What is the main benefit of using surface interpolation in GIS?

Surface interpolation in GIS primarily serves to represent accurate terrain features. This technique involves creating a continuous surface from discrete data points, such as elevation or temperature. By using mathematical models, surface interpolation allows GIS analysts and scientists to predict values at unsampled locations based on the values of nearby known points.

Accurate terrain representation is crucial for various applications, including hydrology, urban planning, and environmental studies. For instance, interpolated surfaces can highlight watershed boundaries, assess flood risks, or inform site suitability analyses for infrastructure development. The underlying terrain features, such as hills, valleys, and slopes, are essential for understanding physical landscapes, making surface interpolation a powerful tool in geographic analysis.

While enhancing the visual appeal of maps, displaying population data, and creating historical landscape records are important aspects of GIS, they do not capture the core purpose of surface interpolation, which is rooted in the accurate modeling of spatial phenomena over a continuous surface.