Glossary of surveying terms
Surveying documents and municipal requirements are full of terms that mean little to a non-specialist. Here they are explained briefly and in plain language.
A
ADTI (high-detail topographic information)
Topographic data that must be submitted to and approved in the database designated by the relevant municipality. The organisation maintaining that database differs from one municipality to the next.
Aerial photogrammetry
A survey method that turns overlapping aerial images into scaled plans, orthophotos and 3D models. Covers large areas far faster than ground survey.
As-built survey
A survey carried out after construction recording how the object was actually built. Required before a structure can be commissioned.
B
Boundary marker (robežzīme)
A physical marker — usually a metal rod or concrete post — fixing a boundary point on the ground. A lost marker is restored from survey data.
Boundary plan (robežplāns)
A document showing a land unit's boundaries, their lengths and the coordinates of its boundary points. One of the outputs of cadastral surveying.
Boundary point
A point where a land unit's boundary changes direction. Its position on the ground is secured with a boundary marker.
Building authority (būvvalde)
The municipal body that reviews construction proposals and issues building permits. Documentation is normally processed through the national Construction Information System (BIS).
Building axis stakeout
Marking the designed axes and outlines of a structure on the ground before construction, so it is built exactly where the design places it.
C
Cadastral designation (kadastra apzīmējums)
The unique designation of an individual cadastral object — a land unit, building or group of premises. Distinct from the cadastre number, which identifies the property as a whole.
Cadastre number
The unique number of a property in the State Cadastre information system. One property can contain several land units.
Coordinate system
The reference system for planimetric coordinates. Survey work in Latvia uses LKS-92 TM.
D
Deformation monitoring
Repeated precise measurements tracking how a structure or the ground beneath it settles or shifts over time.
E
Easement (servitūts)
The right to use someone else's land for a defined purpose, such as access or routing utilities. Registered in the Land Register.
G
GNSS
Global navigation satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and others) used to determine coordinates on the ground. Delivers centimetre accuracy in the open.
H
Height system
The reference system elevations are measured against. The system currently in force in Latvia is LAS-2000,5.
L
Land drainage (meliorācija)
Systems regulating the water regime of land — subsurface drainage and open ditches. Land division has to account for them so a neighbour's outfall is not cut off.
Land management project (zemes ierīcības projekts)
The document for dividing, merging or rearranging land units. Drawn up to match the municipal spatial plan and approved by the municipality.
Land unit
A continuous area of land with defined boundaries, registered in the cadastre under its own cadastral designation.
O
Orthophoto
An aerial image corrected for perspective and terrain distortion, so distances and areas can be measured from it as from a map.
P
Protection zone (aizsargjosla)
A strip of land around or along an object where building and land use are restricted — for example along utilities, watercourses or roads.
S
Scale
The ratio between a distance on the plan and the same distance on the ground. Topographic plans are typically produced between 1:250 and 1:2000 — the smaller the number, the more detail.
Situation plan
A plan showing a land unit and the objects on it. Unlike a topographic plan it usually carries no elevation data.
T
Topographic plan
A scaled plan showing site features, relief and utility networks. It is the base document for design work and for a construction proposal.
Total station
A survey instrument measuring angles and distances together. Used where GNSS reception is obstructed — under forest canopy, in dense development, indoors.
U
Utility networks
Underground and overhead networks — water, sewerage, gas, electricity, telecoms, district heating. A topographic plan shows them and has them confirmed by each network owner.
These explanations are general and intended as orientation. We confirm the requirements that apply in your specific case before starting work.
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