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There are nine gridding methods for contouring in AccuMap. Although slower than other gridding methods, Kriging usually generates the best overall interpretation of the data.
For large data sets or a quick look, use the fast methods Inverse Distance or Triangulation with Linear Interpolation. Inverse Distance can generate "bull’s eye" patterns. Triangulation with Linear Interpolation honors the data, is useful for mapping steep gradients, and gives results similar to AccuVision.
Minimum Curvature is fast and produces smooth contours, but doesn't necessarily honor data values. It's recommended for regional mapping, but not for steep gradients produced by reefs and channels.
For information about other gridding methods—Radial Basis Functions, Shepard’s Method, Nearest Neighbor, and Natural Neighbor, see Surfer documentation.
Dankers Geological Computer Services Ltd. recommends the following rules for gridding geological data:
| Geological Data Set | Gridding Method to Use |
|---|---|
| Small, randomly distributed data set with fewer than 250 points | Kriging |
| Moderate and large, randomly distributed data sets | For speed: Minimum Curvature or Triangulation with Linear Interpolation For accuracy: Kriging |
| Clustered data sets | Kriging Don't use Minimum Curvature. |
| Data sets with inaccurate data | Kriging Don't use Triangulation with Linear Interpolation. |
| Faulted areas | Triangulation with Linear Interpolation or Kriging |
| Areas with isolated features such as pinnacle reefs | Inverse Distance |
| Areas with strong trends and patterns | Kriging or Polynomial Regression (for trend analysis) |