Abstract
Semivariogram parameters are estimated by a weighted least-squares method and a jackknife kriging method. The weighted least-squares method is investigated by differing the lag increment and maximum lag used in the fit. The jackknife kriging method minimizes the variance of the jackknifing error as a function of semivariogram parameters. The effects of data sparsity and the presence of a trend are investigated by using 400-, 200-, and 100-point synthetic data sets. When the two methods yield significantly different results, more data may be needed to determine reliably the semivariogram parameters, or a trend may be present in the data.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Clifton, P. M., and Neuman, S. P., 1982, Effects of kriging and inverse modeling on conditional simulation of the Avra Valley acquifer in southern Arizona: Water Resources Res., v. 18, no. 4, p. 1215–1234.
Cressie, N., 1985, Fitting variogram models by weighted least square: Math. Geology, v. 17, no. 5, p. 563–586.
Journel, A. G., and Huijbregts, C. J., 1978, Mining geostatistics: Academic Press, New York, 600 p.
Kitanidis, P. K., 1991, Orthonormal residuals in geostatistics: model criticism and parameter estimation: Math. Geology, v. 23, no. 5, p. 741–758.
Knudsen, H. P., and Kim, Y. C., 1978, Application of geostatistics of roll front type uranium deposits: AIME Preprint no. 78-AR-94, unpaginated.
McBratney, A. B., and Webster, R., 1986, Choosing functions for semivariograms of soil properties and fitting them to sampling estimates: Jour. Soil Science, v. 37, no. 4, p. 617–639.
Press, W. H., Flannery, B. P., Taukolsky, S. A., and Vetterling, W. T., 1986, Numerical recipes: Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 818 p.
Solow, A. R., 1990, Geostatistical cross-validation: a cautionary note: Math. Geology, v. 22, no. 6, p. 637–639.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lamorey, G., Jacobson, E. Estimation of semivariogram parameters and evaluation of the effects of data sparsity. Math Geol 27, 327–358 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02084606
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02084606