widespread cooperation, I am afraid it will go nowhere. ACSM is currently under a dark cloud, but I am confident that brighter times will come with broad-based dialogue and cooperation. We need to support state and national activities. As Mr. Greulich alluded to in his commentary, we have to be able to see the trees and the forest too. — John Freemyer, past NSPS governor from Minnesota
RE: ACSM Bulletin at a crossroads, August 2010 Your news joined many others that lately have been making me very sad. Which are those? Just open today’s newspaper and place your finger at random. I bet you it will be right on a piece of bad news. As regards the state of our ACSM, one can only lament it. What contrast between ACSM today and the one I joined more than 40 years ago! As a measure of that contrast I can offer my memories of the 1968 ACSM/ASPRS meeting, the first I had ever attended, against today’s almost deserted conference rooms and halls. Back then the Exhibits Hall of the Hilton was overflowing with booths and people and full of music, noise, conversations, and free samples. The same I could say when I consider the state of other USA organizations I used to have contacts with, particularly the three federal agencies I visited in 1968 for the first time: USGS, NOAA, and what once was the Army Map Service. Yet, for our community’s sake I wish that next year, the ACSM finances will pick up and that the glossy materializations of your good work will once again be delivered into our mail boxes. — Albert Christensen
october 2010 ACSM BULLETIN
Sleeping Ute Mountain
“Surveyor’s Story is Set in Stone” —by John Stahl
T
here are times when opportunities arise to take part in something bigger than ourselves. The opportunities never seem to come at an opportune time, always seem to take more time than you can afford, and cost you more than you’re willing to spend. We can choose to let those opportunities slip away as missed, or we can commit ourselves to the cause in spite of the cost. The National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS), at the urging of several of its members, spearheaded a project commemorating the history of the surveys that established the location of the only point in our country where four states are joined. The Four Corners Monument is somewhat of an anomaly located in a remote part of the Colorado Plateau, a high desert area with deep canyons carved through high mesas. The corner where the monument is located is at the epicenter of a region framed by four sacred mountains which bring a sense of spiritual significance to the manmade intersection, a confluence so to speak of four states and two nations, formed within one larger nation. The significance of the “Four Corners” is obvious to the thousands of visitors who, each year, are drawn to witness the uniqueness of the place. Located on the northern edge of the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation in southwestern Colorado, Sleeping Ute Mountain (see top of page) rests as a sentinel familiar to the centuries of hunter-gatherer bands of Ancient Puebloans, the Diné Ute who followed them, and other indigenous people now living throughout the once unclaimed region. to the United States by the Treaty of Guadalupe Spanish explorers passed within view of Ship Rock Hidalgo six months later. Undeterred, the Mor(Tsé Bit’a’í) as early as 1540 during their brief explo- mons declared in 1849 the boundless region as ration and laid a claim to the land, as if the land part of their self-proclaimed State of Deseret and waited for them alone to discover it, a claim not claimed jurisdiction over parts of what are now defeated until the Mexican war of independence Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon and Nevada, and extending westward to in 1821. Mormon Pioneers, seeking religious segrega- the Pacific Ocean in southern California. The Compromise of 1850 created by five contion, settled here beyond the reach of the Mexisecutive Acts of Congress the State of Califorcan and United States governments in July 1847. nia and the territories of Utah and New Mexico, But the land they had just claimed was ceded 10
ACSM BULLETIN october 2010
E. R. Varner’s Map of 1940
thereby establishing an East-West line of latitude dividing the free north from the slave south along the 37th parallel of latitude. The creation of the Colorado Territory in 1861, and of the Arizona Territory in 1863, formed the intersection point which would eventually become the joint corner of four states. The 37th parallel was surveyed by U.S. Surveyor Ehud N. Darling in 1868. He began at the northeast corner of New Mexico and extended a line 8,192 feet west of what is now the Four Corners Monu-
ment. Darling’s line was challenged in 1903 by a “technically more precise” running of the 37th parallel by U.S. Surveyor Howard B. Carpenter. Having reported that the Darling line had been run erroneously, Carpenter was instructed to reject Darling’s monuments by obliterating the markings on the stones and resetting them several hundred feet to the north. Carpenter’s survey was accepted by a joint resolution of Congress but was vetoed by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908. A 1919 lawsuit between the states of New Mexico and Colorado was brought before the Supreme Court of the United States to settle the boundary location. The court put the matter to rest in 1925 by soundly defeating Carpenter’s line which, “taken as a whole, its effect, if established as the boundary, would be to transfer a large strip of territory from Colorado to New Mexico, including the greater portions of one town and two villages, and five post offices.” The court recognized that “from 1868, when Darling ran and marked the line of the 37th parallel, to 1919, when this suit was brought, a period of more than half a century, his line was recognized and acquiesced in, successively, as the boundary between the two Territories.”1 The official position of the corner was determined by survey in 1875 by U.S. Surveyor Chandler Robbins. The four-way corner position was created by Act of Congress on February 24, 1863, which was signed by President Abraham Lincoln. The act extended the western boundary of the Colorado Territory southward between Arizona and New Mexico along the 32nd meridian of longitude west of the Washington Meridian which bisected the old Naval Observatory dome in Washington, D.C. Robbins recognized that the true longitude of the boundary, based 32 degrees west of the Washington Meridian, corresponded with a longitude of 109 degrees 02 minutes 59.25 seconds west of the Greenwich Prime Meridian. 1
State of New Mexico v. State of Colorado, 45 S. Ct. 202, 267 U.S. 30 (U.S. 01/26/1925).
october 2010 ACSM BULLETIN 11
Ship Rock peak in New Mexico.
Robbins was instructed to base his survey on Burt during the retracement of the boundary line the known longitude of the needle point of Ship between Utah and Colorado. Rock, determined in 1874 by the survey team conSixteen years later, on October 23, 1931, U.S. ducting the U.S. geographical surveys west of the Surveyor Everett H. Kimmell found the Page–Lentz 100th meridian under the charge of First Lieutenant monument “broken in four pieces with the lower George Wheeler. Robbins triangulated a position end still firmly set in the ground.” As Kimmell excawest of Ship Rock, extended his line 11.6 miles vated the hole to rehabilitate the monument, he west to the 32nd meridian, then ran north 21 miles found an 8 x 6 x 5 inch memorial stone below the and intersected the 37th parallel established by base marked “37°NL 32°WL” and dated “1875.” Darling. Kimmell set a “regulation U.S. General Land The corner position determined by Robbins was Office brass tablet set in a concrete monument, monumented with a seven-foot-tall sandstone 14 ins. square at top, 28 ins. square at base, 56 marker at a position which has been faithfully per- ins. long, 38 ins. in the ground” 40 inches below petuated to this day. the ground surface. Connections were observed According to contemporary measurements for the corner position by E. B. Latham of the U.S. with advanced GPS technology, Robin’s final Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1934 as 36°59’56.30” position of the four-way corner has been north latitude and 109°02’40.24” west longitude, reported as 36°59’56.31570” north latitude and North American Datum of 1927. 109°02’42.62076” west longitude using the North The Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau American Datum of 1983 (2007) of the National of Indian Affairs poured a concrete pad around the Spatial Reference System2, Robbins’ positioning Kimmell monument in 1962. In 1992, a 200 square of the four-corners monument reflects an astound- foot plaza was constructed around the Kimmell ing achievement, considering the instruments and monument which was officially replaced with a technology available in such a remote setting bronze disc by BLM Cadastral Surveyors Darryl nearly one-and-half centuries ago. Wilson and Jack Eaves. An 1899 survey by Hubert Page and James Lentz Over the years, a variety of minor upgrades and recovered the Robbins stone, broken in pieces, retrofits were made to the area surrounding the and rehabilitated it with a new stone pillar. The monument, including the addition of plywood Page–Lentz stone was recovered “in good state of vendor booths for marketing Native American jewpreservation” in 1915 by U.S. Surveyor Clayton R. elry, art, and pottery to the hundreds of daily visi2
National Geodetic Survey datasheet PID AD9256. National Geodetic Survey (October 15, 2010).
12
ACSM BULLETIN october 2010
A
Four Corners in 1992
At Four Corners. H.S. Poley, 1908. Courtesy of Denver Public Library, Colorado
tors from around the world who stop to experience the surveyors who determined the position of the the unique feat of being in four states at once. Four Corners Monument. Interest in the history of Recognizing its geographic and historical impor- the four-state corner was hastened with a report by tance, the governors of the Four Corner states a Salt Lake City newsperson breaking lose on April formed the Four Corners Heritage Council in 1991 20th, 2009. Evidently, a local geologist informed the to “promote partnerships in heritage, resources, reporter that a survey performed by the National tourism, education, interpretation, and preserva- Geodetic Survey, involving GPS observations tion.” The council, which is comprised of represen- made on April 10, 2008, had disclosed a “mistake” tatives of each state, the Bureau of Land Manage- in the placement of the monument, missing the ment (BLM), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), National intended position of 37 degrees latitude and 109 Park Service (NPS), and the Navajo Nation, over- degrees longitude where the corner of Utah was sees the management of the Four Corners area by “supposed to be.”3 the tribal nations and government agencies. The misinformation was further propagated by a Through persistence and determination over a member of the Utah Association of Geocachers who period of 19 years, the council was able to forge said he used hand-held GPS units and two internet an agreement among the four state legislatures, sites, Google Earth and the Great Circle Calculator BLM, USFS, U.S. Congress, and two tribal nations to locate the corner.4 Rumors quickly spread over to commit over $2.3 million for upgrading the Four the Associated Press (AP) wire that the Four Corners Corners Monument and its surroundings. The Monument was 2.5 miles off of its “intended posifunds were to be used to completely reconstruct tion,” and that visitors to the monument might not be the monument, improve the access to it, erect new standing in the right spot. vendor booths, and build an interpretive center The blatant misinformation perpetuated on air complete with electricity, running water, and other and in print had to be stopped, Dave Doyle, chief amenities. The work started in early 2010 and, geodetic surveyor of the NGS, weighed in, pointfrom May through to September, thousands of ing out that the 109th meridian was never intended dismayed and disappointed visitors were met by a to be the boundary and that the monument was locked gate announcing the “Four Corners Monu- located 1,807.14 feet in the opposite direction, ment CLOSED due to construction.” not as reported by the media. Randy Zanon, chief The reconstruction project presented a unique cadastral surveyor with Colorado’s BLM, also opportunity to retell the story of the surveys and wasted no time to reassure the public that “the 3 4
Cabrero, Alex. “Four Corners Monument not historically correct.” KSL TV News, April 20, 2009. Arave, Lynn. “Four Corners marker 2 ½ miles off? Too Late.” Deseret News, April 20, 2009.
