NAME

     triangulate - Perform  optimal  Delauney  triangulation  and
     gridding


SYNOPSIS

     triangulate  infiles  [  - Ggrdfile  ]  [   -  H   ]   [   -
     Ix_inc[m|c][/y_inc[m|c]] ] [ -Jparameters ] [ -M[flag] ] [ -
     Rwest/east/south/north[r] ] [ -V ] [ - Z  ]  [  - :  ]  [  -
     b[i|o][d] ]


DESCRIPTION

     triangulate reads one or more ASCII [or  binary]  files  (or
     standard  input)  containing  x,y[,z]  and performs Delauney
     triangulation, i.e., it find how the points should  be  con-
     nected  to give the most equilateral triangulation possible.
     If a map projection is chosen then it is applied before  the
     triangulation is calculated.  By default, the output is tri-
     plets of point id numbers that make up each triangle and  is
     written  to  standard  output.   The id numbers refer to the
     points position in the input file.  As an  option,  you  may
     choose  to  create a multiple segment file that can be piped
     through psxy to draw the triangulation network.  If G -I are
     set  a  grid will be calculated based on the surface defined
     by the planar triangles.

     infiles
          Data files with the  point  coordinates  in  ascii  (or
          binary;  see  - b).  If no files are given the standard
          input is read.


OPTIONS

     -G    Use triangulation to grid the data onto an  even  grid
          (specified with -I, -R).  Append the name of the output
          grid file.

     -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.

     -I    x_inc [and optionally y_inc] sets the grid   size  for
          optional  grid  output  (see -G).  Append m to indicate
          minutes or c to indicate seconds.

     -J    Selects the  map  projection.  Scale  is  inch/degree,
          1:xxxxx. or width in inch (upper case modifier).

          CYLINDRICAL PROJECTIONS:

          -Jclon0/lat0/scale (Cassini)
          -Jmscale (Mercator - Greenwich and Equator as origin)
          -Jmlon0/lat0/scale (Mercator - Give meridian and  stan-
          dard parallel)
          -Joalon0/lat0/azimuth/scale (Oblique Mercator  -  point
          and azimuth)
          -Joblon0/lat0/lon1/lat1/scale (Oblique Mercator  -  two
          points)
          -Joclon0/lat0/lonp/latp/scale (Oblique Mercator - point
          and pole)
          - Jqlon0/scale  (Equidistant   Cylindrical   Projection
          (Plate Carree))
          -Jtlon0/scale (TM - Transverse Mercator)
          -Juzone/scale (UTM - Universal Transverse Mercator)
          -Jylon0/lats/scale (Basic Cylindrical Projection)

          AZIMUTHAL PROJECTIONS:

          -Jalon0/lat0/scale (Lambert).
          -Jelon0/lat0/scale (Equidistant).
          -Jglon0/lat0/scale (Orthographic).
          -Jslon0/lat0/scale (General Stereographic)

          CONIC PROJECTIONS:

          -Jblon0/lat0/lat1/lat2/scale (Albers)
          -Jllon0/lat0/lat1/lat2/scale (Lambert)

          MISCELLANEOUS PROJECTIONS:

          -Jhlon0/scale (Hammer)
          -Jilon0/scale (Sinusoidal)
          -Jklon0/scale (Eckert VI)
          -Jnlon0/scale (Robinson)
          -Jrlon0/scale (Winkel Tripel)
          -Jwlon0/scale (Mollweide)

          NON-GEOGRAPHICAL PROJECTIONS:

          -Jpscale (Linear projection for polar (theta,r) coordi-
          nates)
          -Jxx-scale[l|ppow][/y-scale[l|ppow]] (Linear, log,  and
          power scaling)
          More details can be found in the psbasemap manpages.

     -M    Output triangulation network as multiple line segments
          separated  by  a  record  whose first character is flag
          [>].  To plot, use psxy with the -M option  (see  Exam-
          ples).

     -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.

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

     -Z    Controls whether binary data file  has  two  or  three
          columns [2].  Ignored if -b is not set.

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

     -b    Selects binary input and output mode.  Append i  or  o
          to  select  binary  input  or output only.  [Default is
          ASCII].  Node ids are stored as binary  4-byte  integer
          triplets.   Append  d  to indicate double precision for
          binary data  (if  both  binary  input  and  output  are
          selected  they  will  have the same precision).  -bo is
          ignored if -M is selected.


EXAMPLES

     To triangulate the points in the file samples.xyz, store the
     triangle  information  in a binary file, and make a grid for
     the given area and spacing, try

     triangulate samples.xyz -bo -R0/30/0/30 - I2  - Gsurf.grd  >
     samples.ijk

     To draw the optimal Delauney triangulation network based  on
     the same file using a 6-inch-wide Mercator map, try

     triangulate samples.xyz -M -R-100/-90/30/34 -JM6 | psxy -M -
     R-100/-90/30/34 -JM6 -W2 -B1 > network.ps


SEE ALSO

     gmt, pscontour


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.
     Watson, D. F., 1982,  Acord:  Automatic  contouring  of  raw
     data, Comp. & Geosci., 8, 97-101.