NPS: Thoma-Others-2011
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Title
| Documenting Measurement Sensitivity and Bias of FIeld-Measured Parameters in Water Quality Monitoring Programs |
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Author
| Thoma, D.P., Irwin, R.J., and Penoyer, P.E. |
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Abstract/Summary Statement
| Measurement sensitivity and bias quality control metrics are commonly reported for waterquality parameters measured in the laboratory. Less commonly recognized is that they should also be reported for field-measured parameters. Periodic evaluation helps document data quality and can help serve as early warning if there are problems with methods or techniques that could negatively affect ability to interpret threshold values and trends over time. This study focuses on traditional assessment of bias and introduces a new method for estimating measurement sensitivity of water-quality parameters measured monthly in the field. Alternative measurement sensitivity is a new data quality indicator used to demonstrate how quantifying sensitivity at the measurement level can improve understanding the uncertainty affecting each reported data value. That, in turn, can help interpret the meaning of results from many separate data points measured in the field. In this 30-month study, pH and specific conductance consistently met, and dissolved oxygen did not always meet NPS and USGS quality control standards for bias. Evaluation of dissolved oxygen bias and sensitivity during the study provided impetus to improve calibration techniques that resulted in data that later met quality goals. |
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Table of Contents
| Sections include: Abstract Introduction Objectives Methods Calculations Results and Discussion Conclusions |
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Citation
| Thoma, D. P., Irwin, R. J., & Penoyer, P. E., 2011, Documenting measurement sensitivity and bias of field-measured parameters in water quality monitoring programs. Environmental monitoring and assessment. Springer Science+Business Media. doi:10.1007/s10661-011-2347-5 |
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Method Source
| NPS |
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Source Organization Country
| USA |
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Publication Year
| 2011 |
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Special Notes
| Authors are affilliated with a National Park Service (Government Agency-federal) |
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Item Type
| Journal Article |
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Publication Source Type
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Journal |
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Purpose
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Data analysis Monitoring program design |
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Design or Data Analysis Objectives
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Compare locations Compare treatments Compliance with a threshold Exploring/summarizing data |
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Complexity
| Low |
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Media Emphasized
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Surface Water |
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Media Subcategory
| |
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Special Topics
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Characterizing the uncertainty of an estimated value Measurements taken using a water quality sensor |
