Distributed model building and recursive integration for big spatial data modeling

Motivated by the need for computationally tractable spatial methods in neuroimaging studies, we develop a distributed and integrated framework for estimation and inference of Gaussian process model parameters with ultra-high-dimensional likelihoods. We propose a shift in viewpoint from whole to local data perspectives that is rooted in distributed model building and integrated estimation and inference. The framework's backbone is a computationally and statistically efficient integration procedure that simultaneously incorporates dependence within and between spatial resolutions in a recursively partitioned spatial domain. Statistical and computational properties of our distributed approach are investigated theoretically and in simulations. The proposed approach is used to extract new insights into autism spectrum disorder from the autism brain imaging data exchange.