A return period also known as a recurrence interval is an estimate of the interval of time between events like an earthquake, flood or a river discharge flow of a certain intensity or size. It is a statistical measurement denoting the average recurrence interval over an extended period of time, and is usually used for risk analysis (e.g. to decide whether a project should be allowed to go forward in a zone of a certain risk, or to design structures to withstand an event with a certain return period. The following analysis assumes that the probability of the event occurring does not vary over time and is independent of past events.
Read more about Return Period: Equation, Return Period As "expected Frequency", Probability Distribution
Famous quotes containing the words return and/or period:
“A tree may grow a thousand feet tall, but its leaves will return to its roots.”
—Chinese proverb.
“There is a period in the history of the individual, as of the race, when the hunters are the “best men,” as the Algonquins called them.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)