| Abstract: | This paper describes a new method of analyzing the risk incurred when the outcome of a decision depends on interpolated values, for example, on the flow through an aquifer sparsely sampled for permeability or on the ratio of waste to ore in a mineral deposit sparsely sampled for grade. The method uses large families of interpolations constructed between sample values using adaptations of the well-known midpoint displacement method for generating pseudo-fractional Brownian motion trajectories. The parameters defining each family are chosen interactively by specialists to incorporate their expert knowledge. Each family, or ensemble, then defines a population of values for any global characteristic (functional) such as flow rate or waste ratio. The probabilities of various outcomes are estimated by counting them and calculating their ratios. For example, if 900 out of 1000 are acceptable the chance of success is estimated to be 90%. |
