Kriging Interpolation Comparison on Alberta Weather Station Elevation Data using System for Automated Geoscientific Analysis (SAGA GIS)

Introduction

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

Data

Acquiring the Data

To download the Elevation data follow these steps:

Visit the Scholars GeoPortal at this link [2].
In the search bar enter Weather Stations .
The Canadian Weather Stations should be available to Add to map.
After adding the data to the map it is possible to select an area. In our case we selected All of Alberta's data.
Once this is completed, go to the Download page and either download your selected area or the entire dataset.

To download the Albeta boundary file