Generating two-dimensional fields of autocorrelated, normally distributed parameters by the matrix decomposition technique

This paper introduces a computer program that uses matrix decomposition to generate two-dimensional fields of normally or log-normally distributed parameters (e.g., hydraulic conductivity). The input data for the program consists of a set of x, y-coordinate locations, and parameters representing the statistical distribution of the parameter of interest. The program computes the covariance matrix for the set of locations and decomposes the matrix into a lower-triangular matrix. The decomposed matrix is then used to estimate a set of values for the parameter of interest. A seed number that changes automatically is incorporated into the program to generate different realizations of the parameter.