Assign Proximity (Thiessen

polygons) Creates a grid theme as output. Each

cell location in the grid theme is allocated to the
closest feature, determined by Euclidean
distance.

Spread functions
Proximity
Simple cost-distance
• Proximity functions measure distances
Calculate “cost” of fuel
between features for an all-terrain vehicle
• Distance functions to go from Point A to
Point B.
– Calculate a surface representing the
distance to the nearest target (raster)
• Example: Determine the distance from Distance is the only
archeological sites to the nearest stream factor.

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 More Topographic Functions Topographic slope
• Intervisibility (viewshed)
– Determine the areas than can be seen from one or more viewer locations
– Used for scenery management, choosing parcels with view
– Can use screen areas as well as topography
• Screen areas could include buildings, forested areas, etc.
• Illumination
– Mimics the effects of shining a light on a 3-D surface
– Creates a shaded relief (or color shaded relief) model
– Illumination source has a defined position relative to the surface
• Default usually from the NW at a 45 degree angle
• Perspective View
– Creates a 3-D block diagram showing how surface appears from a defined
position
• Typically displayed with parallel lines or a mesh
– One may also drape other data, such as roads or geology, across this surface
– Forms the basis for flyby animations

Aspect (direction the slope faces) Hillshade (illumination or shaded relief

image)

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 Intervisibility
Neighborhood functions
• Use to examine the neighborhood
around a target
– The target may be a point, line, polygon, or
cell(s) in a raster image
– The neighborhood being examined is called
a window
– The window is often a circle or square, but
may be any shape
• Typical functions
– Numeric functions: average, max, min,
sum, mode, standard deviation
Perspective viewing
Interpolation Functions
• Used to estimate values of a variable in
between known values
– Construct the top of a geologic layer from its
measured depth in well sites
– Create a precipitation surface from
measurements at climate stations
– Determine the elevation of a campsite from a
DEM
• Many methods available
– linear interpolation, polynomial regression,
area weighting, fourier series, moving
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 Map Query Reclassify Values
Produce a Boolean grid showing where a certain condition holds

Summarize Zones
Map calculation Computes a summary statistic for each zone in a grid or feature
theme (the zone theme) based on the cell values in another grid
Find combinations of public/private land and high/low slope
theme (the value theme) that fall within each zone. A zone consists
of the set of features or cells in the zone theme that have the same
attribute value.

Zone theme: Watersheds

Value theme: Elevation
Statistic type: Mean

0 = public and low slope

1 = public/high OR private/low
2 = private and high slope Output: Mean elevation of
each watershed

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 Tabulate Areas Moving window filters
Performs a cross tabulation of the zones between two input themes.

Common functions include

Mean, Min, Max, Median, Std. Dev.,
Majority, Minority, Sum, etc.
Example: Area of private
land vs. public land in
three watersheds. Neighborhood functions are often
also called filters or kernels.

Topographic Functions
Contouring a surface
• Used to describe changes and properties
of surfaces such as elevation
• Most common topographic functions
– Slope: Rate of Change of elevation (first
derivative)
– Aspect: Direction that a surface faces
– Gradient: Direction of maximum slope
– Example: Desirable building sites have low
slope and southern aspect

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 Spread functions
Spread functions
cost distance with a barrier
• Evaluates difficulty in moving across a
surface
– Moves step by step outward from target and
calculates a variable at each step
– Similar to a distance surface, except the
difficulty in moving varies spatially
• Distance function could find shortest route to build
a road from A to B
• Spread could use topography to find lowest slope
route
• Add even more variables to evaluate cost of road
based on slope, terrain type, and soils

Cost-distance factors Spread functions

for determining amount of fuel consumed on a trip Seek or stream functions
• Seek functions
search outward
using a specified
Horizontal Distance
decision rule
Bumpiness (friction) • Movement
Surface distance continues until
Slope factors further movement
Wind resistance would violate the
rule
• Applications