Drawing a Survey Profile

What it does:

Drawing a Survey Profile allows you to virtually survey a proposed drain route on the map. Instead of physically driving the route with RTK guidance in the field, you can quickly assess the terrain, elevation changes, and feasibility of your drain design from your computer or tablet. Once drawn, GSA 2.0 fetches elevation data at regular intervals along the route and generates a detailed elevation profile graph.

Preconditions and Preparations:

• Zoom in to your field area
• Identify a Drainage Route Candidate:
  • Pan and zoom the map to the field you want to analyze.
  • Look for natural low spots, potential outlets, or paths through which water can be drained.

How to Draw a Survey Profile:

• Activate the Drawing Tool:
  • Click the “Draw Survey Profile” button.
  • Your cursor will change to a circle icon when active.
• Set Start and End Points:
  • Click once on the map at the desired starting point of your drain route. Best practice is: ALWAYS TO START AT THE OUTLET AND MOVE UPHILL.
  • Move your cursor along the intended drainage path, clicking at intermediate points if needed to follow a winding route. Each click adds a segment to your survey line.
  • Double-click at the final endpoint of the route to finish drawing.
• Wait for Elevation Data Retrieval:
  • GSA 2.0 will automatically fetch elevation values at intervals along the drawn line. This may take a few seconds to a minute depending on line length, current server load, and connection speed.
  • Once elevation data is received, the profile chart will refresh to show the terrain cross-section along your route.
• Review the Elevation Profile:
  • Examine the resulting elevation chart. You can identify slopes, potential outlet elevations, and any challenging high spots that might require deeper cuts.
  • This initial profile sets the stage for further design actions, such as applying grade lines, best-fit calculations, offsets, and checking volume estimates.

Tips and Considerations:

• Verification of Data Availability:
  • In some areas, LiDAR data coverage may not be complete or as detailed. If the profile fails to retrieve elevations, try moving to a known LiDAR-covered region or verifying that the Hi-Res terrain overlay is visible.
  • In Canada, a medium resolution layer will be used where LiDAR is not available, and you’ll see a pop-up informing you where medium-resolution data has been used
• Adjusting Your Route:
• If the initial route doesn’t look right, you can clear the line using Delete Profile (deletes a single selected line) or Clear Profiles (deletes ALL profiles) and redraw until you find a suitable path.

In Summary:

To draw a survey profile, ensure you’re zoomed in to a LiDAR-supported area, activate the draw tool, set your start and end points, and let GSA 2.0 gather elevation data.