october 2010 ACSM BULLETIN 13
Flag raising, September 2010
Four Corners Monument that everybody goes to and visits is exactly where it should be.” Although newspapers in Colorado had retracted their reports, the fact that the debate over the “true” position of the monument continued only seemed to confirm, in the Salt Lake City reporter’s mind, that the “Four Corners Monument was off the mark.”5 Resolved to set the record straight once and for all, surveyors geared for action. In May 2009, William Stone, NGS New Mexico Geodetic Advisor, published a well researched report on “Why the Four Corners Monument is in exactly the right place” in which he refuted the notion that NGS had somehow claimed the monument in error.6 Then the Naional Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) became involved. The serendipitous reporting created an opportunity to tell the Four Corners survey story to the world. Warren Ward, NSPS Governor from Colorado, proposed, in early 2010, an idea that would accomplish this—to pursue “some sort of official informative display” which would enable tourists to “learn basic facts about the original survey of the monument 5 6
and the Supreme Court’s ruling on its legal location.” John Matonich, NSPS president, offered NSPS commitment to help with this project. While thinking about the display, Ward realized that the reconstruction project itself could be used to advantage to quell any and all “misrepresentations that the surveyors had goofed.” By mid-March, a contract was signed with the Navajo Parks and Recreation Department, and the “Surveying the Four Corners ” project was set in motion. With funding from NSPS, the NSPS Foundation, the adjoining state surveying associations, and a variety of individual sources, a Colorado artist, Christian Muller, was retained to design and construct four stone monuments, each representing one of the four states and recounting how the four corners were established. Ward spearheaded a word-smithing effort to develop the text for the stones, compiling suggestions from a number of surveyors, while Jason Emery, Boulder County Surveyor, and an accomplished sketch artist, created the sketches which were to be etched on the stones. After five months of creative work and construction, a dedication ceremony was held on September 17, 2010, to mark the completion of the monument plaza and one third of the vendor booths. The remaining construction is slated for completion by February 2011. The NSPS commemorative stone monuments were placed during the final week prior to the dedication ceremony. Members of the Southeast Diné Veterans Organizations, joined by the Mesa
Arave, Lynn. “Four Corners Monument is indeed off mark.” Deseret News, April 23, 2009. Stone, William. “Why the Four Corners Monument is in exactly the right place.” [http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/web/about_ngs/ previous_stories/index.shtml; accessed September 15, 2010.]
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Verde National Park superintendent, Cliff Spencer, hoisted nine flags over the monument as the 20102011 Miss Utah Navajo sang the national anthem in her native Navajo language. Four of the flags represent the adjoining states; the Navajo Nation flag flies over the states of New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, and the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation flag over Colorado; and all fly under the flag of one nation—the United States of America. Terry Knight of the Ute Mountain Ute tribe described the Four Corners Monument as “not just a place where four states come together, but a sacred place where the energy comes from four directions.” Martin Begaye, Sr. Programs and Project Specialist for the Navajo Parks and Recreation Department, noted that the federal government, four state governments, and two tribal nations had accomplished the task of reconstructing the monument “not by treaty, but by partnership.” All entities had “come together in a spirit of cooperation to achieve a common goal through volunteerism rather than force.” But the words cast in the plaza concrete encircling the monument convey this spirit best—“four states here meet in freedom under God.”
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Randy Bloom, chief cadastral surveyor of the BLM in Colorado, represented the NSPS when he declared, in his remarks at the dedication ceremony, that the monument was, in fact, in exactly the right spot and not two miles away as mis-reported by the media. “The good news is this monument is truly in the right place,” he said. “The bad news is, I don’t care what your global positioning system says, we’re not going to move this thing.” The stone monuments now erected at the site with NSPS’ involvement will tell the story of a proud profession of surveyors who forged our Nation’s progress through history. A profession that demonstrated an exacting fortitude and technical prowess needed to discover the position of a corner designated with indelible precision by Congress 1700 miles away. A profession that inscribed a mark on the earth and set in stone the surveyor’s story for generations of visitors yet to come.
John B. Stahl, PLS, CFedS, is a licensed professional land surveyor in the states of Utah and Montana. He can be contacted via his website at www.CPLSinc.com.
Personal Computers
Artistry in the digital darkroom —by Geoffrey Fowler
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Lightrom dense panel options
Tagging information to places
aking photos is fun. Sorting and editing them is not. I’ve got 54,220 photos on my computer, including a few would-be National Geographic covers but far more out-of-focus portraits and poorly exposed sunsets that I’ve never bothered to fix or delete. Thanks to plummeting prices on digital SLR cameras, amateurs like myself can now experiment freely with artistic shots, taking hundreds of photos without spending a small fortune in film. But those experiments generate a lot of homework by way of virtual stacks of photos in need of processing. Adobe Systems Inc.’s Photoshop is famous for helping photographers extract the most out of their shots in a digital darkroom. But at $699, Photoshop costs as much as a new camera and takes a graduate course to master. Moreover, Photoshop was designed to edit a single photo at a time, not for sorting through a collection. A new generation of software from Adobe and Apple Inc. (AAPL) has emerged to fill the gap between Photoshop and entry-level photo-management software like Apple Inc.’s iPhoto and Google Inc.’s Picasa. For people who have graduated from point-and-shoot cameras, Adobe’s Photoshop Lightroom 3 ($299) and Apple’s Aperture 3 ($199) offer tools to organize large collections and tackle the nitty-gritty of digital developing and re-touching. I’ve been testing Lightroom (for Mac and PC) and Aperture (for Mac only) to organize, process, and share photos I took at my friends’ recent wedding. While both programs were designed with professional photographers in mind, I found they were effective at helping a hobbyist like myself whittle 400 photos to just 40 in less than an hour. The programs also let me edit photos far beyond the basics of brightness and contrast. One shot moved from the reject to the favorites pile after Lightroom let me take advantage of my Canon camera’s advanced image format to boost the exposure of an image taken during a dimly lit reception. Many professional photographers have a strong preference for one of the two programs. I preferred the overall aesthetic and photo-editing tools in Lightroom for extracting the best from my photos. Nonetheless, Aperture’s strengths lie in some nifty organizational
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tricks, and I would recommend it for people interested in three specific uses: upgrading from a large iPhoto collection; taking video with an SLR; or tagging photos with locations. At their core, both Lightroom and Aperture are databases, but don’t let that scare away your inner Ansel Adams. Lightroom’s database gives you tools to organize your photos into folders on your computer, create collections from across folders, and tag photos with keywords, star ratings, and other features. For people like me who are lazy about applying tags to describe photos, Lightroom offers a spray-can tool to virtually “paint” keywords on bunches of photos at one time. Aperture’s approach to cataloging is borrowed from iPhoto. You put your photos into “projects” (known as “events” in iPhoto), which the software
Apple Aperture mapping tool
Apple Aperture screen capture of boats
will suggest when you import images from your camera based on groups that were taken around the same time. You can also add keywords, ratings, and other tags. 18
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But Aperture has two more tricks up its sleeve. You can tag photos based on the people in them, using the same technology Apple built into iPhoto to recognize faces. While
Apple Aperture workflow
that’s a good idea, I found that Aperture (like iPhoto) didn’t do an ideal job at distinguishing faces, especially in profile. Apple says the face-recognition function works best if you identify both a couple of front-on and profile photos for any person, and also let it finish going through your whole collection before using it. More useful is Aperture’s ability to tag photos geographically. Some new cameras collect GPS data with each shot and Aperture charts that info with pins on a giant world map, making it fun to track a journey or search for all the photos taken in one place. Unfortunately, the majority of cameras don’t capture GPS data, but Aperture does offer some tools for adding in location data after the fact, such as importing it from a photo taken by an iPhone at the same site. Lightroom can also record GPS data for photos, but you have to work with thirdparty plug-ins to get the same functionality as in Aperture. It’s in the digital darkroom that both programs earn their keep. The biggest reason an SLR-owner should upgrade beyond a basic photo editor is so he or she can work with so-called RAW files, sort of digital negatives that use extra data from the camera’s sensor to give you artistic control over factors such as exposure long after you’ve shot the photo. Both programs work well with RAW, and, moreover, editing photos on both programs is nondestructive, which means you can undo any changes you make—all the way back to your original photo—even after the photo has been saved. Sometimes the sky really can be too blue. I found Lightroom’s editing features to be the most intuitive. It uses a three-paned screen clearly showing all of the available adjustments, your photo, and a history of the changes made to the image. I felt Aperture made me hunt for some of those features, but some users may prefer its optional floating palettes to Lightroom’s dense panels of
options, and also its elegant system for brushing changes onto an image. Lightroom boasts some cutting-edge editing features, such as the ability to adjust photos based on profiles of the lenses used to take them. That’s especially useful if you are working with a wide-angle lens that can distort images. With the click of a button, a warped wall at the edge of a wide-angle photo is made vertical again. The lens profiling wasn’t automatic with my older-model Canon SLR, but still worked. To be sure, there are well known Photoshop tricks that neither of these programs can do, such as stitching two or more photos together. They also can’t digitally cut your ex’s head out of photos. But if you really need to do that, finding the right photo-editing software is the least of your problems. And to my disappointment, both programs are missing an increasingly popular service called HDR, or high dynamic range, where you merge photos taken at different levels of exposure into a new photo that takes the best aspects of them all. To make these sorts of images, you have to download external plugins. That’s the occasion I most missed Photoshop. Finally, the programs both offer tools to showcase shots in professional-looking books and prints as well as on websites like Facebook and Flickr. Lightroom has the most options for producing Web galleries. Aperture will appeal to users with cameras that do the newest trick in digtial SLR photograph—take video. Such videos, which can feature beautiful photographic characteristics like short depth of field, can be imported and edited right in Aperture. The videos can be included in the software’s handsome mixed-media slideshows without the need for a separate video-editing program. Either Lightroom or Aperture is a worthy upgrade for any semi-serious photographer. Both are available to download for free limited trials, and I’d suggest testing the workflow of both before committing your photo collection. Geoffrey Fowler technology review for Walt Mossberg’s column, Personal Technology, in The Walt Street Journal, September 9, 2010. Email Geoffrey Fowler at <geoffrey.fowler@wsj.com>.
