Versatile Parametric Classes of Covariance Functions that Interlace Anisotropies and Hole Effects

Abstract: Covariance functions are a fundamental tool for modeling the dependence structure of spatial processes. This work investigates novel constructions for covariance functions that enable the integration of anisotropies and hole effects in complex and versatile ways, having the potential to provide more accurate representations of dependence structures arising with real-world data. We show that these constructions extend widely used covariance models, including the Mat\'ern, Cauchy, compactly-supported hypergeometric and cardinal sine models. We apply our results to a geophysical data set from a rock-carbonate aquifer and demonstrate that the proposed models yield more accurate predictions at unsampled locations compared to basic covariance models.