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.

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

Last Modified: June 23, 2014

NAME:PolarPlotsandCircularStatistics
InstallFile:PolarPlots.exe
Lastmodified:June23,2014
TOPICS:Polarplot,Roseplot,CircularStatistics,AngularDeviation,AngularVariance,Mean
ResultantLength
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. ThePolarPlotstoolcreatesagraphicintheMXDlayoutillustratingthedistribution
ofdirectionvaluesinapolylinefeatureclass(suchasthosegeneratedintheShapes
toSegmentstool)ortable.ThePolarPlotstoolalsohasanoptiontocalculatebasic
circulardescriptivestatisticsondata.
Output:Onetoolproducespolylinefeatureclassesandtheothertoolproducesagraphic
plotintheMXDLayout.
Requires:ArcGIS9.1orbetter,atanylicenselevel.
RevisionHistoryonp.45.
RecommendedCitationFormat:Forthosewhowishtocitethisextension,theauthor
recommendssomethingsimilarto:
Jenness,J.2014.PolarPlotsandCircularStatistics:ExtensionforArcGIS.Jenness
Enterprises.Availableat:http://www.jennessent.com/arcgis/Polar_Plots.htm
Pleaseletmeknowifyoucitethisextensioninapublication(jeffj@jennessent.com).Iwill
updatethecitationlisttoincludeanypublicationsthatIamtoldabout.

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

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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......................................................................................................................12
If Any of the Tools Crash ......................................................................................................................................... 12
Object variable or With block variable not set Error: ............................................................................................. 12
RICHTX32.OCX Error (also comct332.ocx, comdlg32.ocx, mscomct2.ocx, mscomctl.ocx, msstdfmt.dll errors): .. 12
ISSUESWITHDIRECTIONALDATA....................................................................................................16
Azimuths and Geodesic Curves .............................................................................................................................. 16
Graphically Representing Directional Data ............................................................................................................. 17
Analyzing Directional Data: Circular Statistics ........................................................................................................ 20
MeanDirectionandMeanResultantLength.................................................................................................21
VarianceandStandardDeviation:.................................................................................................................22
Other Methods to Analyze Directional Data ............................................................................................................ 24
ClassificationofAspectValues......................................................................................................................24
DeviationsfromaBearing.............................................................................................................................24
SineandCosineTransformations..................................................................................................................24
SPECIALCONSIDERATIONSFORASPECT............................................................................................26
How Aspect is Calculated........................................................................................................................................ 26
Isthisthebestmethodtocalculateaspect?..................................................................................................27
Issues with Aspect ................................................................................................................................................... 27
Solar Insolation: An alternative to Aspect............................................................................................................... 28
ESRIsSolarRadiationTool............................................................................................................................28
Hillshade........................................................................................................................................................30
USINGTHETOOLS........................................................................................................................31
Convert Shapes to Segments ................................................................................................................................. 31
Generate Circular Plots ........................................................................................................................................... 34
PlotStyle........................................................................................................................................................35
DataSourceOptions:.....................................................................................................................................35
PlotandTitleOptions:...................................................................................................................................37
ReferenceLineandLabelOptions:................................................................................................................40
Calculate Descriptive Circular Statistics .................................................................................................................. 43
REVISIONS..................................................................................................................................45
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................46

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

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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.ThetoolsdonotinstallproperlyifArcGISisrunning
duringtheinstallation.
2. InstallthePolarPlotsandCircularStatisticsextensionbydoubleclickingonthefile
PolarPlots.exeandfollowingtheinstructions.Thisinstallationroutinewillinstallthe
PolarPlots.dllandseveralancillaryfilesonyourharddrive,butwillnotregisterthetool
withArcGIS.
3. UseWindowsExplorertoopenyourinstallationfolder.Ifyouusedthedefaultvalues,
thenthisfolderwillbelocatedatProgramFiles\Jennessent\Polar_Plots\.Thisfolder
willalsoincludesomeadditionalfilesandthismanual.

4. ForWindowsXP:DoubleclickthefileMake_Batch_Files.exetocreateregistration
andunregistrationbatchfilesthatareproperlyformattedtoyoursystem.

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a. DoubleclickthenewbatchfileRegister_Polar_Plots_Tool.battoregister
thetoolwithArcGIS10.0.
b. Iftheregistrationissuccessful,thenyoushouldseeaRegistration
Succeedednotice.

Manual: Polar Plots ArcGIS Extension

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5. ForWindowsVistaorWindows7:RightclickthefileMake_Batch_Files.exe,andthen
chooseRunasAdministratortocreateregistrationandunregistrationbatchfilesthat
areproperlyformattedtoyoursystem.

6. RightclickthenewbatchfileRegister_Polar_Plots_Tool.bat,andthenchoose
RunasAdministratortoregisterallthetoolswithArcGIS10.0.
7. Iftheregistrationissuccessful,thenyoushouldseeaRegistrationSucceeded
notice.

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Note:Fortheconcernedorcurious,thebatchfileRegister_Polar_Plots_Tool.bat
containsasinglelineoftextthatlookssimilartothefollowing:
"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(alsolocated
inyourinstallationdirectory).BothRegister_Polar_Plots_Tool.batandPolarPlots.reg
maybeopenedandviewedusingstandardtexteditorssuchasNotepadorWordPad.

Viewing the Tools

ThistoolisinstalledasanextensioninArcMap,butitisatypeofextensionthatis
automaticallyloaded.YouwillnotseethisextensionintheExtensionsdialogavailablein
theArcGISToolsmenu.ItisnotdependentonanyotherextensionsoranyArcGISlicense
level.
Thisextensiondoesnotincludeaseparatetoolbarsoyouwillneedtomanuallyputthetools
inanexistingtoolbar.
Todothis,openyourCustomizetoolbyeither:
1) DoubleclickingonablankpartoftheArcMaptoolbar,or
2) ForArcGIS9,clicktheToolsmenu,thenCustomize,or
3) ForArcGIS10,clicktheCustomizemenu,thenCustomizeMode
IntheCustomizedialog,clicktheCommandstabandscrolldowntoselectJenness
Enterprises:

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Finally,simplydragtheConvertShapestoSegmentsand/orthePolarPlotcommandsoutof
theCustomizedialogupintoanyoftheexistingArcGIStoolbars.

