Learning excursion sets of vector-valued Gaussian random fields for autonomous ocean sampling

DOI10.1214/21-AOAS1451MaRDI QIDQ2245134zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Trygve Olav Fossum, Cédric Travelletti, Jo Eidsvik, D. Ginsbourger, Kanna Rajan

Publication date 15 November 2021

Published in The Annals of Applied Statistics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.03722

zbMATH Keywords

experimental designGaussian processesexcursion setsocean samplingautonomous robotsadaptive information gathering

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Gaussian processes (60G15) Sampling theory, sample surveys (62D05) Optimal statistical designs (62K05) Applications of statistics to environmental and related topics (62P12) Hydrology, hydrography, oceanography (86A05)

Abstract: Improving and optimizing oceanographic sampling is a crucial task for marine science and maritime resource management. Faced with limited resources in understanding processes in the water-column, the combination of statistics and autonomous systems provide new opportunities for experimental design. In this work we develop efficient spatial sampling methods for characterizing regions defined by simultaneous exceedances above prescribed thresholds of several responses, with an application focus on mapping coastal ocean phenomena based on temperature and salinity measurements. Specifically, we define a design criterion based on uncertainty in the excursions of vector-valued Gaussian random fields, and derive tractable expressions for the expected integrated Bernoulli variance reduction in such a framework. We demonstrate how this criterion can be used to prioritize sampling efforts at locations that are ambiguous, making exploration more effective. We use simulations to study and compare properties of the considered approaches, followed by results from field deployments with an autonomous underwater vehicle as part of a study mapping the boundary of a river plume. The results demonstrate the potential of combining statistical methods and robotic platforms to effectively inform and execute data-driven environmental sampling.

Recommendations

• Adaptive on-line planning of environmental sampling missions with a team of cooperating autonomous underwater vehicles
• Cooperative adaptive sampling of random fields with partially known covariance
• Mobile Robot Sensing for Environmental Applications
• Incorporating prior knowledge in observability-based path planning for ocean sampling
• Adaptive modeling, adaptive data assimilation and adaptive sampling

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Cited in

(4)

• Uncertainty Quantification and Experimental Design for Large-Scale Linear Inverse Problems under Gaussian Process Priors
• Using an autonomous underwater vehicle with onboard stochastic advection-diffusion models to map excursion sets of environmental variables
• Adaptive spatial designs minimizing the integrated Bernoulli variance in spatial logistic regression models -- with an application to benthic habitat mapping
• Model-robust Bayesian design through generalised additive models for monitoring submerged shoals

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