A deformation/blurring-based spatio-temporal model

A key objective in spatio-temporal modeling consists of providing an appropriate representation of complexity in interactive spatio-temporal dynamics inherent to real phenomena. Propagated effect of dynamical spatial deformation provides a meaningful way to describe certain forms of heterogeneous behaviour; in particular, in relation to processes evolving in unstable media, or to account for the possible effect of covariates, to mention some significant interpretations. In this paper, the formulation of a discrete time and continuous space spatio-temporal interaction model with autoregressive dynamics, incorporating the effect of continuous deformation of the spatial support over time, is studied. Among other fields, this approach provides a suitable representation for a variety of geophysical and environmental applications. In particular, a vast family of heterogeneous models is generated from models which display homogeneity in the absence of deformation. Structural characteristics and variability properties, as well as self-consistency conditions for a limiting continuous-time approximation, are analyzed.