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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.Ifyouusedthedefault
values,thenthisfolderwillbelocatedatProgramFiles\Jennessent\Polar_Plots\.
Thisfolderwillalsoincludesomeadditionalfilesandthismanual.

3) FindthefileUnregister_Polar_Plots_Tool.bat.IFYOUDONOTSEETHISFILE,use
theMake_Batch_Files.exetooltocreatethebatchfile.RefertoStep4inInstalling
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thePolarPlotsandCircularStatisticsExtensionaboveforinstructionsonhowto
usethistool.
4) ForWindowsXP:DoubleclickthefileUnregister_Polar_Plots_Tool.batto
unregisterthetoolwithArcGIS10.0.
ForWindowsVistaandWindows7:Rightclickthefile
Unregister_Polar_Plots_Tool.batandselectRunasAdministratortounregisterthe
toolwithArcGIS10.0.
Iftheunregistrationissuccessful,thenyoushouldseeanUnregistration
Succeedednotice.

5) ClicktheStartbutton.
6) OpenyourControlPanel.
7) DoubleclickAddorRemovePrograms.

8) ScrolldowntofindandselectPolarPlotsandCircularStatistics10.
9) ClicktheUninstallbuttonandfollowthedirections.

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.batmaybeopenedandviewedusingstandardtexteditors
suchasNotepadorWordPad.

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Troubleshooting
If Any of the Tools Crash
Ifatoolcrashes,youshouldseeadialogthattellsuswhatscriptcrashedandwhereit
crashed.Iwouldappreciateitifyoucouldcopythetextinthatdialog,orsimplytake
screenshotsofthedialogandemailthemtomeatjeffj@jennessent.com.Note:Please
makesurethatthelinenumbersarevisibleinthescreenshots!Thelinenumbersare
locatedonthefarrightsideofthetext.Usethescrollbaratthebottomofthedialogto
makethelinenumbersvisible.

Object variable or With block variable not set Error:

IfyouopenArcMapandimmediatelyseetheerrordialogappearwithoneormoreerror
messagesstatingthatObjectvariableorWithblockvariablenotset,then90%ofthetime
itisbecauseArcGISwasrunningwhenyouinstalledtheextension.TheObjectvariable
beingreferredtoistheExtensionobject,andArcGISonlysetsthatvariablewhenitis
initiallyopened.
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,then
simplyfollowtheinstructionsforRICHTX32.OCXbelow,butsubstitutetheappropriatefile
forRICHTX32.OCX.
ThiserrorisalmostalwaysduetothefactthatnewinstallationsofWindows7andWindows
Vistadonotincludeafilethattheextensionexpectstofind.Forexample,thefile
richtx32.ocxisactuallytheRichTextBoxcontrolthatappearsonsomeoftheextension
dialogs.TheotherOCXfilesrefertoothercommoncontrolsthatmightappearonthe
variousextensiondialogs.
Thesolutionistomanuallyinstallthemissingfile(richtx32.ocx)yourself.Hereishowtodo
it:
1) OpenWindowsExplorerandlocatethefilerichtx32.ocxinyourextension
installationfile.
2) Ifyouarerunninga32bitversionofWindows,thencopyrichtx32.ocxtothe
directory
C:\Windows\System32\
Ifyouarerunninga64bitversionofWindows,thencopyrichtx32.ocxtothe
directory
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\
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3) OpenanElevatedCommandPromptwindow.ThisisthestandardWindows
CommandPromptwindow,butwithadministrativeprivilegesenabled.Youneed
theseprivilegesenabledinordertoregistertheOCXwithWindows.Note:The
ElevatedCommandPromptopensupinthe..\windows\system32directory,not
the..\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

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http://www.winhelponline.com/articles/158/1/Howtoopenanelevated
CommandPromptinWindowsVista.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.

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Issues with Directional Data

Manycharacteristicsofwildlifehabitatandbehaviorincludeadirectionalcomponent.
Animalmovementmaytendtoangletowardorawaysomelandscapefeature,andthe
strengthoftheattractionorrepulsioneffectmaychangewithproximitytothatobject.
Aspect(i.e.theazimuththelandscapefacesinthedirectionofsteepestslope)isan
intuitivelyvaluablehabitatvariablebecausenorthfacingslopesaretypicallycoolerand
moremesicwhilesouthfacingslopesaregenerallywarmerandmorexeric(atleastinthe
northernhemisphere!).Habitatscanbedramaticallydifferentdependingonwhichsideofa
hillyoustandon.
Directioncanbedifficulttoanalyzestatisticallybecauseofitscircularnature.Thedifference
between1degreeand360degreesisthesameasthedifferencebetween1degreeand2
degrees,makingitdifficulttoplugintoatypicalstatisticalmodel.Thisarticlewilldiscuss
someissuesweoftenfacewithdirectionaldataplussomebasicideastodescribeand
analyzeit.Manyoftheconceptscanalsobeappliedtootherperiodicdatasuchastime,but
thisarticlewillfocusondirection.
Anadditionalcomplicationisthatsometimesweconsiderdirectionasasinglevalue(the
forwarddirection)andsometimeswecountboththeforwardandreversedirections.In
wildlifeanalysis,directionisusuallytreatedasasinglevalue.Weareinterestedinwherean
animalisgoingandwhyitchoosestogointhedirectionitdoes.Orweareinterestedinthe
generalaspectofahabitatblock,andwhatthatmeanstoourspeciesofinterest.Insome
cases,however,weneedtoconsiderboththedirectionanditsoppositevalue.Analysisof
geologicfracturelinesonthelandscapeshouldbeconsideredtogoinbothdirections.
Analysisoftrailsorpathsshouldbetreatedsimilarly,exceptintherarecaseofoneway
trails.

