Consistency and uncertainty of UK measurements of mercury in precipitation

Brown, Richard J.C.; Goddard, Sharon L.; Harris, Peter M.; Malcolm, Heath M.; Thacker, Sarah A.; Lawlor, Alan J.; Guyatt, Hayley J.. 2020 Consistency and uncertainty of UK measurements of mercury in precipitation. Chemosphere, 258, 127330. 6, pp. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127330

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Abstract/Summary

A novel method to assess the uncertainty of measurement of mercury in precipitation for the UK’s Heavy Metals Monitoring Network is presented. The method makes use of the fact that, because of the high risk of sample contamination, samples are taken in duplicate in order to ensure valid data is available for as many sampling periods as possible. Where both samples are valid a good opportunity is afforded to use the statistical differences in the rain volumes sampled and the mercury concentrations measured to assess the overall uncertainty of the measurement. This process has produced estimated uncertainties in good agreement with previous studies and well within the limits specified by European legislation. The work also highlighted an effective method to spot outliers in the paired samples at the data ratification stage.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127330
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Atmospheric Chemistry and Effects (Science Area 2017-) Pollution (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	0045-6535
Additional Keywords:	mercury, precipitation, deposition, uncertainty, standardisation
NORA Subject Terms:	Atmospheric Sciences Chemistry
Date made live:	16 Jun 2020 16:18 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/527972

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