Abstract
Geological processes and reservoir properties are not random; why should one use probabilistic analytics in geosciences? Probability is a useful theory not just for dealing with randomness but also for dealing with non randomness and uncertainty. Many geoscience problems are indeterministic, meaning that it is impossible to perfectly describe them by a deterministic function. This is due to the complexity of physical processes that took place in geological time and limited data, which leads to uncertainties in their analysis and prediction.
This chapter presents probability for geoscience data analytics and uncertainty analysis, including examples in geological facies mapping and lithofacies classification. Other uses of probability for statistical and geostatistical applications, including stochastic modeling, hydrocarbon volumetrics and their uncertainty quantifications, are presented in later chapters. The presentation emphasizes intuitive conceptualization, analytics, and geoscience applications, while minimizing the use of equations.
Probability doesn’t exist.
Bruno de Finetti
Probability is the very guide of life.
Bishop Butler
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Ma, Y.Z. (2019). Probabilistic Analytics for Geoscience Data. In: Quantitative Geosciences: Data Analytics, Geostatistics, Reservoir Characterization and Modeling. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17860-4_2
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