Introduction: Problems in Environmental Monitoring and Assessment

Abstract

The need for innovative statistical methods for modern environmental assessment is undisputed. The case studies in this book are a sampling of the broad sweep of statistical applications available in the environmental sciences, targeted to environmental monitoring and assessment. A unique feature of the applications presented here is that they are not isolated projects but were, instead, fostered under a long-term collaborative association between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS). This institutional support resulted in a strong interdisciplinary component to the research, and common threads of statistical methodology and data analysis principles are seen across all of the projects. The case studies necessarily are detailed and technical and so this introductory chapter will give an overview of what follows and emphasize common themes that tie the projects together. Research, by its very nature, does not follow a direct path and depends on past results for the next step. This process is enriched through the collaboration of statisticians with other scientists.