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MA G N I F I C E N T M A P S The British Library’s Magnificent Maps exhibition (30th April–19th September 2010) offered a unique opportunity for some of the world’s greatest cartographic treasures to be shown in public, many for the first time. The exhibition’s subject was the display map; maps made for the wall as opposed to the pages of a book, the pocket, or computer screen. These maps have qualified as cartographic greats due to their large size, exquisite artistry, and technical accomplishment, yet, they have not been sufficiently studied as a type, nor have their functions in their original settings been comprehensively analysed. The purpose of the exhibition and accompanying book was therefore to highlight the levels of visual magnificence to which maps have previously aspired, to examine their original contexts and messages, and to look at the reasons for their creation in light of their often limited practical utility. The history of display maps stretches back at least two thousand years. In the Forma Urbis Romae, a 27-foot-wide marble plan of Rome dating from 200 AD (of which five of the surviving fragments were loaned by the Capitoline Museums in Rome), we find the germ of cartographic wall decoration. This Roman precedent was of great importance to the concept of European Renaissance cartographic displays, such as that most famous of map spaces, the Vatican’s Galleria della carte geographiche of 1580-1585. The maps there are frescoes, painted onto walls, but display maps in manuscript and printed form were produced for rulers and the wealthy from at least
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the mid fifteenth century. They acted as symbols of power, reflecting their owners’ world views. Examples of these comprise the bulk of the exhibition’s 100 exhibits, and they were selected almost exclusively from the British Library’s collection of some 4.5 million, a number of which were formally in the possession of Kings of England. The artistic quality of these maps was appropriate to the wealthy, cultured clientele for whom they were produced. For example, Diogo Homem’s sea chart of 1570 was probably produced for a Venetian nobleman, and it is so covered in gold-leaf that it cannot have been intended for use on board a ship. In the same way, Captain Mark Wood’s manuscript map of the area south of Kolkata in India from 1784, a practical map made for General Sloper of the British Army, has been attractively rendered for
A T T H E BRITISH L I B
the appreciation of its influential recipient. Captain Wood was promoted to surveyor general the following year, and perhaps the artistry of his map aided the progression of his career. Similarly, the vast dimensions of many display maps reflected the stature of their owners, as well as the size of their dwellings. But they pose the question of why one would produce a map which was so big as to be virtually unreadable. Johann Christoph Müller’s landmark map of Bohemia of 1722 measures approximately seven by eight feet, and even though it was often issued as 25 separate sheets, when fully assembled, the top of it would have been virtually unreadable from the ground. The Klencke atlas of 1660, presented to Charles II of England, and the largest atlas in the world, was similarly inconvenient, to the point that two people were needed to turn its pages.
IS H L I B R A R Y The purpose of these colossal cartographic creations was not so much to do with their practical utility as their overall effect. And, just as their size compromised their practical possibilities, so it played havoc with their chances of survival. The first large-scale printed
map of Pennsylvania, produced by Thomas Holme in 1687-8, and Jan Janssonius’s eightsheet 1617 copperplate map of Europe are unique survivors of print runs numbering possibly in the high hundreds.
—by Tom Harper The simple explanation for close relationship between art such scarcity is that maps were and cartography, but they also made for display on walls—and underline the problems inherthere they perished. They were ent in categorising visual mateprinted, coloured by hand, the rial too strictly. The point was sheets were joined and laid on followed through in two other canvas, mounted on rollers and maps/works of art included in varnished where, on the walls the exhibition—Stephen Walof the palace or the study, they ter’s 2008 map of London entiwould have tled “The Island,” and Grayson been susceptiPerry’s “Map of Nowhere,” a ble to heat, sunmodern interpretation of the light, soot from medieval mappaemundi, are fires, moisture maps which are sold by art in wet climates, agents to art collectors. carelessness or It was the arrangement of even vandalism, exhibits that allowed us to and would even- examine how the understandtually have fallen ing of a map is dependant upon apart. understanding the context in Although the which it was originally deployed. heyday of display The exhibition was organised as maps – and thus a series of rooms or spaces in the focus of the which maps are known to have exhibition – was existed, such as the school the period from room, the domestic setting, the 1450 to 1700, palace and the street. we wanted to We were conscious that as demonstrate far as we were able to “recreate” the presence of these settings, they would nevdisplay maps in ertheless remain within the conthe twentieth text of the museum or library century. Cartoexhibition space, which has its graphic posters such as the Rus- own identity and associated sian artist Dmitri symbolism. But whether the spaces themselves have since Moor’s “Be on changed, as with Renaissance your Guard“ of palaces that have become 1921, which portrays a vastly museums, or whether they have out-of-scale solstayed remarkably constant, as dier defending with the boardrooms of internaRussia’s borders, tional companies or the homes emphasises the of wealthy businessmen, the suitability of messages contained in their maps as tools of visual proparesident maps remain ones of ganda. power and propaganda Elsewhere, as in Cable and “Magnificent Maps” [exhibit] Wireless Ltd’s 1930 poster was not about how people showing the British Empire, the view their worlds through maps, purpose is advertising. These but how people portray these posters emphasise the often worlds for others to see. october 2010 ACSM BULLETIN 21
It’s all about the wheat: A fable —by N.W.J. Hazelton “Back of the loaf is the snowy flour, And back of the flour the mill; And back of the mill is the wheat and the shower, And the sun and the Father’s will.” M.D. Babcock down in the village
Professor Hazelton welcomes comments and critique. E-mail him at: afbh3@uaa.alaska.edu or nwj@mac.com
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Once upon a time there was a farmer who grew wheat. He sold his wheat to a miller, who ground the wheat into flour and sold it to the local people, who made bread at home. It was one of those oldfashioned rustic communities that seems to have always been like it is, and this arrangement worked well for many years. One day, the miller, facing having to replace the aging grinding stones in his windmill, installed a new milling system (called a Complete Automated Degranulizer), which allowed him to produce a wider variety of products from the wheat, and to do it quicker, cheaper and better. The miller now found that he had extra time on his hands, so he decided to start a bakery. His first efforts were a bit rough, but with a bit of help from his oldest daughter, he was soon able to produce all kinds of fancy baked goods. The local people started to buy their bread more often from the bakery, rather than making their simple loaves themselves. They also bought his other wares, like cakes, rolls, pastries and cookies. The miller found that demand had increased, so he persuaded the farmer to increase his wheat production. The farmer retired his horses, upgraded his equipment (he bought several Enhanced Digging Machines), improved his productivity and was able to meet the increased demand.
He also brought his children into the business, now that they were getting older and more responsible. The youngsters had many good ideas for how to improve production further. One introduced a Grain Productivity System that produced a lot more wheat per acre than before. Another developed a Legume Integrated Double-Arable Rotation system, which produced higher protein wheat, much better for bread making. A third invented a Double-Articulated Tractor Add-on Collector, which allowed the wheat to be transported to the miller’s place much more efficiently. Things were certainly humming along down on the farm. The miller had not been standing still while this was going on. His children were now involved in his business, and were advancing those operations. One implemented a Remote Sales ENhancing System INtegrating Grain, which allowed the miller to sell to a far larger market, shipping his products far from the original customer base. Another developed a Grain Integration System/Legume Inclusion Sub-system that greatly expanded the range of goods they could produce and sell. A third developed a Permanently Hot Oven Temperature Operating, Grilling, Rack Arranging, Measurement and Monitoring Effective Throughput Rate
Integration Control system, which was a major improvement to operating efficiency in the bakery. The bakery was turning into a major commercial operation, and the farm was producing more, too. The farmer and the miller were now far better off then they were before, and they saw the benefits of introducing new technology to their operations. Of course, what they were doing was far more complex than in the old days, but they had their various children educated in getting each of the parts working properly, and under their guidance everything seemed to work together. growing vs eating season
organization, and decentralized the storage problem. Each area of the farm had SILOS, as had various parts of the mill and transportation operations. These SILOS were painted with the names and graphics of the various parts of the operation, and came to symbolize each part. One year, one of the miller’s sons married one of the farmer’s daughters, and it looked like the two operations would be united with stronger ties than the firm friendship between the farmer and the miller. The farmer and the miller looked fondly at their families and grandchildren, and the future looked rosy. They had achieved a great deal, but there was still so much potential in those lively youngsters.
