topographer

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The topographer is a profession in cartography and geodesy . He deals with the creation and updating of topographic maps , which can be done terrestrially (on the ground) on the one hand, and with measurement images from photogrammetry or satellite remote sensing on the other .

The name is derived from the ancient Greek term τόπος (tópos) for " place , position", supplemented by the suffix graf (or graph ) from the Greek verb γραφειν (grafeïn) for "draw, describe". Etymologically , this is precisely the essence of the topographical activity: on the one hand, the description of the terrain and location , and on the other, its technical implementation from a coordinated point of view .

In the past, a measuring table was set up on a tripod above such measurement or control points or other measurement points - for example determined with alignment (measurement) - and the map base or a sketch of the terrain was mapped on its level . With this simple and quick method, the topographer was able to enter all those additions (paths, new buildings, etc.) on the map that he considered essential for the respective map scale .

In the course of the 20th century, the measuring table was mostly replaced by the more precise theodolite and the map sheet was no longer graphically created, but computed from the measurements. In many cases, terrestrial photogrammetry was also used, or the topography was supplemented by interpretation of aerial photographs .

As part of the introduction of terrain databases and land or geographic information systems , the job description of geodesists has recently been given a higher priority. It is intended to enable the data stock to be updated more quickly as a result of changes in the landscape or as a result of buildings (as is the case with the land registry and surveying authorities in Brandenburg and Hesse) .

In terms of the history of science, the predecessors of the topographers are the officers of genius in military mapping, who as technically and geographically trained officers put cartography on a more precise basis around the beginning of the 18th century .

Around 1600 the profession was sometimes called landscape mathematician - as such, z. B. Johannes Kepler works in Austria. The most important topographer of the following period was Georg Matthäus Vischer (1628–1696).

See also

Literature and web links