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Fieldwork Skills » Fieldwork Equipment and Physical Techniques

What you'll learn this session

Study time: 30 minutes

Cambridge spec: Geographical skills, Fieldwork skills, Fieldwork equipment, Fieldwork techniques

Choose the right equipment and say how to use it and what it measures
Carry out physical techniques: observations, sketches, photographs, transects, pebble indices, river channel measurements and beach profiles
Write a risk assessment so that fieldwork is safe

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Fieldwork skills: choosing equipment and techniques

Fieldwork means collecting your own data outside. Geographers follow the route to geographical enquiry, from a question to a conclusion. That route and the data collection sheets you use to record results are taught in The Route to Geographical Enquiry and Collecting Data for an Investigation. This lesson is about the tools, the physical methods and staying safe.

The skill is to select equipment and techniques that fit the question. The lists in the syllabus are not complete, so always pick what suits your own study.

Question	Equipment and technique
Does a river flow faster downstream?	Flow meter, or float and stopwatch, with a tape measure
Does plant cover change with distance from a footpath?	Transect with quadrats and a tape measure
Are pebbles more rounded downstream?	Roundness index or Powers scale on a sample of pebbles
How steep is a beach?	Beach profile with ranging poles, clinometer and tape

Fieldwork equipment

For each item you should know how to use it and what it measures.

📏 Ranging poles

Straight poles, often 2 m long, marked in bands. They mark points on a line, such as the start and end of a transect, and show the height to sight to when measuring slope angle. Stand them upright.

💧 Flow meter

Has a small propeller (impeller). Hold it in the water facing upstream, steady and clear of the bed. It measures velocity in metres per second (m/s).

⏱️ Stopwatch or timer and a float

Without a flow meter, drop a float (an orange or a cork) upstream of a marked distance, such as 10 m, and time it. Velocity = distance ÷ time. Repeat three times and take the mean. A float shows surface velocity only, because friction slows the water near the bed, so the surface moves faster.

🌿 Quadrat

A square frame, often 0.5 m or 1 m across. Place it flat on the ground and count or estimate the plants inside it. It measures the number of plants or the percentage cover of plants.

🔊 Noise meter

Measures how loud a place is in decibels (dB). Hold it at the same height and pointing the same way at every site, and record the time of day.

📐 Clinometer

Measures the angle of a slope in degrees. A partner stands downslope holding a ranging pole. Sight through the clinometer to the mark on the pole that matches your own eye height, and read the angle.

A tape measure (or a trundle wheel or measuring stick) measures distance: the width of a river, the length of a transect, the size of a pebble or the gap between sample points. Keep it straight and tight.

Physical fieldwork techniques

These methods are used in rivers, on coasts and in other physical environments.

Observations: carefully noticing and recording what you see, such as the colour of the water, rock type or signs of erosion. Write them down at the time.
Field sketch: a simple, quick drawing of a view. Give it a title, the date and the direction you face. Draw the main features only, and add labels (the names) and annotations (notes explaining what is happening).
Photograph: a quick record of a place. Note where and in which direction it was taken, and include a person or ranging pole for scale. Add labels afterwards.
Transect: remember, this is a line across an area along which you take measurements at set intervals, for example every 5 m along a line away from a footpath or across a beach. It shows how something changes with distance.

Pebble indices

Pebbles are used to test whether rocks get smaller and rounder along a river or a beach. Measure a sample, such as 20 pebbles at each site, picked in a fair way.

🔎 Powers scale

Compare each pebble with a chart of six shapes. Score 1 for very angular, up to 6 for well rounded. Work out the mean score at each site.

🔧 Roundness index

Use callipers or a pebbleometer to measure the radius of the sharpest corner (r) and the longest length (L) in the same units. Roundness index = 2r ÷ L × 1000. A higher number means a more rounded pebble.

Worked example

A pebble has a corner radius of 12 mm and a longest length of 48 mm. Index = 2 × 12 ÷ 48 × 1000 = 24 ÷ 48 × 1000 = 0.5 × 1000 = 500.

River channel measurements and beach profiles

These are described in outline.

Width: stretch a tape across the channel from bank to bank at the water surface.
Depth: at set points along the tape, such as every 0.5 m, push a ruler or ranging pole down to the bed and read the depth.
Velocity: use a flow meter or float and stopwatch.
Calculate: width × mean depth gives the cross-sectional area. Use it with the velocity to work out discharge, as you did in Rivers and Drainage Basins: Key Features.

A beach profile shows the shape of the beach from the top of the beach to the sea:

Place a ranging pole at the top of the beach and another down the slope at the next break of slope, where the angle changes.
Measure the distance between them with a tape.
Use a clinometer to measure the angle of the slope between the two poles.
Move on and repeat until you reach the sea. Then plot the distances and angles as a profile graph.

Risk assessments

A risk assessment is written before you go out, so that you can work safely. These three words matter:

Hazard: something that could cause harm.
Risk: how likely it is that the harm happens, and how serious it would be.
Precaution: an action that reduces the risk.

Hazard (river study)	Risk	Precaution
Deep or fast water	Falling in and drowning	Stay in shallow water only, below knee height. Never enter when the river is high after heavy rain. Work in groups with a leader.
Slippery rocks	Slips, sprains and cuts	Wear boots or wellingtons with a good grip. Move slowly.
Polluted water	Infection	Cover cuts, do not drink the water, wash hands before eating.
Bad weather	Cold, sunburn	Check the forecast. Bring waterproofs, a hat and sun cream.
Roads and bridges	Being hit by traffic	Stay with the group and away from the road. Wear bright clothing.

On a coast, add the tide and falling cliffs: check tide times and stay away from the cliff base.

Common mistakes

Using a float and saying it shows the velocity of the whole river, when it shows surface velocity only. Measuring only one pebble or taking one time. Forgetting to hold equipment the same way at every site. Listing a hazard with no precaution. Writing "be careful" as a precaution instead of a clear action.

Exam-style question

A group studied a river. Fig. 1.1 shows made-up results for a float that travelled 10 m downstream.

Run	1	2	3
Time (seconds)	9	10	11

(a) Calculate the mean time taken by the float. [1 mark]

(b) Calculate the velocity of the river surface in m/s. [1 mark]

(d) Devise a risk assessment for the group measuring the river. [6 marks]

Model answer

(a) (9 + 10 + 11) ÷ 3 = 10 seconds (1).

(b) 10 m ÷ 10 s = 1 m/s (1).

(c) Repeat the float run more times and take a mean (1). Use a flow meter at several points across the channel, or measure at more than one site (1).

(d) Level 3 (5-6 marks): Identify several hazards, give a clear risk for each and a precaution that matches. Deep or fast water could cause someone to fall in and drown, so the group should wear wellingtons, stay in shallow water below knee height, work in pairs with a leader on the bank and not go in at all after heavy rain. Slippery rocks could cause cuts and sprains, so everyone should wear boots with good grip and walk slowly. River water may be polluted and cause infection, so cover cuts and wash hands before eating. Cold weather or sun could cause harm, so check the forecast and bring waterproofs and sun cream. The group should stay together and away from the road beside the bridge.

Exam tip

In a risk assessment answer, write each hazard with its risk and its precaution, because marks are given for the precaution that matches the hazard.

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