Azimuths and Geodesic Curves

Inmostcasesthedirectionorazimuthvalueiseasytodefine.Theaspectatapointcanbe
derivedwithalittlemathfromaDEM(seeSpecialConsiderationsforAspectonp.26)or
withacompass.Theazimuthofamovementsegmentissimplytheazimuthfromthe
startingtotheendingpointsofthatsegment.
Complicationsariseifweareinterestedinazimuthsoverlongdistances.Thestraightline
segmentoveralongdistanceisbestapproximatedbyageodesiccurverepresentingthe
greatcircledistance(i.e.Asthecrowflies)betweentwopoints.Theproblemhereisthat,
withafewrareexceptions,azimuthvalueschangeconstantlyoverthecourseofageodesic
curve.ConsiderthegeodesiccurveconnectingNewYorkCity,USAtoMoscow,Russia:

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ThelinefromNewYorkstartsatabearingof34,continuesinastraightlinetheentireway,
butarrivesinMoscowonabearingof130.
Formovementsegmentslessthanafewhundredmiles,andsufficientlyfarawayfromthe
poles,thedifferencebetweenstartingandendingazimuthstendstobenegligible.Forlong
distancesandforanalysisnearthepoles,however,weshouldbeawareofthisphenomenon
andbecarefulabouthowwedefineourdirectionalvalues.

Graphically Representing Directional Data

Becauseofthecircularnatureofdirectionaldata,wetypicallyusecircularplotstodisplay
thedistribution.Mostofthesecircularplotsarevariationsonthestandardhistogram,
exceptwrappedinacirclesothatthemaximumpossibleXaxisvaluewrapsbacktotouch
theminimumpossiblevalue.
OneofthemorefamousandhistoricallyinterestingoftheseistheRosePlotorRose
Diagram,namedassuchbecausethehistogrambinsresembleflowerpetals.Thistypeof
diagramwasoriginallypopularizedbynurseandstatisticianFlorenceNightingale,whoused
ittoshowseasonalpatternsinsoldiermortality(see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingaleforthesourceofthefamousimage
below).Nightingaleactuallycalledthesediagramscoxcombsbecausetheyresemblethe
combofarooster.

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Nightingalesplotsshowedvariationbyseason,butthismethodalsoworksverywellfor
displayingdirectionaldata.Forexample,givenasetoftrailsintheSanFranciscoBayarea,
wecanusearoseplottoillustratethegeneralNorthwest/Southeastorientationofthose
trails:

Commonvariationsonthetraditionalroseplotincludesymbolizingthehistogrambinsas
PeaksandValleys,andputtingthebinsontheoutsideofthecircleratherthantheinside.

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Whenonlyafewdirectionvaluesneedtobedisplayed,youcansimplyshowthebearingsin
acircularplot.

Anotherinterestingmethodisapiecharttypeimagewheretheslicesareshaded
accordingtotheproportionofthedatathatfacesthatparticulardirection:

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Althoughthislastmethodislesseffectiveatshowingtheshapeofthedistributionasother
methods,itisstillaninterestingstyleofillustrationbecauseitissovisuallyintuitive.Inthe
imageabove,itiseasytoseethattheobservedroostlocationspredominatelyfacetoward
thesoutheast.Thisextensionprovidesmethodstocreatealltheplottypesillustrated
above(seep.34foradescriptionofthetool).Additionalsoftwaretoolscanbefoundwitha
Googlesearch.Fisher(1995:1530)alsodiscussesalternativemethodsforgraphingcircular
data.

Analyzing Directional Data: Circular Statistics

Beforebeginningthissection,Iwanttoemphasizetwoimportantpointsthatpeoplevery
oftenmakemistakeswith:
1) Donotcalculatethemeandirectionusingthearithmeticmean!Thisisespecially
frustratingbecausethearithmeticmeanissometimescorrectandsometimeswildly
incorrect.Forexample,themeandirectionof90and180is135,which
90

135 .Butwhatisthe
2

coincidentallyisequaltothearithmeticmean

meandirectionof359and1?Theyarebothpointingalmostduenorth( 1),and
clearlythetruemeandirectionisexactlyduenorth.However,thearithmeticmean
359

180 ,whichisduesouthandexactlytheoppositeofthe
2

givesus180

correctanswer.Thecorrectwaytocalculatethemeandirectionisdescribedbelow.
2) IfyouapplyaSineorCosinetransformation,makesuretoconvertthevaluesto
radiansfirst!Mostanalyticalsoftwareandprogramminglanguageshavesineand
cosinefunctions,butthesefunctionsusuallyassumethevaluesareinradians,not
degrees.Thereareexactly2(~6.28)radiansinacircle.Thismeansthatthe
softwarewillassumethatadifferenceof3.14(i.e.)unitsisequivalenttogoing
halfwayaroundthecircle.Ifyourdataareindegrees,thenthesoftwarewill
interpretachangein2toberoughlyequivalenttogoingathirdofthewayaround
thecircle.Fortunatelyitiseasytoconverttoradiansusingthefollowingformula:
DegreestoRadians:

Radians

Degrees Degrees 3.14159265358979

180
180

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Itispossiblethatyoursoftwarehasafunctionthatallowsyoutocalculatesinesand
cosinesfromdegrees(manycalculatorsdo),buteveninthiscaseyoumust
remembertosettheswitchcorrectly.
Fortunatelytherearewellestablishedmethodsavailableforanalyzingcircularorperiodic
datasuchasmovementdirectionoraspect.Thecircularnatureofthedataleadtovery
specificandinterestingapproachestocalculatingmeasuresofcentraltendencyand
dispersion(seep.43forhowtousethisextensiontocalculatecircularstatistics).Someof
thebasicdescriptivestatisticsare:
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,butthelogicisactuallyvery
intuitive.Itissimplyaprocessofvectoraddition,whereeachdirectionvalueisasingle
vector.Vectoradditionessentiallyconnectsallthedirectionvectorsintoapath,andthe
meandirectionisjustthedirectiontothelastpointonthepath.
Forexample,considerascenariowith4directionvaluesat45,75,120and220:

Weconnectthe4bearingsinapath(vectoradditionjustaddsuptheXandY
componentsofeachvector,whichisthesameastreatingeachbearingasasegmentina
path).Itdoesnotmatterwhatorderweconnectthevectorsin;theywillalwaysendupat
thesamepoint.TheMeanDirectionisthebearingfromthestartofthepathtotheendof
thepath.

