Statistical methods in water resources

Data on water quality and other environmental issues are being collected at an ever-increasing rate. In the past however, the techniques used by scientists to interpret this data have not progressed as quickly. This text aims to provide a modern statistical method for analysis of practical problems in water quality and water resources. The last 15 years have seen major advances in the fields of exploratory data analysis (EDA) and robust statistical methods. The "real-life" characteristics of environmental data tend to drive analysis towards the use of these methods. These advances are presented in a practical form, alternate methods are compared, and the strengths and weaknesses of each as applied to environmental data are highlighted. Techniques for trend analysis and dealing with water below the detection limit are topics covered, which should be of interest to consultants in water-quality and hydrology, scientists in state, provincial and federal water resources, and geological survey agencies. The practising water resources should find the worked examples using actual field data from case studies of environmental problems, of particular value. Exercises at the end of each chapter enable the mechanics of the methodological process to be fully understood, with data sets included on diskette for ease of use.