Pycircularstats: a python-based tool for remote sensing circular statistics and graphical analysis

Abstract

Circular data, as a part of directional data engineering, is used in a wide range of fields such as Geology, Biology, Meteorology and Geomatics. It differs from traditional linear data because it is closed and has no beginning or end along the real line, i.e., circular data occurs around a circle, normally measured in degrees. Analyzing directional data, in particular circular data, requires methods that are be available in libraries with a well-known prestige as Python including SciPy, NumPy or SciKit-Learn libs. However, these libraries have a specific area of expertise and they do not combine information in a useful way for two-dimensional data analysis. In this paper, an open-source library has been implemented to be executed by the Python interpreter, called PyCircularStats. Source code: https://github.com/mhaut/pycircularstats