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Seeking excellence: An evaluation of 235 international laboratories conducting water isotope analyses by isotope-ratio and laser-absorption spectrometry.

Leonard I WassenaarS Terzer-WassmuthC DouenceL Araguas-AraguasP K AggarwalT B Coplen
Published in: Rapid communications in mass spectrometry : RCM (2018)
Analysis of the laboratory results and their metadata suggested inaccurate or imprecise performance stemmed mainly from skill- and knowledge-based errors including: calculation mistakes, inappropriate or compromised laboratory calibration standards, poorly performing instrumentation, lack of vigilance to contamination, or inattention to unreasonable isotopic outcomes. To counteract common errors, we recommend that laboratories include 1-2 'known' control standards in all autoruns; laser laboratories should screen each autorun for spectral contamination; and all laboratories should evaluate whether derived d-excess values are realistic when both isotope ratios are measured. Combined, these data evaluation strategies should immediately inform the laboratory about fundamental mistakes or compromised samples.
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