AA-2026-435DE9
On the image
A team conducts essential geological fieldwork in the 1970s, a time when rigorous measurement in rugged terrain was still primarily a manual, often shirtless, undertaking. One person ensures the levelling rod remains perfectly vertical, a task that seems simple until you consider the terrain, and the fact that an entire scientific career might depend on it.
Nearby, another individual takes meticulous notes on a clipboard, capturing data that would later be transferred by hand to complex charts and graphs. The third operates a transit on a tripod, sighting through an optic that, in its day, represented the pinnacle of precision, a technology now easily outmaneuvered by a smartphone app.
The whole endeavour appears to be a testament to a specific era's commitment to hands-on data collection, before satellites and laser scanners made this kind of diligent, sun-baked effort largely obsolete. The commitment is admirable, the fashion choices less so.
The historian's note
This image captures a group engaged in geological or surveying fieldwork during the 1970s. The team utilises standard equipment for the period, including a levelling rod, a transit or theodolite mounted on a tripod for angle and elevation measurements, and a clipboard for manual data recording.
Such fieldwork was fundamental for various applications, including civil engineering, cartography, and resource exploration. Data collected manually in the field would be later processed and analysed in a laboratory or office setting.
The scene reflects the labour-intensive nature of scientific data acquisition prior to the widespread adoption of digital surveying instruments and global positioning systems (GPS), which revolutionised these practices in subsequent decades.
Subjects & keywords — each links to a search
Visually related — by likeness
Field Surveying Team in Rocky Terrain, 1970s. 1970–1979. Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library, AA-2026-435DE9. https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/field-surveying-team-in-rocky-terrain-1970s.
@misc{aaAA2026435DE9,
title = {Field Surveying Team in Rocky Terrain, 1970s},
year = {1970–1979},
howpublished = {Archive \& Atlas, Historical Image Library},
note = {Accession AA-2026-435DE9},
url = {https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/field-surveying-team-in-rocky-terrain-1970s}
}TY - ART TI - Field Surveying Team in Rocky Terrain, 1970s PY - 1970–1979 PB - Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library AN - AA-2026-435DE9 UR - https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/field-surveying-team-in-rocky-terrain-1970s ER -
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