Polar Plots Manual

Polar Plots and Circular Statistics
Last updated 23 June 2014

Jeff Jenness
Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Last Modified: June 23, 2014
About the Author

Jeff Jenness is an independent GIS consultant specializing in developing analytical applications for a wide variety of
topics, although he most enjoys ecological and wildlife-related projects. He spent 16 years as a wildlife biologist with the
USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station in Flagstaff, Arizona, mostly working on Mexican spotted owl research. Since
starting his consulting business in 2000, he has worked with universities, businesses and governmental agencies around
the world, including a long-term contract with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for which he
relocated to Rome, Italy for 3 months. His free ArcView tools have been downloaded from his website and the ESRI
ArcScripts site over 190,000 times.

NAME:PolarPlotsandCircularStatistics
InstallFile:PolarPlots.exe
Lastmodified:June23,2014
TOPICS:Polarplot,Roseplot,CircularStatistics,Angular
Deviation,AngularVariance,MeanResultantLength,Circular
StandardDeviation,CircularVariance
AUTHOR:JeffJenness
WildlifeBiologist,GISAnalyst
JennessEnterprises
3020N.ScheveneBlvd.
Flagstaff,AZ86004USA
Email:jeffj@jennessent.com
WebSite:http://www.jennessent.com)
Phone:19286074638
Description:Thisextensionincludestwotools.BothtoolsareavailableattheArcView(aka
ArcGISBasic)licenselevel.
1. TheShapestoSegmentstoolconvertspolygonorpolylinefeaturesintopolyline
featuresofindividualvertextovertexsegments,withoptionsonvariousgeometric
attributestocalculate(startingandendingcoordinates,length,azimuth).
2. ThePolarPlotstoolcreatesagraphicintheMXDlayoutillustratingthedistributionof
directionvaluesinafeatureclass(suchasthosegeneratedintheShapestoSegments
tool)ortable.ThePolarPlotstoolalsohasanoptiontocalculatebasiccircular
descriptivestatisticsondata.
Output:Onetoolproducespolylinefeatureclassesandtheothertoolproducesagraphicplot
intheMXDLayout.
Requires:ArcGIS9.1orbetter,atanylicenselevel.
RevisionHistoryonp.47.
RecommendedCitationFormat:Forthosewhowishtocitethisextension,theauthor
recommendssomethingsimilarto:
Jenness,J.2014.PolarPlotsandCircularStatistics:ExtensionforArcGIS.JennessEnterprises.
Availableat:http://www.jennessent.com/arcgis/Polar_Plots.htm
Pleaseletmeknowifyoucitethisextensioninapublication(jeffj@jennessent.com).Iwill
updatethecitationlisttoincludeanypublicationsthatIamtoldabout.

Table of Contents
TABLEOFCONTENTS............................................................................................................................4
INSTALLINGTHEPOLARPLOTSANDCIRCULARSTATISTICSEXTENSION...........................................................5
For ArcGIS 9.x .................................................................................................................................................................. 5
For ArcGIS 10.0 ............................................................................................................................................................... 5
Viewing the Tools ............................................................................................................................................................. 8
UNINSTALLINGTHEPOLARPLOTSANDCIRCULARSTATISTICSEXTENSION....................................................10
For ArcGIS 9.x. ............................................................................................................................................................... 10
For ArcGIS 10.0 ............................................................................................................................................................. 10
TROUBLESHOOTING............................................................................................................................13
If Any of the Tools Crash ................................................................................................................................................ 13
Object variable or With block variable not set Error: .................................................................................................... 13
RICHTX32.OCX Error (also comct332.ocx, comdlg32.ocx, mscomct2.ocx, mscomctl.ocx, msstdfmt.dll errors): ......... 13
ISSUESWITHDIRECTIONALDATA..........................................................................................................17
Azimuths and Geodesic Curves ..................................................................................................................................... 17
Graphically Representing Directional Data .................................................................................................................... 18
Analyzing Directional Data: Circular Statistics ............................................................................................................... 21
MeanDirectionandMeanResultantLength........................................................................................................22
VarianceandStandardDeviation:........................................................................................................................24
Other Methods to Analyze Directional Data ................................................................................................................... 25
ClassificationofDirectionalValues.......................................................................................................................26
DeviationsfromaBearing....................................................................................................................................26
SineandCosineTransformations.........................................................................................................................26
SPECIALCONSIDERATIONSFORASPECT..................................................................................................27
How Aspect is Calculated............................................................................................................................................... 27
Isthisthebestmethodtocalculateaspect?.........................................................................................................29
Issues with Aspect .......................................................................................................................................................... 29
Solar Insolation: An alternative to Aspect...................................................................................................................... 30
ESRIsSolarRadiationTool...................................................................................................................................31
Hillshade...............................................................................................................................................................32
USINGTHETOOLS..............................................................................................................................33
Convert Shapes to Segments ........................................................................................................................................ 33
Generate Circular Plots .................................................................................................................................................. 36
PlotStyle...............................................................................................................................................................37
DataSourceOptions:............................................................................................................................................38
PlotandTitleOptions:..........................................................................................................................................39
ReferenceLineandLabelOptions:.......................................................................................................................42
Calculate Descriptive Circular Statistics ......................................................................................................................... 45
REVISIONS........................................................................................................................................47
REFERENCES......................................................................................................................................48

InstallingthePolarPlotsandCircularStatisticsExtension
For ArcGIS 9.x
FirstcloseArcGISifitisopen.ToolsdonotinstallproperlyifArcGISisrunningduringthe
installation.
InstallthePolarPlotsandCircularStatisticsextensionbydoubleclickingonthefile
PolarPlots.exeandfollowingtheinstructions.Theinstallationroutinewillregisterthe
PolarPlots.dllwithalltherequiredArcMapcomponents.
ThedefaultinstallfolderfortheextensionisnamedPolar_Plotsandislocatedinsidethe
folderProgramFiles\Jennessent.Thisfolderwillalsoincludesomeadditionalfilesandthis
document.
For ArcGIS 10.0

Note:ThisfunctionwillonlyworkifyouhaveArcGIS10installed.
1. FirstcloseArcGISifitisopen.ThetoolsdonotinstallproperlyifArcGISisrunningduring
theinstallation.
2. InstallthePolarPlotsandCircularStatisticsextensionbydoubleclickingonthefile
PolarPlots.exeandfollowingtheinstructions.Thisinstallationroutinewillinstallthe
PolarPlots.dllandseveralancillaryfilesonyourharddrive,butwillnotregisterthetoolwith
ArcGIS.
3. UseWindowsExplorertoopenyourinstallationfolder.Ifyouusedthedefaultvalues,then
thisfolderwillbelocatedatProgramFiles\Jennessent\Polar_Plots\.Thisfolderwillalso
includesomeadditionalfilesandthismanual.
4. ForWindowsXP:DoubleclickthefileMake_Batch_Files.exetocreateregistrationand
unregistrationbatchfilesthatareproperlyformattedtoyoursystem.

a. DoubleclickthenewbatchfileRegister_Polar_Plots_Tool.battoregisterthe
toolwithArcGIS10.0.
b. Iftheregistrationissuccessful,thenyoushouldseeaRegistrationSucceeded
notice.

5. ForWindowsVistaorWindows7:RightclickthefileMake_Batch_Files.exe,andthen
chooseRunasAdministratortocreateregistrationandunregistrationbatchfilesthatare
properlyformattedtoyoursystem.

