Surveying in the Fall

For many, the Fall season brings great joy. The crunch of leaves, the extra breeze, and yes, the smell of pumpkin flavoring and warm apple cider.

For surveyors, whose days are spent almost fully outdoors, the start to Fall is a welcome change in climate. Most of our surveying team considers Fall the best time to survey. The weather is more temperate than Summer or Winter, and it is not quite as wet as Springtime. But there’s one other key to the season that makes surveying in the Fall better, stronger, and more efficient: falling leaves.

As the leaves fall off the trees, you should make a point to get your data collected! Performing surveying and data collection at this time of the year is actually less difficult. Because measured spaces need to be visible, as leaves fall- more data is able to be captured in a simpler, and often faster, fashion. Aerial imagery from a vertical position becomes clearer. And the same can be said for horizontal measurements. Without large shrubs and leaves on the trees, our surveyors are able to survey faster and more accurately. This is especially true in wooded areas because more measurements can be taken from less setups. That means more data, less time.

A common term for this idea is leaf-off imagery. This is as opposed to leaf-on imagery. As expected, leaf-on refers to foliage on trees or thriving shrubs. Leaf-off means no foliage or a decreased amount of shrubs.

Leaf-off imagery is particularly essential when mapping with contours and ground elevations form aerial imagery. When capturing leaf-on imagery, large portions of an area cannot be mapped accurately due to tree coverage. On the other hand, with leaf-off imagery, the photogrammetry processing is able to determine elevations more accurately through the gaps in tree branches that are not visible when the leaves are on.

As we embrace the season, we also embrace the opportunities that Autumn presents for serving our clients in an even better, an even more efficient, and an even more precise manner.

#ProblemSolved: Our Surveying Team is here to help. Send an email to Sam Zook, PLS at sam.zook@ssmgroup.com or give a call to 484-388-5989