GEOL450 Lecture and Field Lab for Thursday March 4th, 2004
GPS session instructor: Dr. Oppliger
Lecture
LMR 355 1 pm -2 pm
Introduction to Digital Mapping and GPS applications
Discuss implications of GPS Assignment 1.
Field Lab Schedule and Outline
Handheld (consumer grade CA code) GPS Navigation and Mapping
Location: Rancho San Rafael Park, northwest corner of northern baseball complex parking lot.
Students are responsible for bringing the following items:
• Handheld GPS receiver.
Check these receivers out at least 4 hours before the field exercise to avoid overloading
Ingrid or finding out too late that she is away from her office.
• Coordinate conversion assignment (due at beginning of this lab).
• Field Attire:
Wear appropriate clothing, shoes and hat for fieldwork at Rancho San Rafael Park. Expect mud.
Bring light rain protection. We will proceed to field if only light rain is indicated. Recommended:
Backpack to carry: water bottle, jacket and notebook to allow free hands to help carry the larger GPS
equipment.
• Field instruments
Field note book or clipboard and note paper/ Mechanical or sharpened pencils/ Plastic ruler-
protractor
2:15p (sharp)- Field Vehicle Departs –
-Meet at usual location in parking lot east of LMR Geology building
2:25p (20 min) Arrive in RSR Baseball Complex Parking Lot:
Split into three groups of three to rotate though activities.
Activity 1 (80 minutes) GPS navigate, stake out and trace. - Dr Gary Oppliger
Group 2 and 3 begin at 2:30 pm
Group 1 begin at 3:10 pm. See Dr. Gary Oppliger for introduction
Activity Outline:
-Discussion: Accuracy and error considerations (5 min)
-GPS unit setup and waypoint transfer between GPS units (10 min)
-Navigate to a set of specified waypoints using only the GPS unit. (30 min)
-For each navigation pass, pace the distance to the actual ground feature and
record this distance in your field notes.
-Mark the actual feature’s GPS position using the “Mark” waypoint
function and record the coordinates in your field notes.
-Plot the point on the provided Orthophoto base map using NAD83
UTM coordinates.
Repeat the above process several times to develop an estimate of the navigation
accuracy of this type of GPS receiver.
-Stakeout (10 minutes) Flag two locations at 30m intervals along a straight line defined by two
waypoints. Create (mark) new GPS waypoints at the two points you “stakeout”.
-Map a geologic contact (use a trail path network). (20 min)
-Trace it multiple times.
-Before beginning this activity start a new track log.
-Record in your field notes the typical and maximum difference between the
track lines. Estimate this from the GPS graphics display.
-Optional homework exercise: Use the Waypoint+ (windows utility) and a Garmin Etrex
cable to download your field surveying results to a PC. See the links on the GEOL 450 GPS
lab assignment web page.
Activity 2 (40 minutes) ArcPad - Dr. Mark Coolbaugh
Group 1 begin at 2:30 pm - when completed return to activity 1
Group 2 begin at 3:10 pm - when completed return to activity 1
Group 3 begin at 3:50 pm - when completed return to vehicles
Activity Outline:
-ArcPad demo and operation instruction
4:40 (20 min) Return Equipment to Truck / Travel to Campus
5:00 Arrive back on campus
GPS data transfer utilities (free downloads):
Waypoint+ GPS to Window PC data transfer
utility
http://www.tapr.org/~kh2z/Waypoint/
Garmin GPS ArcView Extension - Minnesota Division of Natural Resources
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mis/gis/tools/arcview/extensions/DNRGarmin/DNRGarmin.html
KBM Forestry Consultants - ArcView GIS and Garmin data transfer manual
http://www.kbm.on.ca/pdf%20files/garmin_gis_manual_June7_02.PDF
GEOL 450 GPS web page
http://able1.mines.unr.edu/Geophysics_website/GEOL450_SP04/index.htm
Dr. Gary L. Oppliger
Research Associate Professor
Arthur Brant Laboratory for Exploration Geophysics
University of Nevada, Reno
Mackay School of Mines /172
Reno, Nevada 89557-0138
Tel: (775) 784-7056
E-mail: oppliger@mines.unr.edu
Web pages: personal:
http://www.unr.edu/mines/able/People/Oppliger/
ABLE group:
http://www.unr.edu/mines/able/