Retrospective analysis: A validation procedure for the redesign of an environmental monitoring network

Monitoring networks are essential tools for the effective management of vulnerable or limited environmental resources. Cost and logistics constraints often suggest to reduce the number of monitoring sites while minimizing the loss of information determined by these changes. The problem can be rigorously addressed through the optimization of one or more objective functions that represent the managerial goals associated to the network. However, the use of objective functions is based on assumptions that in practical cases can be inaccurate. To overcome this problem, we have developed a retrospective analysis procedure that validates the degree of acceptability of the optimal reduced configuration at a local and global level. The procedure has been applied to a case study in Apulia, Italy, finding that the optimal reduced network was unable to recover the measured values of the monitored parameter of two discarded locations, making it unable to accomplish its monitoring goals.