Kriging Interpolation on Major Canadian City Temperature Data using System for Automated Geoscientific Analysis (SAGA GIS)

Kriging Interpolation on Major Canadian City Temperature Data using System for Automated Geoscientific Analysis (SAGA GIS)

Purpose

The purpose of this tutorial is to provide a step-by-step guide to using the Kriging interpolation technique in SAGA GIS, a software that many users may not have encountered before. The tutorial will introduce the various types of Kriging and the key variables to consider during the process. By comparing results from a dataset with dense data points to one with sparse data, the tutorial aims to highlight the critical role that data quality and quantity play in achieving accurate interpolation results.

Introduction to SAGA

SAGA, short for System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses, is a powerful Geographic Information System (GIS) software designed for the effective implementation of spatial algorithms. It offers a comprehensive and ever-growing suite of geoscientific methods, coupled with an approachable user interface featuring diverse visualization options. SAGA runs on both Windows and Linux operating systems and is distributed as Free Open Source Software (FOSS).

Downloading SAGA

Before beginning the tutorial, if you do not have SAGA GIS please follow the steps below:

• Follow this link to download [1]
• Once the download is complete extract the files from the zip folder
• Run the saga_gui.exe to open the program

Acquiring the Data

To download the Earthquake data follow these steps:

• Visit the Significant Earthquake Database at this link [2]
• Fill in the date of the form beginning by setting the minimum year to 1990 and the maximum year to 2013
• Select North America and Hawaii as the Region Name