Problems in the Analysis of Environmental Monitoring Data

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses problems in the statistical analysis of data that monitors the environmental effects of planned human alterations. “Alteration” indicates a long-term change like the installation of a power plant, sewage outfall or oil platform, rather than a short-term change like an accident or the temporary effects of building the power plant. “Planned” indicates that data are available from both before and after the alteration. The goal of this chapter is to compare the value of some biological parameter at the affected site before the alteration to the value after. This chapter argues that the right questions in impact assessment have only approximate and possibly multiple answers, requiring informal combinations of formal results. It follows with a theoretical treatment of the Before–After-Control-Impact (BACI) type designs, which extends and generalizes the research on Before–After-Control-Impact Paired Series (BACIPS) and concludes with the use of a control site as a covariate that may make acceptable effect estimates and variance estimates possible.

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