title: New methodology for analysing and increasing the cost-efficiency of environmental monitoring networks.
abstract: This study focuses on the coastal monitoring network established in the scope of WFD implementation. The objective of this network was to provide an ecological assessment of Valencian coastal waters. After three years, sufficient data had been collected to enable us to analyse and explore ways to increase the network's efficiency. A methodology was developed to select the best subset of sampling stations to be surveyed. This method was approached from the perspective of an inter-observer variability problem. In order to compare the concordance between the k-observers and the reference observer, two measures were considered: euclidean distance, and interclass correlation coefficient. The obtained results confirm that the current network can be reduced by over 50% and still guarantee accurate results. This methodology (not limited by indicators, geographically, or by type of water body) could be applied to different environmental monitoring networks and could significantly decrease the efforts and costs required by the WFD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hydraulic Engineering and the Environment, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain; Institute for Industrial, Radiophysical, and Environmental Safety, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: abramic@vik-ing.eu.
authors.forename: Andrej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abramic
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Statistics, Operational Research, and Quality, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain; Institute for Industrial, Radiophysical, and Environmental Safety, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: nalzamor@eio.upv.es.
authors.forename: Nieves
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Martínez-Alzamora
authors.affiliation: Water and Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain; Institute for Industrial, Radiophysical, and Environmental Safety, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: González Del Rio Rams
authors.affiliation: Water and Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain; Institute for Industrial, Radiophysical, and Environmental Safety, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Barrachina
authors.affiliation: Water and Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain; Institute for Industrial, Radiophysical, and Environmental Safety, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: José Ferrer
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Polo
mesh_terms: D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004463:Ecology; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000502:physiology; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry; D013030:Spain
keywords: Coastal waters; Efficiency of a monitoring network; Environmental monitoring; Inter-observer variability; Water Framework Directive