Dimensionality reduction and visualization of geoscientific images via locally linear embedding

The locally linear embedding (LLE) algorithm is useful for analyzing sets of very different geoscientific images, ranging from smooth potential field images, to sharp outputs from modeling fracturing and fluid flows via cellular automata, to hand sketches of geological sections. LLE maps the very high-dimensional space embedding the images into 2-D, arranging the images on a plane. This arrangement highlights basic relationships between the features contained in the images, thereby greatly simplifying the visual inspection of the entire dataset. Other applications include image classification, and visualization of the results of inverse modeling of geological problems in order to characterize domains of different mechanical behavior.