Topics in stochastic point processes, by applications in hydrology

Extract

The strong impetus for the research in the theory of point processes comes from applications, real or potential, to a multitude of engineering, industrial and biological problems. Here we discuss some particular topics in this area and their applications in hydrology. Specifically, we consider stochastic models of a variety of geophysical phenomena, such as the rainfall, floods, sediment transport, dispersion in porous media and some others. The first part of this presentation is concerned with point processses on R+. Our discussion includes the stochastic intensity, some remarks on the martingale approach and a brief expose of the elements of renewal theory. In addition, we discuss in some detail the case when the counting random function represents a Markov process. In the second part we give an introduction to the theory of point processes on an abstract topological space. Elements of marked point processes, which are of particular interest in hydrological investigations, are also included. The rest of the paper is concerned with some hydrological applications.