6. RightclickthenewbatchfileRegister_Polar_Plots_Tool.bat,andthenchooseRunas
AdministratortoregisterallthetoolswithArcGIS10.0.
7. Iftheregistrationissuccessful,thenyoushouldseeaRegistrationSucceedednotice.
Note:Fortheconcernedorcurious,thebatchfileRegister_Polar_Plots_Tool.batcontainsa
singlelineoftextthatlookssimilartothefollowing:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\ArcGIS\bin\ESRIRegAsm.exe" /p:Desktop
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Jennessent\Polar_Plots\PolarPlots.dll" /f:"C:\Program
Files (x86)\Jennessent\Polar_Plots\PolarPlots.reg"
ItdirectstheESRIinstallerESRIRegAsmtoregistertheextensionDLLPolarPlots.dllwithin
ArcGIS,usingGUIDandClassIDvaluesfromtheregistryfilePolarPlots.reg(alsolocatedin
yourinstallationdirectory).BothRegister_Polar_Plots_Tool.batandPolarPlots.regmaybe
openedandviewedusingstandardtexteditorssuchasNotepadorWordPad.
Viewing the Tools

ThistoolisinstalledasanextensioninArcMap,butitisatypeofextensionthatisautomatically
loaded.YouwillnotseethisextensionintheExtensionsdialogavailableintheArcGISTools
menu.ItisnotdependentonanyotherextensionsoranyArcGISlicenselevel.
Thisextensiondoesnotincludeaseparatetoolbarsoyouwillneedtomanuallyputthetoolsin
anexistingtoolbar.

Todothis,openyourCustomizetoolbyeither:
1) DoubleclickingonablankpartoftheArcMaptoolbar,or
2) ForArcGIS9,clicktheToolsmenu,thenCustomize,or
3) ForArcGIS10,clicktheCustomizemenu,thenCustomizeMode
IntheCustomizedialog,clicktheCommandstabandscrolldowntoselectJenness
Enterprises:
Finally,simplydragtheConvertShapestoSegmentsand/orthePolarPlotcommandsoutofthe
CustomizedialogupintoanyoftheexistingArcGIStoolbars.

UninstallingthePolarPlotsandCircularStatisticsExtension
For ArcGIS 9.x.
1) CloseArcGISifitisopen.
2)ClicktheStartbutton.
3) OpenyourControlPanel.
4) DoubleclickAddorRemovePrograms.
5) ScrolldowntofindandselectPolarPlotsandCircularStatistics.
6) ClicktheRemovebuttonandfollowthedirections.
For ArcGIS 10.0

1) CloseArcGISifitisopen.
2) UseWindowsExplorertoopenyourinstallationfolder.Ifyouusedthedefaultvalues,
thenthisfolderwillbelocatedatProgramFiles\Jennessent\Polar_Plots\.Thisfolder
willalsoincludesomeadditionalfilesandthismanual.
10

3) FindthefileUnregister_Polar_Plots_Tool.bat.IFYOUDONOTSEETHISFILE,usethe
Make_Batch_Files.exetooltocreatethebatchfile.RefertoStep4inInstallingthe
PolarPlotsandCircularStatisticsExtensionaboveforinstructionsonhowtousethis
tool.
4) ForWindowsXP:DoubleclickthefileUnregister_Polar_Plots_Tool.battounregister
thetoolwithArcGIS10.0.
ForWindowsVistaandWindows7:RightclickthefileUnregister_Polar_Plots_Tool.bat
andselectRunasAdministratortounregisterthetoolwithArcGIS10.0.
Iftheunregistrationissuccessful,thenyoushouldseeanUnregistrationSucceeded
notice.
5) ClicktheStartbutton.
6) OpenyourControlPanel.
7) DoubleclickAddorRemovePrograms.
8) ScrolldowntofindandselectPolarPlotsandCircularStatistics10.
9) ClicktheUninstallbuttonandfollowthedirections.
11

Note:Fortheconcernedorcurious,thebatchfileUnregister_Polar_Plots_Tool.batcontains
somethingsimilartothefollowingsinglelineoftext:
"C:\Program Files\Common Files\ArcGIS\bin\ESRIRegAsm.exe" /p:Desktop /u "C:\Program
Files\Jennessent\Polar_Plots\PolarPlots.dll"
ItdirectstheESRIinstallerESRIRegAsmtounregistertheDLLPolarPLots.dllwithinArcGIS.
Unregister_Polar_Plots_Tool.batmaybeopenedandviewedusingstandardtexteditorssuchas
NotepadorWordPad.
12

Troubleshooting
If Any of the Tools Crash
Ifatoolcrashes,youshouldseeadialogthattellsuswhatscriptcrashedandwhereitcrashed.I
wouldappreciateitifyoucouldcopythetextinthatdialog,orsimplytakescreenshotsofthe
dialogandemailthemtomeatjeffj@jennessent.com.Note:Pleasemakesurethattheline
numbersarevisibleinthescreenshots!Thelinenumbersarelocatedonthefarrightsideofthe
text.Usethescrollbaratthebottomofthedialogtomakethelinenumbersvisible.
Object variable or With block variable not set Error:

IfyouopenArcMapandimmediatelyseetheerrordialogappearwithoneormoreerror
messagesstatingthatObjectvariableorWithblockvariablenotset,then90%ofthetimeitis
becauseArcGISwasrunningwhenyouinstalledtheextension.TheObjectvariablebeing
referredtoistheExtensionobject,andArcGISonlysetsthatvariablewhenitisinitially
opened.
ThesolutionisusuallytosimplycloseArcGISandrestartit.Ifthatdoesnotwork,then:
1) CloseArcGIS
2) Reinstalltheextension
3) TurnArcGISbackon.
RICHTX32.OCX Error (also comct332.ocx, comdlg32.ocx, mscomct2.ocx,

mscomctl.ocx, msstdfmt.dll errors):
Ifyouseealineintheerrordialogstating:
Component 'RICHTX32.OCX' or one of its dependencies not correctly registered: a file is
missing or invalid
Orifyouseeasimilarerrorstatingthatoneormoreofthefilescomct332.ocx,comdlg32.ocx,
mscomct2.ocx,mscomctl.ocxormsstdfmt.dllaremissingorinvalid,thensimplyfollowthe
instructionsforRICHTX32.OCXbelow,butsubstitutetheappropriatefileforRICHTX32.OCX.
ThiserrorisalmostalwaysduetothefactthatnewinstallationsofWindows7andWindows
Vistadonotincludeafilethattheextensionexpectstofind.Forexample,thefilerichtx32.ocx
isactuallytheRichTextBoxcontrolthatappearsonsomeoftheextensiondialogs.Theother
OCXfilesrefertoothercommoncontrolsthatmightappearonthevariousextensiondialogs.
Thesolutionistomanuallyinstallthemissingfile(richtx32.ocx)yourself.Hereishowtodoit:
1) OpenWindowsExplorerandlocatethefilerichtx32.ocxinyourextensioninstallation
file.
2) Ifyouarerunninga32bitversionofWindows,thencopyrichtx32.ocxtothedirectory
C:\Windows\System32\
Ifyouarerunninga64bitversionofWindows,thencopyrichtx32.ocxtothedirectory
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\
3) OpenanElevatedCommandPromptwindow.ThisisthestandardWindows
CommandPromptwindow,butwithadministrativeprivilegesenabled.Youneedthese
13

privilegesenabledinordertoregistertheOCXwithWindows.Note:TheElevated
CommandPromptopensupinthe..\windows\system32directory,notthe
..\Users\[UserName]directory.Thewindowtitlewillalsobeginwiththeword
Administrator:
a. Method1:ClicktheStartbutton,thenAllPrograms,thenAccessoriesand
thenrightclickonCommandPromptandselectRunasAdministrator.
b. Method2:ClicktheStartbutton,andthenclickontheSearchProgramsand
Filesbox.TypecmdandthenclickCONTROL+SHIFT+ENTERtoopenthe
CommandwindowwithAdministratorprivileges.
FormorehelponopeninganElevatedCommandPrompt,pleasereferto:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/783elevatedcommandprompt.html
14

http://www.winhelponline.com/articles/158/1/HowtoopenanelevatedCommand
PromptinWindowsVista.html
OrsimplydoasearchforElevatedCommandPrompt.
4) Registerthefilerichtx32.ocxusingtheWindowsRegSvrfunction:
a. Ifusinga32bitversionofWindows,typetheline
regsvr32.exe c:\windows\system32\richtx32.ocx
b. Ifusinga64bitversionofWindows,typetheline
regsvr32.exe %windir%\syswow64\richtx32.ocx
c. Click[ENTER]andyoushouldseeamessagethattheregistrationsucceeded.
15

