• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.10 no.5
• /
• pp.52-60
• /
• 2005

The conceptual model of under-sampled study area will include a great amount of uncertainty. In this study, we investigate the applicability of Markov chain model in a spatial domain as a tool for minimizing the uncertainty arose from the lack of data. A new formulation is developed to generalize the previous two-dimensional coupled Markov chain model, which has more versatility to fit any computational sequence. Furthermore, the computational algorithm is improved to utilize more conditioning information and reduce the artifacts, such as the artificial parcel inclination, caused by sequential computation. A generalized 20 coupled Markov chain (GCMC) is tested through applying a hypothetical soil map to evaluate the appropriateness as a substituting model for conventional geostatistical models. Comparing to sequential indicator model (SIS), the simulation results from GCMC shows lower entropy at the boundaries of indicators which is closer to real soil maps. For under-sampled indicators, however, GCMC under-estimates the presence of the indicators, which is a common aspect of all other geostatistical models. To improve this under-estimation, further study on data fusion (or assimilation) inclusion in the GCMC is required.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.31-44
• /
• 2014

In the present study, a few of recently developed geostatistical models are comparatively studied. The models are two-point statistics based sequential indicator simulation (SISIM) and generalized coupled Markov chain (GCMC), multi-point statistics single normal equation simulation (SNESIM), and object based model of FLUVSIM (fluvial simulation) that predicts structures of target object from the provided geometric information. Out of the models, SNESIM and FLUVSIM require additional information other than conditioning data such as training map and geometry, respectively, which generally claim demanding additional resources. For the comparative studies, three-dimensional fluvial reservoir model is developed considering the genetic information and the samples, as input data for the models, are acquired by mimicking realistic sampling (i.e. random sampling). For SNESIM and FLUVSIM, additional training map and the geometry data are synthesized based on the same information used for the objective model. For the comparisons of the predictabilities of the models, two different measures are employed. In the first measure, the ensemble probability maps of the models are developed from multiple realizations, which are compared in depth to the objective model. In the second measure, the developed realizations are converted to hydrogeologic properties and the groundwater flow simulation results are compared to that of the objective model. From the comparisons, it is found that the predictability of GCMC outperforms the other models in terms of the first measure. On the other hand, in terms of the second measure, the both predictabilities of GCMC and SNESIM are outstanding out of the considered models. The excellences of GCMC model in the comparisons may attribute to the incorporations of directional non-stationarity and the non-linear prediction structure. From the results, it is concluded that the various geostatistical models need to be comprehensively considered and comparatively analyzed for appropriate characterizations.