Abstract

Visualizing changes using a Linear Point Interpolation Method
Track: GIS Concepts and Fundamentals
Authors: Rick Harris

One difficult obstacle that is encountered within GIS is the ability to visually represent value changes along a linear segment between starting and end points. One example of this might occur as fluctuations in stream temperatures which may take place entirely within one line segment. Previously one way to address the problem was to break the line segment into multiple segments and attribute them accordingly by a known value point along the line. However this often causes an uneven distribution or distortion of the gradient changes that take place between the connected segments. By using a Linear Point Interpolation Method (LPIM) you are able to better visualize trends and values by creating close evenly spaced points along your polyline which can then be symbolized representing interpolated value changes along the length. The resulting output is very useful for visualizing trending value changes and gradient flows within line segments.