The problem with growing wheat is that it takes a full cycle of a year to produce the grain. Even decentralization of operations with the introduction of spring The various farming, milling, wheat grown in different fields baking and distribution parts of from the usual winter wheat, only the entire system were now run two crops could be harvested in by the various children, while the the year, late spring and early fall. miller and the farmer were able However, people want bread to to transition towards retirement. eat year-round, and like it baked As operational control moved fresh. from the farmer and the miller to So the wheat had to be stored the various children, the children after the harvest and then fed began to assert control of their out to be milled throughout the various parts of the enterprise. year. Back in the early days, the Naturally, there was some sibling farmer bagged his wheat and rivalry and competition between stored it in his barn, taking a the various groups. few bags at a time to the miller As control gradually moved on his wagon, as they were to the parts of the operation, needed. Now this system was each of the children focused incapable of keeping up with the on improving the efficiency of quantities of wheat being grown their own area of responsibility, and milled. The farmer and miller as this was thought to improve realized they had to move to the overall return on investment. bulk handling systems. This also One of the obvious means of meant bulk storage arrangements. improving efficiency was vertical So they invested in Self-contained integration within each part of the Integrated Logistical Organizing overall operation. Systems. One of the first signs of This allowed a much smoother this vertical integration was flow of grain to the miller’s the introduction of new
milling equipment (known as the Automated Milling/Flour Management system) associated with the Grain Productivity System on the farm. This allowed the farmer’s oldest son to mill and transport flour on demand to the mill, which improved the price he was paid. The SILOS were able to be adapted to store flour, and some of the other milling products were able to be sold to other markets. Soon the milling operations were buying land and growing some of their own grain, using the Commercially-Oriented Grain Operations system, and there was a bakery operating down on the farm. After some years, there were at least eight parallel operations taking wheat from the field to the table quite independently from the others. Since each of the operations had started from different technology, they each had their own approaches to growing, harvesting and transporting wheat, and then milling and baking the flour, and distributing the finished goods. Each operation had its own language or dialect, and of course, believed it had the one right way to produce bread, and that its products were by far superior. Family get-togethers at Thanksgiving and Christmas were becoming more strained, as the rivalry between the various siblings grew. Soon the various siblings started to go their own way, and their children in turn naturally stayed close to their parent’s operations. These various cousins became progressively more estranged and antagonistic towards each other. The farmer and the miller were distressed at these problems and
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all it meant for the rest of them was a continuation of the past. But presently the technology started to filter down to their own kitchens. The first appliance that arrived was a bread-making machine. With this machine, you could put the ingredients into the machine when you went to bed, and wake up to a freshly-baked loaf. Soon the more adventurous discovered they could produce a greater variety of bread than the bakery. This didn’t make much difference to the bakery, as they still sold the flour. One day, someone bought a small wheat mill and demonstrated how to grind wheat into flour. Several people bought their own machines and then bought wheat from one of the farm operations. Some adventurous people even bought durum wheat from outside the district and made their own pasta, something quite new. One year, a few of the locals meanwhile, back in the plowed a field and grew some kitchen… winter wheat, and added this to The local people had the local people’s processing initially gone along with the capabilities. Various people now development of the bakery by had some experience of the the miller, as they could obtain whole bread-making process, fancy goods that they didn’t from field to table. It was all still a have time to make themselves. bit of an adventure and very small They could buy bread, although scale, but it was a lot of fun for some still made their own. So the locals. their lives continued much as The next development was a before, with some extra choices. bulletin board that was placed in When the technology started the town hall. The locals started to flow into the farm, mill to put their own bread recipes and bakery, those who were on the bulletin board, and other interested marveled at it all, but tried to bring their various children and grandchildren back together. They tried to stress that they were all one family now, and all in the one business, growing and adding value to wheat. But the children were too deeply involved in their own operations and were fascinated by the technology. The small victories that the farmer and the miller achieved for family unity were overwhelmed by the on-going competition and rivalry between the various operations. The farmer and the miller now spent much of their time playing golf together in Florida. They were deeply saddened by the state of affairs, after the earlier success of their business operations. They rarely bothered their families, since visiting them involved treading on egg shells all the time, and they simply enjoyed the occasional visit by their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
copied to them. Soon there was a lot of bread making going on around the place. Many people said they felt that the bread that the bakeries were making was not as good as in the past, and that they were going back to ‘real bread.’ One day, an enterprising soul opened a hot bread shop, named it the Widearea Whole-wheat Wizard, that produced loaves just like mother used to make them, and did very well. The various bakeries’ managements started to take notice, a bit. management starts to act
At first, the management people refused to take the hot bread shop seriously. After all, they had vertical operations, controlling everything from field to table in the same organization. But the different bread-making operations that had grown from the farmer and miller’s operations weren’t always producing the bread that everyone wanted. They had gone after various market niches, and were relying on sales in other markets far away, rather than selling to the locals. So the local efforts, while annoying, made little impact on the various bottom lines. They were just one more small competitor, and not even a relative. The first shock came the year that the professional bakeries failed to win a single award in baking at the Town Fair. The local judges seemed to prefer the local bread, rather than that of the
Note: All these shots are from Australia, as that’s where I know all the silos from! When I was a student one year, I drove a wheat truck from the farm to the silo to drop off the wheat, pretty much hot from the harvester. That was in the Mallee in northern Victoria, in an old International truck, well old now, but relatively new then! The one we drove to, Kooloonong, was much smaller, but it’s no longer served by a train, so I suspect that silo is no longer in use. The line was ripped up back to Piangil, and Natya lost its silo, too. The line used to go through to Annuello and Robinvale, but that was long, long time ago.
bakeries. Bakery managements just passed it off as an aberration. But when it happened again the next year, they quietly decided not to compete again. The various management executives claimed
that their product was subject to different and more complex professional standards, only really appreciated by other bakers, and so the locals’ bread was just a good amateur effort. Some of the locals had started to complain about the quality of the bread from the bakeries, and had pointed out the much higher cost of the ‘professional’ loaves compared to their own. Surely it was all bread, they claimed. Why didn’t the economies of scale lead to a cheaper product? They asked. No one at the bakeries seemed to have any answers. The miller’s son who had married the farmer’s daughter was now in a fairly senior position. After much discussion, they decided to try to get the various family members back together again, to try to get the whole operation back to the admired business it once had been. What surprised them was the negative reaction from their siblings, nephews, nieces and cousins.
Everyone wanted to keep their and unpleasant. Even the own operations. Everyone was youngest great grandchild of the opinion that they were seemed depressed. carrying on the original tradition of After the time in Florida, the the farmer and the miller, and that farmer decided that he wanted they had the one true approach to to walk around his old fields, to bread making. see the waving wheat beneath Many of the operations had the spring skies of speedwell set up their own training schools, blue. The miller walked with to continue their methods of him, and they reminisced about operation. There were trade their early days. On a slight paper stories about the various rise, the farmer stopped and operations, praising their work plucked an almost ripe ear of and products. The advertising wheat. “You know,” he said to budgets and recruiting efforts the miller, “these kids just don’t were too big to abandon get it. It’s all about the wheat. or amalgamate. Even the The processing isn’t really terminology each operation used important.” didn’t match that used by the “Exactly!” said the miller. other operations, even for exactly “You’d bring me the wheat, and the same thing. The divisions I’d just rearrange it a bit and remained, if anything deeper than have wheat flour. Then we’d before. add a little salt, sugar, water, The second shock came during oil and yeast, and we’d have a surprising economic downturn. wheaten bread. The details and The separate operations were technology don’t matter. It’s all almost all found to be very about the wheat.” delicately poised between The farmer surveyed the solvency and bankruptcy. The scene. There were the signs vigor, strength and security of and symbols of the various the original farming and milling farming, milling, baking and operations had disappeared in transportation operations all the divisions. The duplication round the horizon. They reared and in-fighting had sapped the above the fields and trees, strength and resources of the towered over the houses in entire operation. Its survival was the villages and town. “It’s all now questionable, especially as about the wheat,” he echoed the locals had spread their recipe quietly. “But what have our network and complaints all over kids achieved? Look around the country. The local hot bread us. They’re trapped inside all shop had grown into a franchise, these SILOS they made for with properties all over the themselves. Those SILOS look country. like gravestones for our lives’ work.” “It could be worse,” said the some time later… miller. “We could’ve been in the One day, the farmer and the geospatial data industry. The miller came back to pay a visit SILOS there are even worse.” to their families. With the poor He grinned. “There’s still golf. I’ll business situation, it wasn’t a give you two strokes on the first happy visit. The added tension nine holes. Winner buys drinks. only made the divisions within the family all the more touchy october 2010 ACSM BULLETIN 25
Renewable energy digest First solar projects approved on federal lands —by Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson
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he Interior Department approved the first solar projects on public lands in early October, a move aimed at shifting the type of energy development on federal property in the years to come. The two ventures green-lighted in the Californian desert —the Imperial Valley and Chevron Lucerne Valley solar projects—could provide energy for hundreds of thousands of homes, though neither would start generating electricity for more than a year, at the earliest. “We have opened up a new chapter on renewable energy on our public lands in America,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told reporters. The move to expedite solar projects development was welcome among renewable-energy executives and some environmentalists. This notwithstanding, the projects still face hurdles. The Imperial Valley solar project, for example, hinges on a new multibillion-dollar transmission line that crosses sensitive habitats. Another bottleneck appears to be the slow issuance of promised loan guarantees. The Solar Energy Industries Association says that only one loan guarantee has been issued under Section 1705 of the federal program and that 13 others are still “conditional.” Another section, called the Financial Institution Partnership Program, has also resulted in just one loan guarantee. One applicant awaiting approval for nine months is the 905megawatt Caithness Shepherds Flat wind power project in Oregon, the largest under construction in the world. Meanwhile, the project has already ordered General Electric turbines and sealed sales contracts with utilities. Energy Department spokeswoman said the department has made “commitments” for $23 billion worth of projects. “We will continue to increase the pace with which we approve these projects while ensuring that we are spending taxpayer dollars responsibly,” she said. Renewable energy projects must start before Dec. 31 to qualify for federal grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Earlier this year, Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey testified that the agency hoped to sign off on 34 such projects before the end of 2010; in early October, BLM officials said they may approve 14 at most. The solar—thermal project in Imperial Valley would rank as one of the world’s largest solar projects, providing as much as 709 megawatts of electricity from 28,630 solar dishes that could power 212,700 to 531,750 homes. The 45-megawatt Chevron Lucerne Valley project, which will occupy 422 acres compared with Imperial’s 6,360 acres, will use photovoltaic solar panels to provide electricity to between 13,500 to 33,750 homes. 26
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The Imperial Valley project has sparked controversy among environmental groups, in part because it could imperil habitat for the desert’s flat-tailed horned lizard and bighorn sheep. After several groups filed a formal protest this summer, the company behind the project—Arizonabased Tessera Solar—made several concessions, including promising to set aside 6,000 acres for the two species and to use wastewater from a nearby water-treatment plant for its operations. On a practical level, though, the Imperial Valley project has secured transmission lines for only 300 of its planned 709 megawatts of power. Transmission remains a huge issue in this otherwise commendable effort to jumstart development of renewable energy in the California desert.
