A Comparative Study of the Accuracy of Regularized and Tension Spline Interpolation Methods to Map the Surface Water Temperature of Pulau Tuba, Langkawi, Kedah

Abstract

Spatial models developed using deterministic interpolation techniques have been popularly used to predict the distribution of water quality parameters. A research was carried out to compare the performance of regularized spline and tension spline methods to estimate the surface water temperature of Pulau Tuba, Langkawi, Kedah. Twenty sampling points have been randomly set up to measure the level of surface water temperature using the Yellow Springs Instrument 650 Multiparameter Display System (YSI650 MDS) from September to November 2016. The data from half of the randomly selected sampling points have been used to calibrate the model while the remaining was used for validation. Regularized and tension spline interpolation methods were used in this research. Based on the correlation and error analysis, the research found that the tension spline method performed better than the regularized spline method. The spatial model developed using the tension spline method was then transformed into a map of temperature. The map accuracy assessment was then carried out and it was found that it produced a high accuracy to estimate the sea surface temperature at other locations. The developed map can be used by the government and private sector for the future and sustainable development of Pulau Tuba, Langkawi, Kedah.