Minimum Curvature method

The USGS minimum curvature algorithm provides a best-fit surface to the data and draws the contours accordingly. The stiffness of the surface (the amount it drapes) is controlled by the tension setting.

Used on its own, minimum curvature will give very smooth contours that attempt to minimise the ‘roughness’ of the surface being estimated. It is very fast and is used routinely used for geophysical data.

If the roughness of the surface is important use The Inverse Distance + Minimum Curvature method option.

The minimum curvature algorithm does not honour data points. It may produce a surface with a greater range than the original data, particularly if the original data range was large.

In common with most contouring algorithms, contours outside of the boundary of the raw data may be distorted.