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Onasidenote,thisisalsothewaytocalculatethemeandirectionofanactualobserved
movementpath.IfyouhaveaseriesoflocationsfromaGPScollaronanelk,forexample,
andyouwonderwhataveragedirectiontheanimalmovedovertheday,thenthataverage
directionissimplythedirectionfromthefirstGPSlocationofthedaytothelast.
TheMeanResultantLength R isthebasisforseveralvaluesofdispersion(analogousto
varianceorstandarddeviation),andiscalculatedasthestraightlinedistancefromthe
startingpointtotheendingpointofthepathdividedbythenumberofsegments(ifthe
segmentsareunitvectors,whereeachvectorhasalengthof1)orbythetotallengthofthe
pathifthesegmentshavevariablelengths.

Noticethatthemeanresultantlengthhasapotentialrangeof0to1.Ifallthevectors
pointedinexactlythesamedirection,theresultantlengthwouldthenbeequaltothetotal
pathlengthandthemeanresultantlengthwouldbeequalto1.Thisisthescenariowiththe
minimumpossiblevarianceordispersioninthevectors.Themorethepathwanders
around,theshorterboththeresultantlengthandthemeanresultantlengthwillbe.Ifthe
pathendedbackattheorigin,thenbothvalueswouldbeequalto0.
Variance and Standard Deviation:

MardiaandJupp(2000),Fisher(1995)andBatschelet(1981)describecircularstatistics
analogoustovarianceandstandarddeviations,basedonthemeanresultantlength 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

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TheCircularStandardDeviationandAngularDeviationarebothinunitsofRadians,but
thesecaneasilybeconvertedtoDegrees.
RadianstoDegrees:

Degrees

180

Radians

Batcheletpointsoutthatcircularstandarddeviationandtheangulardeviationtendtobe
closetoeachotherformostvaluesof R. However,as R tendstoward0,circularstandard
deviationtendstoward whileangulardeviationtendstowardamaximumvalueof 2.
Batchelet,citingSeyfarthandBarth(1972),presentsageometricderivationofangular
deviationwhichalsoprovidesavisualsenseofwhattheconceptmeans.

GivenaunitcirclewithRadius=1,andwith:

PointAdefinedasonthecirclehorizontalfromtheOriginO

PointCdefinedas R distancealongsegmentOA(rememberthat R willalwaysbe

between0and1)

PointBdefinedasonthecircleverticalfromPointC

Thens(angulardeviation)isjustthelengthofthelineconnectingpointsAandB.The
angulardeviationcanthereforebecalculatedbyapplyingthePythagoreantheoremto
BCO and ABC:
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

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

R 0
Note:Ameanresultantlength R near1alwaysimpliesatightlyfocusedsetofdirections,
butameanresultantlengthnear0doesnotnecessarilyimplyahighamountofvariationor
dispersion.Allitimpliesisthatthedirectionsbalanceeachotherout.Thiscanoccurwitha
uniformdistributionofdirections,inwhichcasetheretrulywouldbehighdispersion.Itcan
alsooccur,however,ifyouhaveanumberofbearingsinonedirectionandanequalnumber
intheoppositedirection.Forexample,perhapsyouhaveabirdwithdistinctandseparate
roostandforagelocations.Everydaythebirdtravelstotheforagelocationandthenreturns
totheroostlocation.Inthisscenario,thebirdonlygoesintwodistinctandopposite
directions(totheforagelocation,andthenbacktotheroostlocation).Thebirds
movementdirectionsarehighlyfocusedandpredictable,butthemeanresultantlength
wouldbe0andconsequentlythevariancewouldbehigh.Aswithmostsituations,plotting
thedistributionofthedataisagoodwaytounderstandwhatisreallyhappening.
Justaswithstandardstatistics,thereareanumberofcirculardistributionsandsophisticated
analyticaltechniquesavailable.Thesegobeyondthescopeofthisnewsletterarticle,but
pleaserefertoJammalamadakaandSenGupta(2001),MardiaandJupp(2000),Zar(1999;
seeespeciallych.26and27),Fisher(1995)andBatschelet(1981)forsomegoodtextson
circularstatistics,distributions(i.e.theFisher,VonMisesandWrappedNormal
distributions),circularhypothesistestingandotheranalyticaltechniques.Thereisalsoa
goodcircularstatisticalpackageforR,originallybasedonJammalamadakaandSenGuptas
text.AsofJune,2012,themanualforthispackagecanbeviewedat
http://cran.wustl.edu/web/packages/circular/circular.pdf.

Other Methods to Analyze Directional Data

Ifwewanttoincludedirectionasoneofseveralindependentpredictorvariablesina
traditionalstatisticalanalysis,thenwemusttransformthevalueintosomethingapproaching
alinearmeasure.Thereareafewstraightforwardwaystodothis,althoughany
transformationwillprobablyviolatesomeoftheassumptionsofmosttraditionalstatistical
tests.
Classification of Aspect 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.Yourfullsetoftransformedvalueswouldrangefrom
0to180(seefigurebelow).Thisoptionhastheadvantageofmaintainingaconstantinterval
betweenunits,suchthatthedifferenceindirectionbetween0and1degreeisthesameas
thedifferencebetween90and91degrees.
Sine and Cosine Transformations

Aspectvaluesareoftenconvertedtosineandcosinevalues,essentiallydecomposingthem
intonorthsouthandeastwestcomponents.Remembertoconvertyourdirectionvaluesto
radiansbeforedoingthistransformation!Sinevaluesrangefrom1(atduewest)to1(at
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dueeast),whilecosinevaluesrangefrom1(atduesouth)to1(atduenorth).Notethat
thismethoddoesnotmaintainaconstantintervalbetweenunits.Thesineandcosine
valueschangebyavariableamountdependingonthedirection,suchthatachangeinsine
correspondingtoachangeof1degree=0.00015whengoingfrom90to91degrees,but
increasesbymorethan2ordersofmagnitudeto0.017whengoingfrom180to181
degrees.Thisissuemaybeimportantinyourstatisticalanalysisifyourmethodassumes
thatyourdataareintervallevel.