16

Issues with Directional Data

Manycharacteristicsofwildlifehabitatandbehaviorincludeadirectionalcomponent.Animal
movementmaytendtoangletowardorawaysomelandscapefeature,andthestrengthofthe
attractionorrepulsioneffectmaychangewithproximitytothatobject.Aspect(i.e.the
azimuththelandscapefacesinthedirectionofsteepestslope)isanintuitivelyvaluablehabitat
variablebecausenorthfacingslopesaretypicallycoolerandmoremesicwhilesouthfacing
slopesaregenerallywarmerandmorexeric(atleastinthenorthernhemisphere!).Habitatscan
bedramaticallydifferentdependingonwhichsideofahillyoustandon.
Directioncanbedifficulttoanalyzestatisticallybecauseofitscircularnature.Thedifference
between1degreeand360degreesisthesameasthedifferencebetween1degreeand2
degrees,makingitdifficulttoplugintoatypicalstatisticalmodel.Thisarticlewilldiscusssome
issuesweoftenfacewithdirectionaldataplussomebasicideastodescribeandanalyzeit.
Manyoftheconceptscanalsobeappliedtootherperiodicdatasuchastime,butthisarticlewill
focusondirection.
Anadditionalcomplicationisthatsometimesweconsiderdirectionasasinglevalue(the
forwarddirection)andsometimeswecountboththeforwardandreversedirections.In
wildlifeanalysis,directionisusuallytreatedasasinglevalue.Weareinterestedinwherean
animalisgoingandwhyitchoosestogointhedirectionitdoes.Orweareinterestedinthe
generalaspectofahabitatblock,andwhatthatmeanstoourspeciesofinterest.Insomecases,
however,weneedtoconsiderboththedirectionanditsoppositevalue.Analysisofgeologic
fracturelinesonthelandscapeshouldbeconsideredtogoinbothdirections.Analysisoftrails
orpathsshouldbetreatedsimilarly,exceptintherarecaseofonewaytrails.
Azimuths and Geodesic Curves

Inmostcasesthedirectionorazimuthvalueiseasytodefine.Theaspectatapointcanbe
derivedwithalittlemathfromaDEM(seeSpecialConsiderationsforAspectonp.27)orwith
acompass.Theazimuthofamovementsegmentissimplytheazimuthfromthestartingtothe
endingpointsofthatsegment.
Complicationsariseifweareinterestedinazimuthsoverlongdistances.Thestraightline
segmentoveralongdistanceisbestapproximatedbyageodesiccurverepresentingthegreat
circledistance(i.e.Asthecrowflies)betweentwopoints.Theproblemhereisthat,witha
fewrareexceptions,azimuthvalueschangeconstantlyoverthecourseofageodesiccurve.
ConsiderthegeodesiccurveconnectingNewYorkCity,USAtoMoscow,Russia:
17

ThelinefromNewYorkstartsatabearingof34,continuesinastraightlinetheentireway,but
arrivesinMoscowonabearingof130.
Formovementsegmentslessthanafewhundredmiles,andsufficientlyfarawayfromthe
poles,thedifferencebetweenstartingandendingazimuthstendstobenegligible.Forlong
distancesandforanalysisnearthepoles,however,weshouldbeawareofthisphenomenon
andbecarefulabouthowwedefineourdirectionalvalues.
Graphically Representing Directional Data

Becauseofthecircularnatureofdirectionaldata,wetypicallyusecircularplotstodisplaythe
distribution.Mostofthesecircularplotsarevariationsonthestandardhistogram,except
wrappedinacirclesothatthemaximumpossibleXaxisvaluewrapsbacktotouchthe
minimumpossiblevalue.
OneofthemorefamousandhistoricallyinterestingoftheseistheRosePlotorRoseDiagram,
namedassuchbecausethehistogrambinsresembleflowerpetals.Thistypeofdiagramwas
originallypopularizedbynurseandstatisticianFlorenceNightingale,whousedittoshow
seasonalpatternsinsoldiermortality(seehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingalefor
thesourceofthefamousimagebelow).Nightingaleactuallycalledthesediagramscoxcombs
becausetheyresemblethecombofarooster.
18

Nightingalesplotsshowedvariationbyseason,butthismethodalsoworksverywellfor
displayingdirectionaldata.Forexample,givenasetoftrailsintheSanFranciscoBayarea,we
canusearoseplottoillustratethegeneralNorthwest/Southeastorientationofthosetrails:
CommonvariationsonthetraditionalroseplotincludesymbolizingthehistogrambinsasPeaks
andValleys,andputtingthebinsontheoutsideofthecircleratherthantheinside.
19

Whenonlyafewdirectionvaluesneedtobedisplayed,youcansimplyshowthebearingsina
circularplot.
Anotherinterestingmethodisapiecharttypeimagewheretheslicesareshadedaccordingto
theproportionofthedatathatfacesthatparticulardirection:
20

Althoughthislastmethodislesseffectiveatshowingtheshapeofthedistributionasother
methods,itisstillaninterestingstyleofillustrationbecauseitissovisuallyintuitive.Inthe
imageabove,itiseasytoseethattheobservedroostlocationspredominatelyfacetowardthe
southeast.
Thisextensionprovidesmethodstocreatealltheplottypesillustratedabove(seep.36fora
descriptionofthetool).AdditionalsoftwaretoolscanbefoundwithaGooglesearch.Fisher
(1995:1530)alsodiscussesalternativemethodsforgraphingcirculardata.
Analyzing Directional Data: Circular Statistics

