Articles | Volume 14, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-17-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-17-2017
Research article
 | 
03 Jan 2017
Research article |  | 03 Jan 2017

The long-solved problem of the best-fit straight line: application to isotopic mixing lines

Richard Wehr and Scott R. Saleska

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ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (Editor review) (01 Nov 2016) by Jens-Arne Subke
AR by Richard Wehr on behalf of the Authors (15 Nov 2016)  Author's response   Manuscript 
ED: Publish as is (20 Nov 2016) by Jens-Arne Subke
AR by Richard Wehr on behalf of the Authors (28 Nov 2016)  Manuscript 
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Short summary
In 1969, Derek York published a highly general solution to the common problem of how to fit a straight line to points measured with error in both x and y. Unfortunately York's solution is almost unknown outside the geophysical literature, and new studies wrestle with the problem each year. We introduce York's solution and demonstrate it using an example from biogeochemistry: the isotopic mixing line. By Monte Carlo simulation, we show that York’s solution is superior to all popular fit methods.
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