Geostatistical Analysis of a Soil Salinity Data Set

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a typical geostatistical analysis of a data set representative of the diversity and complexity of data sets handled through GIs. There is much more to geographical (spatial) data analysis than performing elementary operations of overlay, merge, and split and then merely mapping data with somewhat arbitrary, eye-pleasing, spline algorithms. The data talk when their geographic interdependence is revealed; there is an essential third component to any two data values taken at two different locations in space or time-their relation is seen as a function of the separation vector linking these two locations. Pictorial and numerical models of patterns of space or time dependence allow us to go far beyond data locations into alternative (stochastic equiprobable) maps that depict the true complexity of the data while always preserving an assessment of uncertainty. This chapter also illustrates the toolbox aspect of geostatistics, presenting several alternative ways to reach the same goal and proposing cross-validation exercises to help the operator in his or her decision.

[1]  A. Journel,et al.  Posterior identification of histograms conditional to local data , 1994 .

[2]  A. Journel.  Fundamentals of geostatistics in five lessons , 1991 .

[3]  Clayton V. Deutsch,et al.  GSLIB: Geostatistical Software Library and User's Guide , 1993 .

[4]  R. Bilonick.  An Introduction to Applied Geostatistics , 1989 .

[5]  Michael Edward Hohn,et al.  An Introduction to Applied Geostatistics: by Edward H. Isaaks and R. Mohan Srivastava, 1989, Oxford University Press, New York, 561 p., ISBN 0-19-505012-6, ISBN 0-19-505013-4 (paperback), $55.00 cloth, $35.00 paper (US) , 1991 .

[6]  F. G. Alabert,et al.  Focusing on Spatial Connectivity of Extreme-Valued Attributes: Stochastic Indicator Models of Reservoir Heterogeneities: ABSTRACT , 1989 .

[7]  David J. Strauss,et al.  Spatial Prediction of Soil Salinity Using Electromagnetic Induction Techniques: 2. An Efficient Spatial Sampling Algorithm Suitable for Multiple Linear Regression Model Identification and Estimation , 1995 .

[8]  Scott M. Lesch,et al.  Spatial Prediction of Soil Salinity Using Electromagnetic Induction Techniques: 1. Statistical Prediction Models: A Comparison of Multiple Linear Regression and Cokriging , 1995 .

[9]  R. M. Srivastava.  Reservoir Characterization With Probability Field Simulation , 1993 .

[10]  R. Sokal,et al.  Numerical Taxonomy: The Principles and Practice of Numerical Classification. , 1975 .

[11]  Eric R. Ziegel,et al.  Geostatistics for the Next Century , 1994 .

[12]  Denis Marcotte,et al.  The multivariate (co)variogram as a spatial weighting function in classification methods , 1992 .