MERIDIANS

LESSON 8
The direction of a line is usually defined by the horizontal angle it makes with a fixed
difference line or direction. In surveying this is done with the reference to a meridian
which lies in a vertical plane passing through a fixed point of reference and through the
observer’s position. A (geographic) meridian (or line of longitude) is the half of an
imaginary great circle on the Earth's surface, terminated by the North Pole and the South
Pole, connecting points of equal longitude, as measured in angular degrees east or west
of the Prime Meridian.
There are four types of meridians:

1. True meridian - the line on a plane passing through the geographical North Pole or
geographical South Pole and any point on the surface of the earth. It is also called as
geographical meridian. The angle between true meridian and line is known as true bearing of
the line.

2. Magnetic Meridian - it is an equivalent imaginary line connecting the magnetic south and
north poles and can be taken as the horizontal component of magnetic force lines along the
surface of the earth. Therefore, a compass needle will be parallel to the magnetic meridian.

3. Grid Meridian - that line, in a grid on a map, parallel to the line representing the central
meridian or y-axis or that line, in a rectangular, Cartesian coordinate system applied to a map,
parallel to the line representing the y-axis or central meridian.

4. Assumed Meridian – an arbitrary chosen fixed line of reference which is taken for
convenience. This meridian is usually the direction from a survey station to an adjoining
station or to some well-defined and permanent point.
Units of Angular Measurements

1. The Degree. The sexagesimal system is used in which the circumference of a circle is
divided into 360 parts or degrees. The angle of one degree is defined as the angle requires
1/360 of the rotation needed to obtain one complete revolution.

2. The Grad – the unit of measure in the centesimal system. In this system the circumference
of a circle is divided into 400 parts called grads. The grad is subdivided into 100 centesimal
minutes and centesimal is subdivided into 100 seconds. It is a standard unit used in Europe.

3. The Mil. The circumference is divided into 6400 parts called mils, or 1600 mils is equal to
90o. It is commonly used in military operations as in fire direction of artillery units.

4. The Radian is another measure of angles used frequently for a host of calculations. One
radian is defined as the angle subtended at the center of a circle by the arc length exactly
equal to the radius of the circle, one radian equals 180/π approximately 57.2958 degrees and
one degree equals π/180 or approximately 0.0174533 radian. The radian is sometimes
referred to as the natural unit of angle because there is no arbitrary number in the definition. It
is used in the computations such as determining the length of circular arcs and where high
speed electronics digital computers are used.
Sample Problem

Conversion from degrees to grads, mils and radians

Convert 270o into its equivalent value in grads, mils and radians

Angle in Grads = 270o() = 300g

Angle in Mils = 270o() = 4800 mils

Angle in Radian = 270o() = 4.7124 radians

Designation of North Points
There is always a starting or reference point to define directions and the following are the
commonly used reference point.
1. True North also called geodetic north is the direction along Earth's surface towards the
geographic North Pole or True North Pole.
2. Magnetic North – a north point that is established by means of a magnetized compass
needle when there are no local attraction attractions affecting it.
3. Grid North – a north point established by lines on the map which are parallel to a selected
central north.
4. Assumed North is used to portray the location of any arbitrarily chosen north point.
Direction of a Line is defined as the horizontal angle the line makes with the established line
of reference. There are various kinds of angles which can be used to describe the direction of
the lines. In surveying practice, directions maybe defined by means of: interior angles,
deflection angles, angles to the right, bearings and azimuths

1. Interior Angle is an angle formed inside a polygon by two adjacent sides.

 2. Deflection Angle is a horizontal angle measured from the forward prolongation of the
preceding line to the following line; the angle between one survey line and the extension of
another survey line that meets it. A deflection angle to the right is positive; one to the left is
negative.

3. Angle to the Right – is an angle measured in a clockwise direction, from the rear to the
forward point or station.
4. Bearing is an angle measured from the north or south direction.

5. Azimuth is the angle between the meridian and the line measured in a clockwise direction
from either the North or South branch of the meridian.
Determining Bearing

Bearing of Lines
Line A = N 30o E
Line B = N 60o W
Line C = S 70o E
Line D = S 80o W
Forward and Backward Bearing
Any line on the surface of the earth may be defined by two directions which differ from each
other by exactly 180 degrees. The direction will depend on which end the line is observed.
When the bearing of a line is observed in the direction in which the survey progresses, it is
referred to as a forward bearing, if the bearing of the same is observed in an opposite
direction it is called backward bearing.

Forward Bearing Backward Bearing

LINE
AB N 44o38’ E S 44o38’ W
BC S 42o30’ E N 42o30’ W
CD N 56o50’ E S 56o50’ W
DE S 18o12’ E N 18o12’ W
Determining Azimuth
The azimuth of a line may range from 0 to 360 degrees. In practice, azimuths are generally
measured from the north branch of the reference meridian for ordinary plane surveys. For large
scale geodetic surveys and in astronomical observations, azimuth is measured. Azimuth
measured from north is azimN and from south is azimS.

azimN B = 66o40’ azimN = 27o

azimN C = 124o28’ azimN = - 20o
azimN D = 224o21’ azimS = - 77o
azimN E = 322o26’ azimS = 30o
Forward and Backward Azimuth
Rule 1: If the forward azimuth of the line is greater than 180o, subtract 180o, to obtain the
back azimuth
Rule 2: When the forward azimuth of the line is less than 180o, add 180o to determine the
back azimuth

Obs. Azim from South Calc. Azim from South

LINE
Forward Backward Forward Backward

AB 230o00’ 50o00’ 50o00’ 230o00’

BC 214o00’ 134o00’ 134o00’ 214o00’
CD 255o00’ 75o00’ 75o00’ 255o00’
DE 165o00’ 345o00’ 345o00’ 165o00’
Sample Problems

Determining angles from bearings and azimuth

1. Compute the angles AOB and COD from the following set of lines whose magnetic
bearings are given. Find the azimN and azimS of lines OA, OB OC and OD.
Solution:

AOB = BON + NOA = 60o + 30o = 90o

azimN OA = 30o, azimS = 180o + 30o =110o

azimN OB = 180o + 120o = 300o, azimS = 80o + 10o + 30o = 120o

COD = COS + SOD = 70o + 80o = 150o

azimN OC = 30o + 60o + 20o = 110o, azimS OC = 180o + 30o + 60o + 20o = 290o

azimN OD = 180o + 80o = 260o, azimS OD = 80o

2. Compute the bearing angles of BAC & DAE and the bearing of AB, AC, and AD & AE
BOC = 124o28’ – 66o40’ = 57o48’,

OB = N 66o40’ E, OC = S (180o – 124o28’) E = S 55o32’ E

DOE = [(322o26’ – 180o) – (224o21’ – 180o)] = 142o26’ – 44o21’ = 98o05’

OD = S (224o21’ – 180o) W = S 44o21’ W

OE = N (360o – 322o26’) W = N 37o34’ W