GEOTRACES: Get the right data!

Science Highlights

24 October 2013

Measuring concentrations of many constituents at the nano- to picomolar levels in seawater is a difficult challenge, requiring thorough intercalibration between the different laboratories participating to the same programme. GEOTRACES is but one example of a programme that has intercalibration as an essential component of its field-based efforts. The standing GEOTRACES Standards and Intercalibration Committee (S&I) chaired by Greg Cutter was initiated to ensure precision and accuracy throughout the programme’s life. To facilitate consistent sampling and sample handling procedures between cruises and participating laboratories, the S&I Committee in collaboration with the elemental coordinators created a set of written protocols for each suite of trace elements and isotopes. Cutter’s paper emphases on the importance of rigourous intercalibration protocols to get the right data.

13 Cutter
Figure: Participants on the first leg of the 2008 intercalibration cruise in the North Atlantic Ocean abord R/V Knorr

 

Reference:

Gregory A. Cutter (2013), Intercalibration in chemical oceanography-Getting the right number, Limnology and Oceanography-Methods, Volume: 11, p. 418-424 DOI: 10.4319/lom.2013.11.418

Latest highlights

North – South contrasting behavior of dissolved cobalt in the Indian Ocean

Malla and Singh have studied the complex biogeochemical processes of total dissolved cobalt in the Indian Ocean.

The Amazonian mangrove systems accumulate and release dissolved neodymium and hafnium to the oceans

Xu and colleagues investigated the concentrations of rare earth elements in the Amazonian mangrove.

Biological production of ligands influences iron chemistry in hydrothermal systems

For the first time, siderophores and siderophore-producing microbes were determined in 11 distinct hydrothermal plume environments.

Nutrient-OMICS coupling approach reveals unexpected actors for atmospheric carbon sequestration

Sharma and colleagues investigated the role of clay minerals in strengthening the marine biological pump.

Rechercher