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INTRODUCTION
• To find the position of the boat or the point at
which depth will be taken
• It should be done properly so that it does not
produce wrong depth point
• In hydrographic survey, the actual measurement of
the water depth is the easy part
• The main problem is not knowing how far the
survey boat is from the coastline when the depth is
recorded

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What is the position of boats A
and B relation to the coast?

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 SELECTION POSITIONING METHOD
• Choosing the right positioning method is quite
complex & depends:
 Requirements of accuracy
 Warranty of operation
 The distance between the work area and the
position of the measuring equipment
 The system's ability to operate 24 hours
 The number of workers required to operate the
system

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 POSITIONING METHODS

DIRECT
METHOD

OPTICAL METHOD

ELECTROMAGNETIC
SYSTEM

GNSS (DGPS)

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 POSITIONING SYSTEMS
• Sextant resection
positioning
• Triangulation/intersection
positioning
• Visual positioning methods
• Tag line positioning
methods
• Range-azimuth positioning
methods
• Land based electronic
positioning systems
Satellite Positioning
• Early 1990's most of
terrestrial positioning
methods have been largely
replaced by satellite-based
positioning systems,
namely GPS
• More accurate Code phase
Differential GPS (DGPS)
& Real Time Kinematic
(RTK) carrier phase DGPS
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 TAG LINE POSITIONING METHODS
 Traditional method was often used before the 1970s to
monitor:
• Dredging progress of navigation projects
• Traditional channel cross-section surveys
• Subsurface investigation for channel obstructions
• Channel clearance sweep surveys
 Simply hydrographic method of running cross sections
from a fixed baseline
 Most accurate tag line distance measurements are
conducted while the survey boat is stationary & holding
constant tag line tension & alignment

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TAG LINE POSITIONING METHODS

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 TECHNIQUES OF TAG LINE POSITIONING
 Teknik pengukuran berbeza perlu dilakukan bergantung kepada jenis operasi
& peralatan yang digunakan:
• Pencerapan statik –panjang tag line ditentukan bila bot sejajar dengan
betul pada kedudukannya & wayar ditarik tegang bagi kurangkan kendur
• Pengukuran tag line secara berterusan & dinamik – sesetengah
pengukuran tag line dijalankan dalam mod berterusan (dinamik) bila
pemerum gema analog digunakan; bot tidak berhenti pada sela tag line
tetapi pada sela yang dicerap
• Kaedah penjajaran tag line – bendera, sesiku prisma, tiodolit, sekstan &
total station diguna bagi memastikan penjajaran bot antara garis tag line
dengan garis asas (90) dapat dikawal; timbul masalah jika arus kuat
• Prosedur merekod data – pengukuran tag line & kedalaman direkodkan di
atas lembaran kerja / buku pembukuan; data ukur diplot dalam pelan tapak
• Bot ukur – sebarang jenis bot yang dilengkapi dengan tag line secara
manual/win berkuasa; panjang bot antara 5 - 8 meter & draf bot kurang
daripada 0.40 meter adalah sesuai untuk bekerja di kawasan air cetek

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TAG LINE EQUIPMENT

Tag Line Reel

& Power
Winch

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 TAG LINE MARKING & CALIBRATION
 Flagged tag line intervals must be
periodically calibrated every 3 to 6
months against a chained or EDM
distance
 The tag line should also be recalibrated
after breaks have been respliced
 Wire rope splicing must be performed
so the original length is maintained as
closely as possible
 Calibration is done by comparing
distances of the marked intervals with
corresponding distances measured with
a tape or instrument of higher accuracy

Marking tag line

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 ADVANTAGES OF TAG LINE
POSITIONING
 It does not involve sophisticated tools, only a few
ranging pole & rope graduated
 The tools used are not expensive
 No need for complicated calculations
 The accuracy of the survey work is high
 Ideal for small workplaces that require large scale
plotting

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 DISADVANTAGES OF TAG LINE
POSITIONING

 The survey took a long time

 The survey area is not too far from the
beach where the control points are located
because the distance measured is limited by
the length of the rope / graduated wire
 Not suitable for busy areas

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 SEXTANT RESECTION POSITONING
WHAT IS A SEXTANT?
 An instrument with a graduated arc of 60° and a sighting
mechanism
 Used for measuring the angular distances between objects;
taking altitude in navigation and surveying

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THE PRINCIPLE OF THE SEXTANT

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 SEXTANT RESECTION POSITONING

 Simultaneous observation of 2 horizontal angles between 3

known objects from which the position of an offshore point
is resected
 Sextant positioning totally performed from the survey vessel
 Does not depend on electronics, communications or
shorebased support
 Under certain conditions (close to targets) it can be relatively
accurate when properly conducted by an experienced team
 Sextant positioning under dynamic vessel conditions is no
longer considered accurate for most applications

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SEXTANT RESECTION POSITONING

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 FAKTOR PENENTU KETEPATAN
MENGGUNAKAN SEKSTAN
 Geometri garis yang bersilang adalah faktor utama dalam
menentukan kekuatan reseksi sekstan
 Dalam keadaan terbaik, ketepatan kedudukan secara
dinamik jarang lebih baik daripada ± 5 m; purata
ketepatan adalah antara 10 – 20 meter
 Ketepatan membaca sekstan:
• Ketepatan sudut dibaca hampir pada minit terhampir
(standard error of a sextant angle observed on a
moving vessel is in a range of ±1 to ±5 minutes)
• Bergantung kepada kemahiran pengguna
• Sukar membaca kerana bot sentiasa bergerak
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 FAKTOR PENENTU KETEPATAN
MENGGUNAKAN SEKSTAN
 Kesukaran membaca 2 sekstan secara serentak oleh 2
pengguna
 Selisih plotan berlaku semasa memelot titik fiks sekstan
dengan alat station pointer semasa bot sedang bergerak
 Pengalaman pencerap dan keletihan kerana kerja yang
berterusan
 Halaju dan pergerakan bot
 Jenis objek yang dijadikan sasaran untuk mencerap; jika
cuaca tidak baik, cerapan akan terjejas

