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Consistency of practical salinity measurements traceable to primary conductivity standards: Euromet project 918

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Abstract

Measurements of practical salinity are based on conductivity measurements, which are traceable to the conductivity of a defined KCl reference solution. The conductivity of this reference solution must be traceable to the SI in order to state a reliable uncertainty for practical salinity measurements and to guarantee their comparability. Currently, the conductivity ratios from various old standard seawater batches are compared instead. However this method is inadequate on a long time-scale, which is important for oceanography studies, because it lacks a time-invariant reference. Therefore the equivalence of conductivity measurements traceable to primary conductivity standards has been investigated in Euromet project 918. Several European metrology institutes measured the conductivity of a 5 S/m KCl solution and the practical salinity of IAPSO standard seawater. The study estimates relative standard uncertainties to be of the order of 10−4 to 10−3 for such measurements.

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Notes

  1. IAPSO standard seawater is a product of OSIL (OSIL, Culkin House. C7/C8 Endeavour Business Park, Penner Road, Havant, Hampshire PO9 1QN).

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank OSIL Standard Seawater Service for placing SSW at our disposal.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Bundesallee 100, 38116, Braunschweig, Germany

    Steffen Seitz & Petra Spitzer

  2. Analytical Science Team, National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, TW11 0LW, UK

    Richard J. C. Brown

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  1. Steffen Seitz
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  2. Petra Spitzer
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  3. Richard J. C. Brown
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Correspondence to Steffen Seitz.

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Seitz, S., Spitzer, P. & Brown, R.J.C. Consistency of practical salinity measurements traceable to primary conductivity standards: Euromet project 918. Accred Qual Assur 13, 601–605 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-008-0444-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-008-0444-0

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