Geostatistical mapping of marine surficial sediment types in the Northern Aegean Sea using indicator kriging

A robust and accurate method is presented for the geostatistical mapping of marine grain-size data for the Aegean Sea, incorporating new grain-size data and making use of various marine-environmental proxy parameters for interpolation. This approach is based on an indicator kriging algorithm, which also considers marine environment parameters, such as bathymetry and sediment sourcing, through a co-kriging treatment. Data manipulation is carried out without the need of specialised software, in a geographic information system (GIS) environment, with the implementation of geostatistical analysis tools. The quality of the produced map was assessed based on MESH criteria, yielding a total score of 74%; comparison with other interpolation methods, such as IDW and local polynomials showed a better representation of the physical context of surficial sediments. The produced map, making use of all existing information from recent and legacy data, provides valuable information for the sedimentation of Northern Aegean continental shelf, an area of significant scientific interest for geomorphological, palaeoenvironmental and economic studies. Graphical abstract .