1. A method of performing a finite element simulation of a phenomenon, comprising: analytically creating a finite element model of the phenomenon, the finite element model including a plurality of subdivisions; specifying a plurality of cross-correlations between respective pairings of the subdivisions; eliminating a portion of the cross-correlations to provide a reduced set of cross-correlations between respective pairings of the subdivisions, wherein the eliminating includes determining a spatial distance value between at least two subdivisions, and discarding at least one of the cross-correlations for which the spatial distance value is greater than a specified threshold value; and performing the finite element simulation using the reduced set of cross-correlations.