TrimbleandWeitzman(1956)andBeersetal.(1966)suggestaninterestingalternative
combiningtwooftheapproachesabove,rescalingaspectvaluesbasedonanoptimum
bearing(135forTrimble&Weitzman,andageneralequationforanyaspectofinterestfor
Beersetal.)thentakingthesineoftherescaledvalues,thenadding1,whichtheyputto
extensiveuseinsiteproductivityresearchfortimberstands.Beersetal.sgeneralequation
is:
A TransformedAspectCode,inDegrees

sin A 90 AMax 1
cos AMax A 1

Where:
AMax Theaspectwhichistobeassignedthehighestnumericalvalueonthetransformscale

Note:Beersetal.sequationpresumesthatyoucancalculatethesineorcosineofavaluein
degrees.Manycalculatorscandothis,butmanyprogramminglanguagesrequireyour
valuestobeinradians.Ifyouneedtoconvertyourvalues,theDegreestoRadians
conversionformulaisonp.20ofthismanual.

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Special Considerations for Aspect

How Aspect is Calculated
AspectiscalculatedfromthedirectionalEastWestandNorthSouthgradientsataparticular
point.Therearevariousmethodsforestimatingthesedirectionalgradientsfroma3x3set
ofelevationpoints,butingeneralaspectisdefinedasthedirectionofmaximumslope.
GiventhatG=easttowestgradientandH=northtosouthgradient,thenaspectis
calculatedasfollows:
180
MathematicalDirection(indegrees) atan 2 H , G

Theatan2functionisamethodofcalculatingthearctangent tan1 usingtwovalues(X
andY),andithasapossiblerangerepresentingafullcircle(to+radians,or180to

+180).Thestandardarctangentfunctioncanonlyproducevaluesrangingfrom to ,
2

or90to+90.Thisatan2functionisthesameoneusedtocalculatemeandirectionabove,
andiscalculatedasfollows:
1 y
tan x

1 y
tan
x

1 y
atan2 y , x : tan
x

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.
Thereforewemustconvertthemathematicaldirectiontoacompassaspectaccordingtothe
followingrules:
ifMathematicalDirection>90thenAspect=(450Direction)
OtherwiseAspect=(90Direction)
ArcGISusesHornsmethod(Horn1981,BurroughandMcDonnell1998)tocalculatetheeast
west(G)andnorthsouth(H)gradientsfroma3x3arrayofelevationpoints.Thefigure
belowshowsthe8elevationvaluesthatareusedtocalculateaspectatthecentralcellXX
(notethattheformuladoesnotusetheelevationvalueatthecentralcell):
Z1 ---- Z2 ---- Z3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Z4 ---- XX ---- Z6
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Z7 ---- Z8 ---- Z9
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InHornsMethod,thenorthsouthgradientiscalculatedfromallthreecolumnsinthe3x3
array,withthecentralcolumnweightedtwiceashighasthetwooutercolumns.Theeast
westgradientiscalculatedinasimilarmanner.
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.Hefound
thatHornsmethoddidbetterthanmostmethods,butwasmarginallyworsethanamethod
calledthe4cellmethod.HethentestedallmethodsonatruelandscapeDEMandfound
thattherankingsamongmethodswereconsistent,soHornsmethodstillcamein2ndplace.
Anothertidbit:MichaelHodgson(1995)publishedapaperusingthesamemathematical
surfacethatJones(1998)did,inwhichhedemonstratesthatthearearepresentedby
computedslopeandaspectisactuallylargerthantherasterDEMcellsize.8cellalgorithms
(suchasHornsmethod)moreaccuratelyreflectvaluesforanareaapproximatelytwicethe
cellsize,while4cellalgorithms(suchasthe4Cellmethod)reflectanareaapproximately
1.6Xtheoriginalcellarea.
Insum,amethodcalledthe4cellmethodissimpler,slightlyquickertocalculate,more
preciseandmarginallymoreaccuratethanHornsmethod.
Forthosewhoareinterested,theauthoroffersafreeArcGISextensionthatwillcalculate
slopeandaspectusingavarietyofmethodsincludingbothHornsmethodandthe4cell
method(seehttp://www.jennessent.com/arcgis/surface_area.htm).Thisextensiondoes
notrequireSpatialAnalyst.

Issues with Aspect

AsaconsequenceofdeterminingaspectfromEastWestandNorthSouthcomponents,
aspectcanbedifficulttocalculatefromgeographicallyprojected(latitude/longitude)data.
Theequationsaboveallworkfor3x3arraysinwhichtheelevationlocationsareallequally
spacedalongboththeXandYaxes.However,thisisnotthecasewithlatitude/longitude
data.Rastercellsthataresquareinunprojectedspaceactuallyformtrapezoidswhen
viewedontheactualsurfaceoftheplanet.
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Inthiscase,wecannottreatthecellsizeasasingleconstantvalue.Themethodstocorrect
forlatitude/longitudedatagobeyondthescopeofthisarticlebutaredescribedinJenness
(2011;seeespeciallyp.4049ofthemanualat
http://www.jennessent.com/downloads/DEM%20Surface%20Tools%20for%20ArcGIS.pdf).
Forthosewhoareinterested,theauthorsfreeArcGISextensionDEMSurfaceToolswill
automaticallycorrectforlatitude/longitudedata(see
http://www.jennessent.com/arcgis/surface_area.htm).

