CONTROL NETWORKS The establishment of two- or three-dimensional control networks is the most fundamental operation in the surveying of large or small areas of land. Control networks comprise a series of points or positions which are spatially located for the purpose of topographic surveying, for the control of supplementary points, or dimensional control on site. The process involved in carrying out the surveying of an area, the capture and processing of the field data, and the subsequent production of a plan or map, will now be outlined briefly. The first and obvious step is to know the purpose and nature of the project for which the surveys are required in order to assess the accuracy specifications, the type of equipment required and the surveying processes involved. For example, a major construction project may require structures, etc., to be set out to subcentimetre accuracy, in which case the control surveys will be required to an even greater accuracy. Earthwork volumes may be estimated from the final plans, hence contours made need to be plotted at 2 m intervals or less. If a plan scale of 1/500 is adopted, then a plotting accuracy of 0.5 mm would represent 0.25 m on the ground, thus indicating the accuracy of the final process of topographic surveying from the supplementary control and implying major control to a greater accuracy. The location of topographic data may be done using total stations, GPS satellites, or, depending on the extent of the area, aerial photogrammetry. The cost of a photogrammetric survey is closely linked to the contour interval required and the extent of the area. Thus, the accuracy of the control network would define the quality of the equipment and the number of observations required. The duration of the project will affect the design of survey stations required for the control points. A project of limited duration may only require a long, stout wooden peg, driven well into solid, reliable ground and surrounded by a small amount of concrete. A fine nail in the top defines the geometrical position to be located. A survey control point designed to be of longer duration is illustrated