Intercomparison of CO2 measurements

Abstract

Seawater samples, of four different salinities, were analysed for total alkalinity, total CO2, pH and pCO2 by up to 12 laboratories. The results showthat although most laboratories are capable of high precision in these determinations, there is an unacceptably high disagreement between their analyses of the same samples. For global programmes involving studies of the CO2 system in seawater, it is strongly recommended that standard reference materials be made widely available. © 1990.