Spatiotemporal analysis and mapping of sulfate deposition data over Eastern U.S.A.

A spatiotemporal random field model is applied in the analysis and mapping of sulfate deposition over Eastern U.S.A. The integration of the spatial and temporal sulfate deposition variations introduced by the random field model has considerable advantages. It provides a rigorous representation of the spatially non-homogeneous/temporally non-stationary features of sulfate deposition. Deposition estimates and the associated statistical errors are calculated at unmeasured locations/instants using a space/time mapping method. Composite spatiotemporal deposition maps are more accurate than purely spatial (kriging) maps. Moreover, since a smaller number of monitoring stations are needed, the spatiotemporal method may be cheaper to use than the spatial kriging analysis. Effects of the observation and mapping scales are discussed. The spatiotemporal model is general and can be applied to various data sets from atmospheric, environmental and meteorological sciences.