The Impact of Metrology on the Quality of Measurements for Climate Change Studies

Michela Sega, Division (m.sega@inrim.it)
Francesca Durbiano, Division "applied Metrology And Engineering", Inrim, 10135, Italy
Paola Iacomussi, Division "applied Metrology And Engineering", Inrim, 10135, Italy
Andrea Merlone, Division "applied Metrology And Engineering", Inrim, 10135, Italy
Stefano Pavarelli, Division "applied Metrology And Engineering", Inrim, 10135, Italy
Francesca Pennecchi, Division "applied Metrology And Engineering", Inrim, 10135, Italy
Francesca Rolle, Division "applied Metrology And Engineering", Inrim, 10135, Italy
Pier Giorgio Spazzini, Division "applied Metrology And Engineering", Inrim, 10135, Italy

Metrology, the science of measurement and its application, is a multidisciplinary discipline involving every scientific and technological application. Key societal challenges, like those related to the study of climate change, require reliable measurement technologies to improve data quality and comparability by establishing worldwide traceability of measurement results.

In response to scientific, technological, and social challenges, in the field of environment and climate related research, the “Applied Thermodynamics” sector of INRiM Scientific Division “Applied Metrology and Engineering”, is active in the development of techniques, methodologies, devices and instruments to establish metrological traceability, evaluate and reduce calibration and measurement uncertainties. The aim is to produce knowledge of the key measurement techniques for a deeper understanding of thermal, chemical and radiative phenomena, including radiative interaction with sensors, which are characteristic of the Earth System.

The present contribution aims at giving an overview of INRiM activities where metrology is addressed to a direct impact on the quality of measurements for climate change studies. Different case studies will be presented. A first one on the development of next generation gas reference materials for carbon dioxide (CO₂) stable isotopes in synthetic air carried out within the EMPIR Project STELLAR “Stable Isotope metrology to enable climate action and regulation”, aiming at assuring metrological traceability to δ¹³C-CO₂ and δ¹⁸O-CO₂ results, by providing more accessible and available reference standards with uncertainties compliant with the WMO goals. A second study will be related to conformity assessment of synthetic air developed within the framework of the IUPAC Project No. 2019-012-1-500 “Influence of a mass balance constraint on uncertainty of test results of a substance or material and risks in its conformity assessment”.

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Short Biography of Presenting Author

Michela Sega is a chemist and holds a PhD in Chemical Sciences from the University of Torino (Italy). She joined the Italian National Metrology Institute “Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica” (INRIM, Italy) in 1998, where she is currently senior researcher and serves as the Head of the Scientific Division “Applied Metrology and Engineering”. Her main research activities are related to metrology in chemistry, mainly focused on gas analysis and organic analysis. In her career as a metrologist, she has been participating in various national and international research projects and international measurement comparisons. She is the chairperson of the IMEKO Technical Committee TC8 - Traceability in metrology and the past chairperson of CITAC. She is the Italian National Delegate in EURAMET,  the Italian Contact Person in the EURAMET Technical Committee on Metrology in Chemistry, which she chaired from 2011 to 2015, the Contact person in the Gas Analysis Working Group of the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance - Metrology in Chemistry and Biology (CCQM). She was the Italian Delegate in Eurachem from 2014 to 2021. She is co-author of about 40 publications on international and national journals.