TECHNICAL APPENDIX M

DATA-ELEMENTS GLOSSARY

Introduction

The Data Management and Information Sharing Task Group (DMIS) of the Intergovernmental Task Force on Monitoring Water Quality (ITFM) has prepared the Data-Elements Glossary to support effective collection, interpretation, and sharing of data related to water-quality monitoring. The intent of this glossary is to provide common terminology and definitions for documenting waterquality data; that is, metadata. Standardization and adoption of these elements will improve the availability of information for decisionmaking at all levels of government. The full glossary of recommended data elements represents most of the base data requirements for agencies that are developing new waterquality-data systems. The DMIS considers "agencies " to mean any group that collects water-quality data, including Tribe, State, Federal, and nongovernmental organizations, or the regulated community. The set of minimum data elements, which is a subset of the glossary, are those elements the DMIS believes are necessary to facilitate the exchange of data among existing data-management systems.

The DMIS recommends that the ITFM adopt the following recommendations related to the Data-Elements Glossary:

Agencies, the regulated community, and others that collect water-quality data are encouraged to adopt the recommended data elements for water-quality-data systems and the minimum elements for facilitating information sharing.
Provide a selfdocumenting data-export capability from each data base and promote the development of standardized report formats.
Promote the development of a standard interface to individual water-data systems based on the minimum data elements and provide electronic access to data systems and the means to easily transfer data from one system to another. Additional data considered to be appropriate for sharing should be included in the system.
Identify potential sources of reference tables, such as aquifer names, taxonomic codes, and methods, and recommend that agencies be designated to maintain individual reference lists. For example, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) may be the authority to maintain the hydrogeologic units reference table, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) may maintain the taxonomic code. Reference tables for sampling and analytical methods could be assigned to an intergovernmental methods council. The authorities agree to accept update requests from all groups that are participating in water-quality monitoring.

Glossary Components

According to the DMIS, agencies involved in water-quality monitoring should identify and describe the following highlevel functions:

Projects and surveys that involve monitoring of the aquatic environment.
Those physical sites at which the monitoring is conducted.
The events and samples that occur at those sites.
Analytical results that relate to these events and samples.

Within each of these highlevel functions, the DMIS identified a series of data elements. The format for each element is as follows:

Name

The data element name.

Definition

The meaning of the data element. Existing definitions were used where possible; definitions from several sources were combined if necessary to prepare a sufficiently broad definition and were attributed to the DMIS rather than to the original source documents. In some cases, several alternative definitions are provided, with the preferred definition listed first. In these cases, several sources also are provided. Source materials that were searched for data-element definitions included the following:

Chesapeake Bay Program
Definitions for the Minimum Set of Data Elements for Ground-Water Quality (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992)
DQO-IDS Data Dictionary (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1993)
Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study (Tetra Tech, Inc., 1993)
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms (Parker, 1994)
NWIS--II Lexicon (U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 1994)
STORET modernization (American Management System, Inc., written commun. 1992)
USEPA QA Glossary (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1988)

Format

An indication of whether the data-element field is a character or a numeral.

Source

The document source for the data-element definition. " DMIS" is given as the source for those definitions developed by the DMIS or for definitions that resulted from combining existing definitions from many source documents.

Authority

The agency or program responsible for maintaining the reference table of terms. Authorities were indicated where individuals knew that an agency had a reference list; however, no authorities have been formally identified.

Related terms

Synonyms for the data-element name that may appear in existing data systems, such as STORET or NWIS-I. The field is blank in many cases, but terms will be added as appropriate.

Recommended Data Elements

Most of the data elements in the Data-Elements Glossary are considered to be recommended data elements. These are elements that should be included in the design of new data systems to document adequately the environmental data stored in the systems. Elements include those that characterize the location of measurements or samples, such as station number and name; the sample, such as date and time; and the results, such as constituent, reporting form, value, and units. The elements listed above are common to most of the current data systems. The other recommended data elements include the quality-control (QC) data that are needed for secondary users to assess the utility of the data. At the project level, these include the project data-quality objectives and project quality-assurance (QA) methods. At the sample and result levels, they include the data collector and analyst, field and analytical methods, type of equipment used, and the results of QC samples and measurements.

