Hydrologic data network design i8 a fairly complicated problem where questions as to the number of gages required, time frequencies to be selected, and benefits/costs of monitoring still remain unresolved. These issues are intensified in case of water quality variables as they are more error-prone, costly, and time consuming to sample. The basic difficulty underlying the design and evaluation of monitoring systems is the lack of an objective criterion to assess: (a) the efficiency, and (b) cost-effectiveness of a network. A statistical procedure based on the entropy principle of information theory is proposed to address the evaluation of both factors. Efficiency is measured quantitatively in terms of the information produced by a network. Similarly, benefits of monitoring are described by informative measures for an objective evaluation of cost-effectiveness. The study presented demonstrates the applicability of the entropy method in assessing the efficiency and the benefits of an existing water quality monitoring network. The method is applied for temporal and spatial features of monitoring, handled as both separate and combined problems. The results are shown in the case of the highly polluted Porsuk River in Turkey. The strengths and shortcomings of the proposed methodology are discussed, with recommendations for future research on the application of the entropy principle in network design. (KEY TERMS: water quality monitoring; network design; network efficiency; benefits/costs of monitoring, information; entropy.)
Su kalitesi gözlem aglarının degerlendirmesinde, mevcutölçüm programının etkinligini ve ekonomik verimliligini ortaya koyabilecek bir yönteme ihtiyaç duyulmaktadır. Bu baglamda, bir gözlem agının sagladıgı bilgiyi sayısal bazda tanımlayabilen entropi yöntemi, su kalitesi gözlem aglarının tasarımında etkin bir kullanım aracı olmaözelligine sahiptir. Entropi yönteminin gözlem agı tasarımında kullanılabilirligi konusundaki araştırmalar; istasyon seçimi, gözlem sıklıgı, konum/zamana göre tasarım, degişken seçimi veölçüm süresi gibi teknik tasarım kriterlerinin belirlenmesinde umut vaad eden sonuçlar vermiştir. Sunulançalışma, gözlem aglarının zaman/konum bileşenlerine göre entropi yöntemiyle degerlendirilmesinde yeni bir yaklaşım ortaya koymaktadır. Sonuçlar Gediz Nehri boyunca gözlenmiş su kalitesi verileri kullanılarak elde edilmiştir.
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