Beforebeginningthissection,Iwanttoemphasizetwoimportantpointsthatpeopleveryoften
makemistakeswith:
1) Donotcalculatethemeandirectionusingthearithmeticmean!Thisisespecially
frustratingbecausethearithmeticmeanissometimescorrectandsometimeswildly
incorrect.Forexample,themeandirectionof90and180is135,whichcoincidentally
90
135 .Butwhatisthemeandirectionof359
2
isequaltothearithmeticmean
and1?Theyarebothpointingalmostduenorth( 1),andclearlythetruemean
directionisexactlyduenorth.However,thearithmeticmeangivesus180
359
180 ,whichisduesouthandexactlytheoppositeofthecorrectanswer.The
correctwaytocalculatethemeandirectionisdescribedbelow.
2) IfyouapplyaSineorCosinetransformation,makesuretoconvertthevaluesto
radiansfirst!Mostanalyticalsoftwareandprogramminglanguageshavesineand
cosinefunctions,butthesefunctionsusuallyassumethevaluesareinradians,not
degrees.Thereareexactly2(~6.28)radiansinacircle.Thismeansthatthesoftware
willassumethatadifferenceof3.14(i.e.)unitsisequivalenttogoinghalfwayaround
thecircle.Ifyourdataareindegrees,thenthesoftwarewillinterpretachangein2to
21

beroughlyequivalenttogoingathirdofthewayaroundthecircle.Fortunatelyitis
easytoconverttoradiansusingthefollowingformula:
Degrees Degrees 3.14159265358979
180
180
Itispossiblethatyoursoftwarehasafunctionthatallowsyoutocalculatesinesand
cosinesfromdegrees(manycalculatorsdo),buteveninthiscaseyoumustremember
tosettheswitchcorrectly.
DegreestoRadians:
Radians
Fortunatelytherearewellestablishedmethodsavailableforanalyzingcircularorperiodicdata
suchasmovementdirectionoraspect.Thecircularnatureofthedataleadtoveryspecificand
interestingapproachestocalculatingmeasuresofcentraltendencyanddispersion(seep.45for
howtousethisextensiontocalculatecircularstatistics).Someofthebasicdescriptivestatistics
are:
Mean Direction and Mean Resultant Length
Where: DirectioninRadians
n
C cos i
i 1
S sin i
1
tan S C
1
tan S C
MeanDirection: tan1 S C 2
R2 C2 S2
i 1
S 0, C 0
C0
S 0, C 0
S 0, C 0
S 0, C 0
ResultantLength: R R 2
R
MeanResultantLength: R
n
Theequationsformeandirectionlookalittleconfusing,butthelogicisactuallyveryintuitive.It
issimplyaprocessofvectoraddition,whereeachdirectionvalueisasinglevector.Vector
additionessentiallyconnectsallthedirectionvectorsintoapath,andthemeandirectionisjust
thedirectionfromtheorigintothelastpointonthepath.
Forexample,considerascenariowith4directionvaluesat45,75,120and220:
22

Weconnectthe4bearingsinapath(vectoradditionjustaddsuptheXandYcomponentsof
eachvector,whichisthesameastreatingeachbearingasasegmentinapath).Itdoesnot
matterwhatorderweconnectthevectorsin;theywillalwaysendupatthesamepoint.The
MeanDirectionisthebearingfromthestartofthepathtotheendofthepath.
Onasidenote,thisisalsothewaytocalculatethemeandirectionofanactualobserved
movementpath.IfyouhaveaseriesoflocationsfromaGPScollaronanelk,forexample,and
youwonderwhataveragedirectiontheanimalmovedovertheday,thenthataveragedirection
issimplythedirectionfromthefirstGPSlocationofthedaytothelast.
TheMeanResultantLength R isthebasisforseveralvaluesofdispersion(analogousto
varianceorstandarddeviation),andiscalculatedasthestraightlinedistancefromthestarting
pointtotheendingpointofthepathdividedbythetotallengthofthepath.Ifthesegmentsare
unitvectors(e.g.aspectvaluesfromanaspectraster,whereeachaspectvaluehasthesame
weightasanyother),thenthiscanbesimplifiedtodividingbythenumberofsegmentsor
observations.
Noticethatthemeanresultantlengthhasapotentialrangeof0to1.Ifallthevectorspointed
inexactlythesamedirection,theresultantlengthwouldthenbeequaltothetotalpathlength
andthemeanresultantlengthwouldbeequalto1.Thisisthescenariowiththeminimum
possiblevarianceordispersioninthevectors.Themorethepathwandersaround,theshorter
boththeresultantlengthandthemeanresultantlengthwillbe.Ifthepathendedbackatthe
origin,thenbothvalueswouldbeequalto0.
23

Variance and Standard Deviation:
MardiaandJupp(2000),Fisher(1995)andBatschelet(1981)describecircularstatistics
analogoustovarianceandstandarddeviations,allbasedonthemeanresultantlength R .
CircularVariance: V 1 R
(Mardia&Jupp,Fisher)
(Batschelet)

(Mardia&Jupp,Fisher)
2 ln R InRadians
s 2 1 R InRadians (Batschelet)
AngularVariance: s 2 1 R
2
CircularStandardDeviation: v
AngularDeviation: s
TheCircularStandardDeviationandAngularDeviationarebothinunitsofRadians,butthese
caneasilybeconvertedtoDegrees.
RadianstoDegrees:
Degrees
180
Radians
Batcheletpointsoutthatcircularstandarddeviationandtheangulardeviationtendtobeclose
toeachotherforhighvaluesof R (i.e.near1).However,as R tendstoward0,circular
standarddeviationtendstoward whileangulardeviationtendstowardamaximumvalueof
2. Batchelet,citingSeyfarthandBarth(1972),presentsageometricderivationofangular
deviationwhichalsoprovidesavisualsenseofwhattheconceptmeans.
GivenaunitcirclewithRadius=1,andwith:
PointAdefinedasonthecirclehorizontalfromtheOriginO
PointCdefinedas R distancealongsegmentOA(rememberthat R willalwaysbe

between0and1)
PointBdefinedasonthecircleverticalfromPointC
Thens(angulardeviation)isjustthelengthofthelineconnectingpointsAandB(alsoknownas
theChordof AOB ).Theangulardeviationcanthereforebecalculatedbyapplyingthe
Pythagoreantheoremto BCO and ABC:
24

FromthePythagoreanTheoremon BCO :
x 2 R 2 12
x2 1 R 2
FromthePythagoreanTheoremon ABC :
s2 1 R
x2
Substitutingforx 2 :
1 R
1 R 1 R 1 R
s2 1 R
1 2R R 2 1 R 2
2 2R
2 1 R
s 2 1 R
Basedonthisillustration,itiseasytoseethat s 0 when R 1 ,andthat s 2 when R 0

Note:Ameanresultantlength R near1alwaysimpliesatightlyfocusedsetofdirections,but
ameanresultantlengthnear0doesnotnecessarilyimplyahighamountofvariationor
dispersion.Allitimpliesisthatthedirectionsbalanceeachotherout.Thiscanoccurwitha
uniformdistributionofdirections,inwhichcasetheretrulywouldbehighdispersion.Itcanalso
occur,however,ifyouhaveanumberofbearingsinonedirectionandanequalnumberinthe
oppositedirection.Forexample,perhapsyouhaveabirdwithdistinctandseparateroostand
foragelocations.Everydaythebirdtravelstotheforagelocationandthenreturnstotheroost
location.Inthisscenario,thebirdonlygoesintwodistinctandoppositedirections(tothe
foragelocation,andthenbacktotheroostlocation).Thebirdsmovementdirectionsarehighly
focusedandpredictable,butthemeanresultantlengthwouldbe0andconsequentlythe
variancewouldbehigh.Aswithmostsituations,plottingthedistributionofthedataisagood
waytounderstandwhatisreallyhappening.
Justaswithstandardstatistics,thereareanumberofcirculardistributionsandsophisticated
analyticaltechniquesavailable.Thesegobeyondthescopeofthisdiscussion,butpleaserefer
toJammalamadakaandSenGupta(2001),MardiaandJupp(2000),Zar(1999;seeespeciallych.
26and27),Fisher(1995)andBatschelet(1981)forsomegoodtextsoncircularstatistics,
distributions(i.e.theFisher,VonMisesandWrappedNormaldistributions),circularhypothesis
testingandotheranalyticaltechniques.ThereisalsoagoodcircularstatisticalpackageforR,
originallybasedonJammalamadakaandSenGuptastext.AsofJune,2012,themanualforthis
packagecanbeviewedathttp://cran.wustl.edu/web/packages/circular/circular.pdf.
Other Methods to Analyze Directional Data

