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Methods for estimating the number of identifiable organic pollutants in the aquatic environment
Author(s) -
Janardan Konanur G.,
Schaeffer David J.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr017i001p00243
Subject(s) - sample (material) , pollutant , biology , statistics , mathematics , ecology , chemistry , chromatography
Shackelford and Keith (1976) have compiled data on the organic compounds which have been identified in water. A complex sample consists of a large number of distinct compounds. Of the compounds potentially identifiable by a given method, some are actually identified. Methods for estimating the number of additional compounds which could have been identified are presented. These data are used to provide estimates of the number of observed compounds (350) which are expected to appear in a similar list developed from nonoverlapping sources. The expected number of unobserved (but observable) compounds (about 1200) which could be identified using techniques comparable to those giving rise to the data in Shackelford and Keith's list is obtained. These methods are then used to determine if the rate at which we are identifying new compounds (in a deliberate search for new compounds) is greater than the rate determined from Shackelford and Keith's data base.