Spatial Statistical Model and Optimal Survey Design for Rapid Geophysical Characterization of UXO Sites; Final rept

摘要

Unexploded ordnance (UXO) surveys encompass large areas, and the cost of surveying these areas can be high. Enactment of earlier protocols for sampling UXO sites (SiteStats/GridStats) have shown the shortcomings of these procedures and led to a call for development of scientifically defensible statistical procedures for survey design and analysis. This project is one of three funded by SERDP to address this need. The problem is a very complicated one statistically, with a need to develop new approaches in survey design and data analysis. It became evident to our team at an early stage in this project that all of the statistical tools that are needed to address this problem were not on the table, and that some of the key questions had not been previously solved mathematically. It is critical that a new protocol for design and analysis of UXO surveys be able to address: (1) the idiosyncrasies of different sites in terms of their geology, ordnance types, topography, vegetation, and extent of background knowledge; (2) the uncertainties in performance of different types of instrumentation and instrument platforms that are available, or are becoming available for UXO surveys; (3) the distinctions between UXO contamination, which occurs at discrete points, and chemical contamination, which has a more continuous distribution; (4) the opportunities to interrogate the site through sequential surveys; and (5) the regulatory and public- involvement environment in which these surveys are typically performed. The protocol must allow for changes in these factors that may result from technological advances. A protocol that neglects some or all of these issues may never be suitable for routine use.