Combining geostatistical methods and hierarchical scene models for analysis of multiscale variation in spatial data

Concepts from Hierarchical Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) can be combined wit h ideas from geostatistics to describe the multiscale structure of spatial data. Hierarchical ANOVA involves modeling spatial data as the sum of effec t associated with processes acting at different spatial scales. These effec ts can be modeled as stationary regionalized variables, whose spatial struc ture can be described using the variogram. According to this model the vari ogram of the spatial data is the sum of variograms and cross-variograms of the effects. Whereas hierarchical ANOVA reveals the relationship between sc ale and variability, the hierarchical decomposition of the variogram relate s scale with spatial structure. This analysis method can reveal otherwise u ndetected features of spatial data, and can guide further analysis.