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Bob Holtkamp of GNG Surveys uses Traverse PC in the Arctic

 

"I'm working in the high Arctic on a project called the DEW Line Clean Up (DLCU). DEW is an acronym for Distant Early Warning systems. Which is a joint project of the Canadian and American military. When the Cold War began in the early '50's we decided we needed some sort of protective warning system in case the Russians were to attack us from the North so we constructed a line of radar facilities in the high Canadian arctic to keep vigil which we still do today. Unfortunately all these years and mountains of garbage, toxins and PCB’s etc. were deposited on hundreds of acres of pristine tundra. No possible way to dispose properly and nobody cared. Today the 23 major sites (58 altogether if you count intermediates) are either being demolished or if they are not decommissioned they will be cleaned up. Some take 3 to 4 years some less. The one I am at is a 2 year job. That’s 2 months only in each summer because of the weather. In fact the weather forecast has snow for Friday, that’s July the 27, 2007.

"Anyway I am the site surveyor and my helper is a local Inuit. My job is to lay out the various facilities for clean up because removal is not an option. A barge can only get in here for a small window in fall and the trip takes weeks. Basically there are 4 main facilities laid out and constructed. This site can be viewed on Google Earth with progress up to last fall. The four facilities are 1. The Landfarm 2. The Non-Hazardous Disposal Facility 3. The USAF Landfill and 4. The Tier 2 Disposal Facility. They are all quite elaborate and are overseen by a Defense Construction Canada DCC Engineer.

 
"Now here I am back again on the 5th of August and we awoke to blowing wet snow. It is quite cold for August. The job is winding down but I am still very busy. We are busy putting the finishing touches on the USAF Landfill. It has been sealed in a geotechnical liner and will get 2.6 meters of fill to bring up the permafrost. Permafrost has an active layer of .7 meters in the peak of summer. That should seal all the toxins and other harmful materials in ice forever, global warming aside. There is a .8 meter global warming factor in place. So layout and volumes etc. is what its all about. I could not do this job with such ease without the help of Traverse PC and sometimes the help desk when I don’t have time to read the learning notes. With Traverse PC I can survey in the field first or survey on the computer first and reconstruct in the field. Layout and volumes are a snap. If I have a problem, with TPC Connection it soon is resolved. The economics are simple. Without Traverse PC our company would not have this lucrative contract. The Department of Defense would accept only AutoCAD or Traverse PC. AutoCAD is not surveyor friendly. "