Ifwewanttoincludedirectionasoneofseveralindependentpredictorvariablesinatraditional
statisticalanalysis,thenwemusttransformthevalueintosomethingapproachingalinear
measure.Thereareafewstraightforwardwaystodothis,althoughanytransformationwill
probablyviolatesomeoftheassumptionsofmosttraditionalstatisticaltests.
25

Classification of Directional Values
Probablytheeasiesttransformationistosimplygroupyourdirectionvaluesintogeneraland
intuitiveranges(forexample,N=31545,E=45135,S=135225,andW=225
315),creatingacategoricaldatasetwhichmaybeappropriateforsomeanalyses.
Deviations from a Bearing
Asimpleandbasictransformationistoconvertyourdirectionvaluesintodeviationsfroma
directionofinterest.Forexample,ifyoufeltthattheobjectofyourstudywaslikelytobe
affectedbythenorthvs.southfacingaspectphenomenon,thenyoumightdefineyour
directionvaluesintermsofDeviationfromNorthwhereeachvaluewouldreflectthe
distance,indegrees,fromdueNorth.Yourfullsetoftransformedvalueswouldrangefrom0to
180(seefigurebelow).Thisoptionhastheadvantageofmaintainingaconstantinterval
betweenunits,suchthatthedifferenceindirectionbetween0and1degreeisthesameasthe
differencebetween90and91degrees.
Sine and Cosine Transformations
Aspectvaluesareoftenconvertedtosineandcosinevalues,essentiallydecomposingtheminto
northsouthandeastwestcomponents.Remembertoconvertyourdirectionvaluestoradians
beforedoingthistransformation!Sinevaluesrangefrom1(atduewest)to1(atdueeast),
whilecosinevaluesrangefrom1(atduesouth)to1(atduenorth).Notethatthismethoddoes
notmaintainaconstantintervalbetweenunits.Thesineandcosinevalueschangebyavariable
amountdependingonthedirection,suchthatachangeinsinecorrespondingtoachangeof1
degree=0.00015whengoingfrom90to91degrees,butincreasesbymorethan2ordersof
magnitudeto0.017whengoingfrom180to181degrees.Thisissuemaybeimportantinyour
statisticalanalysisifyourmethodassumesthatyourdataareintervallevel.
26

TrimbleandWeitzman(1956)andBeersetal.(1966)suggestaninterestingalternative
combiningtwooftheapproachesabove,rescalingaspectvaluesbasedonanoptimumbearing
(135forTrimble&Weitzman,andageneralequationforanyaspectofinterestforBeersetal.)
thentakingthesineoftherescaledvalues,thenadding1,whichtheyputtoextensiveuseinsite
productivityresearchfortimberstands.Beersetal.sgeneralequationis:
A TransformedAspectCode,inDegrees
sin A 90 AMax 1
cos AMax A 1
Where:
AMax Theaspectwhichistobeassignedthehighestnumericalvalueonthetransformscale
Note:Beersetal.sequationpresumesthatyoucancalculatethesineorcosineofavaluein
degrees.Manycalculatorscandothis,butmanyprogramminglanguagesrequireyourvaluesto
beinradians.Ifyouneedtoconvertyourvalues,theDegreestoRadiansconversionformulais
onp.22ofthismanual.
Special Considerations for Aspect

How Aspect is Calculated
AspectiscalculatedfromthedirectionalEastWestandNorthSouthgradientsataparticular
point.Therearevariousmethodsforestimatingthesedirectionalgradientsfroma3x3setof
27

elevationpoints,butingeneralaspectisdefinedasthedirectionofmaximumslope.Giventhat
G=easttowestgradientandH=northtosouthgradient,thenaspectiscalculatedasfollows:
180
MathematicalDirection(indegrees) atan 2 H , G
Theatan2functionisamethodofcalculatingthearctangent tan1 usingtwovalues(Xand

Y),andithasapossiblerangerepresentingafullcircle(to+radians,or180to+180).
Thestandardarctangentfunctioncanonlyproducevaluesrangingfrom to ,or90to
2
+90.Thisatan2functionisthesameoneusedtocalculatemeandirectionabove,andis
calculatedasfollows:
1 y
tan x

1 y
tan
x
y
atan2 y , x : tan1
x
2

2
Undefined
y 0, x 0
y 0, x 0
y 0, x 0
y 0, x 0
y 0, x 0
y 0, x 0
i.e.nomovement
Mathematicaldirectionisdifferentthancompassdirection.Inthemathematicalpolar
coordinatesystem,0isequivalenttodueeastandpolardirectionsincreaseinacounter
clockwisedirection.Compassdirectionstartsatnorthandincreasesinaclockwisedirection.
Thereforewemustconvertthemathematicaldirectiontoacompassdirectionaccordingtothe
followingrules:
ifMathematicalDirection>90thenCompassDirection=(450MathematicalDirection)
OtherwiseCompassDirection=(90MathematicalDirection)
ArcGISusesHornsmethod(Horn1981,BurroughandMcDonnell1998)tocalculatetheeast
west(G)andnorthsouth(H)gradientsfroma3x3arrayofelevationpoints.Thefigurebelow
showsthe8elevationvaluesthatareusedtocalculateaspectatthecentralcellXX(notethat
theformuladoesnotusetheelevationvalueatthecentralcell):
Z1 ---- Z2 ---- Z3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Z4 ---- XX ---- Z6
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Z7 ---- Z8 ---- Z9
InHornsMethod,thenorthsouthgradientiscalculatedfromallthreecolumnsinthe3x3array,
withthecentralcolumnweightedtwiceashighasthetwooutercolumns.Theeastwest
gradientiscalculatedinasimilarmanner.
28

Z3 2Z6 Z9 Z1 2Z4 Z7
EastWestGradient G
8 x
Z1 2Z2 Z3 Z7 2Z8 Z9
NorthSouthGradient H
8 y
Is this the best method to calculate aspect?
Interestingly,Jones(1998)comparedseveralslopeandaspectalgorithmsonamathematical
surfaceinwhichthetrueexactslopeandaspectatanypointcouldbecalculated.Hefoundthat
Hornsmethoddidbetterthanmostmethods,butwasmarginallyworsethanamethodcalled
the4cellmethod.HethentestedallmethodsonatruelandscapeDEMandfoundthatthe
rankingsamongmethodswereconsistent,soHornsmethodstillcamein2ndplace.
Anothertidbit:MichaelHodgson(1995)publishedapaperusingthesamemathematical
surfacethatJones(1998)did,inwhichhedemonstratesthatthearearepresentedbycomputed
slopeandaspectisactuallylargerthantherasterDEMcellsize.8cellalgorithms(suchasHorns
method)moreaccuratelydescribeslopeandaspectforanareaapproximatelytwicethecell
size,while4cellalgorithms(suchasthe4Cellmethod)describeanareaapproximately1.6X
thecellsize.
Insum,amethodcalledthe4cellmethodissimpler,slightlyquickertocalculate,moreprecise
andmarginallymoreaccuratethanHornsmethod.However,thetimeandaccuracylostusing
Hornsmethodisprobablyveryminorinmostcases.
Forthosewhoareinterested,theauthoroffersafreeArcGISextensionthatwillcalculateslope
andaspectusingavarietyofmethodsincludingbothHornsmethodandthe4cellmethod(see
http://www.jennessent.com/arcgis/surface_area.htm).ThisextensiondoesnotrequireSpatial
Analyst.
Issues with Aspect

