An R Package for Generating Covariance Matrices for Maximum-Entropy Sampling from Precipitation Chemistry Data

We present an open-source R package (MESgenCov v 0.1.0) for temporally fitting multivariate precipitation chemistry data and extracting a covariance matrix for use in the MESP (maximum-entropy sampling problem). We provide multiple functionalities for modeling and model assessment. The package is tightly coupled with NADP/NTN (National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network) data from their set of 379 monitoring sites, 1978–present. The user specifies the sites, chemicals, and time period desired, fits an appropriate user-specified univariate model for each site and chemical selected, and the package produces a covariance matrix for use by MESP algorithms.