Compositional Bayesian indicator estimation |
| |
Authors: | Carolina Guardiola-Albert Eulogio Pardo-Ig??zquiza |
| |
Institution: | (1) Spanish Geological Survey, C/R?os Rosas 23, 28003 Madrid, Spain |
| |
Abstract: | Indicator kriging is widely used for mapping spatial binary variables and for estimating the global and local spatial distributions
of variables in geosciences. For continuous random variables, indicator kriging gives an estimate of the cumulative distribution
function, for a given threshold, which is then the estimate of a probability. Like any other kriging procedure, indicator
kriging provides an estimation variance that, although not often used in applications, should be taken into account as it
assesses the uncertainty of the estimate. An alternative approach to indicator estimation is proposed in this paper. In this
alternative approach the complete probability density function of the indicator estimate is evaluated. The procedure is described
in a Bayesian framework, using a multivariate Gaussian likelihood and an a priori distribution which are both combined according
to Bayes theorem in order to obtain a posterior distribution for the indicator estimate. From this posterior distribution,
point estimates, interval estimates and uncertainty measures can be obtained. Among the point estimates, the median of the
posterior distribution is the maximum entropy estimate because there is a fifty-fifty chance of the unknown value of the estimate
being larger or smaller than the median; that is, there is maximum uncertainty in the choice between two alternatives. Thus
in some sense, the latter is an indicator estimator, alternative to the kriging estimator, that includes its own uncertainty.
On the other hand, the mode of the posterior distribution estimator, assuming a uniform prior, is coincidental with the simple
kriging estimator. Additionally, because the indicator estimate can be considered as a two-part composition which domain of
definition is the simplex, the method is extended to compositional Bayesian indicator estimation. Bayesian indicator estimation
and compositional Bayesian indicator estimation are illustrated with an environmental case study in which the probability
of the content of a geochemical element in soil being over a particular threshold is of interest. The computer codes and its
user guides are public domain and freely available. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|