Surfer Intro
Surfer Intro
Surfer is a contouring and 3D surface mapping program that runs under Microsoft Windows. It quickly and easily converts your data into outstanding contour, surface, wireframe, vector, image, shaded relief, and post maps. Virtually all aspects of your maps can be customized to produce exactly the presentation you want.
Surfer Operations
Creating/importing data Checking of data Posting data Gridding Contouring Wireframe Surface Maps Image maps 3D Wire frame maps Shaded relief maps Overlying of maps Composition of Map
Data
Grid
Surface
Overlay
Compose
File Types
Data Files (.dat) Grid Files (.grd)
Data Files
Contain the input data provided by the user Used to produce grid files, post data points
on a map
Supports various file formats containing
Grid Files
Used to produce different types of grid-based maps
to perform
calculations volume, residuals, grid math
Boundary Files
Contain x,y aerial data such as
another map or top specify the boundary limits of blanking, faults, break lines and slice calculations
Can be vector files, metafiles or
25
20
15
bitmap files
10
0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Surfer Worksheet
Contour Maps
give you full control over
15.24
15.22
15.2
over any contour range and contour interval, or specify only the contour levels you want to display on the map.
can add color fill between
15.18
15.16
15.14
15.12
15.1
contours to produce dazzling displays of your maps, or produce gray scale fills for dramatic black and white printouts.
15.08
15.06
15.04
15.02 79.52 79.54 79.56 79.58 79.6 79.62 79.64 79.66 79.68 79.7 79.72
Contour Maps
3D Surface Maps
The 3D surface map
uses shading and color to emphasize your data features. Change the lighting, display angle and tilt with a click of the mouse.
Overlay several surface
Surface Map
3D Surface Maps
surface color gradation, shininess, base fill and line color
orthographic projection
color scales to explain the data values corresponding to each color Produce a detailed report of the grid statistics Substitute a new grid file into an existing map
3D Wireframe Maps
wireframe maps provide an
impressive three dimensional display of your data. Use color zones, independent X,Y,Z scaling, orthographic or perspective projections at any tilt or rotation angle, and different combinations of X, Y and Z lines to produce exactly the surface you want. Drape a color-filled contour map over a wireframe map to create the most striking color or black-and-white representations of your data. The possibilities are endless.
Map Overlay
Vector Maps
Instantly create vector maps to show direction and magnitude of data at points on a map. The two components, direction and magnitude, are automatically generated from a single grid by computing the gradient of the represented surface. At any given grid node, the direction of the arrow points in the direction of the steepest descent. The magnitude of the arrow changes depending on the steepness of the descent. Overlay vector maps on contour or wireframe maps to enhance the presentation!
frequency Symbol color may be fixed or based on vector magnitude Display map scales, color scale bars, and vector scale legends Scale the arrow shaft length, head length, and width Control vector symbol origin Choose from linear, logarithmic, or square root scaling methods
Image Maps
Image maps are raster maps based on grid files. These maps represent Z values (e.g. elevations, element conc.) with user specified colors. Blanked regions on image maps are shown as a separate color.
35
30
25
20
15
10
-5
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
Image of India and adjacent areas created from GTOPO 30 DEM Grid