Measuring a Changing Mountain a Challenging Mission to New Zealand’S Highest Peak
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A Publication for Geospatial Professionals • Issue 2014-2 Measuring a Changing Mountain A Challenging Mission to New Zealand’s Highest Peak Flying Over Canada’s Oil Patch Bright Ideas for Solar Energy New Applications for Image Analysis The Next Disruptor technology&more technology&more Welcome to Technology&more! Deartechnology&more Readers, I am always impressed by the variety of people, places and opportunities • NEW ZEALAND pg. 1 that make up the world of geospatial information. Working in far corners and High Altitude widely varied environments of the planet, Measurements geospatial professionals are in a unique position to capture and share information about our environment, history and achievments. It’s a compelling and fasci- nating business. • UNITED STATES pg. 6 In this issue of Technology&more, we present stories that illustrate the broad A New Angle on impact that geospatial technologies have Chris Gibson: Vice President Scanning on the professional and social world. The stories show how ingenuity and flexibility combine with multiple technologies to produce new, sometimes unexpected, approaches to meeting the needs of our clients and projects. We’ll travel to the highest mountain in the Southern Alps to see how a team of university researchers respected indigenous traditions while gathering essential • SPAIN pg. 8 geospatial information. In a visit to Spain, we meet an archaeologist who takes advantage of measurement, communications and information Modern Archaeology management technologies to provide powerful new tools for research- ers in archaeology and paleontology. Near Chicago, we meet a surveyor who turns things upside down in using 3D scanning. The results provide information that will help project managers and contractors avoid surprises on a complex water project far underground. And we’ll get to know a surveyor in Dubai who infuses his • ITALY pg. 12 projects with deep experience and drive for precision. Preserving a Historic We’ll also learn about an innovative use for geospatial information in Bridge renewable energy, where a solar energy provider uses image analysis from Trimble® eCognition® software. The result is a simple online tool that provides homeowners with detailed information and cost savings estimates for installing solar panels on their homes. It’s an application that illustrates how the power and flexibility of imaging can penetrate Published by: deep into our societies and economies. Trimble Engineering & Construction 10368 Westmoor Drive If you’d like to share information with Technology&more readers Westminster, Colorado 80021 about your own innovative project, we’d like to hear about it: just Phone: 720-887-6100 email [email protected]. We’ll even write the article for you. Fax: 720-887-6101 Email: T&[email protected] Remember to make plans to attend the Trimble Dimensions Interna- tional User Conference, to be held November 3–5, 2014, at the Mirage www.trimble.com Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Last held in 2012, the conference had Editor-in-Chief: Shelly Nooner the largest attendance in its history, attracting more than 3,500 people Editorial Team: Lea Ann McNabb; Ynez-Bernadette Belwan; from over 80 countries. The 2012 conference offered a wide variety of Lee Ann Fleming; Jocelyn Delarosa; Grainne Woods; training and networking opportunities that included more than 480 ses- Anke Seiffert; Lindsay Renkel; Kelly Liberi; Jessica Sebold; sions as well as multiple daily events. We’re planning many new options Echo Wei; Maribel Aguinaldo; Stephanie Kirtland; for 2014 and we hope you’ll be able to join us. If you want to learn more, Survey Technical Marketing Team please visit us online at www.trimbledimensions.com or email us at Art Director: Tom Pipinou [email protected]. And now, enjoy a new look to the future with this issue of © 2014, Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights reserved. Trimble, the Globe & Triangle logo, eCognition, RealWorks, and Yuma are trademarks of Trimble Navigation Limited or its subsidiaries, registered Technology&more. in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Access, Floodlight, GeoXH, GPScorrect, NetR9, Positions, VX, and Zephyr are trademarks of Trimble Navigation Limited or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Chris Gibson Cover photo: Pascal Sirguey technology&more technology&more COVER STORY technology&more Worthy of the Mountain: A GNSS Survey of New Zealand’s Aoraki/Mt Cook Photo: Nicolas Cullen “Aoraki/Mount Cook is the highest peak in all In 2013, Otago MSc student Sebastian Vivero, supervised by of New Zealand, a mountain with tapu (sacred) Dr. Pascal Sirguey and Prof. Sean Fitzsimons, embarked on a project to measure changes in Tasman Glacier. With support status and of supreme importance to