Category Archives: Surveying
Going Smaller to Grow Bigger
Editor’s note: Some of the more significant changes in workflows and data management in surveying field and office operations have come in recent years: a move to mobile, robotics, and cloud-enabled software suites. But, how has implementation played out? We offer the following case study of a forward-thinking surveying and mapping firm that has implemented...
The New Spacescape
Small satellites are changing who dominates the field of satellite remote sensing. Move over military and government policy and regulation. Make way for private companies and even the public. There are big changes afoot in the satellite remote-sensing field: improved technology as well as regulatory shifts enabling the application of this technology (see “New Markets for Satellite...
Model of a Fiery Earth
This copper engraving entitled “Fire Canals” is an early 3D diagram of volcanology; it’s a cross-section of the Earth showing volcanoes on the surface forming from a molten magma core. Note the ships sailing between erupting volcanoes, blown by the four winds. This model was created by the Jesuit scholar and polymath Athanasius Kircher (1620 –...
How May I Assist You?
Support Agent THX1138: Hello, and thank you for calling GenericGeo, world leader in innovation, synergy, integration, empowerment, and creative solutions for your Geo world. Ask me about our gluten-free geomatics products. This is support specialist agent number THX1138. How might I direct your call? Caller: The screen and keypad fell off my data collector. 1138: So,...
Not Always Better With Age
Some things get better with age; some do not. Surely this is true for wine, but not sake or unrefrigerated shellfish. In the past we would view something that was made or had been established years past as holding invariant weight or authority. This was often because the effort to make or establish the item...
Capturing the Bluestone Dam
Above: Bluestone Dam is a concrete gravity dam located just upstream of the confluence of the New and Greenbrier Rivers near Hinton, West Virginia. Editor’s note: Because the Bluestone Dam is critical infrastructure, the Corps cannot display images of its insides. In fact, security is one of the key reasons it didn’t contract out the...