The organization and format of the data elements are intended to promote consistent terminology among waterquality-data systems to facilitate the exchange of data. It is not required that agencies have identical data systems or similar data structures. However, the grouping of the elements in the glossary does imply some relations. For example, the projects and survey elements probably would be in one table or a series of closely related tables in each agency's data system. Similarly, the elements grouped as location-reference information, site characteristics, events and samples, and results probably would be in separate tables in a relational data-base-management system. Other relations, such as a link between the project information and samples or results, probably would be appropriate; however, these relations are less intuitive and will depend on how the data are to be queried and reported. Thus, it is equally important to adopt standard reports so that each agency can provide the appropriate keys or links in their respective data systems.

Minimum Data Elements

To facilitate the exchange of existing data, 23 data elements have been designated as minimum data elements. These elements are not considered to be more important than the recommended elements. They are those that would most likely be used to qualify a query for water-quality data from any agency's data system. The ITFM participating agencies would be expected to modify the existing user interface or to develop new interfaces to their data systems to incorporate data retrievals based on these elements. The designation "(GW)" indicates that an element is intended only for ground water; an "(SW)" indicates a surface-water-only element. The elements are as follows:

Site name.
Site number.
Site type.
Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) county code.
FIPS state code.
Latitude.
Longitude.
Aquifer name (GW).
Ecoregion code.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) river reach code (SW).
Hydrologic unit code (HUC).
Waterbody name.
Waterbody type.
Habitat type.
Well depth (GW).
Collection start date.
Collection end date.
Collecting organization.
Sample depth.
Sample medium code.
Constituent.
Reporting form.
Taxonomic key.

The intent of the minimum elements is to standardize the querying capabilities of existing data systems and thus facilitate the sharing of data. Agencies should provide a querying capability that is based on the minimum elements, but additional, or less, capability may be appropriate in some cases. For example, if a particular data system has results keyed to individual projects, then it would be appropriate to provide an ability to query based on project number or name. Conversely, there would be no utility in providing a taxonomic key query if the data base did not contain taxonomic information or an aquifer name query if the data base contained only stream data.

Glossary of Data Elements

The elements are listed alphabetically within each of four high-level functions--projects and surveys; physical sites/station; events, samples, and (or) observations; and results. N/A means not applicable.

Projects and Surveys

Name Ancillary data
Definition Narrative summary of the types and sources of supporting information used for the completion of the project.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A Name Cooperating organizations
Definition Organizations supplying resources to the project.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Resource group

Name Data administrator
Definition Person responsible for ensuring that the data standards for the collected information including media, standard codes, input formats, output formats, system to be used, and data integration concerns are met.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Data manager

Name Funding organization(s)
Definition Name of the organization(s) providing funding and other resources for the project.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Location of data
Definition Place and (or) system where the results from the project reside along with the location where other data used by the project reside and methods to access this information.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Data repository

Name Sponsoring organization(s)
Definition (1) Officially empowered group responsible for the project and the data resulting from the monitoring effort. (2) Lead agency or group taking responsibility for the monitoring project development and implementation and the resulting data management.
Format Character
Source (1) DMIS, (2) Ground Water Focus Group of the ITFM
Authority N/A

Name Principal investigator
Definition Person primarily responsible for the execution of the project.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Technical Appendix M 85
Related Terms Project Chief, Project Leader, Project Manager

Name Project data-quality objectives
Definition Narrative describing the proposed quality level for data that is desired or required and the methods employed to obtain the planned quality level. The QA plan is management's tool for achieving this level of quality for data.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Project description
Definition Narrative explaining the purpose, scope, and objectives and geographical area of the project.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Project abstract