AsaconsequenceofdeterminingaspectfromEastWestandNorthSouthcomponents,aspect
canbedifficulttocalculatefromgeographicallyprojected(latitude/longitude)data.The
equationsaboveallworkfor3x3arraysinwhichtheelevationlocationsareallequallyspaced
alongboththeXandYaxes.However,thisisnotthecasewithlatitude/longitudedata.
29

Rastercellsthataresquareinunprojectedspaceactuallyformtrapezoidswhenviewedonthe
actualsurfaceoftheplanet.
Inthiscase,wecannottreatthecellsizeasasingleconstantvalue.Themethodstocorrectfor
latitude/longitudedatagobeyondthescopeofthisarticlebutaredescribedinJenness(2011;
seeespeciallyp.4049ofthemanual).Forthosewhoareinterested,theauthorsfreeArcGIS
extensionDEMSurfaceToolswillautomaticallycorrectforlatitude/longitudedata(see
http://www.jennessent.com/arcgis/surface_area.htm).
Solar Insolation: An alternative to Aspect

Aspecthasawellestablishedhistoryinhabitatanalysis.Itisbotheasytomeasureandagood
predictorofcertainhabitatcharacteristics.However,insomecaseswearereallyinterestedin
howmuchdirectsunlighthitsanarea(insolation),whichisafunctionofaspect,slope,nearby
topography,landscapereflectivityandatmosphericeffects,andassuchmaybeamore
importantdriverofhabitatcharacteristicsthanaspectalone.Insuchcases,itmaybe
worthwhiletoestimateinsolationdirectlyratherthanuseaspectasasurrogate.Therearea
fewapproachesyoucantake:
30

ESRIs Solar Radiation Tool
Asofversion9.2ofArcGISandSpatialAnalyst,ESRIhasincludedatoolintheArcToolboxto
calculatesolarradiationforspecificpointsonthelandscape,orovertheentirelandscape.
Thisfunctionincorporatesbothdirectanddiffuseradiationandshadowsfromnearby
topography.Itincludesseveralusefuloptions,including:
1) Outputseithertheamountofenergyhittingtheground(inWattsperHour),orthetotal
numberofhoursinwhichthegroundisexposedtothesun.
2) Canbecalculatedforspecificdates,seasonsoryears.
3) Hasoptionalparameterswhereyoucanspecifythegeneralatmosphericconditionsin
yourareaofinterest.
4) Hasoptionalparameterswhereyoucanspecifyhowintensivelyitexaminesthelocal
topographybeforedeterminingtheamountofradiationhittinganarea.
Ingeneral,thisisawonderfulandexcitingnewtool.Ihavenoticedtwominordrawbackstothe
tool:
1) Itisslowonlargegrids,andonoccasionIhaveneededtoletitrunforhoursordays.
31

2) Idonotbelievethatitincorporatesreflectivityoffthelandscape.Thiswouldbehardto
model,ofcourse,andwoulddependonexactlyhowreflectiveyourlandscapeis(snow
reflectsverydifferentlyfromlavarocks,forexample).
Despitethesetwominordrawbacks,Iexpectthatthistoolwillbecomeveryvaluableforhabitat
analysis.
Hillshade
ForthosewhodonothaveaccesstotheSolarAnalyst,youcanusethehillshadefunction
availableinmanyGISpackagesgetareasonableestimatefortherelativeamountofsunlight
thathitsthelandscapeatasinglepointintime.Valueswilltypicallyrangefrom0(meaningno
sunlighthitsthelandscape)to255(meaningtheangleofthelandscapeisfacingthesun
directly).HillshadesaredifficulttocalculateifyourDEMisingeographiccoordinates,butthe
authoroffersafreeArcGIStooltodothis(see
http://www.jennessent.com/arcgis/surface_area.htm)whichdoesnotrequireSpatialAnalyst.
32

Using the Tools

Convert Shapes to Segments
Thisfunctiondecomposesacomplexfeatureintoasetofindividualsegments,makingiteasier
toanalyzethedirectionalcharacteristicsofthosesegments.Forexample,asinglepolyline
mightrepresenttheentiremovementhistoryofananimalduringitsmigration.Becauseitisa
singleobjectinthedatabase,itisdifficulttodecomposeintoaformsuitablefordirectional
analysis.
Thisfunctiongeneratesapolylinefeatureclassrepresentingthevertextovertexsegmentsfrom
thefeaturesofapolygonorpolylinefeatureclass.Eachpolylinewillrepresentasinglestraight
linesegment.Youhavetheoptiontogeneratesegmentsforallfeatures,oronlytheselected
setoffeatures.
Thisfunctionoffersseveraloptionstocalculateadditionaldatadescribingeachsegment,
includingthestartingandendingcoordinates,theazimuthofthesegmentandthereverse
azimuthofthesegment.
Ifyourdataareinlatitude/longitudecoordinates,thenyoualsohavetheoptiontocalculate
boththestartingandendingazimuthsofeachsegmentplusthereversestartingandending
azimuths.Ifthislastoptionisconfusing,recallthatgreatcirclegeodesiccurvesalmostalways
changetheirbearingconstantlyoverthelengthofthecurve(seeAzimuthsandGeodesic
Curvesonp.17).
ClicktheShapestoSegmentsbutton
toopentheFeaturestoSegmentsdialog:
33

Selectthelayertoconvert,anyattributefieldsyouwanttotransfertoyournewfeatureclass,
whethertodoallorselectedrecords,anyadditionalattributesdescribingthegeometryofeach
segment,andwheretosaveyournewfeatureclass.ClickOKandthetoolwillcreatethe
segmentfeatureclassandaddittoyourArcMapdocument.
Thetoolwillalsogenerateareportdescribingwhatitdid.
34

35

Generate Circular Plots

Thistoolwillgenerate6typesofcircularplots,withnumerousoptionsregardingcolors,labels,
titlesandreferencelines.
ThetoolwillgeneratetheplotasagraphicintheMXDLayoutandthereforeyoumusthavethe
layoutactivewhenyougeneratetheplot.IfyoutrytogeneratetheplotwhiletheMapviewis
active,thetoolwilloffertoswitchyoutothelayoutviewautomatically.
Thegraphiccanbecopiedandpastedtoothersoftwarepackages(MicrosoftWordand
PowerPoint,forexample).However,forbestresultsIrecommendexportingthegraphicintoa
standardimagefileusingthestandardArcGISExportfunctions.
ThegraphicwillactuallybeaGroupedgraphicwhereeachcomponentisaseparategraphic.If
youcreateyourgraphicplotandwanttomodifyanysingleportionofit,simply:
1) SelecttheplotgraphicusingtheArcGISSelectElementstool
2) RightclickonthegraphicandchooseUngroup
3) SelecttheindividualelementyouwanttoeditusingtheSelectElementstool
4) RightclickonitandchooseProperties.
36

Note:TheBearingsplottypeisonlyintendedforcaseswithlessthanafewhundredbearings.
Thisgraphictakesalongtimetodrawandcanbemiserabletoworkwithifyouhavemorethan
afewhundredbearings.
ClickthePolarPlotsbutton
toopenthePolarPlotParametersdialog:
Therearealotofoptionsonthisdialog,sotheyarebrokendownintosubsetsandareaccessed
byclickingthesubsetbutton.Forexample,theShowDataSourcebuttonopensupthedata
sourceoptionsandletsyoupickthedatasettoplot,plusspecifythesourceforazimuthand
weightvalues.
Plot Style
ThePlotStylesectionisalwaysvisibleandshowsthesixplotstyleoptionsavailable.Toseea
largerexampleofanyoftheplotstyles,clicktheShowExamplebutton.Thislargerexample
alsohasmostoftheplot,title,referencelineandlabeloptionspointedout:
37

