Topographic Mapping

Abstract

This book is addressed to students and professionals, and it is aimed to cover as much as possible the broader region of topographic mapping as it has evolved into a modern field called geospatial information science and technology. More emphasis is placed on using scientific methods and tools materialized in algorithms and software to produce practical results. For this reason, beyond the written material, there are also many educational and professional software programs written by the first author to help comprehend the individual methodologies developed. The Target of this book is to provide the people who work in fields of applications of topographic mapping (environment, geology, geography, cartography, engineering, geotechnical, agriculture, forestry, geointelligence, etc.) a source of knowledge for the broader region so that to help them in facing relevant problems as well as in preparing contracts and specifications for such type of work assigned to professionals and evaluating such contracting results. It also aims to be a reference for theory and practice for professionals in Topographic Mapping. This book applies a didactics method where, with a relatively small effort, someone can digest a large volume of simple or complicated knowledge material at a desirable scientific depth within a relatively short time interval. The objective that educated people must be "smarter than the machine" and not treat the machine as a "black box" being "button pushers" has been achieved through the first author's experience in the USA and Greece, with relative success by adopting this didactics technique. There are 14 chapters, including Reference systems and Projections, Topographic instruments and Geometry of coordinates, Conventional construction of a topographic map, Design and reproduction of a thematic map, Digital Topographic mapping - GIS, Digital Terrain Models (DTM / DEM), GPS/GNSS, methods of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, new technologies LIDAR, IFSAR, Augmented reality, Mapping with UAS/UAV/Drones, the method of Least Squares adjustment, and Description of educational software accompanying the text.

Click the link below for the companion software files to accompany the book.
Hatzopoulos-TopographicMapping2.zip

About the Author

Professor John N. Hatzopoulos was born in Komiaki (Koronida) of Naxos, Greece. He graduated from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) in 1971 and received a diploma in Rural and Surveying Engineering, ranked first among 94 graduates. He was awarded a research assistantship at the University of Washington Seattle, USA, in 1975. He finished his MSCE degree in 1976 and his Ph.D. in 1979 while maintaining his research assistantship and working on various research projects in Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. He was hired as an Associate Professor at the California State University Fresno (CSUF) Surveying Engineering program in 1980, and his contribution to the program was that it became one of the top programs in the USA. He was promoted to the rank of professor and got tenure in 1984. He worked at CSUF from 1980 to 1989. He resigned from CSUF and joined the Department of Environmental Studies at the University of Aegean, Greece, as a professor i n 1989. Established the Laboratory of Remote Sensing and GIS at the University of Aegean and has been its Director since 1995. With the help of his colleagues, he also established the Extended University Program of Environmental Cartography and was the department's Chairman from 1998 to 2001. He retired in 2015, being awarded professor emeritus status. His activities involve teaching, research, and consulting in geomatic engineering, geospatial information science and technology, and computer-related applications. He has been a Member of the Technical Chamber of Greece since 1971 and of the ASPRS since 1976. He is a certified ASPRS photogrammetrist (1986) and a professional Rural and Surveying Engineer in Greece.

Despina Hatzopoulos was born in Fresno, California, USA, on November 17, 1986. In 2010, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from the Higher Technological Educational Institute of Larisa, Greece (now the University of Thessaly). She subsequently obtained her professional license as a Registered Nurse. Her academic pursuits continued with a master's degree in "City & Environment: Applied & Clinical Sociology" from the University of the Aegean, Department of Sociology, which she completed in 2013. From 2011 to 2013, Despina also participated in multiple seminars on Geographic Information Systems (GIS), enhancing her expertise in this area. In 2015, she achieved pedagogical adequacy from the Higher School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (ASPAITE) in Lesvos Island, Greece, equipping her with the necessary skills and credentials for educational instruction. In 2023, Despina recently completed a Bachelor of Science in Cultural Technology and Communication from the University of the Aegean, Greece, further broadening her interdisciplinary academic profile.