Surveying of underwater features, or hydrographic surveying, formerly required techniques very different from ground surveying, for two reasons: the surveyor ordinarily was moving instead of stationary, and the surface being mapped could not be seen. The first problem, making it difficult to establish a framework except near land or in shoal areas, was dealt with by dead reckoning between points established by astronomical fixes. In effect a traverse would be run with the ship’s bearing measured by compass and distances obtained either by measuring speed and time or by a modern log that directly records distances. These have to be checked frequently, because however accurate the log or airspeed indicator and compass, the track of a ship or aircraft is not the same as its course. Crosscurrents or winds continually drive the craft off course, and those along the course affect the speed and the distance run over the ground beneath.

The only way a hydrographer could chart the seabed before underwater echo sounding and television became available was to cast overboard at intervals a sounding line with a lead weight at the end and measure the length of the line paid out when the weight hit the bottom. The line was marked in fathoms, that is, units of one one-thousandth of a nautical mile, or approximately six feet (1.8 metres).

Sounding by lead line is obviously very slow, especially in deep waters, and the introduction of echo sounding in the early 20th century marked a great improvement. It was made possible by the invention of electronic devices for the measurement of short intervals of time. Echo sounding depends on timing the lapse between the transmission of a short loud noise or pulse and its return from the target—in this case the bottom of the sea or lake. Sound travels about 5,000 feet (1,500 metres) per second in water, so that an accuracy of a few milliseconds in measurements of the time intervals gives depths within a few feet.

The temperature and density of water affect the speed at which sound waves travel through it, and allowances have to be made for variations in these properties. The reflected signals are recorded several times a second on a moving strip of paper, showing to scale the depth beneath the ship’s track. The echoes may also show other objects, such as schools of fish, or they may reveal the dual nature of the bottom, where a layer of soft mud may overlie rock. Originally only the depth that was directly beneath the ship was measured, leaving gaps between the ship’s tracks. Later inventions, which include sideways-directed sonar and television cameras, have made it possible to fill these gaps. While measurements of depths away from the ship’s track are not so accurate, the pictures reveal any dangerous objects such as rock pinnacles or wrecks, and the survey vessel can then be diverted to survey them in detail.

Modern position-fixing techniques using radar have made the whole process much simpler, for the ship’s location is now known continuously with reference to fixed stations on shore or to satellite tracks. Another modern technique is the use of pictures taken from aircraft or satellites to indicate the presence and shape of shoal areas and to aid the planning of their detailed survey.

An alternative to the use of radar or satellite signals for continuous and automatic recording of a ship’s position is the employment of inertial guidance systems. These devices, developed to satisfy military requirements, detect every acceleration involved in the motion of a craft from its known starting point and convert them and the elapsed time into a continuous record of the distance and direction traveled.

For studying the seabed in detail, the bottom of the sounding lead was hollowed to hold a charge of grease to pick up a sample from the sea floor. Today television cameras can be lowered to transmit pictures back to the survey ship, though their range is limited by the extent to which light can penetrate the water, which often is murky. Ordinary cameras also are used in pairs for making stereoscopic pictures of underwater structures such as drilling rigs or the wreckage of ancient ships.

Height determination

Heights of surface features above sea level are determined in four main ways: by spirit leveling, by measuring vertical angles and distances, by measuring differences in atmospheric pressure, and, since the late 20th century, by using three-dimensional satellite or inertial systems. Of these the first is the most accurate; the second is next in accuracy but faster; the third is least accurate but can be fastest if heights are to be measured at well-separated points. The last two techniques require sophisticated equipment that is still very expensive.

In spirit leveling the surveyor has for centuries used a surveying level, which consists of a horizontal telescope fitted with cross hairs, rotating around a vertical axis on a tripod, with a very sensitive spirit level fixed to it; the instrument is adjusted until the bubble is exactly centred. The reading on a graduated vertical staff is observed through the telescope. If such staffs are placed on successive ground points, and the telescope is truly level, the difference between the readings at the cross hairs will equal that between the heights of the points. By moving the level and the staffs alternately along a path or road and repeating this procedure, differences in height can be accurately measured over long horizontal distances.

In the most precise work, over a distance of 100 kilometres the error may be kept to less than a centimetre. To achieve this accuracy great care has to be taken. The instrument must have a high-magnification telescope and a very sensitive bubble, and the graduated scale on the staff must be made of a strip of Invar (an alloy with a very small coefficient of thermal expansion). Moreover, the staffs must be placed on pegs or special heavy steel plates, and the distance between them and the level must always be the same to cancel the effects of aerial refraction of the light.

In less precise work a single wooden staff can be used; for detailed leveling of a small area, the staff is moved from one point to another without moving the level so that heights can be measured within a radius of about 100 metres. The distances of these points from the instrument can be measured by tape or, more commonly, by recording not only the reading at the central cross hair in the field of view of the telescope but also those at the stadia hairs, that is by tachymetry, as described above. The bearing of each point is observed by compass or on the horizontal circle of the level so that it can be plotted or drawn on the map.

Since the 1950s levels have been introduced in which the line of sight is automatically leveled by passage through a system of prisms in a pendulum, thus removing the need to check the bubble. The disadvantage of spirit leveling is the large number of times the instrument has to be moved and realigned, particularly on steep hills; it is used primarily along practically flat stretches of ground.

For faster work in hilly areas, where lower accuracies usually are acceptable, trigonometric height determination is employed using a theodolite to measure vertical angles and measuring or calculating the distances by triangulation. This procedure is particularly useful in obtaining heights throughout a major framework of triangulation or traverse where most of the points are on hilltops. To increase precision, the observations are made simultaneously in both directions so that aerial refraction is eliminated; this is done preferably around noon, when the air is well mixed.

The third method of height determination depends on measurements of atmospheric pressure differences with a sensitive aneroid barometer, which can respond to pressure differences small enough to correspond to a foot or two (0.3 to 0.6 metre) in height. The air pressure changes constantly, however, and to obtain reliable results it is necessary to use at least two barometers; one at a reference point of known height is read at regular intervals while the surveyor proceeds throughout the area, recording locations, times, and barometer readings. Comparison of readings made at the same time then gives the height differences.

An alternative to the barometer for pressure measurement is an apparatus for measuring the boiling point of a liquid, because this temperature depends on the atmospheric pressure. Early explorers determined heights in this way, but the results were very rough; this technique was not accurate enough for surveyors until sensitive methods for temperature measurement were developed. The airborne profile recorder is a combination of this refined apparatus with a radar altimeter to measure the distance to the ground below an aircraft.

Analysis of the signals received simultaneously from several satellites gives heights as accurately as positions. Heights determined in this way are useful in previously unmapped areas as a check on results obtained by faster relative methods, but they are not accurate enough for mapping developed areas or for engineering projects. All-terrain vehicles or helicopters can carry inertial systems accurate enough to provide approximate heights suitable for aerial surveys of large areas within a framework of points established more accurately by spirit leveling.