Comparison of Univariate Kriging Algorithms for GIS-based Thematic Mapping with Ground Survey Data

The objective of this paper is to compare spatial prediction capabilities of univariate kriging algorithms for generating GIS-based thematic maps from ground survey data with asymmetric distributions. Four univariate kriging algorithms including traditional ordinary kriging, three non-linear transform-based kriging algorithms such as log-normal kriging, multi-Gaussian kriging and indicator kriging are applied for spatial interpolation of geochemical As and Pb elements. Cross validation based on a leave-one-out approach is applied and then prediction errors are computed. The impact of the sampling density of the ground survey data on the prediction errors are also investigated. Through the case study, indicator kriging showed the smallest prediction errors and superior prediction capabilities of very low and very high values. Other non-linear transform based kriging algorithms yielded better prediction capabilities than traditional ordinary kriging. Log-normal kriging which has been widely applied, however, produced biased estimation results (overall, overestimation). It is expected that such quantitative comparison results would be effectively used for the selection of an optimal kriging algorithm for spatial interpolation of ground survey data with asymmetric distributions.