Since late August, the California Energy Commission has cleared plants with expected energy production totaling nearly 3,000 megawatts scattered across the desert regions. The 250megawatt Genesis Solar Energy Project and the 709-megawatt Imperial Valley Solar Project were the fifth and sixth plants to get the go-ahead in recent months. California is attempting to meet a goal for utilities to draw 20% of their power from renewable energy by the end of this year and 33% by 2020. All projects are rushing to break ground before the end of the year in order to qualify for federal stimulus funding. The Genesis project is being developed by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources and will involve two facilities using parabolic trough technology. Curved mirrors will collect the sun’s rays, heating fluid that will produce steam to run generators. The installation will be set up about 25 miles west of Blythe in Riverside County, where Chevron Energy Solutions and Solar Millennium plan to soon start building a similar 968-megawatt plant. The plant will sprawl over 1,800 acres in an undeveloped area of the Sonoran Desert. Tessera Solar’s Imperial Valley project will utilize solar dishes, or SunCatchers, across thousands of acres in a region bordering Arizona and Mexico. The two projects will result in nearly 2,000 construction jobs and more than 200 permanent jobs.—by Tiffany Hsu
The Savvy Surveyor — A column on all matters of surveying by R. William Glassey, PLS
Helicopters and Heaven
Photo © James Wengler, PLS, CFedS
“I’ve been from Tucson to Tucumcari, Tehachapi to Tonopah…” “Willin’” Lyrics by Lowell George
F
or several years in the middle and late 1970s, my career was devoted to huge aerial mapping projects all over the American West. These were good times! There was plenty of satisfying work, travel nearly every week to parts unknown, and many colleagues with whom I’m still in touch, after so many years. The projects typically consisted of several small crews working closely together—single-person crews for primary control, and two-person for levels and secondary control. I was usually designated for primary control. Primary control was typically conducted with a Wild T2 or a Kern DKM2 (my preference) one-second theodolite, and a huge Tellurometer MRA3 w/ car battery. We used CB radios, though often we were out of contact for various reasons. Interestingly, the Tellurometers were radio frequency, and you could talk over long distances with them, but this required an instrument at each end.
We frequently took shots over 10 miles, and regularly would take shots over 20 miles. The manufacturer stated the limit to be just over 30 miles (50 kilometers), but I recall exceeding that distance several times. The distances were dictated by the terrain rather than equipment limits. Needless to say, this control work had to be meticulously orchestrated. Sometimes, a complete day would be comprised of only a few setups, and we always needed to know where to search for our crew mates. We would typically leapfrog around the site that was to be mapped. Normally, we would establish contact and measure the distance, while both parties were on station. This was an involved process, and both instruments were taken through a master and remote sequence of measuring to each other. We also measured barometric pressure and wet and dry bulb thermometer readings at each end. Following distance measuring, partner A would replace the mast over his point and pack up and
Want to comment? Contact The Savvy Surveyor Bill Glassey at <lancer.bear@gmail.com>. october 2010 ACSM BULLETIN 27
This column is gratefully dedicated to my longtime friend, colleague, and mentor, Robert Allen (Chic) Chichester, who passed away in February 2010. Rest in peace, Chic!
Business end of Tellurometer MRA3.
move to his next point. Partner B would measure several sets of angles from the previous station to the next station while A traveled. Sometimes, depending on visibility and strength of figures, we would turn sets of angles to other remotemasted stations. I will say it again: this control work had to be meticulously orchestrated! The particular project on which I wish to elaborate was a 550 square mile mapping project in northeastern Montana. Our client was a large energy company, and the site was to be mapped for a proposed coalfield. The site was extremely remote. The nearest town (population only about 700) was 35 miles away, and the only access to the site was an occasional, two-rutted primitive road. We quickly opted to engage a helicopter outfit we had utilized on several previous projects; and the pilot and machine flew in and met us in town. Larry, the pilot, was quite a character, and he was extremely invaluable to our success on the project. He was the only individual who ever got to see the entire site and, fortunately, had a near photographic memory. Typically, Larry would pick you up, take off, do a circle or two to get his bearings (and apparently to confuse the passenger), then beeline to your next destination. No drop-off was complete without a point toward where to look for other sights. We relied heavily on Larry for the big picture. On a most memorable morning, Larry dropped me off on a small rock butte, somewhat centrally located on the project, and several hundred feet above the majority of the surrounding landscape. The butte was so small, he was only able to get 28 
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one skid down, and had to keep flying to maintain balance while I exited and unloaded my gear. In addition to my survey gear, I had a backpack with a stainless steel thermos of coffee, some water, and two box lunches. I also had some extra clothing, for which I was grateful! Prior to his departure, Larry pointed to where I should look for my crew mates. There were few distinguishing landmarks in the surrounding terrain, and it was always extremely difficult to locate the masts, or my fellow surveyors, over such great distances. It was expected to be a long day, as I needed to stay on the butte and make angle and distance measurements to eight or nine other key points. Two other mates, Ross and John, were to be leapfrogged repeatedly by Larry throughout the day.
The helicopter and the Kern doing their part in surveying the American West.
My station was really spectacular, and I appreciated it more as the day wore on. Small butte, as mentioned, with a large square stone cairn atop, perhaps four feet tall, presumably built and used in the past by a sheepherder. The cairn would come in handy all day as a windbreak; the wind
@ The two B/W pictures are from the author’s archives. James Wengler assisted by scanning the old negatives.
A spectacular perch with a stone cairn and the Tellurometer peering into the surrounding countryside.
predictably shifted direction several times during the day. From this perch, I could see for perhaps 30 miles in every direction but could not discern a single road, fence, barn, power line, or any other man-made object! This butte was wonderfully spectacular and completely awe inspiring! The day progressed, and my crew mates were shuttled around as planned by the helicopter. Distances and angles were dutifully measured to each station. By mid afternoon, we were running behind schedule, and it looked like we might not be able to finish. Naturally, the helicopter was limited to flying on the project in daylight only. If we could not complete my setup, it might add an entire day to the project. We pressed on and completed the last angles after sunset.
Before signing off, we discussed the possibility that Larry might not make it back until morning to pick me up. I packed everything away and was certainly not looking forward to a cold and lonely bivouac on my rocky perch. It continued to grow increasingly darker, when suddenly I heard the unmistakable and welcome sound of the chopper returning. Larry landed as before, I hurriedly loaded my gear, and we took off and headed for town. I asked him about finding me in the dusk, and the difficult landing, and he replied, “Easy as pie! Kinda like tossing a dime down onto a postage stamp!” Before we were halfway back to town, it was totally dark. We worked long days, as you might imagine. It was late fall, with winter closing fast, and we began an hour or so before dawn and worked long past dark every evening. Nights were busy with recharging batteries and planning the next day’s sessions. There was not much nightlife in town! Our boss, Chic, used his room in the motel as an office which contained a large, taped-up USGS composite drawing with hand-plotted control points and an old dinosaur Olivetti computer. I remember that the computer could only process a limited number of digits, and we had to manually manipulate the coordinates by a large amount to get sufficient decimal places on the state plane grid. Typically, we started and ended on USC&GS triangulation stations. Solutions of our control began with Tellurometer distance reduction, which was tedious, and normally not attempted in the field. Next came an analysis of the triangles, and the solution often involved some combination of triangulation and trilateration. I did not personally get very involved in the calculations on this particular project. As I recall, we worked 14 days straight, completed the project, and hightailed it out of there with a snowstorm on our heels. Pleasant surveying!
About the author: R. William Glassey, P.L.S. is a Project Manager for PLS, Inc., in Issaquah, Washington. He is a registered Professional Land Surveyor in Colorado and Washington. Mr. Glassey is a Past President of the Land Surveyors’ Association of Washington (LSAW), and currently serves as NSPS Governor from the State of Washington. He was educated at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Colorado. Mr. Glassey has more than thirty-five years of experience in the land surveying profession and is therefore obligated to share some of these experiences. To comment on this column, e-mail <lancer.bear@gmail.com>.
october 2010 ACSM BULLETIN 29
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Renewable energy digest #2 Google backs ‘superhighway’ for wind power —by Juliet Eilperin and Debbi Wilgoren
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nternet search engine giant Google announced in October that it is investing in a mammoth project to build an underwater “superhighway for clean energy” that would be able to funnel power from offshore wind farms to 1.9 million homes without overtaxing the already congested mid-Atlantic power grid. The project, dubbed the Atlantic Wind Connection, calls for spending as much as $5 billion to create a 350-mile network of underwater cables stretching from northern New Jersey to Virginia. It would eliminate the need for offshore wind developers to build transmission lines of their own, easing what can be a barrier for such projects.
An offshore wind farm off the coast of Atlantic City, New Jersey [http://greenjersey,org]
Google is partnering with Good Energies, an environmentally focused international investment company based in New York, London, and Switzerland, and Tokyo-based Marubeni to finance the project. The project is led by Trans-Elect, an electric transmission company in Chevy Chase, Maryland. The venture constitutes “a huge, huge bold project” that would “stimulate development that would otherwise be impossible” offshore along the East Coast, said TransElect’s chief executive. The grid would transmit 6,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy. The project is in its very early stages but Google is willing to take calculated risks on large-scale projects that can move an industry because it provides a smart, scalable platform for future expansion. Although several offshore wind farms are in development along the East Coast, none is operating. Some, such as the Cape Wind project, which won federal approval in April,
have encountered fierce local opposition on aesthetic and environmental grounds. Others face bureaucratic hurdles. Offshore wind development has been identified as top energy policy priority by the Obama administration. “By identifying high-priority areas offshore for potential wind projects, we can explore the development of a transmission backbone in the Atlantic Ocean to serve those areas,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said last month. Lack of sufficient transmission capacity is a hurdle that solar projects on the West Coast are facing; the Atlantic Wind Connection may provide some useful insights. “Rather than developing transmission infrastructure plans on a piecemeal basis,” said the Secretary, “we should—in close coordination with the private sector, states, and tribes—lay out a smart transmission system up front.” The transmission line would address the problem of wind’s intermittent supply by tapping into a much broader swath of the coast to meet consumer demand. While the project is outside of Google’s normal focus, officials said they believe in investing in projects that make good business sense and further the development of renewable energy. Google will provide 37.5 percent of the equity for the initial development. The New York Times, which first reported the project, said Google’s initial investment in the project will be $200 million. Trans-Elect hopes to begin construction in 2013 on what it calls a “backbone transmission project” and complete it by 2020, but an initial stage should be finished and operational by 2016. Consumers who would receive electricity through the grid would help fund the project. The mid-Atlantic is ideally suited for offshore wind technology, the project’s backers said, because the water remains relatively shallow 10 to 15 miles offshore—far enough out so that the wind turbines would be barely visible from land. This could address the “visibility” issues that have plagued the Cape Wind project on Nantucket Sound. [Based on a report in The Washington Post, October 13, 2010]
Atlantic Wind Farm off the coast of New Jersey [http://greenjersey.org]
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transcript of an interview
How video games build leaders
During any one week, about a hundred million people in the U.S. play a game of some sort, a video or computer game. Many of them are adolescent boys in dark rooms with no windows, but many are people who have mortgages and yard work and jobs. Is the time people spend playing games wasted? Researchers say no. Byron Reeves, professor of communications at Stanford University and co-author, with J. Leighton Read, of a book on Total Engagement: Using Games and Virtual Worlds to Change the Way People Work and Businesses Compete, researches how to use video and computer games to develop leaders. Here are some thoughts from the book: On leadership and games: People say it’s most important to be born a leader. You get nurtured, you get selected, you probably showed leadership qualities early on in school, you’ve been involved in activities that develop something that naturally existed. In games, players feel that leadership is not so much an attribute of individuals who are doing the leading but of the environments in which the people are acting. On game environments: One of the most popular games right now, which is a kind of gold standard for these large, collaborative games is World of Warcraft. There can be up to 15 million people paying 15 bucks a month to play the game. But to do well one must accept that “I don’t win unless we win, and to win, I have to join a guild or a group and be part of the narrative. An individual participates in the game via a role that he or she has agreed to
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play within the group. And just like in real life, we’re not all the same—some are soldiers, others are commanders, and still others may be medics and nurses, or the kitchen staff. We all are good at something but to win, we have to come together and do our job. On empowering leaders. One reason game players are empowered to be leaders is because there’s feedback—feedback in multiple time domains about my contribution to the larger goals. And, I know how we are doing in any given action, moment by moment. We think collaboration and feedback are some of the most complex, social experiences possible, and we‘re working on incorporating these important features of collaborative games at work and in society. Encouraging team engagement at work places, nurturing the social sense of belonging, and providing feedback on what impact did the contribution of individual staff have on the team’s output could be of great advantage in developing leaders.—Transcribed by Fahima Haque.