Data Source Options:
ClicktheShowDataSourcebuttontoopentheDataSourceoptions:
DataSource:Thelistincludesallfeatureclassesandtablesinyourcurrentfocusmap.
Note:Thisversionofthetooldoesnotworkwithrasterdatasets.Ifyouwishtoplotthe
distributionofarasterdataset(ofaspectvalues,forexample),therearetwoapproaches
youmighttry:
1) Converttherastertoapointfeatureclass,thenselectthepointsthatliewithinyour
areaofinterest,andthenrunthistoolontheselectedpoints.
2) ConverttherastertoanIntegertyperaster(whichhasanassociatedattributetable
containingValueandCountfields),thenexporttheattributetabletoastandalone
table,andthenrunthetoolontheattributetable.UsetheValuefieldasthesource
ofazimuthvalues,andtheCountfieldasthesourceofweightvalues.
AzimuthSource:IfyourdatasourceisaTable,PointFeatureClassorPolygonFeatureClass,
thenyoumustsetyoursourceofazimuthvaluestoanattributefieldintheattributetable.
IfyourdatasourceisaPolylineFeatureClass,thenyoumayderiveyourazimuthvalues
directionfromthepolylinefeatures.Inthiscase,azimuthisdefinedastheazimuthfromthe
startingpointtotheendingpointofthepolyline.Ifthepolylineisinlatitude/longitude
coordinates,thenthistoolusesthestartingazimuthvalue(seeAzimuthsandGeodesic
Curvesonp.17foranexplanationofstartingvs.endingazimuthvalues).
38

WeightSource:Ifyourdirectionvalueshavedifferentweights(forexample,ifyourdata
sourceisapolylinefeatureclassofsegmentsandeachsegmentmightbeadifferentlength),
thenyoumaychoosetoweightyourdirectionvaluesbysomeattributevalue.Ifyourdata
sourceisapolylinefeatureclass,thenyoualsohavetheoptiontoweighteachpolylineby
thelengthofthatpolyline.
AnalyzeAllvs.SelectedRecords:Ifanyofyourrecordsareselected,thenyouhavethe
optiontoonlyanalyzethatselectedset.
AddReverseAzimuths:Ifyourdatasetrepresentsaphenomenainwhichbothdirections
shouldbeplotted(suchasgeologicfracturelinesonthelandscape),thenthisoptionwill
plotboththeobservedazimuthvalueforeachrecordplustheazimuthinthereverse
direction.Inaplotwithreversedazimuths,everybinvaluewillbereflectedbyabinofthe
exactsamelengthgoingintheoppositedirection.
ExcludeNegativeValues:Dependingonyourdata,negativevaluesmayreflectgenuine
directions(counterclockwisefromnorth)ortheymaybeaflagthatthevalueisaninvalid
azimuth.Forexample,aspectgeneratingalgorithmsoftenproducea1valueiftheraster
cellisflat(i.e.ifithasnoaspect).Thisoptionletsyouexcludeanynegativevaluesfromthe
analysis.
Plot and Title Options:
Theseoptionsallowyoutosetthesymbolizationfortheplot,plusoptionallyaddandsymbolize
primaryandsecondarytitles.
ClicktheShowPlotandTitleOptionsbuttontoshowtheplotcolorandtitleoptions:
39

Differentplotstyleswillhavedifferentoptionsavailable.Forexample,boththeExternalPeaks
andValleysandtheExternalCircularBinsrequireInsideCircleDiameterandOutsidePlot
Diametervalues,whileallotherplottypesonlyrequireasingleplotdiametervalue.
NumberofBins:Thisisthenumberofbinsaroundthecircle.Avalueof72meansthat
eachbinwillcover5.Avalueof180meansthateachbinwillcover2.
BinOutlineandInternalColors:Theinternalplotofbinshasbothaninternalcolorandan
outlinecolor.Eithercolorcanbesettotransparent.
BinOutlineWidth:Inpoints.Ifyoudonotwishtoseetheoutline,youmayeithersetthis
valueto0orsettheoutlinecolortransparent.
BearingLineColor(onlyforBearingsplot):Thisisthecolorofthebearinglinesintheplot.
BearingLineWidth(onlyforBearingsplot):Thewidthofthebearinglinesintheplot,in
points.Thisvaluemustbe0.2.
40

LowandHighDensityColors(onlyforShadebyDensityplot):Thebinwiththelowest
totalvaluewillbecoloredtheLowDensityColorvalueandthebinwiththehighestvalue
willbecoloredtheHighDensityColor.Intermediatebinswillbecoloredaccordingtoa
colorrampfromthelowtohighcolor.
PlotDiameter(onlyforPeaksandValleys,CircularBins,BearingsandShadeby
Densityplots):Thisisthediameterofthecircle,ininches,thatcontainsallthedata.It
doesnotincludeanylabelsoutsidethiscircle.
InsideCircleDiameter(onlyforExternalPeaksandValleysandExternalCircularBins
plots):Thisisthediameteroftheinnercircle,ininches,whichformsthebaseoftheplot
bins.
OutsidePlotDiameter(onlyforExternalPeaksandValleysandExternalCircularBins
plots):Thisisthediameterofthecircle,ininches,thatcontainsallthedata.Itdoesnot
includeanytitlesoutsidethiscircle.
PrimaryTitle:Checkthisoptionandspecifyatitleifyouwishtoaddatitletoyourgraphic.
Youmayalsospecifythefontstyle,sizeandcolor.
SecondaryTitles:Allsecondarytitleswillusethesamefontstyle,sizeandcolor.Youhave
theoptiontoaddanyorallof4secondarytitles:
o
DataSource,includingboththedatasetandthesourceofazimuthvalues.
Countofvaluesanalyzed.Thismaybeeitherthetotalnumberofrecordsorthenumber
ofselectedrecordsdependingonyourchoice.Ifyouchosetoaddreverseazimuth
41

values,thenthecountwillbedoubled.Ifyouchosetoexcludenegativevalues,then
thecountwillonlyincludetheazimuths0.
o
TotalWeight/Length:Ifyouweightedyourazimuthvalues,thenthisoptionwillshow
theweightingsourceandthetotalcumulativeweight.Ifyoudidnotweightyour
azimuthvalues,thenthisoptionwilladdthelineValuesNotWeightedtoyourplot.
MaximumBinValue(thisappliestoallplottypesexceptforShadebyBearingplots):
Thisisthemaximumbinvalue.Ifyouweightedyourazimuthvalues,thenthiswillbe
thelargestcumulativeweightinabin.Otherwisethiswillbethemaximumnumberof
azimuthvaluesinabin.
Reference Line and Label Options:
Theseoptionsallowyoutooptionallyadd,symbolizeandlabelreferencelines.
ClicktheShowReferenceLineandLabelOptionsbuttontoshowthevariousoptions:
42

ReferencelinesaredividedintoPrimaryandSecondaryreferencelines.Thesetwotypescanby
symbolizeddifferently.Forexample,youmaywanttosetyourprimaryreferencelinesina
darkercolorandwithathickerlinethanyoursecondaryreferencelines.Primaryreferencelines
willalwaysbedrawnasasolidline,butsecondaryreferencelinesmayoptionallybedrawnas
solidlines,dots,dashesormixeddotsanddashes.
Bothprimaryandsecondaryreferencelinesaredrawnforbothazimuthsandvalues.Azimuth
referencelinesextendoutfromthecenterasrays,whileValuereferencelinesaredrawnas
progressivelylargercircles.
PrimaryAzimuthreferencelinesareonlydrawnattheNorth,East,SouthandWest
directions.
ThePrimaryAzimuthOuterCircleisdrawnatthemaximumbinvalue.
ThePrimaryAzimuthInnerCircleisonlyavailableintheExternalPeaksandValleysandthe
ExternalCircularBinsplottypes,andisdrawnatthebaseofthebins.
43

