This course provides an understanding of, and methods for, the estimation of hydrological statistics including floods and droughts. Topics covered will include: probability, distributions, moments, parameter estimation, annual exceedence probability and return periods, plotting positions, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, and flow duration curves. We will also discuss the influence of El Niño and La Niña variations on climate and hydrological statistics. The course will incorporate a blend of illustrative material and applied problems. Familiarity with basic statistical concepts (normal distribution, mean, standard deviation) and standard least squares linear regression will be assumed. Participants should bring a calculator with basic scientific and statistical functions.

Date: March 2011, date TBC

Duration: 1 days

Location: Christchurch

Trainer: Alistair McKerchar

Level: Intermediate

Cost per person: $600