CRC Press Statistics for Fission Track Analysis (Chapman & Hall/CRC Interdisciplinary Statistics)

Product Description Statistical analyses of the numbers, lengths, and orientations of fission tracks etched in minerals yield dating and thermal history information valuable in geological and geoscience applications, particularly in oil exploration. Fission tracks can be represented mathematically by a stochastic process of randomly oriented line segments in three dimensions, and this "line segment" model can describe and explain the essential statistical features of the data, providing a rigorous foundation for quantitative modelling and simulation studies. Statistics for Fission Track Analysis explores the line segment model and its consequences for the analysis and interpretation of data. The author derives the equations for fission track data and the theoretical probability distributions for the number, orientation, and length measurements of the tracks. He sets out the theory of fission track dating and through numerical examples, presents methods for analyzing and interpreting fission track counts. Later chapters address statistical models for situations in which samples contain mixtures of fission track ages. These methods, along with observation features of the various measurements, are illustrated by real examples. Finally, the author brings together the theoretical and observation aspects to formulate a joint likelihood function of counts, lengths, and angles as a basis for parametric thermal history modelling. An appendix provides general notes on statistical concepts and methods. Designed for broad accessibility, this is the first book to fully cover the statistical foundations of fission track analysis. Whether you work in a fission track lab, in archaeological, geological, or geochronological research, or in geological applications of statistics, you will find the background material and practical tools you need to optimize the use of fission track analysis in your work and to make further advances in the field. Review ... The book collates the huge amount of high quality statistical work that the author has contributed to the analysis of fission track data, often in collaboration with G. M. Laslett, over a 20-year period. It seems to me to provide an object lesson in sound statistical practice, grounding the work in appropriate simple physical models, extending models empirically and fitting them by maximum likelihood, always being fully immersed in, and addressing, the context to hand, and providing a deep understanding of the limitations of the laboratory and statistical techniques used. ... an essential handbook for all scientists who are involved with fission track analysis. ... this is an excellent book and I congratulate the author on his contributions to the topic.--M.C. Jones, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 2006, Volume 169, Issue 3 The book is a good survey for scientists who have worked in the field. ...This would be an excellent introductory text for those wishing to enter this field, especially if they were also aware of the new statistical tools available.--E. Enns, Short Book Reviews of the ISI I strongly recommend this book to its intended audience and would use it in a course on statistical consulting.--Thomas Burr, Los Alamos National Library, Technometrics, November 2008, Vol. 50, No. 4 About the Author Galbraith, Rex F.