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Cave survey
A cav e surv ey is a map of all or part of a cav e sy stem, which may be produced to meet differing standards of accuracy depending on the cav e conditions
and equipment av ailable underground. Cav e surv ey ing and cartography , i.e. the creation of an accurate, detailed map, is one of the most common
technical activ ities undertaken within a cav e and is a fundamental part of speleology . Surv ey s can be used to compare cav es to each other by length, depth
and v olume, may rev eal clues on speleogenesis, prov ide a spatial reference for other areas of scientific study and assist v isitors with route-finding.

Traditionally , cav e surv ey s are produced in two-dimensional form due to the confines of print, but giv en the three-dimensional env ironment inside a cav e,
modern techniques using computer aided design are increasingly used to allow a more realistic representation of a cav e sy stem.

Contents
History
Methodology A cave survey
Surveying
Drawing a line-plot
Finalising
Hydrolevelling
Accuracy
BCRA grading system
BCRA gradings for a cave line survey
Notes
BCRA gradings for recording cave passage detail
Notes
Survey error detection
Surveying software
Automated methods
See also
References
External links

History
The first known plan of a cav e dates from 1546, and was of a man-made cav ern in tufa called the Stufe di Nerone (Nero's Ov en) in Pozzuoli near Naples in Italy . The first natural cav e to be mapped was
the Baumannshöhle in Germany , of which a sketch from 1656 surv iv es. [1 ]

Another early surv ey dates from before 1680, and was made by John Aubrey of Long Hole in the Cheddar Gorge. It consists of an elev ational section of the cav e. Numerous other surv ey s of cav es were
made in the following y ears, though most are sketches and are limited in accuracy . The first cav e that is likely to hav e been accurately surv ey ed with instruments is the Grotte de Miremont in France.
This was surv ey ed by a civ il engineer in 17 65 and includes numerous cross-sections. Édouard-Alfred Martel was the first person to describe surv ey ing techniques. His surv ey s were made by hav ing an
assistant walk down the passage until they were almost out of sight. Martel would then take a compass bearing to the assistant's light, and measure the distance by pacing up to the assistant. This would
equate to a modern-day BCRA Grade 2 surv ey .

The first cav e to hav e its centreline calculated by a computer is the Fergus Riv er Cav e in Ireland, which was plotted by members of the UBSS in 1964. The software was programmed onto a large
univ ersity mainframe computer and a paper plot was produced. [2 ]

Methodology
There are many v ariations to surv ey ing methodology , but most are based on a similar set of steps which hav en't changed fundamentally in 250 y ears, although the instruments (compass and tape) hav e
got smaller and more accurate. Since the late 1990s digital instruments such as distometers hav e started to change the process, leading to the adv ent of fully paperless surv ey ing around 2007 . The
main v ariation on the normal methodology detailed below hav e been dev ices such as LIDAR and SONAR surv ey ors that produce a point cloud rather than a series of linked stations. Video-based
surv ey ing also exists in prototy pe form.

Surveying
1908 survey of Marble Arch Caves by
A surv ey team begins at a fixed point (such as the cav e entrance) and measures a series of consecutiv e line-of-sight measurements between stations. The stations are temporary fixed locations chosen the Yorkshire Ramblers' Club
chiefly for their ease of access and clear sight along the cav e passage. In some cases, surv ey stations may be permanently marked to create a fixed reference point to which to return at a later date.

The measurements taken between the stations include:

direction (azimuth or bearing) taken with a compass

inclination from horizontal (dip) taken with a clinometer
distance measured with a low-stretch tape or laser rangefinder
optionally, distance to surrounding walls – left, right, up, down (LRUD)
Coincident with recording straight-line data, details of passage dimensions, shape, gradual or sudden changes in elev ation, the presence or absence of still or flowing water, the location of notable features and the material on the floor are
recorded, often by means of a sketch map.

Drawing a line-plot
Later, the cartographer analy ses the recorded data, conv erting them into two-dimensional measurements by way of geometrical calculations. From them he/she creates a line-plot; a scaled geometrical representation of the path through the
cav e.

Finalising
The cartographer then draws details around the line-plot, using the additional data of passage dimensions, water flow and floor/wall topography recorded at the time, to produce a completed cav e surv ey . Cav e surv ey s drawn on paper are
often presented in two-dimensional plan and/or profile v iews, while computer surv ey s may simulate three dimensions. Although primarily designed to be functional, some cav ers consider cav e surv ey s as an art form.

Hydrolevelling
Hy drolev elling is an alternativ e to measuring depth with clinometer and tape that has a long history of use in Russia. [3 ] The technique is regularly used in building construction for finding two points with the same height, as in lev elling a floor.
In the simplest case, a tube with both ends open is used, attached to a strip of wood, and the tube is filled with water and the depth at each end marked. In Russia, measuring the depth of cav es by hy drolev elling began in the 197 0s, and was
considered to be the most accurate means of measuring depth despite the difficulties in using the cumbersome equipment of the time. Interest in the method has been rev iv ed following the discov ery of Voronja on the Arabica Massif in the
Caucasus – currently the world's deepest cav e.