local Maori. from GNS Science of NZ, Vivero collected GPS coordinates And our team follows in the footsteps of many from all climbing shelter huts in the area. These ground dedicated surveyors before us. This mountain control points enabled the team to triangulate a 2008 aerial deserves the effort that it took to validate its survey and generate a photogrammetric 3D model of the height to the best possible accuracy.” area. – Dr. Pascal Sirguey, Research Team Leader The model had sub-meter accuracy and the team made a surprising discovery—that the summit of Aoraki/Mt Cook was n late 2013, researchers from the Survey School at New now just 3,724 m (12,218 ft)—30 m (98 ft) lower than the 1991 Zealand’s Otago University embarked on a physically post-avalanche estimate. Idemanding survey to validate the height of New Zealand’s highest mountain and confirm the accuracy of a photogram- A Daunting Climb metric 3D model. The research team met with local Maori to propose an ambitious project to validate the newly discovered height. It Rock Avalanche! would involve a physically demanding ascent of the mountain On December 13, 1991, Aoraki/Mt Cook measured 3,764 m in order to perform a GNSS survey at its peak. Following the (12,349 ft). But the very next day a massive avalanche of consultation, the team agreed to not step on the tapu (sacred) 3 3 approximately 14 million m (490 million ft ) of rock travelling summit of Aoraki. Instead they would measure a control point up to 200 km per hour (120 mph) plunged down the mountain’s about 45 m (150 ft) north from the highest point to validate the eastern face. The cascade carried with it a portion of the 3D photogrammetric model. mountain’s summit. Aoraki/Mt Cook is a challenging, often dangerous peak Following the avalanche, new aerial photos were taken of the with dynamic glaciers and steep ice and rock faces. New summit area. The Department of Survey & Land Information, Zealand’s temperate maritime climate and the geography now Land Information NZ (LINZ), reassessed the height of the of the Southern Alps create changeable alpine weather. And summit by tying the updated photos to the triangulation of a because Aoraki/Mt Cook’s summit is less than 20 km (12 mi) comprehensive 1986 aerial survey that included ground points. from the Tasman Sea, sudden, severe storms are common. A new official height of 3,754 m (12,316 ft) was estimated. -1- Technology&more Dr. Sirguey created two teams of two, with each team comprising one professional mountain guide and one person—also an experienced mountain climber— responsible for gathering the data. If one team could not perform the ascent—due to, for example, inclement weather or injury—the other should still be able to complete the survey. The National School of Surveying, GNS Science, LINZ and the Federated Mountain Clubs of NZ provided financial support for the climb, while sponsor Southern Approach Ltd. provided each team with a GoPro camera to document the attempt. The research team flew by helicopter to Plateau Hut, which is situated on Mt Aoraki at 2,200 m (7,200 ft). Shortly after midnight on November 23, 2013 the four climbers left the hut to begin the 1,500 m (4,900 ft) climb to the summit. A Unique Survey for the Mountain’s Unpredictability Each team carried a lightweight Trimble R10 GNSS receiv- er programmed to log data every five seconds from the moment it was powered on until its batteries died. No controller or other equipment was required. Says Dr. Sirguey, “Due to the risks of bad weather and After the December 1991 avalanche the mountain’s summit retained a thick injury, we had no idea how long our guys would be able ice cap that was out of balance with the new shape of the ridge. to stand on the summit, or if they would even make it. Photo: Ian Owens So we planned for each team to simply set the receiver in place at the top of the mountain for a minimum of destination 10 hours after leaving the hut. Nicolas Cullen 20 minutes, and then again at one backup point on and Jim Anderson immediately spiked the two Trimble R10 their downward climb. In between, the receivers would receivers into the ice cap then powered them on for the continuously log data, even while our guys descended, static survey. to ensure that a long enough session was captured for postprocessing.” Once complete, the team carefully negotiated their descent, eventually reaching the Plateau Hut 18 hours Aoraki/Mt Cook granted the teams good weather and a after first heading out and with two successful static trouble-free climb, with all four men safely reaching their surveys completed. A Trigonometric Tribute The Aoraki/Mt Cook project included a trigonometric survey performed as a tribute to the surveyors who came before. Second-year surveying student Tyler Hager, with sponsorship from LINZ, used a precision theodolite to gather trigonometric observations from several locations with a line of sight of the summit.