MORE RESOURCES ON GAMING AND LEADERSHIP
Avatars in the Workplace, Jan. 2010 Harvard Business Review. Letter from Omaha Beach: How Call of Duty Can Teach Leadership, 2008 Wharton Leadership Digest. Virtual World, Real Leaders: Online Games Put the Future of Business Leadership on Display, 2007 IBM/Seriousity Report. Leadership in a Distributed World: Lessons from Online Gaming, 2007 IBM panel.
The Internet operating system and geospatial technology by Matt Ball
The Internet operating system is a concept promoted to describe the increasing importance of services and applications that are accessible via any web browser. The concept is directly related to the growing use of smart phones to access the same application experience regardless of the operating system or the device. It also ties well into the growing use of cloud resources where capacity is getting so robust that entire desktop software functionality can be accessed without even having to install software on your own machine. The thought is that the increasing reliance on the Internet for processing, applications and services occur outside of the environment of your individual computer’s capacity or operating system. A search engine is a good example for this shift as you can type in your query into the same window regardless of the device, and you draw on remote resources to get your result. This evolution has come about given a more open framework and set of services and APIs, not a proprietary and closed computing operating system. One of the earliest successes on the Internet was the maps and directions from Mapquest, which in itself could be considered an Internet-based application. The web mapping experience has grown steadily in sophistication, to the point where we can now access a free Internet mapping platform to find exactly where we are, to route ourselves via multiple modes of transportation, while accessing further details about our surroundings. All this has occurred via the Internet operating system, which increasingly offers more live and real-time services. always connected
instructions, and was able to correct my direction and heading. At a complicated intersection I was asked if I needed directions, and at that same moment my handheld directed my site to the sign I was looking for. The ability to easily self-navigate our world will only get better, so much so that we’ll be able to avoid that bewilderment which comes from navigating a new space. This capability wouldn’t have come about without an open Internet operating system. Without that openness, we wouldn’t be seeing the growing trend to open up so much more government geospatial data that will serve to further enrich the mobile experience. myriad possibilities
There are some very interesting things to expect from an open Internet operating system in the future. Its ability to act as a middle processing ground between various applications could provide control over when and where data about an individual can be collected or used. It could also perform functions of language and data translation, seamlessly changing the display depending on the context of the user or the desired application. It might also act as a filter to remove old or bad data. In the geospatial realm, we might want that operating system to perform data transformation or fusion as a sort of seamless and fast middleware function between applications. It might also run certain algorithms or spatial analysis functions before updating the display with an informed idea of how to react to or navigate our surroundings. The operating system might aggregate inputs from distributed nodes to inform different applications about the conditions around us. Having an intermediary piece of computing power and capacity that can act between services and applications is an intriguing idea. We’re seeing increasingly powerful geospatial tools online, with better collaboration, greater speed and power, online analysis, and more data to enrich the experience. Increasingly, the key toward realizing the full promise of geospatial technologies is in a fast and processing-enabled Internet. A more active and capable Internet operating system might help accelerate the realization of this vision. [First published in v1 media.]
The importance of the Internet operating system wouldn’t be nearly as great if it weren’t for the fact that increasing numbers of people spend nearly all their waking hours tethered to the Internet for work or pleasure. We increasingly rely on the same computing resources that we used to only be able to access via a desktop computer, regardless of where we are located or what computer we have at hand. This portability of our computing experience is made possible thanks to common browser interfaces. Our ability to pinpoint our location is central to a growing number of services because location becomes a filter to put our mobile experience into context. We now have References free mobile mapping platforms that pinpoint our location, provide routing instructions whether we’re walking, biking, “The State of the Internet Operating System,” by Tim using public transportation or a vehicle, and provide rich O’Reilly, O’Reilly Radar, March 29, 2010. information about the landmarks around us. “Is There an ‘Internet Operating System’”?, by Mathew On a recent trip to Philadelphia, I was able to plan my Ingram, GigaOm, April 2, 2010. route to the center of town via a rail link, with walking
october 2010 ACSM BULLETIN 33
The Joint Government Affairs Committee continues to work on a number of issues for ACSM members. Here is a selection of the currently most urgent ones we have been involved in, —by Laurence Socci Laurence Socci can be reached at laurence@theclagroup.com
lobby day webinar and visits In June, we had a great Lobby Day webinar to prepare members for visits with their Representatives and Senators. The webinar provided useful tips for securing and attending meetings with Members of Congress, and we also went over three issues that will be discuss during the recess—Preservation of Railroad Monumentation, Repeal of the 3% Withholding Tax on Government Contracts and Federal Funding for Trig-Star. The PowerPoint for the webinar and the Lobby Day handout documents are available on the ACSM website. We already received quite a bit of feedback from folks who had meetings, and we are following up on all of them. fema news FEMA recently released its 2010 Guidance for Great Lakes Coasts of the United States. The Public Review and Comment Period is going on now. comment period extended The Great Lakes Coastal Guidelines Update, dated January 2010, will supersede Section D.3, Wave Elevation Determination and V Zone Mapping: Great Lakes of the April 2003 version of Guidelines and Specifications for Flood Hazard Mapping Partners (Guidelines)—Appendix D: Guidance for Coastal Flooding Analyses and Mapping. These new guidelines incorporate a response-based runup methodology and provisions for a response-based erosion analysis. Also new is a statistically based methodology to account for the uncertainty associated with long-term lake level fluctuations. The update also contains enhanced discussions relating to the calculation of wave setup, evaluating coastal structures, guidance for mapping coastal flood hazard zones, and requirements for intermediate data submittals for FEMAcontracted studies. The review and comment period extends from June 28, 2010 until November 1, 2010. During this period, FEMA encourages your review. Please submit your comments to Jonathan E. Westcott, PE, Program Specialist, via email at jonathan.westcott@dhs.gov; http://www. floodmaps.fema.gov/pdf/fhm/great_lakes_guidelines.pdf. dod alternative energy mapping act Rep. Dean Heller of Nevada recently introduced H.R.5507,
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the Department of Defense Alternative Energy Mapping Act. The legislation requires the Secretary of Defense to: (1) prepare maps of military installations and eligible adjacent property that classify locations on the installations and property as acceptable, unacceptable, or unassessed regarding their suitability for placement of geothermal, wind, solar photovoltaic, or solar thermal trough systems; (2) enter into agreements with entities involved in the production or installation of alternative energy systems to utilize their expertise and to share the costs of preparing such maps; and (3) disseminate such maps to Congress, the states in which the installations are located, local governments having jurisdiction over adjacent land, and the owners of adjacent private property. ACSM will meet with the sponsor of this legisla-
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tion to discuss what role the organization can play to move this legislation forward. surveying services for lomas to be reimbursed by the feds—fairness in flood mapping act of
2010
Legislation was recently introduced in the House that would provide reimbursement for certain services relating to an approved letter of map amendment. The Bill is entitled the Fairness in Flood Mapping Act of 2010, and its number is H.R. 5722. Shortly after the bill was introduced, Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-OH), the sponsor of H.R. 5722, proposed an Amendment to H.R.5114, the Flood Insurance Reform Priorities Act as follows: “if the owner of any property located in an area described in section 102(i)(1) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 obtains a letter of map amendment during the 5-year period for such area referred to in such section, FEMA shall reimburse such owner, or such entity or jurisdiction acting on such owners behalf, for any costs incurred in obtaining such letter.” The Amendment was agreed to by voice vote. We are working with the Senate to ensure that the same language is in the Senate version of the bill.
engineers, and technicians. Through its affiliation with the Coaliusgs coalition news The USGS Coalition discussed several key issues at its tion, ACSM hopeS to be able to secure Trig-Star funding by finding broad support for the funding with STEM Coalition members who recent meeting. The Coalition hosted a Congressional Recepcan, in turn, help ACSM gain support in Congress. tion and Exhibition on Sept. 20 on Capitol Hill. During the Reception, the Coalition presented its Leadership Award to Congressman Mike Simpson (R-ID) and Congressman Jim small business lending act—1099 paperwork Moran (D-VA) for their work in support of the USGS. Among nightmare the past recipients of the award are Rep. Norman Dicks, Congress recently passed the Small Business Lending Act, in 2008, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, in 2009. The USGS is which did a lot to help small businesses. But contained in also offering several opportunities for Coalition members to the bill is a section that will dramatically increase the paperwork with the USGS on outreach programs. For example, work that small businesses must file with the IRS. Section the USGS is looking for Coalition member co-sponsorship 9006 of the Act mandates that every business, charity, and of its USGS Congressional Briefing Series. Other propos- local and state government entity submit 1099 forms for als include: joint press release with Coalition members, business transactions totaling $600 or more in a given year. articles written by USGS staff in Coalition member orga- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that the mandate nizations’ in-house publications, and tours of the USGS increases businesses’ reporting requirements by as much headquarters for the Coalition or Coalition members. as 2,000 percent. The increased use of 1099 reporting has been identified as a measure to increase tax compliance.
stem coalition news ACSM recently joined the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Coalition and signed on to a letter from the Coalition to Senators in support of the America COMPETES Act. The America COMPETES Act, which already passed the House, bolsters America’s competitiveness by strengthening the science, technology, engineering, and math education fields. The bill is intended to give support for basic research and development programs in the STEM fields in elementary and high schools. As part of the STEM Education Coalition, we join over 1,000 diverse groups representing all sectors of the technological workforce—from knowledge workers, to educators, to scientists,
cofpaes update The Fall Delegate Meeting on Nov. 9 and 10 had a different format. On Novermber 9, COFPAES will host an all-day workshop on QBS contracting for A/E services. The class will be taught by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and will provide information on the Federal government’s acquisition of firms via the Brooks Act qualifications based selection. November 10, in the morning, COFPAES will host a Federal A/E Forum; the afternoon will be devoted to the Delegates Meeting.
