Interpolation with Barrier

[yanma]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]31354[/ATTACH]

So as shown in pic I have a bunch of stations with water sample data and polygons representing the water in harbor.

The objective is to interpolate data over the water body.

To best simulate peninsula's barrier effect, I understand that I am better off with Diffusion Interpolation with Barriers and/or Kernel Interpolation with Barriers in Geostatistical Analyst Tool.

For those who are experienced in this kind of endeavor,
1. Should I aggregate the polygons first to connect the waters?
2. If I set the polygons as barriers, will it be considered islands instead of waters? With this concern, how should I best specify the parameters for the interpolation tool?

These are some really powerful tools in ArcGIS. I would love to engage in related discussions not limited to this forum.

Will check for updates frequently. Any input is appreciated!

my

[yanma]

Please read through the documentation on Mask and Extent.  They do a good job of explaining the concepts.  If you still have questions after reading the topics, I'm happy to answer them.

Mask:
http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.2/index.html#//001w0000001t000000

Extent:
http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.2/index.html#//001w00000009000000

correct me if I'm wrong.

ArcGIS selects those features that appear in the processing extent, process them, and generate a feature that not necessarily fit the extent. Then it clips the result to the shape of the mask.

(I think another way to put my question is that, in the process of input-process-output, if I were to insert Processing Extent and Mask to where they come into play, where should they be respectively? )

Thanks,
-my

[EricKrause]

Extent does not affect which data points are used in the model.  Even points outside the Extent will be used in the calculations.  Extent refers to the extent of the output raster or geostatistical layer.  If you want to control which points are used to build the model, you can do that with Selection.

Mask simply sets some areas of the output to NoData.  Specifically, anything outside the Mask and within the Extent will be set to NoData.  Note that Mask is only supported for raster output; this environment does not work with geostatistical layer outputs.

[yanma]

Extent does not affect which data points are used in the model.  Even points outside the Extent will be used in the calculations.  Extent refers to the extent of the output raster or geostatistical layer.  If you want to control which points are used to build the model, you can do that with Selection.

Mask simply sets some areas of the output to NoData.  Specifically, anything outside the Mask and within the Extent will be set to NoData.  Note that Mask is only supported for raster output; this environment does not work with geostatistical layer outputs.

However, in the link you shared, the first line goes:"Tools that honor the Output Extent environment will only process features or rasters that fall within the extent specified in this setting."

A little confusing.

my

[EricKrause]

Sorry for the confusion.  That text is referring to the output raster or output features, not the inputs.