Signal-to-Noise Ratios of Geophysical and Environmental Time Series

Abstract

Research Article| November 01, 2010 Signal-to-Noise Ratios of Geophysical and Environmental Time Series SEAN W FLEMING SEAN W FLEMING 1Generation Resource Management, BC Hydro, 6911 Southpoint Drive, Burnaby, BC V3N 4X8, Canada 1Also at: Geography Department, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada; phone: 604-528-2242; email: sean.fleming@bchydro.com. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information SEAN W FLEMING 1Also at: Geography Department, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada; phone: 604-528-2242; email: sean.fleming@bchydro.com. 1Generation Resource Management, BC Hydro, 6911 Southpoint Drive, Burnaby, BC V3N 4X8, Canada Publisher: Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists Received: 01 Jun 2009 Revision Received: 01 Dec 2009 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1558-9161 Print ISSN: 1078-7275 Copyright © 2010 EEGS Environmental & Engineering Geoscience (2010) 16 (4): 389–399. https://doi.org/10.2113/gseegeosci.16.4.389 Article history Received: 01 Jun 2009 Revision Received: 01 Dec 2009 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation SEAN W FLEMING; Signal-to-Noise Ratios of Geophysical and Environmental Time Series. Environmental & Engineering Geoscience 2010;; 16 (4): 389–399. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/gseegeosci.16.4.389 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyEnvironmental & Engineering Geoscience Search Advanced Search Abstract An observational time series can normally be viewed as consisting of two general components: one that we are interested in (signal), and another that we are not (noise) and that usually obscures the signal. For analysis of data sets capturing the temporal evolution of complex, open, multi-faceted systems—such as those routinely encountered in environmental and engineering geoscience—the operational definitions of signal and noise will frequently be extremely context-dependent, reflecting whatever happen to be the scientific interests of, or the societal questions posed to, a particular researcher. As such, either signal or noise may be mechanistic, random, or both in origin. Further, signal and noise may often be of comparable strength. In this paper, existing concepts are compiled and integrated to offer a flexible and general metric for the strength of an arbitrarily defined signal embedded within an observational time series. One potential application is the estimation of the relative importance or clarity of a specified physical process or effect. Brief, illustrative examples are drawn from geoscientific trend analysis. The results of these preliminary studies suggest that signal-to-noise ratios can be a useful, robust, and readily applied descriptive aid to support experimental characterization of geophysical patterns (as applied here to ecological low-flow data from the Cowichan region of British Columbia), exploration of fundamental relationships (suggesting a non-linear relationship between data set length and trend clarity on the basis of numerical experiments), and science communication (following from a straightforward analogy to consumer electronics). You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.