I have created buffers that I now want to intersect with a layer. My problem is that the area inside the buffer doesn't match the theoretical area for a circle of that radius. I have the same deviation for every buffer. All coordinate systems are the same. The layer I'm using is definitely gapless (I checked that). The buffers that I use for intersecting have the correct area.
I need the correct area in the buffer to be able to continue with my task. Unfortunately I'm clueless.. I would be grateful for ideas and help.
What coordinate system is it in? Could you provide the observed difference and screenshots also please?
If the output was to a shapefile, then you have an "ngon", an n-sided replica of a circle since shapefiles don't support true curves (eg a circle) like featureclasses in a geodatabase.
If your coordinate system, is web mercator, then don't use it, use a better planar projected coordinate system.
You should be using a geodesic buffer also
How Buffer (Analysis) works—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation
Buffer (Analysis)—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation
To see if your buffer is a true curve, use
Calculate Geometry Attributes (Data Management)—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation
and calculate Area_geodesic and CURVE_Count to see if the buffers are truly circles rather than n-gons