Anynumber3SecondaryReferenceLineBearingsmaybeadded.Avalueof12means
thatsecondaryreferencelineswillbedrawnevery30.Avalueof15willproducereference
linesevery24,andavalueof18willproducelinesevery20.
Anynumber1SecondaryReferenceCirclesmaybeadded.Thisoptionappliestoallplot
typesexceptforShadebyBearingplots.Thisisthenumberofcirclesbetweenthe0level
andthemaximumbinlevel.Avalueof1willputasinglecirclehalfwaybetween0andthe
maximumbinlevel.
AzimuthLabelsarethenumericDegreevaluesaroundtheoutsideofthePeaksandValleys,
CircularBins,BearingsandShadebyDensityplottypes,oraroundtheinsideoftheExternal
PeaksandValleysandExternalCircularBinsplottypes.Theseazimuthlabelswillbedrawn
atallprimaryandsecondaryreferenceazimuths.
InnerLabelsshowthebinvalueatallofthesecondaryreferencecirclelevels.Theseinner
labelsmaybedrawnonanyoralloftheNorth,East,SouthandWestaxes.Thisoption
appliestoallplottypesexceptforShadebyBearingplots.Ifnosecondaryreference
circlesaredrawn,thentheInnerLabeloptionswillbedisabled.Note:Thereisnooptionto
addthebinvalueatthemaximumcirclelevel.However,thereisanoptiontoaddthis
maximumbinvaluetothetitle.
44

Calculate Descriptive Circular Statistics

Thistoolcalculatesthebasicsetofcircularstatsdescribingcentraltendencyanddispersion
describedonp.21,includingtheMeanDirection,ResultantLength,MeanResultantLength,
CircularVariance,CircularStandardDeviation(inRadiansandDegrees),AngularVarianceand
AngularDeviation(inRadiansandDegrees).
TheseCircularStatisticsareavailableinthesametoolthatgeneratesthepolarplots.Clickthe
PolarPlotsbutton
toopenthePolarPlotParametersdialog:
ClicktheShowDataSourcebuttontoopentheDataSourceoptionssection:
45

Selectthedatasettoanalyze,theazimuthsourceandoptionallyaweightingsource,andthen
clicktheCalculateStatisticsbuttonatthebottomofthedialog.Thetoolwillgiveyouthe
statisticsinaseparatewindow:
46

Revisions
Version1.0.225(July6,2012):
InitialRelease
Version1.0.237(September12,2012):
FixedanerrorinwhichitwouldnotworkwithnonPolylinefeatureclasses,insteadgivingyouamessage
statingthatthespecifiedfeatureclasswasnotapolylinefeatureclass.
AlsoupdatedtheCalculateStatisticsfunctionsoitwouldtellyouhowmanyfeaturesorrowsitanalyzed.
Version1.0.250(September20,2013):
AddedVonMisesKappameasureofconcentrationtostatistics.
Modifiedanalysiscount(inplotandinstatisticsreport)toshowcorrectnumberifanyrecordswere
excludedfromtheanalysis(negativevalues,nullfeatures,missingazimuthorweightvalues,etc.).
Afewcosmeticchanges.
FixedanerrorthatproducedthemessageInvalidprocedurecallorargumentatline1328of
frmLayerID.frmwhentheAddReverseAzimuthsbuttonwasclickedwhennodatasourceswereavailable
inthemap.
Version1.0.253(June23,2014):
ModifiedFeaturestoSegmentstooltoclearupamysteriousbugthatcausedArcGIStoshut
downcompletelyinsomecases.Alsomodifiedtooltorunfasteringeneral,andespeciallywith
twovertexpolylines.
47

References
Batschelet,Edward.1981.Circularstatisticsinbiology.London;NewYork:AcademicPress.
Beers,ThomasW.,PeterE.Dress,andLeeC.Wensel.1966.NotesandObservations:Aspect
TransformationinSiteProductivityResearch.JournalofForestry64(10):691692.
Burrough,PeterA,andRachaelAMcDonnell.1998.Principlesofgeographicalinformationsystems.
Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.
Fisher,N.I.1995.Statisticalanalysisofcirculardata.Cambridge[England];NewYork:Cambridge
UniversityPress.
Hodgson,M.1995.WhatCellSizeDoestheComputedSlope/aspectAngleRepresent?Vol.61.
PhotogrammetricEngineeringandRemoteSensing.Bethesda,MD,ETATSUNIS:American
SocietyforPhotogrammetryandRemoteSensing.
Horn,B.K.P.1981.HillShadingandtheReflectanceMap.ProceedingsoftheIEEE69(1):1447.
doi:10.1109/PROC.1981.11918.
Jammalamadaka,S.Rao,andASenGupta.2001.Topicsincircularstatistics.RiverEdge,N.J.:World
Scientific.http://site.ebrary.com/id/10255767.
Jenness,Jeff.2011.DEMSurfaceTools:AnArcGISExtensionforAnalyzingRasterElevationDatasets.
JennessEnterprises.http://www.jennessent.com/arcgis/surface_area.htm.
Jones,KevinH.1998.AComparisonofAlgorithmsUsedtoComputeHillSlopeasaPropertyoftheDEM.
Computers&Geosciences24(4)(May15):315323.doi:10.1016/S00983004(98)000326.
Mardia,K.V,andP.EJupp.2000.Directionalstatistics.NewYork:Wiley.
Seyfarth,ErnstAugust,andFriedrichG.Barth.1972.CompoundSlitSenseOrgansontheSpiderLeg:
MechanoreceptorsInvolvedinKinestheticOrientation.JournalofComparativePhysiologyA:
Neuroethology,Sensory,Neural,andBehavioralPhysiology78(2)(June1):176191.
doi:10.1007/BF00693611.
Trimble,G.R.,andSidneyWeitzman.1956.SiteIndexStudiesofUplandOaksintheNorthern
Appalachians.ForestScience2(3):162173.
Zar,JerroldH.1999.BiostatisticalAnalysis.4thed.PearsonEducation.
.
48

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Polar Plots and Circular Statistics

Last updated 23 June 2014

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

About the Author

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

For ArcGIS 10.0

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Viewing the Tools

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

For ArcGIS 10.0

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Object variable or With block variable not set Error:

RICHTX32.OCX Error (also comct332.ocx, comdlg32.ocx, mscomct2.ocx,

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Issues with Directional Data

Azimuths and Geodesic Curves

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Graphically Representing Directional Data

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Analyzing Directional Data: Circular Statistics

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Variance and Standard Deviation:

PointCdefinedas R distancealongsegmentOA(rememberthat R willalwaysbe

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Basedonthisillustration,itiseasytoseethat s 0 when R 1 ,andthat s 2 when R 0

Other Methods to Analyze Directional Data

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Classification of Directional Values

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Special Considerations for Aspect

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Theatan2functionisamethodofcalculatingthearctangent tan1 usingtwovalues(Xand

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Is this the best method to calculate aspect?

Issues with Aspect

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Solar Insolation: An alternative to Aspect

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

ESRIs Solar Radiation Tool

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Using the Tools

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Generate Circular Plots

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Data Source Options:

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension