Spatial Cluster Modelling

Spatial clustering is a topic of growing interest in many disciplines, from geoscience to epidemiology. In recent years, many new advances have appeared, particularly in the area of Bayesian cluster modeling. However, much of this work has been scattered in disparate areas of the literature. In one integrated volume, this book provides a review of the state-of-the-art in spatial clustering and spatial cluster modelling. Organized in three sections, it includes an overview of the field and its applications, discussions of the theoretical underpinnings of methodology, and explorations of spatio-temporal cluster modelling, all written by leading researchers in the field.

Research has generated a number of advances in methods for spatial cluster modelling in recent years, particularly in the area of Bayesian cluster modelling. Along with these advances has come an explosion of interest in the potential applications of this work, especially in epidemiology and genome research.

In one integrated volume, this book reviews the state-of-the-art in spatial clustering and spatial cluster modelling, bringing together research and applications previously scattered throughout the literature. It begins with an overview of the field, then presents a series of chapters that illuminate the nature and purpose of cluster modelling within different application areas, including astrophysics, epidemiology, ecology, and imaging. The focus then shifts to methods, with discussions on point and object process modelling, perfect sampling of cluster processes, partitioning in space and space-time, spatial and spatio-temporal process modelling, nonparametric methods for clustering, and spatio-temporal cluster modelling.

Many figures, some in full color, complement the text, and a single section of references cited makes it easy to locate source material. Leading specialists in the field of cluster modelling authored each chapter, and an introduction by the editors to each chapter provides a cohesion not typically found in contributed works. Spatial Cluster Modelling thus offers a singular opportunity to explore this exciting new field, understand its techniques, and apply them in your own research.