Review of Spatial Interpolation Methods for Environmental Data

51 comparative studies on the performance of 62 spatial interpolation methods in environmental sciences are summarized. The review, published by Geoscience Australia, compares non-geostatistical interpolators, geostatistical interpolators, and combined methods, quantifying impacts of factors like sample density and data variation using 77 cases. A decision tree for selecting among 26 classified methods is provided, along with a list of software packages.

Use Cases

• Selecting an appropriate interpolation method based on data availability and nature using the provided decision tree.
• Comparing the performance of different interpolation techniques based on summarized assessment measures and 51 comparative studies.
• Quantifying the impact of sampling design and data quality on interpolation accuracy using insights from 77 analyzed cases.
• Understanding relationships and similarities among 26 spatial interpolators through quantified features and cluster analysis.

Strengths

• Summarizes findings from 51 comparative studies involving 62 methods and sub-methods.
• Quantifies impacts of factors like sample density and variation using data from 77 distinct cases.
• Provides a structured decision tree for method selection based on data characteristics.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Literature review and analysis of existing comparative studies.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 03:30:41.703608; freshness should be verified.