TC Chamberlin Modeling Center: data-worth analysis

Data worth analysis can help focus limited resources on the most effective field data collection, by identifying the data that would most model forecasts. In this example, several thousand potential monitoring well locations were evaluated for their ability to improve predictions of base flow in the Tyler Forks River, under the condition of dewatering from a proposed mine. Areas colored in orange indicate locations where groundwater level monitoring could reduce model prediction uncertainty by more than 50%. Two clusters of high data worth are evident. The largest cluster shows that knowledge of water levels between the proposed mine pit and the upstream reaches of the river is most valuable to predicting base flows near the proposed mine. A second cluster shows that there is also value in monitoring water levels between the Tyler Forks and Potato River, which acts as a competing sink. (USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5162)