Statistical Methods in Ground Water: Review and Applications

This paper reviews commonly used statistical methods, and demonstrates their applications in ground water. In today's world, statistical methods have been frequently used in almost all research and practice areas. The statistical results (for example, mean, standard deviation, percentiles, correlation, p-valve, etc) can help researchers and engineers better understand data features and make more sound decisions. Ground water, as one of three water forms on earth, represents 99 percent of the earth's available fresh water. In the U.S., about 90 percent of fresh water supply is from ground water, which accounts for about 80 billion gallons of ground water withdrawal. With no doubts, ground water is extremely important to human beings and surrounding environment. These two important specialties are combined and discussed in this paper. Firstly, commonly used statistical methods are reviewed including mean, standard deviation, Monte Carlo method, time series models, etc. Furthermore, practical applications of these statistical methods are conducted in ground water hydraulics, aquifers, contaminant transport, and monitoring. In conclusion, statistical applications in ground water can assist researchers and engineers to effectively select statistical methods and accurately understand final statistical results to make and justify their critical decisions and conclusions.