Probability Distributions in Groundwater Hydrology: Methods and Applications

Abstract

This paper presents the most frequently used probability-density functions in groundwater hydrology and practical ways to apply them. The paper provides several examples of probability-density functions dealing with (1) their application to various types of groundwater phenomena, (2) the estimation of their parameters by the method of moments, and (3) the implementation of goodness-of-fit tests in probabilistic groundwater hydrology. The versatility of the log-gamma probability-density function to fit highly skewed groundwater data is demonstrated. Important univariate probability-density functions are covered, and the multivariate lognormal probability-density function’s applicability to goodness-of-fit testing and synthetic generation of random fields is elucidated.