Foreword

Geostatistics is a science. It is also an art.

Geostatistics is not simply the application of statistical methods to geology-
driven spatial distributions, it also provides a conceptual framework for making
inferences from Earth sciences data data which are, more often than not,
incomplete.
Some may say, as I would, that most of the problems addressed in geostatis-
tics are inverse problems, in the sense that data are used to infer parameters of
the prior model. However, a gap exists between inverse problems and geostatis-
tical problems: in inverse problems modeling the observations can be computer
intensive, but the a priori model is typically simple (or simplistic); in a geostatisti-
cal problem the data are directly related to the model parameters, this allows one
to consider prior models that encapsulate properties of the real Earth, sometimes
with breathtaking realism. The gap is narrowing and will disappear in the near
future. For the time being, we should try to do the best we can in each of the two
elds.
Most geostatistical solutions involve random functions, and a long way has been
trod since the simple Gaussian models used in the beginning. The Stanford team
has been at the origin of many non-Gaussian developments that have now become
standard. They are at it again with the multiple-point geostatistical concept and
related algorithms, which allow dening truly complex random functions.
If a painter has no brushes, or no paints, she/he can not produce art. The same
happens here: in order to deal with difcult problems calling for non-simplistic
priors and working out practical solutions (the art), one needs computer software.
The equations underwriting geostatistics can be laid on paper, but even the sim-
plest application requires dedicated computer software. This is where the Stanford
Geostatistical Modeling Software (SGeMS) shines. With this book the reader will
learn how to use the software towards solving non-trivial problems.

ix
x Foreword

Nothing can replace my repeated stays at Stanford and interaction with the peo-
ple there at the Center for Reservoir Forecasting with, among others, the authors
of this book and my dear friend Andre Journel. Having this book with me is the
closest thing to being at Stanford.

Albert Tarantola
Pasadena