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Nadeau Land Surveys
In the News: "How Federal Flood Policy Is, and Isn’t, Addressing Climate Change Today" and "Canada Tries a Forceful Message for Flood Victims: Live Someplace Else"
Resources: "Standard Flood Insurance Policy - Dwelling Form" and "USGS Scientists Document Hurricane Dorian’s Impacts"
Real Estate Corner: "Texas Home Sellers Have To Disclose More Flood Risk Information Now. But Will It Help Buyers?"
NFIP Guidance: "October 1, 2019 Program Changes in Effect!" and "Free Educational Workshop in Boston! November 5-6, 2019"
History Corner: 100 years ago, the First Mail Flight in Maine
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Michael L. Dennis, PhD, RLS, PE - Geodesist and SPCS2022 Project Manager - NOAA/NOS/National Geodetic Survey
This item has two purposes, and is also going to a large number of people who have expressed interest in this topic (usually to me directly), as well as several NGS colleagues. Everyone should feel free to share this email with anyone who they think would be interested. We realize that some of the people receiving this message are not in favor of the change. All input is valued, regardless of your stance on any part of standardizing the foot definition after 2022.
- The Federal Register Notice (FRN) on deprecating the U.S. survey foot can be found at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/10/17/2019-22414/deprecation-of-the-united-states-us-survey-foot. The deadline for public comment is Dec 2, and it is open to all. Your input will help in determining the most effective way to implement the change. All comments are welcome, including whether it should simply be called the “foot” after 2022 (i.e., dropping the word “international” from the name). You can provide your comments through the FRN web page above.
- We also are soliciting any “horror stories” that you’re willing to share about mixing up of the two types of feet, which you can email to me (along with including them in FRN feedback, if you’d like) at Michael.Dennis@noaa.gov. Stories provided to me within the next few days could be featured in an Associated Press article about the U.S. survey foot. Each can just be a few sentences that gives important details like the type of project and the impact of the error (including cost, if known). Anything is helpful, even if it doesn’t make it into the AP article.
Get Kids into Survey
The poster is back in stock, but supply is limited so order now at: "Get Kids into Survey"
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Screen Replacement
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Trimble - TDS Ranger - Carlson - Allegro - Topcon - Leica
TDS Recon $199
Magnetic Locator Repair
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Schonstedt - CST Berger Magnatrak - Dunham & Morrow - Subsurface
Questions? Call Now 214-631-2901 www.SurveyRepairs.com 
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NSPS
A proposed drone bill that would ban some U.S. government agencies from purchasing drones manufactured in certain countries – including China – has unanimously passed the House Homeland Security Committee. The “Drone Origin Security Enhancement Act” , or H.R. 4753, is the House version of the Senate’s “American Drone Security Act,” S.2502. The bill would prevent some government agencies from purchasing drones based solely on their country of manufacture and without regard to any particular technical issue. There is a difference between the two bills, however S.2502 would “ban the Federal procurement of certain drones,” while H.R. 4753 would “prohibit the Secretary of Homeland Security from operating or procuring foreign-made unmanned aircraft systems…” The main target of the bill is China, which hits drone manufacture DJI. DJI holds by some estimates more than 70% of drone market share in the U.S. While DJI has not pursued government contracts, with the exception of the government edition developed in collaboration with the Department of the Interior, their products have often been purchased as an inexpensive and effective tool for general government use. Because of the dominance of Chinese manufacturing, limiting all devices including cameras and gimbals could be problematic for many users and manufacturers, even if they aren’t using a Chinese-manufactured platform.
NSPS
In support of breast cancer research, Schonstedt did a VERY limited run of pink GA-52Cx's. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Click here to learn more.
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Promoted by
Topcon Positioning
The Elite Survey Suite brings you leading-edge technology that delivers more power, speed, and connectivity. The GT Series robotic total station features blazing speeds of up to 180 degrees per second. The HiPer HR offers T.I.L.T. functionality for maximum field productivity. The FC-5000 field computer brings advanced processing power, and the MAGNET software suite fully connects field to office.
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USGS
The USGS maintains horizontal and vertical control records that originated from the primary series of topographic mapping of the United States. The files are housed in USGS facilities and are in paper form organized by 15-minute quadrangle. Many states have digitized some or all of these records and have made them available online as well. Here is an example in New Hampshire: http://www.granit.unh.edu/geodetic/datasheet.
The USGS reached out to NSPS to assess the value of these records to our members to better understand the return on the investment to scan these records and make them publicly available through a web application.
Specifically, the USGS would like to understand:
- Do you currently use historical USGS control information when surveying?
- How do you access this information?
- Does your state or local office maintain copies (hardcopy or digital) of these records?
- Would it benefit you as a surveyor for USGS to scan and make this information available digitally?
Thank you for your assistance. Send responses to: kcraun@usgs.gov
NSPS
Did you know that when you shop for the holidays, AmazonSmile will donate to the National Society of Professional Surveyors Foundation?
Visit smile.amazon.com and search for the National Society of Professional Surveyors Foundation Inc.
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NSPS
With a $2.6 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation has launched a multi-year effort to update floodplain maps and assess levees along the Clark Fork and Bitterroot rivers and Rock Creek. The DNRC plans to have draft maps ready for public review and comment by early 2022, and complete the project by 2023, Lyden told Missoula City Council members. A collaborative effort between FEMA, the DNRC, the city of Missoula and Missoula and Granite counties, the process includes surveying and measuring topography; marking locations of culverts, bridges and road crossings; determining how much water would flow through the area during floods; calculating where water would likely go during a flood, and then compiling it all into maps. As part of the effort, the DRNC will also be reviewing, certifying and accrediting levees, known to FEMA as “flood risk reduction systems,” and defined as “a manmade structure, usually an earthen embankment, designed and constructed in accordance with sound engineering practices to contain, control or divert the flow of water so as to provide protection from temporary flooding.” The floodplain mapping and levee review are required by the National Flood Insurance Program, created by Congress as part of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, to provide communities with incentives to reduce flood risks and related emergency response costs.
Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International
Emerging trends in urban air mobility and the vision of a cheaper aviation for regional airport connections are transforming the aerospace industry. The aircraft of the future will be more autonomous, connected, electric – requiring aircraft configurations and propulsion systems that are radically different with little design precedent.
Listen from the voice of experts to learn where we are with autonomous systems development and deployment, where we are heading, which are the main hurdles we still need to face and how a new approach to digitalization and simulation is instrumental to accelerate the development and certification of self-flying systems.
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Leica Geosystems prisms are manufactured from glass of the highest quality and furnished with optical coatings so that even under the most extreme environmental conditions, a long lifetime and maximum range of the highest accuracy can be achieved.
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NSPS
The State Water Commission recently announced the upcoming release of its online flood map data viewer, North Dakota Risk Assessment Mapservice (NDRAM). NDRAM, a tool designed by the Water Commission and located on the agency’s MapServices, provides a user-friendly format that combines new federal data along with the agency’s existing IT and GIS capabilities. NDRAM is a collaborative effort with FEMA that utilizes the Water Commission’s existing robust technology and infrastructure. In 2018, FEMA completed a Base Level Engineering (BLE) effort for every county in North Dakota – the first state to do so. The BLE dataset is a quality flood risk assessment that can be enhanced to create engineering models and other flood hazard data. NDRAM allows users to zoom in and visually display current flood risks, both approximate floodplains from BLE and effective regulatory floodplains from FEMA’s NFIP. This new tool also provides users water surface elevations, flood depths, and the ability to download engineering model data and print customized maps. Another exciting feature of the tool includes real-time weather warning displays across the state, making it especially useful for planning, mitigation, and disaster recovery actions.
Inside GNSS
Researchers at the German Federal Armed Forces University in Munich have performed real-time kinematic positioning with dual-frequency smartphones, using the GNSS raw measurements to the user via the Android API. With a special set-up of a smartphone placed on a choke ring platform to mitigate multipath effects from ground reflection, and processing the results with a high-quality post-processing software, they estimate a horizontal precision achieved at the 1–2 cm level.
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Land Survey Party Chief needed for high rise construction projects in the Greater Boston Area. MORE
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GIS User
The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation is pleased to announce the addition of an entry-level geospatial intelligence certification to its suite of professional designations. "The Essentials" exam is intended for recent graduates and young professionals in the GEOINT field to demonstrate their knowledge across the foundational competencies outlined in USGIF's GEOINT Essential Body of Knowledge.
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GPS World
The GPS enterprise reached another major milestone on Oct. 21, when the GPS III Contingency Operations Program successfully connected with the first GPS III satellite on orbit.
The COps system will allow the Air Force to operationally command and control the new, more powerful GPS III satellites as well as legacy GPS satellites currently in the constellation. The first GPS III satellite was launched on Dec. 23, 2018.
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No matter what the future holds, prepare to meet challenges head on. Future-proof your resume by becoming a Certified Survey Technician (CST). This unique four-level certification program indicates official recognition by NSPS that a person can perform surveying tasks at a specific technical level.
Show what you can do! Decide between the field or office track. Visit http://www.cstnsps.com for details.
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Do your CSTs know there is a CST group on LinkedIn and Facebook?
Sensors & Systems
Data from the Sentinel-3 World Fire Atlas shows that there were almost five times as many wildfires in August 2019 compared to August 2018, but a detailed analysis reveals precisely where these fires have been occurring, most of which were in Asia.
The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission recorded 79,000 fires in August this year, compared to just over 16,000 fires detected during the same period last year.
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CIO Review
In the past two decades, mapping technologies have revolutionized many industries, but the geospatial wave has largely left rural communities behind. Thanks to new web-based tools and expanding broadband access, remote areas are poised to leverage the power of digital mapping. Rural is the final frontier in the geospatial revolution.
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xyHt
Bentley's annual infrastructure awards and technology showcase was held in October 2019 in Singapore, the city/nation that is widely considered to be the global center of infrastructure innovation. While always an impressive event, this year was less about new products and more about showcasing examples of real-world implementations of digital twins, continuous surveying and digital construction.
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Fast Company
There's now 40 times as much solar power generation in the U.S. as there was a decade ago — enough, by last year, to power more than nine million homes. Most of this is on large solar farms, but nearly a third is on rooftops. A new report takes a look at where solar panels are most common on roofs, using AI to analyze aerial photos of cities.
Cape Analytics scanned 38 million properties in 21 large metropolitan areas.
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Government Technology
Washington Technology Solutions, which is that state's tech services agency, has launched a new open data geo portal.
This project, which is fittingly called the Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal, is the result of a multi-agency effort. In a press release announcing its launch, officials noted that this comprehensive set of geographic data about the state had "culled several terabytes of storage housed in the state’s data center."
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| President, Lisa Van Horn (WI) |
Director, Cotton Jones (WY) |
| President-Elect, Mark Sargent (NH) |
Director, Thomas Brooks (AL) |
| Vice President, Tim Burch (IL) |
Director, Bob Neathamer (OR) |
| Treasurer, Bob Miller (PA) |
Director, Danny Martinez (NE) |
| Secretary, Craig Amey (MI) |
Executive Director, Curt Sumner (MD) |
| Immediate Past President, Kim Leavitt (ID) |
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Note: NSPS members may receive calls from MultiView sales associates regarding advertising opportunities in News & Views. MultiView, a partner of NSPS, produces the News & Views newsbrief each week.
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