Clinometers: Useful For Navigation, Rocks & Trees

By Carey Bourdier


Geometry and trigonometry aren't just classes that we had to take during high school; these branches of mathematics have many practical applications in many professions. There are many optical instruments that can help these professionals make accurate geometric calculations. One optical tool that incorporates aspects of geometry is the clinometer. This is a device that helps one measure elevation angles, which can be helpful in for the following jobs.

1. Safe Sailing Is Easier With A Clinometer

If you are learning to use a boat or a sailboat, you have to learn a great deal about navigation and safety. You also should learn some basic meteorology to increase your safety on longer voyages away from a harbor. While it's important to learn to use radar, sonar and a radio, it's also important to be able to observe changes in weather conditions without depending on electronic devices. These can stop working and you can lose power, so you will be far safer if you know how to observe and use devices such as the clinometer.

Learning how to use a clinometer, combined with some general knowledge of meteorology can be a boon if you are without working instrumentation. The clinometer can help you measure cloud height. Different types of clouds form at different elevations and these clouds indicate unique weather conditions. Changes in cloud height also can be important to note as these can indicate weather changes. By watching cloud movement, you can determine where a squall might be moving. For instance, when a cumulus cloud starts to quickly increase its vertical height, this can mean that a thunderstorm could occur. So when you see puffy cumulus clouds transform into a more vertical cumulonimbus formation, this could mean that heavy rain, lighting and high winds are coming.

2. Managing Forests With A Clinometer

If you have never heard about the job of a forester, you probably could at least guess that it must be in some way related to trees. A forester or forestry technician is a job concerned with the management of all types of forests. This includes protected forest lands as well as forests used for logging.

In order to manage a forest, these foresters have to collect plenty of information about the plant life and animals that live in the forest. Rather than study the entire forest, they will study sample areas, assuming that conditions are similar throughout the forest. The clinometer is an important tool for foresters because it allows them to be able to measure tree height. They stand 50 feet from the base of a tree and hold the clinometer at eye level, and the clinometer will tell them the angle of elevation. From there, simple calculations are used to understand tree height.

3. Geologists Rock Out With Clinometers

Geology is a branch of science primarily concerned with studying the many materials that make up the earth. Geologists study many features of the earth, such as rock formations and mountains, making note of changes that have occurred over time. During field studies, a geologist might record a variety of data, and this includes measuring the heights of rock walls, large rocks and mountains. A clinometer is the handy tool that helps them measure these heights, just as the forester uses the clinometer to gauge the height of trees in a forest.




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