Lab 4: Interpolation and Geostatistical Modeling in ArcGIS

Introduction

This lab teaches you how to do interpolate surfaces and do geostatistical modeling in ArcGIS. Download the sample file (lab4.zip) to your network drive and unzip it there.

Instructions

You will use the following Acrobat book called Using ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst (Using_Geostatistical_Analyst.pdf) to do the exercise. The pdf file is in the I:\Students\data\GIS\ArcGIS9.1_documentation\ESRI_Library\ArcGIS_Extensions folder. Read Chapter 1 and do the Quickstart Tutorial exercises in Chapter 2. Answer the following questions and produce the following outputs. Labs should be typed, include your name and lab number, be well organized, and be stapled together.

  1. At the end of Exercise 1, print the map in a layout.  Give the map a title and put your name on it with a text box.
  2. Are the mean and median values of the ozone layer similar?  What does this tell you?
  3. Click on the histogram bar with the lowest ozone values.  Where are the lowest ozone levels in California?
  4. What can the QQ Plot tell you when you are looking at one variable?
  5. What does the trend analysis graphic tell you about the East-West and North-South trends in ozone levels in California?
  6. What do the X and Y axes of a semivariogram represent?
  7. What does each dot in a semivariogram represent?
  8. What does the search direction tool tell you within the semivariogram?
  9. In Exerercise 2, you created a histogram, a QQ Plot, a trend analysis graphic, and a semivariogram.  Each one of the dialogs for these ESDA tools has a button called Add to Layout.  Add all of these graphics to the layout with the interpolated ozone surface, put your name on it with a text box, and print it.
  10. What is binning?
  11. What does flattening of a semivariogram indicate?
  12. What is anisotropy?
  13. What is the objective of cross-validation?
  14. What is prediction error and how do you measure it?
  15. What is a prediction standard error map?
  16. Print a map of the krigged ozone surface with the trend removed at the end of Exercise 4.  Put your name on it with a text box and include a title.
  17. Print the standard error map of the krigged surface.  Put your name on it with a text box and include a title.
  18. How do you use the cross-validation comparison dialog to compare surface models?
  19. Print the indicator map at the end of Exercise 5.  Put your name on it with a text box and include a title.
  20. Print the indicator map at the end of Exercise 6.  Put your name on it with a text box and include a title.