Survey Engineering and Mapping Technical Center of Expertise

AGC
Published Oct. 15, 2025
Survey Engineering and Mapping Center of Expertise

Survey Engineering and Mapping Center of Expertise

Introduction 

The Survey Engineering and Mapping Center of Expertise was originally established in the mid 1990’s to provide the USACE with expert knowledge in the various areas of surveying and mapping.  With the advancement of GNSS and related surveying tools, this Center provided the USACE with the necessary research and development, training, and guidance to fully implement this new technology leading to efficient and accurate survey data collection solutions.  The Center’s ability to apply this to other advances in surveying and mapping activities has made it a very successful program and resource for USACE districts. 

Key Capabilities 

To provide the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) with consistent expertise in the areas of surveying and mapping related to geodesy, topographic mapping, hydrographic surveying, dam deformations, geodetic and water level datum determination, electronic charting and mapping, data standards, GPS surveying and mapping, and project horizontal and vertical control.  This involves developing and providing training, updating guidance manuals containing references to surveying and mapping, developing standard methodologies, developing survey software solutions, interfacing with other federal agencies, and developing industry partnership to support district and division surveying and mapping activities. 

Products and Services 

Center activities have included the following:  

  • Partnerships and Agreements w/ other Agencies 

  • USCG Buoys, NOAA Tidal Datum Processing 

  • Partnerships w/ Industry 

  • Caterpillar Inc, Hypack Inc 

  • Develop USACE Database solutions 

  • USACE Survey Monumentation Archival and Retrieval Tool (U-SMART) 

  • National Inventory of Dams 

  • Comprehensive Evaluation of Project Datums 

  • Comprehensive Evaluation of Projects with Respect to Sea Level Change 

  • Develop and maintain IENC Program 

  • Inland Electronic Navigational Charts, eHydro 

  • Surveying Support  

  • Dam Deformation Surveying Techniques 

  • Tidal Datum Processing 

  • Training and Workshops  

  • Software Development 

  • Sea Level Change Calculator and Sea Level Tracker 

  • Engineer Guidance Updates  

  • Engineer Manuals: GPS Surveying, Hydrographic Surveying, Survey Marker and Monumentation, Topographic Surveying, Structural Deformation Surveying, Standards and Procedures for Referencing Project Elevation Grades to Nationwide Vertical Datums 

  • Engineer Regulations: Policies for using the USACE Survey Monument Archival and Retrieval Tool (USMART) for Project Control and Boundary Monumentation, Policies for Referencing Project Elevation Grades to Nationwide Vertical Datums

Point of Contact 

Internal to USACE: https://usace.dps.mil/sites/USACE-AGC-COLLAB-SEMC 

External to USACE: https://www.agc.army.mil/What-we-do/Survey-Engineering-and-Mapping-Technical-Center-of-Expertise/