Reduce Point Density (Maritime)

Available with Maritime Bathymetry license.

Summary

Thins points from a point or multipoint feature class.

Using an input feature class with either a numeric depth field or z-enabled geometry, the tool generates an output feature class with a set of points that have been thinned to a user-specified radius in a shallow or deep-biased manner.

Usage

• Spatially thins sets of points on the basis of depth values.

• The output layer will be z-enabled if the input is z-enabled.

• If the input is z-enabled, and you want to see the elevation values stored with each point feature, use the Add Z Information tool, either before or after using the Reduce Point Density tool, to add this information to the attribute table.

• When setting the Start Depth and End Depth parameter values, it may help to know the range of your input depths. To see the range, open the input features attribute table, select the depth field name, and click Statistics.

• To thin depth values from a raster, use the Raster To Point or Raster To Multipoint tool.

• Specify the values of the Start Depth and End Depth parameters, according to the Depth Direction parameter value.

• To run this tool with a thinning radius that remains constant with depth, enter a value for the Start Thinning Radius parameter only. To run the tool with a thinning radius that changes gradually with depth, enter a value for both the Start Thinning Radius and End Thinning Radius parameters.

• The specified thinning radii are approximate in nature. They are intended to honor the Depth Selection Method parameter value and guide the spacing between points preserved in the output.

• Consider using ModelBuilder to chain together multiple runs of this tool to achieve an output in which the thinning radius remains constant for a single depth range but with multiple densities of points created at different depth ranges.

Syntax

ReducePointDensity(in_features, out_feature_class, depth_field, depth_direction, depth_bias, radius_unit, start_thinning_radius, {end_thinning_radius}, {start_depth}, {end_depth})

Parameter	Explanation	Data Type
in_features	The input point or multipoint features.	Feature Layer
out_feature_class	The output feature class.	Feature Class
depth_field	The field where the depth is stored. It is either a numeric field or the shape field specified in Input Features. Note: For multipoint features, this must be the shape field.	Field
depth_direction	Specifies how the depth will be captured in the input TIN. POSITIVE_UP —Depth values are positive above the surface and negative below the surface. This is default. POSITIVE_DOWN —Depth values are positive below the surface and negative above the surface.	String
depth_bias	Specifies the bias that will be used to select the depths to be retained. SHALLOW_BIASED —Shallow bias will be used for depth. This is default. DEEP_BIASED —Deep bias will be used for depth.	String
radius_unit	Specifies the unit of measure used by the Start Thinning Radius and End Thinning Radius parameters. KILOMETERS —The depth value in kilometers. METERS —The depth value in meters. This is default. DECIMETERS —The depth value in decimeters. CENTIMETERS —The depth value in centimeters. MILLIMETERS —The depth value in millimeters. NAUTICAL_MILES —The depth value in nautical miles. MILES —The depth value in miles. YARDS —The depth value in yards. FEET —The depth value in feet. INCHES —The depth value in inches. DECIMAL_DEGREES —The depth value in decimal degrees. POINTS —The depth value in points.	String
start_thinning_radius	The beginning radius that will be used to remove or thin points relative to each other.	Double
end_thinning_radius (Optional)	The end radius that will be used to remove or thin points relative to each other. The thinning radius will dynamically change as the algorithm progresses through the range of depth values.	Double
start_depth (Optional)	The depth that will be used to begin the thinning algorithm. Depth values that appear before this depth based on Depth Direction will be ignored.	Double
end_depth (Optional)	The depth that will be used to end the thinning algorithm. Depth values that appear after this depth based on Depth Direction will be ignored.	Double

Code sample

ReducePointDensity example (Python window)

The following Python window script demonstrates how to use the ReducePointDensity tool.

import arcpy
arcpy.CheckOutExtension("Bathymetry")
# Input Data
inputData = r"C:\Data\ReducePointDensity\ReducePointDensityTestData.gdb\ENC_Soundings_Delaware"
# Depth Field
depthField = ‘Depth’
# Output Feature Class
outputData = r"C:\Data\ReducePointDensity\ReducePointDensityTestData.gdb\ENC_Soundings_Delaware_Reduced"
arcpy.ReducePointDensity_maritime(inputData, outputData, depthField, ‘POSITIVE_DOWN’, ‘SHALLOW_BIASED’, 'METERS', 1000)
arcpy.CheckInExtension("Bathymetry")

Environments

This tool does not use any geoprocessing environments.

Licensing information

• Basic: No
• Standard: Requires ArcGIS Bathymetry
• Advanced: Requires ArcGIS Bathymetry