Solar Insolation: An alternative to Aspect

Aspecthasawellestablishedhistoryinhabitatanalysis.Itisbotheasytomeasureanda
goodpredictorofcertainhabitatcharacteristics.However,insomecaseswearereally
interestedinhowmuchdirectsunlighthitsanarea(insolation),whichisafunctionofaspect,
slope,nearbytopography,landscapereflectivityandatmosphericeffects,andassuchmay
beamoreimportantdriverofhabitatcharacteristicsthanaspectalone.Insuchcases,it
maybeworthwhiletoestimateinsolationdirectlyratherthanuseaspectasasurrogate.
Thereareafewapproachesyoucantake:
ESRIs Solar Radiation Tool

Asofversion9.2ofArcGISandSpatialAnalyst,ESRIhasincludedatoolintheArcToolboxto
calculatesolarradiationforspecificpointsonthelandscape,orovertheentirelandscape.

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Thisfunctionincorporatesbothdirectanddiffuseradiationandshadowsfromnearby
topography.Itincludesseveralusefuloptions,including:
1) Outputseithertheamountofenergyhittingtheground(inWattsperHour),orthe
totalnumberofhoursinwhichthegroundisexposedtothesun.
2) Canbecalculatedforspecificdates,seasonsoryears.
3) Hasoptionalparameterswhereyoucanspecifythegeneralatmosphericconditions
inyourareaofinterest.
4) Hasoptionalparameterswhereyoucanspecifyhowintensivelyitexaminesthelocal
topographybeforedeterminingtheamountofradiationhittinganarea.
Ingeneral,thisisawonderfulandexcitingnewtool.Ihavenoticedtwominordrawbacksto
thetool:
1) Itisslowonlargegrids,andonoccasionIhaveneededtoletitrunforhoursordays.
2) Idonotbelievethatitincorporatesreflectivityoffthelandscape.Thiswouldbe
hardtomodel,ofcourse,andwoulddependonexactlyhowreflectiveyour
landscapeis(snowreflectsverydifferentlyfromlavarocks,forexample).
Despitethesetwominordrawbacks,Iexpectthatthistoolwillbecomeveryvaluablefor
habitatanalysis.

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Hillshade

ForthosewhodonothaveaccesstotheSolarAnalyst,youcanusethehillshadefunction
availableinmanyGISpackagesgetareasonableestimatefortherelativeamountofsunlight
thathitsthelandscapeatasinglepointintime.Valueswilltypicallyrangefrom0(meaning
nosunlighthitsthelandscape)to255(meaningtheangleofthelandscapeisfacingthesun
directly).HillshadesaredifficulttocalculateifyourDEMisingeographiccoordinates,but
theauthoroffersafreeArcGIStooltodothis(see
http://www.jennessent.com/arcgis/surface_area.htm)whichdoesnotrequireSpatial
Analyst.

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Using the Tools

Convert Shapes to Segments
Thisfunctiondecomposesacomplexfeatureintoasetofindividualsegments,makingit
easiertoanalyzethedirectionalcharacteristicsofthosesegments.Forexample,asingle
polylinemightrepresenttheentiremovementhistoryofananimalduringitsmigration.
Becauseitisasingleobjectinthedatabase,itisdifficulttodecomposeintoaformsuitable
fordirectionalanalysis.
Thisfunctiongeneratesapolylinefeatureclassrepresentingthevertextovertexsegments
fromthefeaturesofapolygonorpolylinefeatureclass.Eachpolylinewillrepresentasingle
straightlinesegment.Youhavetheoptiontogeneratesegmentsforallfeatures,oronlythe
selectedsetoffeatures.
Thisfunctionoffersseveraloptionstocalculateadditionaldatadescribingeachsegment,
includingthestartingandendingcoordinates,theazimuthofthesegmentandthereverse
azimuthofthesegment.
Ifyourdataareinlatitude/longitudecoordinates,thenyoualsohavetheoptiontocalculate
boththestartingandendingazimuthsofeachsegmentplusthereversestartingandending
azimuths.Ifthislastoptionisconfusing,recallthatgreatcirclegeodesiccurvesalmost
alwayschangetheirbearingconstantlyoverthelengthofthecurve(seeAzimuthsand
GeodesicCurvesonp.16).
ClicktheShapestoSegmentsbutton

toopentheFeaturestoSegmentsdialog:

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Selectthelayertoconvert,anyattributefieldsyouwanttotransfertoyournewfeature
class,whethertodoallorselectedrecords,anyadditionalattributesdescribingthe
geometryofeachsegment,andwheretosaveyournewfeatureclass.ClickOKandthe
toolwillcreatethesegmentfeatureclassandaddittoyourArcMapdocument.

Thetoolwillalsogenerateareportdescribingwhatitdid.

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Generate Circular Plots

Thistoolwillgenerate6typesofcircularplots,withnumerousoptionsregardingcolors,
labels,titlesandreferencelines.

ThetoolwillgeneratetheplotasagraphicintheMXDLayoutandthereforeyoumusthave
thelayoutactivewhenyougeneratetheplot.IfyoutrytogeneratetheplotwhiletheMap
viewisactive,thetoolwilloffertoswitchyoutothelayoutviewautomatically.
Thegraphiccanbecopiedandpastedtoothersoftwarepackages(MicrosoftWordand
PowerPoint,forexample).However,forbestresultsIrecommendexportingthegraphicinto
astandardimagefileusingthestandardArcGISExportfunctions.
ThegraphicwillactuallybeaGroupedgraphicwhereeachcomponentisaseparate
graphic.Ifyoucreateyourgraphicplotandwanttomodifyanysingleportionofit,simply:
1) SelecttheplotgraphicusingtheArcGISSelectElementstool

2) RightclickonthegraphicandchooseUngroup
3) SelecttheindividualelementyouwanttoeditusingtheSelectElementstool

4) RightclickonitandchooseProperties.
Note:TheBearingsplottypeisonlyintendedforcaseswithlessthanafewhundred
bearings.Thisgraphictakesalongtimetodrawandcanbemiserabletoworkwithifyou
havemorethanafewhundredbearings.
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ClickthePolarPlotsbutton

toopenthePolarPlotParametersdialog:

