Geostatistics is a branch of statistics focusing on spatial or spatiotemporal datasets. Developed originally to predict probability distributions of ore grades for mining operations, it is currently applied in diverse disciplines including petroleum geology, hydrogeology, hydrology, meteorology, oceanography, geochemistry.
Geostatistics is a branch of statistics focused on spatial or spatio-temporal data sets. Originally developed to predict mining operations for ore grades, it is currently applied to various disciplines, including petroleum geology, hydrogeology, hydrology, meteorology, geochemistry, geometallurgy, geography, forestry, environmental control, landscape ecology, soil sciences and agriculture (especially in precision farming). Geostatistics is applied in a variety of geographies, most notably the spread of disease (epidemiology), the practice of trade and military planning (logistics), and the development of effective space networks. Geostatistical algorithms are incorporated in many places, including geographic information systems (GIS) and the statistical environment R.
Traditional geology is a physical phenomena associated with qualitative, solidly based classification schemes and descriptions. In reservoir modeling of the normal course, these qualitative geological models are transformed into numerical models, often by a reservoir engineer, rather than by a geologist. If the geological model is precise, such a transformation poses no problem; However, in the past, digital models tended to be very different from what they were based on. The differences are largely caused by a discipline-related interpretation and are often economically pragmatic. Tank models were and continue to be expensive to produce, making it impossible to simulate a tank at a very fine resolution.