The input to Surface III is a text file containing X-Y-Z data points. The X and Y values should describe a Cartesian coordinate system, and the Z should sample a single-valued surface (such as a the surface of the Earth, the thickness of a rock unit, the salinity of an estuary).
From there, the program will create a matrix of rows and columns describing the surface. The user can choose from several gridding methods, including distance-weighted averaging, polynomial fitting, and Universal kriging. Different weighting functions and search methods can be used to create the most accurate grid.
The software can create several kinds of maps:
Grids can be added, subtracted, multiplied, or divided by one another (grid-to-grid operations). Error analysis functions allow the resulting grid to be compared to the original data set.
If you'd like a user manual, send a note to
Dana Adkins-Heljesonor send an email to the address below. While we have copies, a user manual will be sent. Online documentation will be added to the web site in the near future.
Kansas Geological Survey
University of Kansas
1930 Constant Ave.
Lawrence, KS 66047