PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
March 2016
181
BOOK
REVIEW
GPS for Land Surveyors, 4th Edition
J
an Van Sickle. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis
Group, 2015
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 3000 Boca Raton, FL
33487-2742
xv and 349 pp., diagrams, glossary, reference, index.
ISBN-13: 978-1466583108/ ISBN-10: 146658310X
Hardcover/ eBook. $99.95
Reviewed by
Allan Ng, PLS, Lecturer, Civil
Engineering Department, Cal Poly Pomona, Pomona
California.
Satellite navigation technologies, Global Positioning System
(GPS) or Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), are
essential among practitioners in land surveying and related
geospatial engineering fields. GPS surveying has many
advantages, offering a longer operation range and does
not require a direct line of site. It is an alternative, often a
compliment to other methods in land surveying. However,
many practitioners do not feel well prepared to apply GNSS
technologies, either because the concepts seem too complicated
or they might have limited exposures to the fundamentals.
GPS for Land Surveyors, 4
th
edition, is an excellent reference
for students, professionals or anyone who has interest in GNSS
technologies. It introduces basic principles and practice, such
as GPS signals, framework, error budgets, coordinate systems
and operating procedures without complex mathematical
models. The 4
th
edition provides updated materials, including
latest GNSS initiatives and GPS modernization - for example
satellite blocks IIR-M, IIF and III and enhanced end of chapter
exercises and solutions. Overall, GPS for Land Surveyors, 4
th
edition, provides a complete background of satellite navigation
technologies and can be easily understand by almost anyone
who has interests in this field. It also serves as a good first
book for those interested in more complex concepts, like
various mathematical facets of geodesy and GNSS.
The book consists of 8 chapters and has an electronic version
available for purchase or rent. All chapters have similar frame
works, paragraph(s) stating the importance of topics, then
illustration of concepts and detail explanation of subtopics. As
the target readers are practicing land surveyors and students
learning GPS technologies, the book focuses on explaining
background information and various types of common GPS
survey methods. Advance geodesy and linear algebra are not
covered to fit the author’s intent. Dr. Van Sickle instead utilizes
straightforward verbiage, alongside figures and diagrams, to
show the key constituents in coordinates: ellipsoids, geoids,
datum and coordinate systems, etc.
It is a well-organized book with chapters that begin with
concepts and transition to practices and future GNSS
initiatives and updates. In order to get readers familiar
with basic operation of GPS, the first couple of chapters are
dedicated to GPS signal structure and ranging methods; biases
from various sources and solutions; GPS framework including
the space, control and user segments; receivers, it’s peripherals
and data transmitting methods and basic geodesy. This book
explains intricate details with rather non-technical language.
The author tries to repackage information and present ideas
suitable to novice and avid users. He also uses metaphors
to assist readers’ understanding; such as “the buggy wheel
method of chaining” to explain “GPS cycle ambiguity,” which
the reviewer thinks is a very helpful strategy in conveying the
key concepts to beginner. In the section on GPS practices, the
author revises Chapters 6 and 7 to reflect the advancement
and the popularity of Real Time Kinematic (RTK) surveys.
Chapter 6 – Static Global Positioning System Surveying,
provides project research samples including National Geodetic
Survey (NGS) control and Continuous Operating Reference
Stations (CORS) data sheets. Also it discussed essentials
for survey design and planning, which are areas most
practitioners pay the least attention to in reviewer’s opinion.
RTK and differential GPS are arguably the predominant GPS
survey methods today and Chapter 7 describes their basics
and operation techniques. The reviewer would like to see
some future edition address potential pitfalls in performing
RTK and differential GPS surveys, as land surveyors seldom
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing
Vol. 82, No. 3, March 2016, pp. 181–182.
0099-1112/16/181–182
© 2016 American Society for Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing
doi: 10.14358/PERS.82.3.181