Therearealotofoptionsonthisdialog,sotheyarebrokendownintosubsetsandare
accessedbyclickingthesubsetbutton.Forexample,theShowDataSourcebuttonopens
upthedatasourceoptionsandletsyoupickthedatasettoplot,plusspecifythesourcefor
azimuthandweightvalues.
Plot Style

ThePlotStylesectionisalwaysvisibleandshowsthesixplotstyleoptionsavailable.To
seealargerexampleofanyoftheplotstyles,clicktheShowExamplebutton.Thislarger
examplealsohasmostoftheplot,title,referencelineandlabeloptionspointedout:

Data Source Options:

ClicktheShowDataSourcebuttontoopentheDataSourceoptions:

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DataSource:Thelistincludesallfeatureclassesandtablesinyourcurrentfocusmap.
Note:Thisversionofthetooldoesnotworkwithrasterdatasets.Ifyouwishtoplot
thedistributionofarasterdataset(ofaspectvalues,forexample),therearetwo
approachesyoumighttry:
1) Converttherastertoapointfeatureclass,thenselectthepointsthatliewithinyour
areaofinterest,andthenrunthistoolontheselectedpoints.
2) ConverttherastertoanIntegertyperaster(whichhasanassociatedattributetable
containingValueandCountfields),thenexporttheattributetabletoa
standalonetable,andthenrunthetoolontheattributetable.UsetheValuefield
asthesourceofazimuthvalues,andtheCountfieldasthesourceofweight
values.

AzimuthSource:IfyourdatasourceisaTable,PointFeatureClassorPolygonFeature
Class,thenyoumustsetyoursourceofazimuthvaluestoanattributefieldinthe
attributetable.IfyourdatasourceisaPolylineFeatureClass,thenyoumayderiveyour
azimuthvaluesdirectionfromthepolylinefeatures.Inthiscase,azimuthisdefinedas
theazimuthfromthestartingpointtotheendingpointofthepolyline.Ifthepolylineis
inlatitude/longitudecoordinates,thenthistoolusesthestartingazimuthvalue(see
AzimuthsandGeodesicCurvesonp.16foranexplanationofstartingvs.ending
azimuthvalues).

WeightSource:Ifyourdirectionvalueshavedifferentweights(forexample,ifyourdata
sourceisapolylinefeatureclassofsegmentsandeachsegmentmightbeadifferent
length),thenyoumaychoosetoweightyourdirectionvaluesbysomeattributevalue.If
yourdatasourceisapolylinefeatureclass,thenyoualsohavetheoptiontoweighteach
polylinebythelengthofthatpolyline.
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AnalyzeAllvs.SelectedRecords:Ifanyofyourrecordsareselected,thenyouhavethe
optiontoonlyanalyzethatselectedset.

AddReverseAzimuths:Ifyourdatasetrepresentsaphenomenainwhichboth
directionsshouldbeplotted(suchasgeologicfracturelinesonthelandscape),thenthis
optionwillplotboththeobservedazimuthvalueforeachrecordplustheazimuthinthe
reversedirection.Inaplotwithreversedazimuths,everybinvaluewillbereflectedbya
binoftheexactsamelengthgoingintheoppositedirection.

ExcludeNegativeValues:Dependingonyourdata,negativevaluesmayreflectgenuine
directions(counterclockwisefromnorth)ortheymaybeaflagthatthevalueisan
invalidazimuth.Forexample,aspectgeneratingalgorithmsoftenproducea1valueif
therastercellisflat(i.e.ifithasnoaspect).Thisoptionletsyouexcludeanynegative
valuesfromtheanalysis.

Plot and Title Options:

Theseoptionsallowyoutosetthesymbolizationfortheplot,plusoptionallyaddand
symbolizeprimaryandsecondarytitles.
ClicktheShowPlotandTitleOptionsbuttontoshowtheplotcolorandtitleoptions:

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Differentplotstyleswillhavedifferentoptionsavailable.Forexample,boththeExternal
PeaksandValleysandtheExternalCircularBinsrequireInsideCircleDiameterand
OutsidePlotDiametervalues,whileallotherplottypesonlyrequireasingleplotdiameter
value.

NumberofBins:Thisisthenumberofbinsaroundthecircle.Avalueof72meansthat
eachbinwillcover5.Avalueof180meansthateachbinwillcover2.

BinOutlineandInternalColors:Theinternalplotofbinshasbothaninternalcolorand
anoutlinecolor.Eithercolorcanbesettotransparent.

BinOutlineWidth:Inpoints.Ifyoudonotwishtoseetheoutline,youmayeitherset
thisvalueto0orsettheoutlinecolortransparent.

BearingLineColor(onlyforBearingsplot):Thisisthecolorofthebearinglinesinthe
plot.

BearingLineWidth(onlyforBearingsplot):Thewidthofthebearinglinesintheplot,
inpoints.Thisvaluemustbe0.2.

LowandHighDensityColors(onlyforShadebyDensityplot):Thebinwiththelowest
totalvaluewillbecoloredtheLowDensityColorvalueandthebinwiththehighest

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valuewillbecoloredtheHighDensityColor.Intermediatebinswillbecolored
accordingtoacolorrampfromthelowtohighcolor.

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:Checkthisoptionandspecifyatitleifyouwishtoaddatitletoyour
graphic.Youmayalsospecifythefontstyle,sizeandcolor.

SecondaryTitles:Allsecondarytitleswillusethesamefontstyle,sizeandcolor.You
havetheoptiontoaddanyorallof4secondarytitles:
o

DataSource,includingboththedatasetandthesourceofazimuthvalues.

Countofvaluesanalyzed.Thismaybeeitherthetotalnumberofrecordsorthe
numberofselectedrecordsdependingonyourchoice.Ifyouchosetoaddreverse
azimuthvalues,thenthecountwillbedoubled.Ifyouchosetoexcludenegative
values,thenthecountwillonlyincludetheazimuths0.

