A Neural-network Approach to Geostatistical Simulation

Neural networks offer a non-algorithmic approach to geostatistical simulation with the possibility of automatic recognition of correlation structure. The paper gives a brief overview of neural networks and describes a feedforward, back-propagation network for geostatistical simulation. The operation of the network is illustrated with two simple one-dimensional examples which can be followed through with hand calculations to give an insight into the operation of the network. The convergence of the network is described in terms of the variogram calculated from the values at each of the output nodes at each iteration.