  Recurrent neural networks (RNNs) are nonlinear dynamical models commonly used
in the machine learning and dynamical systems literature to represent complex
dynamical or sequential relationships between variables. More recently, as deep
learning models have become more common, RNNs have been used to forecast
increasingly complicated systems. Dynamical spatio-temporal processes represent
a class of complex systems that can potentially benefit from these types of
models. Although the RNN literature is expansive and highly developed,
uncertainty quantification is often ignored. Even when considered, the
uncertainty is generally quantified without the use of a rigorous framework,
such as a fully Bayesian setting. Here we attempt to quantify uncertainty in a
more formal framework while maintaining the forecast accuracy that makes these
models appealing, by presenting a Bayesian RNN model for nonlinear
spatio-temporal forecasting. Additionally, we make simple modifications to the
basic RNN to help accommodate the unique nature of nonlinear spatio-temporal
data. The proposed model is applied to a Lorenz simulation and two real-world
nonlinear spatio-temporal forecasting applications.