The hy drolev el dev ice used in recent Voronja expeditions comprises a 50-metre (160 ft) transparent tube filled with water, which is coiled or placed on a reel. A rubber glov e which acts as a reserv oir is placed on one end of the tube, and a
metal box with a transparent window is placed on the other. A div er's digital wristwatch with a depth gauge function is submerged in the box. If the rubber glov e is placed on one station and the box with the depth gauge is placed on a lower
one, then the hy drostatic pressure between the two points depends only on the difference in heights and the density of the water, i.e. the route of the tube does not affect the pressure in the box. Reading the depth gauge giv es the apparent
depth change between the higher and lower station. Depth changes are 'apparent' because depth gauges are calibrated for sea water, and the hy drolev el is filled with fresh water. Therefore, a coefficient must be determined to conv ert apparent
depth changes to true depth changes. Adding the readings for consecutiv e pairs of stations giv es the total depth of the cav e. [3 ]

Accuracy
The accuracy , or grade, of a cav e surv ey is dependent on the methodology of measurement. A common surv ey grading sy stem is that created by the British Cav e Research Association in the 1960s, which uses a scale of six grades. [4 ]

BCRA grading system

BCRA gradings for a cave line survey

Grade 1
Sketch of low accuracy where no measurements have been made
Grade 2 (use only if necessary, see note 7)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_survey 1/3
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May be used, if necessary, to describe a sketch that is intermediate in accuracy between Grade 1 & 3
Grade 3
A rough magnetic survey. Horizontal & vertical angles measured to ±2.5 °; distances measured to ±50 cm; station position error less than 50 cm.
Grade 4 (use only if necessary, see note 7)
May be used, if necessary, to describe a survey that fails to attain all the requirements of Grade 5 but is more accurate than a Grade 3 survey.
Grade 5
A Magnetic survey. Horizontal and vertical angles measured to ±1 °; distances should be observed and recorded to the nearest centimetre and station positions identified to less than 10 cm.
Grade 6
A magnetic survey that is more accurate than grade 5, (see note 5).
Grade X
A survey that is based primarily on the use of a theodolite or total station instead of a compass, (see notes 6 and 10 below).

Notes

1. The above table is a summary, omitting some technical details and definitions; the definitions of the survey grades given above must be read in conjunction with these notes.
2. In all cases it is necessary to follow the spirit of the definition and not just the letter.
3. To attain Grade 3 it is necessary to use a clinometer in passages having appreciable slope.
4. To attain Grade 5 it is essential for instruments to be properly calibrated, and all measurements must be taken from a point within a 10 cm diameter sphere centred on the survey station.
5. A Grade 6 survey requires the compass to be used at the limit of possible accuracy, i.e. accurate to ±0.5 °; clinometer readings must be to the same accuracy. Station position error must be less than ±2.5 cm, which will require the use of tripods at all
stations or other fixed station markers ('roofhooks').
6. A Grade X survey must include on the drawing notes descriptions of the instruments and techniques used, together with an estimate of the probable accuracy of the survey compared with Grade 3, 5 or 6 surveys.
7. Grades 2 and 4 are for use only when, at some stage of the survey, physical conditions have prevented the survey from attaining all the requirements for the next higher grade and it is not practical to re-survey.
8. Caving organisations, etc., are encouraged to reproduce Table 1 and Table 2 in their own publications; permission is not required from BCRA to do so, but the tables must not be reprinted without these notes.
9. Grade X is only potentially more accurate than Grade 6. It should never be forgotten that the theodolite/Total Station is a complex precision instrument that requires considerable training and regular practice if serious errors are not to be made through its
use!
10. In drawing up, the survey co-ordinates must be calculated and not hand-drawn with scale rule and protractor to obtain Grade 5.

BCRA gradings for recording cave passage detail

Class A
All passage details based on memory.
Class B
Passage details estimated and recorded in the cave.
Class C
Measurements of detail made at survey stations only.
Class D
Measurements of detail made at survey stations and wherever else needed to show significant changes in passage dimensions.

Notes

1. The accuracy of the detail should be similar to the accuracy of the line.
2. Normally only one of the following combinations of survey grades should be used:

1A
3B or 3C
5C or 5D
6D
XA, XB, XC or XD

Survey error detection

The equipment used to undertake a cav e surv ey continues to improv e. The use of computers, inertia sy stems, and electronic distance finders has been proposed, but few practical underground applications hav e ev olv ed at present.