TotalWeight/Length:Ifyouweightedyourazimuthvalues,thenthisoptionwill
showtheweightingsourceandthetotalcumulativeweight.Ifyoudidnotweight
yourazimuthvalues,thenthisoptionwilladdthelineValuesNotWeightedto
yourplot.
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MaximumBinValue(thisappliestoallplottypesexceptforShadebyBearing
plots):Thisisthemaximumbinvalue.Ifyouweightedyourazimuthvalues,then
thiswillbethelargestcumulativeweightinabin.Otherwisethiswillbethe
maximumnumberofazimuthvaluesinabin.

Reference Line and Label Options:

Theseoptionsallowyoutooptionallyadd,symbolizeandlabelreferencelines.
ClicktheShowReferenceLineandLabelOptionsbuttontoshowthevariousoptions:

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ReferencelinesaredividedintoPrimaryandSecondaryreferencelines.Thesetwotypescan
bysymbolizeddifferently.Forexample,youmaywanttosetyourprimaryreferencelinesin
adarkercolorandwithathickerlinethanyoursecondaryreferencelines.Primaryreference
lineswillalwaysbedrawnasasolidline,butsecondaryreferencelinesmayoptionallybe
drawnassolidlines,dots,dashesormixeddotsanddashes.
Bothprimaryandsecondaryreferencelinesaredrawnforbothazimuthsandvalues.
Azimuthreferencelinesextendoutfromthecenterasrays,whileValuereferencelinesare
drawnasprogressivelylargercircles.

PrimaryAzimuthreferencelinesareonlydrawnattheNorth,East,SouthandWest
directions.

ThePrimaryAzimuthOuterCircleisdrawnatthemaximumbinvalue.

ThePrimaryAzimuthInnerCircleisonlyavailableintheExternalPeaksandValleysand
theExternalCircularBinsplottypes,andisdrawnatthebaseofthebins.

Anynumber3SecondaryReferenceLineBearingsmaybeadded.Avalueof12means
thatsecondaryreferencelineswillbedrawnevery30.Avalueof15willproduce
referencelinesevery24,andavalueof18willproducelinesevery20.
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Anynumber1SecondaryReferenceCirclesmaybeadded.Thisoptionappliestoall
plottypesexceptforShadebyBearingplots.Thisisthenumberofcirclesbetweenthe
0levelandthemaximumbinlevel.Avalueof1willputasinglecirclehalfwaybetween
0andthemaximumbinlevel.

AzimuthLabelsarethenumericDegreevaluesaroundtheoutsideofthePeaksand
Valleys,CircularBins,BearingsandShadebyDensityplottypes,oraroundtheinsideof
theExternalPeaksandValleysandExternalCircularBinsplottypes.Theseazimuth
labelswillbedrawnatallprimaryandsecondaryreferenceazimuths.

InnerLabelsshowthebinvalueatallofthesecondaryreferencecirclelevels.These
innerlabelsmaybedrawnonanyoralloftheNorth,East,SouthandWestaxes.This
optionappliestoallplottypesexceptforShadebyBearingplots.Ifnosecondary
referencecirclesaredrawn,thentheInnerLabeloptionswillbedisabled.Note:There
isnooptiontoaddthebinvalueatthemaximumcirclelevel.However,thereisan
optiontoaddthismaximumbinvaluetothetitle.

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Calculate Descriptive Circular Statistics

Thistoolcalculatesthebasicsetofcircularstatsdescribingcentraltendencyanddispersion
describedonp.20,includingtheMeanDirection,ResultantLength,MeanResultantLength,
CircularVariance,CircularStandardDeviation(inRadiansandDegrees),AngularVariance
andAngularDeviation(inRadiansandDegrees).
TheseCircularStatisticsareavailableinthesametoolthatgeneratesthepolarplots.Click
thePolarPlotsbutton

toopenthePolarPlotParametersdialog:

ClicktheShowDataSourcebuttontoopentheDataSourceoptionssection:

Selectthedatasettoanalyze,theazimuthsourceandoptionallyaweightingsource,and
thenclicktheCalculateStatisticsbuttonatthebottomofthedialog.Thetoolwillgiveyou
thestatisticsinaseparatewindow:

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Revisions
Version1.0.225(July6,2012):

InitialRelease

Version1.0.237(September12,2012):

FixedanerrorinwhichitwouldnotworkwithnonPolylinefeatureclasses,insteadgivingyoua
messagestatingthatthespecifiedfeatureclasswasnotapolylinefeatureclass.
AlsoupdatedtheCalculateStatisticsfunctionsoitwouldtellyouhowmanyfeaturesorrowsit
analyzed.

Version1.0.250(September20,2013):

AddedVonMisesKappameasureofconcentrationtostatistics.
Modifiedanalysiscount(inplotandinstatisticsreport)toshowcorrectnumberifanyrecordswere
excludedfromtheanalysis(negativevalues,nullfeatures,missingazimuthorweightvalues,etc.).
Afewcosmeticchanges.
FixedanerrorthatproducedthemessageInvalidprocedurecallorargumentatline1328of
frmLayerID.frmwhentheAddReverseAzimuthsbuttonwasclickedwhennodatasourceswere
availableinthemap.

Version1.0.253(June23,2014):

ModifiedFeaturestoSegmentstooltoclearupamysteriousbugthatcausedArcGISto
shutdowncompletelyinsomecases.Alsomodifiedtooltorunfasteringeneral,and
especiallywithtwovertexpolylines.

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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.AComparisonofAlgorithmsUsedtoComputeHillSlopeasaPropertyofthe
DEM.Computers&Geosciences24(4)(May15):315323.doi:10.1016/S0098
3004(98)000326.
Mardia,K.V,andP.EJupp.2000.Directionalstatistics.NewYork:Wiley.
Seyfarth,ErnstAugust,andFriedrichG.Barth.1972.CompoundSlitSenseOrgansontheSpiderLeg:
MechanoreceptorsInvolvedinKinestheticOrientation.JournalofComparativePhysiology
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