Assignment 8

Introduction:

This is the second part of the Navigation lab, started the previous week. Last week my group, group 4, created UTM and Decimal degree maps to use for navigating out in the woods by the UWEC Priory. As said before, technology will fail you and you need to be able to navigate without the use of a cell phone or a GPS unit. Out in the woods we found that terrain is difficult and navigation is even harder.

Study Area:

The study area was the UWEC Priory, an apartment style residence hall and Nature academy/day care for children. It is roughly 3 miles south of the Eau Claire campus and is surrounded by a 120 acre forested area that is full of elevation changes. The priory woods was heavily wooded and the area we were in changed elevation quite frequently. There were many downed trees and small creek that ran through our area. It was a great autumn day with a few clouds in the sky.

Methods:

We met in the priory parking lot and got our data sheets. These sheets contained our navigational landmarks with their decimal degree coordinates. We marked them on our maps that Dr. Hupy printed out for each group. These were the maps created in the previous week's lab. We were then issued a handheld GPS unit and a compass (figure A below) to navigate with. Next was to find our individual pace counts. I did not partake due to a previous injury and was walking with a limp, hence my paces would be drastically different on different terrain. The other two group members found their pace counts for 50 meters, we then doubled them for a 100 meter pace count. We set out to the corner of the parking lot and assigned roles. We had a pace counter, azimuth controller, and pace count recorder. The pacer walked to a landmark and counted the paces, the azimuth controller told them the land mark and made sure they stayed on track, and the counter recorded the steps and converted the steps into meters. Using the compass we lined up where we needed to go on the map and converted the cm into meters and began our journey (figure B). To find the bearing direction line up the starting point and the point on the map, make sure the map is oriented north. Then line the red lines on the compass north and south by turning the dial. When those lines are oriented north-south the degree on the outer edge should tell you the direction you have to travel when the compass is pointed north. Red in the shed. Then pacer then walks in that direction counting their steps and the recorded records them and converts them to meters.

Figure A, a navigation compass

Figure B, Payden being the Azimuth Controller

while Sarah Ventures off in the correct

direction.

Results and Discussion:

The GPS unit mapped our progress and where we traveled but it didn't seem very accurate I believe this was because some of the valleys and ravines and the tall canopies messing with the signal. While we were standing still the GPS was moving. We actually found the first point with ease figure C shows Sarah posing with our first point.

Figure C, Sarah at navigation point 1 for group 4.

We had troubles finding point 2, but we came within the vicinity. When we tried navigating to points 3 and 4 we didn't travel northward enough. The elevation changes were changing the pace counts and the group was not taking that into account quite enough when attempting to navigate to the points. As we spent time trying to navigate through the thorny terrain full of relief the sun began to set and we decided that instead of getting lost in the woods at night we would pack it in before finding point 5. Figure D is a map of the points we were supposed to navigate to.

Figure D shows The Priory woods with the Navigation Points for group 4

Conclusion:

Of the two maps used to navigate the UTM map was the map we chose to use since we were able to easily mark the points on that map. The grid lines however could have been finer, this would have made navigation easier and our placement of the points more accurate. We believe that our points were off because of the grid being too coarse. Either way this assignment was great especially because it taught a bunch of people how to navigate with a map and compass even if they didn't make it to their targeted areas, they now have the knowledge to do so.