Global InformationTopographic Abney level information
An Abney level and clinometer is an instrument used in surveying which consists of a fixed sighting tube, a movable spirit level that is connected to a pointing arm, and a protractor scale. An internal mirror allows the user to see the bubble in the level while sighting a distant target. It can be used as a hand-held instrument or mounted on a Jacob's staff for more precise measurement, and it is small enough to carry in a coat pocket.[1][2]
The Abney level is an easy to use, relatively inexpensive, and, when used correctly, an accurate surveying tool. Abney levels typically include scales graduated in measure degrees of arc, percent grade, and in topographic Abney levels, grade in feet per surveyor's chain, and chainage correction. The latter is the cosine of the angle, used to convert distances measured along the slope to horizontal distances. By using trigonometry the user of an Abney level can determine height, volume, and grade.[3]
Abney levels are made with square tubular bodies so that they may also be used to directly measure the slopes of plane surfaces by simply placing the body of the level on the surface, adjusting the level, and then reading the angle off of the scale.
- ^ Smaller Instruments and Appliances: The Abney Level and Clinometer, A Manual of the Principal Instruments used in American Engineering and Surveying, W. & L. E. Gurley, Troy, NY, 1891; page 219.
- ^ George William Usill, Clinometers: The Abney Level, Practical Surveying, Crosby Lockwood and Son, London, 1889; page 33.
- ^ H. A. Calkins and J. B. Yule, The Abney Level Handbook, United States Forest Service, 1927.