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TRIANGULATION / INTERSECTION POSITIONING

• Offshore vessel can be positioned by theodolite or total

station observed from base line points on shore
• TWO (or more) theodolite observers and radio
communication equipment are required which to transmit
the observed angles to the vessel for on-line recording and
plotting
• Angular intersection positioning techniques involves more
equipment & labour
• The resultant positional accuracy can be quite good if
provided observing procedures are properly executed

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TRIANGULATION / INTERSECTION POSITIONING

• Theodolite angular observations to align static platforms

are extremely accurate
• Triangulation techniques are often used to supplement
EDM or DGPS positioning of fixed offshore structures
(piers, bridges, rigs) during construction and subsequent
deformation
• Intersection techniques are no longer employed in dynamic
hydrographic surveying practice; the technique may have
application in areas where EPS or GNSS cannot be
deployed

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TRIANGULATION / INTERSECTION POSITIONING

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HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEY IN SHALLOW WATER
AREA USING TOTAL STATION

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 RANGE-AZIMUTH
POSITIONING METHOD
• Once widely used positioning technique
• Based on the intersection of azimuth-range measurements
• Generally performed from the same shore reference station
• Employed only where GPS positioning cannot be obtained
due to satellite masking

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 MAIN FEATURES OF RANGE-AZIMUTH
POSITIONING
• Angle observations (azimuth) can be measured by theodolites or
total stations
• Distance observations (range) can be measured by EPS devices
(laser or infrared EDM, microwave EPS or total stations)
• Data can be manually observed, noted on field book and voice-
relayed to the boat by radio or digitally recorded and transmitted
by radio-modem to the boat
• Typically used within 5 km of coastline or reference station
• High relative accuracy is achievable depending on the equipment
used (best accuracies are achieved by total stations)
• A small team is required to perform the survey (relatively
efficient)
• Boats 5 to 8 metres long often is used
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 RANGE-AZIMUTH
POSITIONING METHOD

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VARIOUS RANGE-AZIMUTH
POSITIONING INTRUMENTS

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 GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS)
• During 1990s, GPS become the worldwide standard positioning &
navigation system; replaced almost all other techniques
• Poor GPS satellite coverage only occurs in isolated instances over
relatively small areas; in these cases the traditional terrestrial
methods will need to be employed
• The system consists of TWO absolute positioning services:
• Standard Positioning Service (SPS)
• civilian users
• using the C/A-code on the L1 carrier
• provide accuracy of 10-20 meter
• Precise Positioning Service (PPS)
• developed for the U.S. military & other authorized users
• uses the P(Y)-code on the L1 and L2 carriers
• provide accuracy of 5-10 meters
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 GPS POSITIONING METHODS
 TWO general operating methods, used to obtain GPS
positions for dynamic horizontal control:
• Absolute point positioning
 involves only a single passive receiver
 not sufficiently accurate for hydrographic
positioning requirements
 the most widely used military (PPS) & commercial
(SPS) GPS positioning method
• Relative positioning (DGPS)
 requires at least TWO receivers & can provide the
accuracies required for basic land surveying &
offshore positioning
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 DIFFERENTIAL (GPS)
• Absolute positioning does not provide sufficient accuracy
• DGPS is a technique which can provide an accuracy:
 a few meters using code phase measurements
 a few millimetres with carrier phase measurements
• DGPS requires two GPS receivers to be recording measurements
simultaneously & processing software to reduce or eliminate
“common errors”
• With a reference system positioned at a known survey control
point, DGPS data can be used to determine baselines between
stations and establish the positions of other receivers within the
same reference system
• Code & carrier phase DGPS, when operating in a differential
mode, can be tracked in real-time for the positioning of moving
survey boat
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 DGPS CODE PHASE TRACKING

 The technique consists of TWO GPS receivers

 One set up over a known point and one placed on
a moving survey vessel
 Measuring pseudo-ranges to at least FOUR
common satellites
 Since the positions of the satellites are known &
one of the receivers is over a fixed known point, a
“known distance” can be computed for each
observed satellite

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 DGPS CODE PHASE TRACKING
 This “known distance” can then be compared against
the “measured distance” (or Pseudo Range) to obtain a
Pseudo Range Correction (PRC)
 Each PRC can then be applied to the moving or remote
receiver to correct the measured distances
 Code phase tracking has primary applications to real-
time positioning systems with meter-level accuracies
 It is sufficient for hydrographic survey positioning
which meets IHO S-44 requirements for Order 1
surveys

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 DGPS CARRIER PHASE TRACKING
 Most accurate GPS survey technique
 Relative positional accuracies are of the order of 2 to 5 parts
per million (ppm) between TWO GPS receivers (one at a
known reference point & the other at an unknown location or
aboard a moving platform)
 Tracking method uses a similar formulation of pseudo ranges
used in code phase tracking systems but with a more complex
process when the carrier signals are tracked
 Referred to RTK & provides 3D positions accurate to a few
centimetres over ranges up to approximately 20 kilometres
 Applicable to hydrographic survey positioning & meets
IHO/S-44 requirements for Special Order surveys

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STATION POINTER

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HYDROGRAPHIC SWEEP
SURVEY

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TAG LINE ALIGNMENT METHODS

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