A very short note on the origins of correlated bivariate normal distribution with particular relevance to earth sciences

Abstract

In the community of geodesy it is well-known that the famous normal distribution is originated from the mathematical analysis of observational errors in astronomical and geodetic measurements. However, as far as we know this aspect of scientific history which is of considerable interest for the community of earth sciences has rarely been considered in the literature of earth sciences. In geodesy and related areas the bivariate normal distribution is one of the most frequently used probability distributions. Nowadays, in a wide range of problems arising from diverse areas of geodesy, geophysics, photogrammetry and astronomical geodesy we encounter numerous applications of the univariate and multivariate normal distributions. In the present paper the historical role of earth sciences in the origins of the bivariate normal distribution is briefly discussed. Some new evidences of Bravais’ contribution to the origin of the correlated bivariate normal distribution are considered. The new evidences and refinements established in this paper convey such a general methodological and intellectual content that is useful for the community of geodesy, geophysics, and furthermore in earth sciences.