Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. It provides appropriate statistical methods for analyzing and modeling various parts of the hydrological cycle. This book examines applications of statistical methods for analysis of precipitation extremes including a discussion about precipitation measurement and statistical estimation issues. Next, it describes the basics of evapotranspiration (ET) including physical processes, energy, water balance, and eddy covariance methods for estimation of ET. Then, this book deals with the use and application of different probabilistic distributions for characterizing different subsurface hydrology-specific variables. It describes the analysis of streamflows at various temporal scales (including monthly and annually) and spatial scales, including those involving one or multiple sites. It also illustrates the methods employed for flood risk estimation in the United States, based on the Log-Pearson Type III distribution. This book provides a comprehensive presentation of a wide range of water quality random variables.