guidelines for qc/qa from emodnet chemistry pilot marina lipizer, istituto nazionale di oceanografia...

Guidelines for QC/QA from

EMODNet Chemistry pilot

Marina Lipizer, Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale–OGS Dipartimento OCE

Kick-off Meeting, June 3-4 2013, Trieste, Italy

EMODnet Pilot Project:

QA/QC: what has been done so far

Quality assurance is the end-to-end process, that ensures that the data is captured, processed, analysed and harmonized according to a predetermined set of conditions that are consistently applied

Quality control is the system of activities aimed to control the quality of measurements so that it meets the needs of users. It can be applied at a particular point during the process of acquiring (sampling-laboratory), processing, analysing and harmonizing data

Why?

To ensure data consistency within a single data set and within a collection of data sets and to ensure that the quality and errors of the data are apparent to the user who has sufficient information to assess its suitability for a task (IOC/UNESCO Manual, 1993).

M. Lipizer - Guidelines for QC/QA from EMODNet Chemistry pilot

QA/QC: what has been done so far?


Challenge of 8 groups of compounds, 17 selected parameters in 3 matrices

“Survey” of existing QA/QC protocols

Identification of lacking QA/QC protocols

Definition of EMODnet QA/QC Guidelines

EMODnet Pilot Project:

Matrices

From: Chemical lot Pilot Project – Survey of existing QA/QC ProtocolsTime 0


SedimentWater Biota

✔ Fertilizers✔ Partial pressure dissolved gases (e.g.O

2)

✔ Silicates✔ Chlorophyll

✔ Organic matter✔ Acidity✔ Heavy metals✔ Hydrocarbons✔ Pesticides & biocides✔ Antifoulants✔ Pharmaceuticals✔ Radionuclides✔ Plastics

SeaDataNet

Parameter groups

Identification of lacking QA/QC protocols

From SDN QC Protocols:

AUTOMATIC QUALITY CONTROL CHECKS:On Metadata:Date and time (valid format)

Latitude and longitude (valid format)

Position must not be on land!


Water For: Temperature, Salinity, fertilizers, dissolved oxygen

On Data:Global range (expected extremes encountered in the oceans)Regional range (expected extremes encountered in particular regions)Deepest pressure (…profile does not contain pressures higher than the bottom bathymetry)Spike (…large differences between adjacent values)Gradient (vertically adjacent salinity and temperature data not too different)Density inversion (…density normally increasing with increasing pressure in a profile)Pressure increasing (Pressures from the profile monotonically increasing).

From SDN QC Protocols:

“SCIENTIFIC/VISUAL” QUALITY CONTROL CHECKS:On Data (with important contribution from Regional Experts):Property-property plot (e.g. TS, N:P, nutrients-salinity,...)Compare with climatologyComparison with min-max ranges for the regionsTools used: ODV visual inspection (broad range check)


Water For: Temperature, Salinity, fertilizers, dissolved oxygen

Example from the Adriatic Sea: Nutrients in the water column:with the use of ODV tool: outliers detection.

Surface distribution

Vertical distribution


Meta-data requirements➢ Purpose of monitoring➢ Station names➢ Sampling method and instrument➢ Method of analysis ➢ Method of filtration for trace metals➢ Method of chemical extraction➢ Limit of detection/limit of determination

Controlled Vocabularies➢ Parameters ➢ Units

Normalisation (by sampling matrix)

➢ Sediment ➢ Biota➢ Water

Data guidelinesGeneral to all matrices➢ Missing values➢ Use of CAS numbers➢ Intercalibrations➢ Reference Materials➢ Uncertainty➢ Code list➢ Cruise ID's➢ Basis (of determination:i.e.specific matrix)➢ Depth

Biota➢ Species (ERMS or ITIS)➢ Number of individuals➢ Tissue

Water➢ Method of filtration for trace metals➢ Suspended Particulate Matter

Sediment➢ Method of chemical extraction➢ Grain size➢ Normalisers



Further outcomes:

Guidelines for:Hydrocarbons, pesticides, heavy metals (Water & Sediment)

Guidelines for:Fertilizers and Dissolved gas (Water) – reference for Black Sea

Guidelines for:Antifoulants (Biota)


http://www.emodnet-chemistry.eu/portal/portal/emodnet/Extranet

user name: emduser

password: 91L07G207

From: Chemical lot Pilot Project

Matrices

From: Chemical lot Pilot Project – Survey of existing QA/QC ProtocolsTime =End of Pilot Project


SedimentWater Biota

SeaDataNet EMODnet Guidelines✔ Fertilizers✔ Silicates✔ Partial pressure dissolved gases (e.g.O

2)

✔ Chlorophyll

✔ Organic matter✔ Acidity✔ Heavy metals✔ Hydrocarbons✔ Pesticides & biocides✔ Antifoulants✔ Pharmaceuticals✔ Radionuclides✔ Plastics

EMODnet Regional QA/QC Procedure (BS)

Parameter groups

ICES-Report 47

For “Exotic (not SDN)” parameters and contaminants it was highlighted that:➔Difficult to fit SDN classic QC protocol!

➔Sediment and biota (missing in SDN)

➔How to apply Range checks? Not enough data availability for a climatology;

➔How to apply Spike checks? The contaminants are more related to an “event” logic… high-values could be related to events, not necessary to errors (sampling/analytical)!

➔Often data below detection limits… (not specified!!!)


…some of the lessons learned…

The complexity of the measurements covering 8 groups of parameters collected on 3 matrices → need to have improved metadata description and continue with adapting process of SDN standards;

The “exotic parameters” → need an ad hoc QC protocol (no spikes, difficult to apply ranges);

Open issues form Chemical lot PP:


Verify MSFD requirements

Mantain and possibly implement SDN Protocols (for other matrices, contaminants)

Improve inventory of existing QA/QC Protocols (any others?)

Hopefully new data harvesting will supply enough data to calculate ranges for exotic parameters;

Involvement of all Marine Conventions highly required, in particular increase contact with Mediterranean and Black Sea (MEDPOL, Black Sea Convention...) to obtain local ranges;

Consider proposal of a 2 levels QF scheme from IODE workshop (http://www.iode.org/index.php?option=com_oe&task=viewDocumentRecord&docID=5109)

Future:


EMODnet 2:

WP3: QA/QC – Validation – MSFD Interaction

WP Leader: ISPRA (Italy)

➢ Guidelines with MSFD requirements➢ Quality Control and Quality Assurance➢ Inventory of analytical methods


New big challenge: Inventory of analytical methods

Why?

Expected outcomes:Inventory of analytical method descriptions for sample analysis

Particular requirements:Limit of detection for synthetic pollutants (pesticides, antifoulants, PAHs,...) (is zero really absence of contamination?) (Background concentration of synthetic pollutants has to be zero, but sometimes it is “below detection limit” (is this stated?)

To collect detailed information on analytical method, uncertainty and detection/quantification limit for each parameter and different datasets

…..High quality data products published!

To better assess intercomparison among datsets (tests with certified reference standards? Long term data consistency?)

M. Lipizer - Guidelines for QC/QA from EMODNet Chemistry pilotM. Lipizer - Guidelines for QC/QA from EMODNet Chemistry pilot

Data of known quality are more usefulthan data of unknown quality

Thanks for your attention!

guidelines for qc/qa from emodnet chemistry pilot marina lipizer, istituto nazionale di oceanografia...

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