Despite these adv ances, faulty instruments, imprecise measurements, recording errors or other factors may still result in an inaccurate surv ey , and these errors are often difficult to detect. Some cav e surv ey ors measure each station twice,
recording a back-sight to the prev ious station in the opposite direction. A back-sight compass reading that is different by 180 degrees and a clinometer reading that is the same v alue but with the rev erse direction (positiv e rather than
negativ e, for example) indicates that the original measurement was accurate.

When a loop within a cav e is surv ey ed back to its starting point, the resulting line-plot should also form a closed loop. Any gap between the first and last stations is called a loop-closure error. If no single error is apparent, one may assume the
loop-closure error is due to cumulativ e inaccuracies, and cav e surv ey software can 'close the loop' by av eraging possible errors throughout the loop stations. Loops to test surv ey accuracy may also be made by surv ey ing across the surface
between multiple entrances to the same cav e.

The use of a low-frequency cav e radio can also v erify surv ey accuracy . A receiv ing unit on the surface can pinpoint the depth and location of a transmitter in a cav e passage by measurement of the geometry of its radio wav es. A surv ey ov er
the surface from the receiv er back to the cav e entrance forms an artificial loop with the underground surv ey , whose loop-closure error can then be determined.

In the past, cav ers were reluctant to redraw complex cav e maps after detecting surv ey errors. Today , computer cartography can automatically redraw cav e maps after data has been corrected.

Surveying software
There are a large number of surv ey ing packages av ailable on v arious computer platforms, most of which hav e been dev eloped by cav ers with a basis in computer programming. Many of the packages perform particularly well for specific tasks,
and as such many cav e surv ey ors will not solely choose one product ov er another for all cartographic tasks.

A popular program for producing a centerline surv ey is Surv ex, which was originally dev eloped by members of the Cambridge Univ ersity Cav ing Club for processing surv ey data from club expeditions to Austria. It was released to the public in
1992. The centerline data can then be exported in v arious formats and the cav e detail drawn in with v arious other programmes such as AutoCAD, Adobe Illustrator and Inkscape. Other programmes such as 'Tunnel' and Therion hav e full
centerline and map editing capabilities. Therion notably , when it closes surv ey loops, warps the passages to fit ov er their length, meaning that entire passages do not hav e to be redrawn.

Terrestrial LiDAR units are increasing significantly in accuracy and decreasing in price. Sev eral Cav es hav e been "scanned" using both "time of flight" and "phase shift" LiDAR units. The differences are in the relativ e accuracies av ailable to each.
The Oregon Cav es National Park, was LiDAR scanned in August 2011, as were the Paisley Cav es Archaeological dig sigte in SE Oregon. Both were scanned with a FARO Focus Phase shift scanner with +/-2mm accuracy . The Oregon Cav es were
scanned from the main public entrance to the 110 exit and were loop surv ey ed to the point of beginning. The data is not y et av ailable for public use, but copies are retained by both the US Park Serv ice and i-TEN Associates in Portland, Oregon.

Automated methods
In recent y ears an underground geographic positioning technology called HORTA has been utilized in the mining industry . The technology utilizes a gy roscope and an accelerometer to aid in 3D-position determination. [5 ]

Such automated methods hav e prov ided a more than fifty -fold increase in underground surv ey ing productiv ity with more accurate and finer detail maps as well. [5 ]

See also
Caving
List of longest caves

References
1. Gunn, J. (2003). An Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-57958-399-6.
2. Nicholson, F.H.; Patmore, D.J. (1965). "The Fergus RIver Cave, Co. Clare, Ireland". UBSS Proceedings. 10 (3): 285.
3. Degtjarev, Alexander; Snetkov, Eugene; Gurjanov, Alexey (July 2007). "Obtaining accurate cave depths by hydrolevelling" (http://www.chaos.org.uk/survex/cp/CP38/CP38.pdf) (PDF). Compass Points. BCRA Cave Survey Group (38): 8–12. ISSN 1361-8962
(https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1361-8962). Retrieved 2009-05-02.
4. "BCRA Surveying Grades" (http://www.bcra.org.uk/surveying/). British Cave Research Association. Retrieved 2009-05-02.
5. Inco's Innovations (http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/issues/story.aspx?aid=1000110318&type=Print%20Archives), Canadian Mining Journal, April 2000, accessed 2010-12-02. "HORTA unit for determining the geographic position underground.
HORTA-Honeywell Ore Retrieval and Tunneling Aid-is a box containing a gyro and an accelerometer, originally developed for the U.S. military, that solves the problem of positioning and location underground."

External links
Laser Scanning History: Paisley Caves (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dOy4Oiyhy4)
Compass Points (http://www.chaos.org.uk/survex/cp/), the official journal of the BCRA Cave Surveying Group
CaveMaps.org Surveys (http://cavemaps.org/bpc.htm), A collection of Surveys of British Caves

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