Colleagues-
Emote on this:
Cheers,
Derek
It's a trap
I studied under Vannozzi for a year. Since he started pursuing his PhD, he drank the cool aid.
Page 11 of his paper: Today's technological combination of GIS and GPS can provide society with a solution to the "consistency of location" problem that surpasses the traditional surveyor/boundary law model in terms of accuracy, versatility, simplicity and cost.
Rich has become quite the advocate for GIS overtaking our profession.
Unfortunately, he has not taken into account two important issues:
- Moving boundaries: Adverse possession, erosion, accretion, etc.
- Moving lands: Continental drift / the Pangea Effect is being measured right now.
Go ahead GIS guy, rely on those coordinates that are reported to be sub centimeter even though the monument is three (3) inches away.
There is no spoon
> Unfortunately, he has not taken into account two important issues:
> - Moving boundaries: Adverse possession, erosion, accretion, etc.
Adverse possession doesn't have an effect on a deeded lot until the deed's description is challenged in the courts. Coordinates wouldn't change that.
Erosion and accretion are current legal practices that are not written in stone. They're written in the common law, which is just the framework upon which we build the complete legal environment. In other words, the practice of boundaries following a watercourse as it moves over time can be overturned by legislation, case law, etc.
> - Moving lands: Continental drift / the Pangea Effect is being measured right now.
This is a great point. However, as long as you apply proper GIS technique (metadata) to your work, it's corrected for. In the metadata of the corners would be the datum, projection, etc. for the 2 horizontal, 1 vertical, and 1 temporal dimensions. Then in your datum definition you include tectonic movement. Since your X, Y, Z position has a time tag, and since you've got the velocity, you're golden.
Geodesied.
> Go ahead GIS guy, rely on those coordinates that are reported to be sub centimeter even though the monument is three (3) inches away.
Care for a sip? I like red because it tastes like red.
Basically I think the paper is right. The only thing I'd like to see is establishment boundary law applied to locate the final coordinates. Once the coordinates (hopefully marked by monuments) are established legally by law, yes the need for land surveyors to constantly mess with boundaries would be over. That's probably a good thing.
Society has already rejected surveyors where I live. It's really not safe to have a sign on the side of the truck. It's due to surveyors being the source of instability of boundaries rather than stability of boundaries. Yeah its a mess out there, maybe not all created by surveyors but they constantly keep stirring the crap! Landowners hate it. It's easy for me to see being thrown under the bus.
Don't believe me, just introduce a bill sponsored by surveyors in the legislature and see how far it gets.
It's a trap
"Go ahead GIS guy, rely on those coordinates that are reported to be sub centimeter even though the monument is three (3) inches away."
LOL! It won't be "GIS" guy, should that model be implemented. "GIS" guy will be smoked and tossed like a cheap cigar once those data sets are recognized.
