ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst

ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst is an extension to ArcGIS for Desktop that provides a suite of tools for spatial data exploration and optimal surface generation using deterministic and geostatistical methods.
 * Deterministic technique revolves around mathematical functions for extrapolation.
 * Geostatistical technique revolves around both mathematical and statistical functions for extrapolation..

Some of the industries that can use the extension to aid in decision making processes are the mining, oil & gas, environmental science, soil science, meteorology, and public health industries.

ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst creates a geostastical analysis via samples points taken based on a certain attribute from different locations in landscape and interpolates a continuous surface. Users are able to generate interpolation models and assess their quality before analyzing them in other extensions such as ArcGIS Spatial Analyst and ArcGIS 3D Analyst.

The extension allows for the ability to investigate, visualize, and create optimal surfaces with spatial data. For example, users can estimate the depth of water table and temperature values, assess environmental risks, and predict the existence of any geophysical element.

With ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst users can :


 * Explore data variability, look for data outliers, and examine global trends.
 * Create prediction, prediction standard error, quantile, and probability maps.
 * Use different renderers to visualize surfaces including contours (isolines), filled contours, regular grid (block interpolation), and hillshading.
 * Investigate spatial autocorrelation and the correlation between multiple datasets.

Features
The tools featured in the ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst extension are categorized as follows:


 * Geostatistical Analyst toolbar
 * The Geostatistical Analyst toolbar contains a set of tools for pre- and post-processing of interpolation models, interpolation of data, placement of new sampling sites, geostatistical simulations, and the use of geostatistical layers. The Geostatistical Analyst toolbar comprises of two major blocks. The first is the Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) which examines all possible surfaces based on the collected data, providing a deeper understanding of the investigated phenomena. The second is the Subset Features that governs the modelling of spatial structure, the production of surface and the validation of the output surface.


 * Geostatistical Wizard
 * The Geostatistical Wizard tool guides users through the process of creating a surface that is statistically valid. The tool allows users to select from a number of interpolation techniques which are either categorized as deterministic or geostatistical methods.


 * Geoprocessing tools
 * The geoprocessing tools are designed to work with the outputs of the interpolation models and extend the capabilities of Geostatistical Wizard by providing features such as interactive variography, cross validation, and visualization.