Chapter 5
Probability Distributions in Groundwater Hydrology
Publication: Statistical Analysis of Hydrologic Variables: Methods and Applications
Abstract
Groundwater hydrology is a discipline of the earth sciences concerned with the quantitative study of water flow, water storage, chemical transport, and related processes in the subsurface. Groundwater hydrologists measure properties of soils and rocks to gain an understanding of subsurface hydrologic processes and to construct predictive models of groundwater phenomena. This chapter presents several probability density functions (PDFs) commonly used in groundwater hydrology and examples of how PDFs are used to interpret aquifer properties and groundwater variables in a probabilistic manner. It reviews several PDFs commonly used in groundwater hydrology, which are illustrated with examples or data processes that demonstrate the richness of application possibilities in groundwater hydrology. These examples have shown that probabilistic modeling of asymmetric aquifer properties, such as hydraulic conductivity, can be accomplished using the log gamma PDF with a flexibility unmatched by alternative PDFs.
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Statistical Analysis of Hydrologic Variables: Methods and Applications
Pages: 179 - 201
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© 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Published online: May 14, 2019
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