Linear Model of Regionalization

A regionalized phenomenon can be thought as being the sum of several independent subphenomena acting at different characteristic scales. A linear model is set up which splits the random function representing the phenomenon into several uncorrelated random functions, each with a different variogram or covariance function. In subsequent chapters we shall see that it is possible to estimate these spatial components by kriging, or to filter them. The linear model of regionalization brings additional insight about kriging when the purpose is to create a map using data irregularly scattered in space.