Generation of random fields characterized by discrete regions of constant value (Q1179804)

The authors introduce a new simulator which provides realizations of parameter fields characterized by randomly sized regions within which the parameter value is constant. This generator produces second-order stationary random fields with specific mean and correlation structure. This structure provides a valuable simulation tool for discretely varying fields such as required when modelling complex lithologies. The technique is compared with a recently published turning-bands routing and is faster in terms of CPU time for large values of I/L, where I is the integral scale of the correlation structure and \(L\) is the length of the longest side of the simulation grid. Conditional simulation based on kriging is studied for this method. The resulting random field varies continuously rather than discretely. A second method of conditioning, which produces discretely varying random fields, is suggested but not examined computationally.