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What Is ABNEY LEVEL

An Abney level is a surveying instrument used to measure slopes and angles. It consists of a sighting tube connected to a spirit level and protractor scale. By adjusting the level and reading the scale, a user can determine the grade of a slope or height of an object. The Abney level was invented in the late 1860s by British astronomer William Abney and remains a useful, inexpensive tool for surveying slopes in fields like forestry, mining, and geology.

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786 views2 pages

What Is ABNEY LEVEL

An Abney level is a surveying instrument used to measure slopes and angles. It consists of a sighting tube connected to a spirit level and protractor scale. By adjusting the level and reading the scale, a user can determine the grade of a slope or height of an object. The Abney level was invented in the late 1860s by British astronomer William Abney and remains a useful, inexpensive tool for surveying slopes in fields like forestry, mining, and geology.

Uploaded by

Prasenjit Pal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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What is ABNEY LEVEL? What does ABNEY LEVEL mean?

An Abney level and clinometer, is an instrument used in surveying which consists of


a fixed sighting tube, a movable spirit level that is connected to a pointing arm, and
a protractor scale. An internal mirror allows the user to see the bubble in the level
while sighting a distant target. It can be used as a hand-held instrument or mounted
on a Jacob's staff for more precise measurement, and it is small enough to carry in
a coat pocket.

The Abney level is an easy to use, relatively inexpensive, and, when used correctly,
an accurate surveying tool. Abney levels typically include scales graduated in
measure degrees of arc, percent grade, and in topographic Abney levels, grade in feet
per surveyor's chain, and chainage correction. The latter is the cosine of the angle,
used to convert distances measured along the slope to horizontal distances. By
using trigonometry the user of an Abney level can determine height, volume, and
grade.

Abney levels are made with square tubular bodies so that they may also be used to
directly measure the slopes of plane surfaces by simply placing the body of the level
on the surface, adjusting the level, and then reading the angle off of the scale.

The Abney level was invented by Sir William de Wiveleslie Abney (Born 24 Jul 1843
Died 3 Dec 1920) who was an English astronomer and chemist best known for his
pioneering of color photography and color vision. Abney invented this instrument
under the employment of the School of Military Engineering in Chatham, England
prior to late 1870. It is described by W. & L. E. Gurley as an English modification of
the Locke hand level.

Elliott Brothers of London registered an "improved clinometer and spirit level


combined" in December 1870 based on "the old form as originally designed by
Lieutenant Abney."

By 1871, a committee of the Royal Geographical Society recommended a long list of


instruments that explorers should carry. Along with necessary tools such as a watch,
compass, sextant and plenty of paper, the committee included "a pocket level
(Abney's)" in a secondary list of "additional instruments, not necessary, but
convenient."
In 1914 and 1915, the Forestry Quarterly published a series of articles on the use of
the Abney level. These tutorial articles remain useful today, but the primary reference
for usage is the 1927 Abney Level Handbook.

The Abney level is typically used at the eye height of the surveyor, either hand-held
or mounted on a staff at that height. To measure lines on a particular slope, the
desired angle or grade is first set on the level and then the surveyor sights through
the sighting tube and brings the cross-hair in line with the bubble in the level while
viewing the target. This allows the surveyor to see if the target is above or below the
line of sight.

To measure an unknown slope, the surveyor first sights a target along that slope and
then adjusts the angle of the level until the bubble is centered on the cross-hair. Once
this is done, the slope may be read from the scale.

Because the level is typically held at the surveyor's eye-height, it is common to use
the face of a second surveyor of similar height as a target. If the second surveyor is
not the same height, the approximate location of eye-height must be noted (i.e. chin,
nose, top of head). Mounting a face-sized target at eye-height on a level staff may be
more accurate. Because most Abney levels do not contain a telescope, direct reading
from a level staff is only possible at short range, although it is possible to make
special staffs that can be read at a distance without magnification.

Abney levels remain in common use in several fields:

1. In topographic surveying, to place high precision surveying equipment, particularly


in rough terrain.

2. In forestry, for tree height measurement.

3. In mining and mine safety inspection, to measure the grades of haulage roads.

4. In geology, in measurements of rock outcrops and fault scarps.

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