Robust Parameter Estimation for Snow Load Induced by Annual Maximum Snow Accumulation Using Constrained Bayesian Priors

📅 2026-08-20
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🤖 AI Summary
本文使用约束贝叶斯先验和Hamiltonian Monte Carlo算法估计由年最大积雪引起的雪荷载的GEV分布参数,解决了小样本下参数估计的稳健性问题。
📝 Abstract
This paper develops a Bayesian framework to estimate the parameters of the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distribution for the weight induced by annual maximum accumulations of snow, referred to as the snow load, using a Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC) algorithm as implemented in the \enquote{extremMHMC} R package developed alongside this paper. Key to the approach is the use of strong prior distributions for the shape parameter that are appropriate in the context of snow loads, which helps to ensure robustness in the distribution parameter estimates for annual maximum snow loads despite small sample sizes. This robustness is key to ensuring that structural reliability analyses, which rely on the GEV distribution, produce physically realistic estimates of snow loads. Information on strong prior distributions is derived from existing studies on extreme rainfall and snowfall, with the novel use of hyperbolic tangent functions to transition the prior distribution parameters between low and high snow regimes. This approach enables global applicability of the strong prior approach while maintaining physical realism. Additionally, simulation studies confirm a reduction in Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of the shape parameter estimate compared to frequentist methods, particularly for small sample sizes. Finally, a real-world application using a data from 9715 stations further demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed Bayesian framework for large scale implementation.
Problem

Research questions and friction points this paper is trying to address.

Snow Load
Bayesian Priors
Generalized Extreme Value Distribution
Hamiltonian Monte Carlo
Robust Parameter Estimation
Innovation

Methods, ideas, or system contributions that make the work stand out.

Bayesian Framework
Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC)
Strong Priors
Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) Distribution
Hyperbolic Tangent Functions
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S
Shaveen A. Britto
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Utah State University, Utah, USA
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Brennan L. Bean
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Utah State University, Utah, USA