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Computer program for the Kendall family of trend tests

June 8, 2006

The Seasonal Kendall (SK) test for trend was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey and has become the most frequently used test for trend in the environmental sciences. Recently the test was modified to form the Regional Kendall (RK) test for trend. In this form, trends at numerous locations within a region are tested to determine whether the direction of trend is consistent across the entire region. Computer code developed at the USGS in the 1980s to perform the SK test is no longer widely available. Other versions written by other scientists may or may not be easily available, and may require commercial software in order to be run. These other versions do not explicitly compute the RK test. Therefore, the original code for computing the SK test has been repackaged into a program that runs under the Windows operating system. This program may be used to verify that other implementations of the test give the same results as the original. The program also provides a means for computing the RK test and the simpler Mann-Kendall test for trend.

Publication Year 2006
Title Computer program for the Kendall family of trend tests
DOI 10.3133/sir20055275
Authors Dennis R. Helsel, David K. Mueller, James R. Slack
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Scientific Investigations Report
Series Number 2005-5275
Index ID sir20055275
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse