Techniques for Exploring and Presenting Data Applied to Lake Phosphorus Concentration

Water quality sampling and data analysis are undertaken to acquire and convey information. Therefore, when data are presented, the form of this presentation should be such that information transfer is high. For example, a graph or table of average values is often an inadequate summary of batches of data. As an alternative, a technique is presented (that was developed for exploratory data analysis purposes) that can be used to display several sets of data on a single graph, indicating median, spread, skew, size of data set, and statistical significance of the median. This technique is useful in the study of phosphorus concentration variability in lakes. Additions to, and modifications of, this procedure are easily made and will often enhance the analysis of a particular problem. Some suggestions are made for useful modifications of the plots in the study and display of phosphorus lake data and models.Key words: limnology, exploratory data analysis, statistics, phosphorus, water quality, models, lakes

Duke Scholars

Author Kenneth H. Reckhow Environmental Sciences and Policy