Review of Spatial Interpolation Methods for Environmental Scientists

A review paper summarizing 51 comparative studies on spatial interpolation methods for environmental data. The performance of 62 methods and sub-methods is compared across 77 cases, and a decision tree for method selection is provided. The document was published by the Australian Ocean Data Network and last updated in June 2026.

Use Cases

• Selecting an appropriate spatial interpolation method based on data availability and nature using the provided decision tree.
• Comparing the performance of 26 classified interpolation methods based on quantified features and cluster analysis.
• Assessing the impact of factors like sample density and data variation on interpolation accuracy using results from 77 cases.
• Identifying software packages suitable for implementing spatial interpolation methods from the provided list.

Strengths

• Summarizes findings from 51 comparative studies on interpolation method performance.
• Compares 62 methods and sub-methods and quantifies their features.
• Quantifies impacts of sampling design and data variation using data from 77 cases.

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.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Literature review and analysis of comparative studies.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-23 04:14:43.619360; freshness should be verified.