Conventional land survey is often used to provide up-to-date accurate mapping for development & restoration projects. The primary output is usually a set of plans, annotated with heights as spot-heights or contours as appropriate. This form of survey often uses carrier-phase (survey-grade) GPS as a rapid means of collecting data as points or strings & this is often adequate for mapping large open areas. Sometimes the presence of structures or trees that would reduce the effectiveness of GPS require the use of total stations, usually working off stations (known 3D points) established with GPS.

Other applications include the set out of features to be constructed or excavated. One recent project was to establish a network of permanent ground markers to guide future burials in an ecological cemetery & then to convert the client's proposals into a set of plans showing every plot on an accurate survey of the grounds including eventual planting schemes.

ArchaeoPhysica is able to offer specialised survey for park & garden restoration projects, combining professional land survey & archaeological survey techniques to maximise returns. By linking this with historic map regression & modern GIS we can track the development & replacement of features over time. Our geophysical capability allows a further extension by mapping the remains of structures concealed within the ground or other structures.

While land survey concerns itself most with recording existing features 3D survey has a more analytic purpose in that it is usually undertaken to collect data to form models of a structure or landscape. This may be to provide a model for future reference, e.g., to monitor erosion, or may be to make complex structures easier to visualise. The process is essentially the collection of a dense network of 3D points using GPS or a total station, including lines to define changes of slope etc. These are then used to generate an accurate 3D digital terrain model which can be viewed from different angles with various combinations of ambient lighting, colour, etc.

The model itself may be used for digital analysis to predict the outcome of certain events, e.g., the effect of flooding or to analyse how water travels across the model so that rainwater catchments can be determined. Another use might be to simulate the view from a particular point, perhaps to aid development planning. An extension of this is to determine what other areas are visible from different points, an important aid when considering line-of-sight relationships between communications, etc.