Entropy: From Thermodynamics to Hydrology

Some known results from statistical thermophysics as well as from hydrology are revisited from a different perspective trying: (a) to unify the notion of entropy in thermodynamic and statistical/stochastic approaches of complex hydrological systems and (b) to show the power of entropy and the princi...

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Published inEntropy (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 16; no. 3; pp. 1287 - 1314
Main Author Koutsoyiannis, Demetris
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 2014
Subjects
Entropy
Hydrology
Inference
Maximization
Maximum entropy
Phase change
principle of maximum entropy
Reasoning
statistical thermophysics
stochastics
Thermodynamics
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Summary:Some known results from statistical thermophysics as well as from hydrology are revisited from a different perspective trying: (a) to unify the notion of entropy in thermodynamic and statistical/stochastic approaches of complex hydrological systems and (b) to show the power of entropy and the principle of maximum entropy in inference, both deductive and inductive. The capability for deductive reasoning is illustrated by deriving the law of phase change transition of water (Clausius-Clapeyron) from scratch by maximizing entropy in a formal probabilistic frame. However, such deductive reasoning cannot work in more complex hydrological systems with diverse elements, yet the entropy maximization framework can help in inductive inference, necessarily based on data. Several examples of this type are provided in an attempt to link statistical thermophysics with hydrology with a unifying view of entropy.
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ISSN:1099-4300
1099-4300
DOI:10.3390/e16031287