Controlling Surface Data Resolution

Several methods are available to reduce surface resolution, or to create variable resolution, with higher resolution in specific areas of interest.

Simplifying a Surface

This surface editing process reduces the number of points on a triangulated irregular network (TIN) surface, making the surface file smaller and easier to process. You can choose from two editing methods, and you can apply the process to the entire surface or limit it to a smaller region. The two editing methods are as follows:

• Point removal deletes the user-specified percentage of points from each region. To minimize the possibility of changing the surface during this operation, set a smaller value for the maximum allowed elevation change. No point will be removed if its removal would result in an elevation change larger than your set value.
• Edge contraction replaces the two endpoints of a triangle edge with a single point, and then redraws the triangles. This method is usually more accurate than point removal, but it takes longer to complete.

With both editing methods, points are not removed if they are on a surface breakline or border.

For more information, see To Simplify Surfaces.

Using a Data Clip Boundary

This boundary type defines a region of interest on a surface where you want to import a set of surface data. For example, you may want to import high-resolution LIDAR data along a corridor, but not on the surrounding surface. In this case, you draw a polyline around the corridor and define it as a data clip boundary. Then when you import the LIDAR data, it is added to the drawing inside the data clip boundary, but not anywhere else on the surface.