NAME

     nearneighbor - A "Nearest neighbor" gridding algorithm


SYNOPSIS

     nearneighbor   [    xyzfile(s)    ]    -   Gout_grdfile    -
     Ix_inc[m|c][/y_inc[m|c]]         -        Nsectors         -
     Rwest/east/south/north[r] -Ssearch_radius[k] [ -Eempty ] [ -
     F ] [ -H ] [ -V ] [ -W ] [ -: ] [ -b[d] ]


DESCRIPTION

     nearneighbor reads arbitrarily located  (x,y,z[,w])  triples
     [quadruplets] from standard input [or xyzfile(s)] and uses a
     nearest neighbor algorithm to assign  an  average  value  to
     each  node that have one or more points within a radius cen-
     tered on the node.  The  average  value  is  computed  as  a
     weighted  mean  of all points inside the search radius.  The
     weighting function used is w(r) = 1.0 / (1 + d * d), where d
     =  3  *  r  / search_radius and r is distance from the node.
     This weight is modulated by the observation points'  weights
     [if supplied].

     xyzfile(s)
          3 [or 4, see -W] column ASCII file(s) [or binary, see -
          b]  holding  (x,y,z[,w])  data  values.   If no file is
          specified, nearneighbor will read from standard input.

     -G    Give the name of the output grdfile.

     -I    x_inc [and optionally  y_inc]  is  the  grid  spacing.
          Append m to indicate minutes or c to indicate seconds.

     -N    The circular area centered on  each  node  is  divided
          into several sectors.  Average values will only be com-
          puted if there is at least one value inside each of the
          sectors  for  a  given node.  Nodes that fail this test
          are assigned the value NaN (but see -E).   [Default  is
          quadrant search, i.e., sectors = 4].

     -R    west, east, south, and north  specify  the  Region  of
          interest.  To specify boundaries in degrees and minutes
          [and seconds], use the dd:mm[:ss] format.  Append r  if
          lower  left  and  upper right map coordinates are given
          instead of wesn.

     -S    Sets the search_radius.  In same  units  as  the  grid
          spacing.   Append  k to indicated km (implies -R -I are
          in degrees).


OPTIONS

     -E    Set the value assigned to empty nodes [NaN].

      - F    Force  pixel   registration.    [Default   is   grid
          registration].

     -H    Input file(s) has Header record(s).  Number of  header
          records  can  be  changed  by editing your .gmtdefaults
          file.  If used, GMT default is 1  header  record.   Not
          used with binary data.

     -V    Selects verbose mode, which will send progress reports
          to stderr [Default runs "silently"].

       -   :    Toggles    between    (longitude,latitude)    and
          (latitude,longitude)    input/output.     [Default   is
          (longitude,latitude)]

     -W    Input data have a 4th  column  containing  observation
          point weights.  These are multiplied with the geometri-
          cal weight factor to determine the actual weights  used
          in the calculations.

     -b    Selects binary input mode  [Default is ASCII].  Append
          d to indicate double precision for binary data [Default
          is single].


EXAMPLES

     To   create   a   gridded   data   set   from    the    file
     seaMARCII_bathy.lon_lat_z  using  a  0.5  min  grid,  a 5 km
     search radius, using an octant search, and set  empty  nodes
     to -9999, try

     nearneighbor seaMARCII_bathy.lon_lat_z - R242/244/-22/-20  -
     I.5m -E-9999 -Gbathymetry.grd -S5k -N8


SEE ALSO

     blockmean, blockmedian, gmt, surface, triangulate


REFERENCES

     Wessel, P., and W. H. F. Smith, 1995,  The  Generic  Mapping
     Tools  (GMT)  version  3.0  Technical  Reference & Cookbook,
     SOEST/NOAA.
     Wessel, P., and W. H. F. Smith, 1995,  New  Version  of  the
     Generic Mapping Tools Released, EOS Trans. AGU, 76, p. 329.
     Wessel, P., and W. H. F. Smith, 1995,  New  Version  of  the
     Generic           Mapping           Tools          Released,
     http://www.agu.org/eos_elec/95154e.html, Copyright  1995  by
     the American Geophysical Union.
     Wessel, P., and W. H. F. Smith, 1991,  Free  Software  Helps
     Map and Display Data, EOS Trans. AGU, 72, p. 441.