Correcting Traverse Angle Errors

Correcting traverse angle errors is an important step in site surveying. In a four-sided traverse, the internal angles must add up to 360 degrees. Survey data first showed a total of 359 degrees and 48 minutes, which was 12 minutes short of the expected sum. That gap pointed to a likely measurement error from fieldwork.

Consider that a traverse with four sides is plotted based on the field measurements taken during a site survey.

First, the internal angles of the traverse are calculated and summed, yielding 359 degrees and 48 minutes.

To achieve an accurate four-sided traverse, the sum of the interna...