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The Mysterious Rosetta Stone Historian speaks at National Security Agency, telling the back-channel story on what happened during the 23 years it took to crack the code to hieroglyphics and so unlock the secrets of ancient Egypt. The epic tale of the Rosetta Stone is an inspiration to anyone interested in breaking codes and solving problems.—National Cryptologic Museum Foundation “The Mysterious Rosetta Stone: A CodeCracking International Treasure,” was the topic of a talk by Dr. Joel Freeman on July 21, at the National Security Agency’s office in Maryland. Seating was limited; registration required, along with a small fee to benefit the National Cryptologic Museum Foundation (NCMF), the sponsor of the event. The presentation was educational, delightfully visual, and entertaining. A full-size 3-D Rosetta Stone replica was on display. Also exhibited were some genuine artifacts and documents, many from the early 1800s. Found in 1799 on the west bank of the Nile by French soldiers, the Rosetta Stone, a 1,700 pound fragment of an ancient slab, gave up the clues, after 23 years, which ultimately cracked the code to Egyptian hieroglyphs. Freeman, an entrepreneur and a student of history, has travelled to well over 50 countries, including the exact site where the original Rosetta Stone was discovered. After more than five years he spent researching, he developed (with a lot of help) the world’s first full-size, museum-quality, 3-D replica of the famous Rosetta Stone (45” tall x 30” wide x 11” thick, 95 lbs) which is
now available for viewing by the general public. The replica is based on a firstgeneration reproduction in 2005 of the face of the Rosetta Stone. Freeman had the face laser scanned, then the back and side were sculpted, and a mold was made. He then commissioned the creation of the full-size model and built the pedestal base (30” tall x 30” wide) that mimics the way the stone was exhibited at the British Museum in London, U.K., in the late 1800s. [www.RosettaStoneReplicas.com or freemaninstitute.com/rosettastone.htm]
Revolutionizing architecture —by Robert Peel Hi-tech 3D modelling software is being employed by University College of London (UCL) to create 3D computer visualizations of stunning environmental installations. Researchers at the Bartlett School of Architecture are using the Pointools software to process millions of laser scanned measure-
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ments into highly detailed 3D models. These are then used to complete environmental analysis of potential sites and create a digital landscape in which installation prototypes could be formed, honed, and tested. The projects making the most of this high tech surveying and modelling solu-
ACSM BULLETIN october 2010
tion included a “rainbow maker” and “55/02” on the shores of Kielder Water in Northumberland. Using a Faro Photon 120 3D laser scanner the researchers took detailed measurements of potential sites and their surrounding environments. These were fed into the Pointools software to create accurate representation of the site and were used to forecast climatic conditions in which the installation would operate. Subsequent measurements from the model were fed into the manufacturing and design processes, providing a mesh onto which bespoke parts could be mapped. Later scans recreated in Pointools were also used to further explore the potential of the installation, giving evidence of range of the current location. “Slow becoming delightful” was an installation in a small pocket of space within Kielder Park cleared by a storm. Designed to draw attention to the magical properties of weather events, the installation consisted of a series of passively activated pressure vessels linked to an array of humidity tanks. Over time, energy and water was collected and stored and when the “ideal” circumstances were in place, a fine mist was dispersed creating a rainbow. Visitors to Kielder Park will come across “55/02”, an experimental building in a stand of trees at Cock Stoor on the north shore of Kielder Water. Named after the latitude and longitude of it’s location, this brightly painted steel structure highlights the importance of location to design, as the key site lines contribute to the structure’s unusual layout.
! c i V k s A Q:
Increasingly, our clients are asking us to sign certifications which specifically require that the certification be issued to our client and the client’s “successors and assigns.” I want to know the implications of adding the words “successors and assigns,” and if it affects the scope of coverage of the professional liability policy.
A:
As a general rule, surveyors can appropriately sign only those certification statements that are accurate, contain appropriate qualifying language, and relate to conditions within the surveyor’s knowledge or control. It is ill-advised to sign any certificate that would extend the surveyor’s exposure beyond intended parties or certify conditions beyond the surveyor’s control. When a surveyor undertakes to certify that something has or has not been completed in the appropriate manner, the client has the right to rely on the professional knowledge and skill of the surveyor in making that certification. A surveyor should be certain that what is being certified is consistent with the services rendered. The surveyor must also avoid providing a certification that goes beyond the scope of services for which the surveyor was retained and must avoid making the certification an unqualified statement of fact. Contract negotiations between the surveyor and client, therefore, represent the prime opportunity to communicate with the client. It is important that the intention to expand the universe of entities that can rely on the certification to successors and assigns be addressed in the professional service agreement; this simple step helps you to analyze the implications of issuing a certification that includes “successors and assigns” as entities that can rely on the certification.
—by Nahom A. Gebre, Esq.
The two most important criteria in limiting certification liability are the specification in writing of the purposes for which the survey is being made and the standards by which the services will be performed. Any statement of the accuracy of the survey should be based on the standard used for the specific professional service provided. Certifications should not be thought of as isolated, after-the-fact recordations. The contract a surveyor negotiates with its client and the survey and certification of that survey must be in accord. The surveyor’s contract should include: • A description of the service to be provided; • The purpose for which the survey is being made (including a statement of understanding by the intended user of the instrument of service to be used); • Designation of the professional standards to be met; • Recognition in the fee that if parties other than the client are allowed to rely on the certification, the surveyor is compensated for the additional exposure; and • A statement declaring that the resultant certification is not a guarantee or express warranty, and that the survey is based on observations made by the surveyor. The certification relates the professional opinion of the surveyor based on the data presented. A certification statement that includes “successors and assigns” expands the universe of entities that can rely on the certification. This means that the number of parties who can bring a claim against the surveyor is greater and that the potential claimant is not known at the time a certification is issued. Furthermore, surveyors often rely on information provided by their client to complete their services. When a claim relating
to the services is brought by a successor or an assignee, it may be difficult to present a robust defense since the original client is now a third party to the litigation and therefore may not be readily accessible. Surveyors should therefore consider these implications and, to the extent possible, charge fees that reflect the potential additional liability exposure that comes with adding the terms “successors and assigns” to the certification statement. It is important to note that using the terms “successors and assigns” does not affect the scope of coverage of the professional liability policy. The professional liability policy provides coverage for negligence in the performance of professional services. If the services underlying the certification statement did not meet the standard of care, and the party alleging negligence can show that as a result of the negligence they suffered damages, then the professional liability policy will respond. Prudent risk management requires that surveyors carefully examine the implications of adding the words “successors and assigns” to a certification statement.
Do you have a question regarding an insurance or practice management issue? Email your question to AskVic@Schinnerer.com and look for your answer in a future issue of ACSM’s Bulletin. Victor O. Schinnerer & Company, Inc., is the underwriting manager for the CNA professional liability program. Schinnerer and CNA have been the commended program of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping since 1965.
october 2010 ACSM BULLETIN 37
“Heater Pieces” An old Yankee term for those triangular parcels of land situated in or near intersections
—by Daniel Cruson They resulted from the practice of cutting corners when approaching the intersection and can be seen in countless vintage photos of an area’s 19th century dirt roads. The term comes from the antique irons our great grandmothers used to smooth family garments so as to make sure that creases were in their proper places. These irons had interchangeable wooden handles. A classic “heater piece” can be found at the intersection of Borough Lane and South Main Street, Route 25 in Connecticut. When it was laid out, it was a “T” intersection, meaning that Borough Lane joined South Main at right angles. Over time, traffic impatiently cut the corner. Rather than going out to the main road, the wagon cut to the left or right, eventually scoring a travel path clear of vegetation on a diagonal to that main road. The road as it was laid out, was not traveled on, and so became cluttered with vegetation forming a green triangle, or “heater piece.” As the roads became paved in the years after World War II, the travel paths were covered with bituminous macadam, and the heater piece remained an island in the intersection. A spectacular example of this last part of heater piece formation is the Hattertown Green. Here HI Barlow Road was laid out to run north to a T intersection with Hattertown Road. Impatient traffic, which wanted to turn right at the intersection, found it easier to veer off to the right a couple hundred feet before the proposed intersection and pass in front of the houses to the east. In this manner a very large heater piece was formed and became the center of Newtown’s first Historic District. A variation of this pattern is the heater piece formed at a “Y” intersection. A good example is on Obtuse Road where it joins Newbury Road just below the Brookfield border.
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Here the traffic flowing north grew impatient and rather than going to the point of intersection, turned east to get to Newbury Road more quickly, leaving a triangular heater piece between the two upright strokes of the Y. Yet another variation can be seen in the heater piece that formed at the south end of Palestine Road where it intersected with Hundred Acres and Platt’s Hill roads. As the three roads came together, traffic cut the corner to whichever road was intended to be traveled creating a triangular, heavily vegetated parcel of land that actually has full grown trees anchoring its sod. On a casual spring afternoon I was able to visit seven of these old traffic fossils, but with a little searching I am sure many more can be found in Newtown alone. I will leave this as a challenge and actively record the ones that you find and make known to me through Patch Comments at http://newtown.patch.com.
ACSM BULLETIN october 2010
Captions (top to bottom): The heater piece at the intersection of Borough Lane and Rt#25 looking west. The Hattertown green looking north from Hi Barlow Rd., a classic but large heater piece. A very small heater piece at the north end of Palestine Rd. where it joins Boggs Hill Rd., looking north. Photos courstesy of Daniel Cruson
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perspectives
What would a complete connection to place include? —by Matt Ball The convergence of geospatial location into all of the information that the Internet collects could yield a whole new understanding and awareness of place. The ultimate promise is the unlocking of rich data and details about our environment, our designed spaces, our interactions, and our collective histories. With this inevitable trajectory of much richer data about place, what can we assume that we’ll see? We need to think beyond measurement and display software and devices, and delve into the information itself and the insight that this collected information will enable. Despite the limitations of our data and visualization capabilities, we might be able to look both backward and forward through time and access assisted insights that will harness the knowledge of experts to inform our queries.
place from the perspective of our ancestry will help foster greater interest in stewardship, and will also form deeper societal bonds. Instead of people of local and regional affiliations, we’ll have a broadened global perspective of our origins and movements, even down to our genome level. Our knowledge of the Earth will include a sense of how human actions, industries, and development have shaped our landscape. We’ll be able to relate better to neighbourhoods and urban structures that work well and decipher and fix faster the elements that make other neighbourhoods deficient and less livable. The greater collective understanding of our places will empower changes that have the least cost and cause minimum disruption, while affording the greatest rewards.
rhythms of the earth At the most fundamental level, we would benefit from greater insights into the daily, seasonal, and millennial rhythms of our planet. We could relate these changes to our built environment to better attune our buildings and infrastructure to nature, so that the built and natural environment may act in concert rather than impacting each other adversely. We would also learn more about how the world’s flora and fauna behave and interact in order to preserve and enhance biodiversity and healthy ecosystems. We’ll be able to query a richer weather interface to learn how the day’s weather will unfold, and what the implications will be on our mobility and outdoor enjoyment. We might choose to get outside earlier or later in the day and plan our work and trips without having to endure costly weatherrelated delays and tie-ups. This collection and display of the deep knowledge of the workings of our planet on the Internet would also relate relevant information from our solar system. Details on solar storms would be available to understand their impacts on communications. The cycle of the moon and tides would provide greater insight into our relationship with our natural satellite. Expeditions and the knowledge that we’ve collected about our celestial neighbours and deep space will become much more readily accessible and relatable to our activities.
enhanced awareness The Internet’s ability to enhance our search and knowledge gathering has largely been a static rather than an active experience. We often set about with deeper queries that lead us to delve into the purpose and cause of our current realities. These queries at present merely scratch the surface of what is possible. In the future, we can expect that our large volumes of collected information will include a cadre of expert analysts and arbiters of information who will assist us in our understanding either formally or informally, so that we may build our intelligence more rapidly and more clearly. The idea of intelligent agents goes back to the early days of the Internet, and the idea of semantic intelligence with machine learning factors into this vision. The fallibility of human cognition begs for a more active means of eliminating faulty intuition and so derive insights that can be more trusted. The intelligence of place is an important part in enhancing our knowledge about the conditions and realities of life on Earth. An enhanced awareness of our mobility, economy, and health and wellness are all in some measure related to place and can each be improved upon through greater spatial awareness. Our desire to drive down the cost of transportation, for instance, will win the most where we can become the most efficient in transporting people to where they want and need to be, without delays. Our cities and countries will become more vibrant and more efficient if their development is shaped by location-informed, efficient economy. Our health will improve greatly when we start paying attention to the impacts of substances and conditions in our local environment that could be adversely affecting us. A complete connection to place means much more than the navigation of the amenities and services of an area into all aspects of how we live and interact. Through greater details into the underpinnings of places, and more shared knowledge about them, we’ll form greater bonds and will be empowered to change what doesn’t work.
reflective associations The collected human history on the planet would extend knowledge of the condition of prior settlement in each area. The insight into the lay of the land and its alteration over time will key us into the natural infrastructure that spurred human development to begin with, and will provide richer insight into our alteration and adaptation in order to inform further development decisions. Our connection to the land could be explored from the perspective of our ancestry, to relate their movements and actions and occupations in order to get a better sense of our personal stake in the landscape. A richer understanding of
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ACSM BULLETIN october 2010
geodesy
Where do I err in my calculations? Sir Isaac Newton shows how horizontal gravitational vectors cancel out, but physically, horizontal acceleration does not go away when vectors cancel out —by Neil B. Christiansen
G
eodesists solve earth’s moment of inertia with an an added pull, over and above the pull needed to lift the ideal world equation wherein no consideration is weight of the wire. In effect, the wire is forced to lift a porgiven to real world resistance to movement. I’m tion of the liquid’s surface. The elevated surface constitutes sure you encountered ideal world problems when you were two masses (one on each side of the wire) which are lifted studying physics. You were told to ignore the frictional above the normal surface of the liquid. These lifted masses, forces acting on a block sliding down an inclined plane. m1g and m2g, add to the weight of the wire. In response Ignoring friction simplified the problem, but gave a skewed to this phenomenon, physicists introduce a surface tension answer. constant S in the equation; S = P/2l. The horizontal pull of Sir Isaac Newton discusses gravitational accelerations in cohesive surface tension holds these two masses in place the Principia but confines his work to vectors. He ignores until their lifted weights overcome that pull. Textbooks idenhorizontal gravitational vectors because they do indeed bal- tify surface tension as a phenomenon associated with the ance out. This reasoning led geodesists to identify vertical existence of a boundary surface between a liquid and some gravitational acceleration as the only acceleration needed other substance, but the geodesist’s flattening equation to be overcome before the earth’s rotation would cause her does not consider this phenomenon. to bulge (flatten). So in their ideal world equation, the differEngineering handbooks give surface tension constants for ence (C-A) between the earth’s moments of inertia, about a number of liquids. In reviewing these, against the liquid’s polar and equatorial axes, are expressed in terms of flatten- density, there appears to be a relationship; namely, density ing as: f = 1.5(C-A)/Ma2 + 0.5(ω2a/ge). The derived value for and surface tension have something in common. We know C, 80.378 x 1036 kg m2, dictates most of her mass concen- liquid particles do not form permanent chemical bonds, so trate in her core. As a result, earth scientists abandoned the could horizontal gravitational acceleration be the primary condensed cold-core model for a hot-core model—wherein cause of surface tension? heavy particles sink deep into the earth’s molten core to According to Newton’s law of universal gravitation, F give earth her low moment of inertia. = GM1M2/D2, a cubic centimeter of mercury will attract So, what skews the outcome in the geodesist’s hydro- its neighboring cubic centimeter with a pull of 1.24 x 10-5 static model? Picture if you would the skin of a rubber bal- gmcm/sec2—for water the pull is 6.67 x 10-8 gmcm/sec2. loon, which resists pressure within the balloon. Force vec- The horizontal acceleration of gravity thus causes the tors in the balloon’s skin form a 360 degree array of cohe- masses of particles in a liquid to gravitationally resist sepasive tension between molecules. Earth’s surface is similar ration; the denser the liquid the stronger its resistance and, to the skin of a balloon; so, its molecules pull on their fellow in turn, the larger its surface tension constant. molecules with a gravitationally induced 360 degree coheBut earth is a large sphere and all cubic centimeters of sive acceleration. mass, or all gram masses, within its sphere pull on each Cohesive acceleration is hard to recognize in solids, but it other. So, the values of vertical and horizontal accelerations shows up in liquids as an additional pull needed to overcome both need to be in the flattening equation. When considered, surface tension. Lifting a wire ring out of a liquid requires the cold-core model becomes a viable alternative. Or not?
october 2010 ACSM BULLETIN 41
The NSPS Certified Surveying Technician Program A number of surveyors have successfully passed CST examinations this year. As of August 2010, they included: Level I Davis, Phillip H., NM Hallman, David J. NM Kendall, William J., TX Lackey, Robert, NC Nutt, Timothy A., NM Orozco, Julio C., NM Perez, Pete, FL Staudt, Jason A., TX Level II Alexander, Dean S., TX Argabright, Alex, TX Beland, John J., FL Pankratz, Christophe R., TX Pressler, Kyle L., TX Level III Feek, David H., NC Huffman, Jacob S., FL Kersten, Michael R., TX Pavola, Jon R., MN Wallace, Jeffrey B., FL
Capturing the Grit and Grid of Manhattan —by Andre Ribeiro This summer, Leica Geosystems teamed up with architectural researchers Annie Han + Daniel Mihalyo of Lead Pencil Studio to capture public spaces and urban infrastructure using a Leica Geosystems laser scanner. Working on their 2010 New York Prize Fellowship through the Van Alen Institute, the researchers spent two full months scanning urban locations throughout Manhattan from Harlem down to Wall Street in an effort to create a catalogue of the city’s iconic public spaces, details, and architectural typologies—all in rich 3 dimensional detail. Despite record breaking July heat in New York City, the team worked 12 hours a day, often starting at 4 am to cover as much ground as possible during hours of minimum vehicle traffic. A full range of urban locations were captured including all eight blocks of Times Square, Wall Street, Canal Street, Chinatown, SoHo, Broadway, Bowery, Bond and dozens more. With months of data processing ahead of them, the team plans to begin a gradual roll-out of the results of their project across the next year, starting with a 20 foot wide mural created from scan data on the facade of the Van Alen Institute on 22nd Street in Manhattan. On December 1st, they will open an exhibition at Temple Gallery on the campus of Temple University in Philadelphia
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ACSM BULLETIN october 2010
with new sculptural work derived principally from scanner-based observations titled Surface Deposit. They will spend December/January at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire to continue processing data toward the production of several new animated digital videos. In June 2011 they will open a major cumulative solo exhibition at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art based entirely on this summer’s project with an exciting range of 2D, 3D and video work. [www.leica-geosystems. us/en/HDS-Laser-Scanners-SW_5570.htm; www.vanalen.org].
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