Name Project duration
Definition Scheduled time frame for performing the collection, analysis, assessment, and publication of the results from the project in years.
Format yyyy
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Project funding
Definition The amount of money spent on the project.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Project methods
Definition Narrative summary describing procedures used throughout the project consisting of sampling, analysis, and (or) assessment.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Method type

Name Project name
Definition Name of a monitoring effort where biological, sediment, water quality, or bioassay data are collected for a specific purpose (for example, benthic study, water-quality study) at one or more sampling stations.
Format Character
Source STORET modernization (American Management System, Inc., written commun., 1992)
Authority N/A
Related Terms Program name, Project label, Project title, Survey name

Name Project number
Definition Alphanumeric designation assigned by the responsible agency.
Format Alphanumeric
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Project products
Definition Reports, data sets, and publications produced by the project.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Data set id

Name Project QA procedures employed
Definition (1) Description of the quality assurance and quality control activities to be followed for a project. (2) Series of planned or systematic actions required to provide adequate confidence that a product or service will satisfy given needs.
Format Character
Source (1) USEPA QA Glossary (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1988). (2) McGraw Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms (Parker, 1994)
Authority N/A
Related Terms QA project plan

Name Project references
Definition Bibliographic references to other relevant studies.
Format Character
Source Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study (Tetra Tech, Inc., 1993)
Authority N/A
Physical Sites/Station
Site-Identification Information

Name Site alias
Definition Alternate designation for a station that may be assigned by any organization.
Format Char30
Source STORET modernization
Authority N/A
Related Terms Station alias, Secondary station number

Name Site establishment date
Definition (1) Date the site was established by the sponsoring organization. ( 2) Date that construction of a sampling or measuring location was completed. (3) Starting date of the daily values that are a result of either a feature measurement or a data analysis activity.
Format yyyymmdd
Source (1) DMIS, (2) TriService CADD-GIS, 1993 (3) NWIS II Lexicon (U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 1994)
Authority N/A

Name Site description
Definition (1) Narrative description of the site, facility, section, area, or volume represented by the "Site name." (2) Description of site where sample was collected.
Format Char300
Source (1) DMIS, (2) Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study (Tetra Tech, Inc., 1993)
Authority N/A
Related Terms Station description, Location description

Name Site name
Definition Official agency name given to a data collection station.
Format Char30
Source NWIS II
Authority N/A
Related Terms Station name, Site label

Name Site network
Definition Network(s) in which the station participates.
Format Char30
Source DMIS
Authority ITFM or its designated representative

Name Site number
Definition Unique alphanumeric designation assigned by the responsible organization.
Format Char15
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Station number, Site code

Name Site organization
Definition Organization that establishes a sampling or measuring location.
Format Char30
Source TriService CADD-GIS (1993)
Authority N/A
Related Terms Site owner

Name Site purpose
Definition Intended purpose of the site and the ration-ale for choosing the location.
Format Char300
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Site selection criteria

Name Site type
Definition Codes assigned to represent the type of station from which samples were taken or measurements made; for example:

rxsc River cross section with several vertical sections.
biox Biological measurement/sampling transect.
sngl Single point for measurement or sampling.
mltp Multiple, random measurement and sampling points represented by one or more offsets.
area Userdefined area with the centroid defined by a latitude, longitude, and altitude.
volm Userdefined volume with the centroid defined by a latitude, longitude, and altitude.
well Well with several sampling points.
lysm Lysimeter with several sample points.

Format Char4
Source DMIS
Authority ITFM or its designated representative
Location-Reference Information

Name Altitude
Definition Vertical distance from the National Reference Datum to the land surface, reference mark, or measuring point at the site (feet or meters).
Format Num 5.2 (feet or meters)
Source Ground Water Minimum Data Elements
Technical Appendix M 87
Authority N/A
Related Terms Elevation

Name Altitude method
Definition Method used to determine the altitude value, including the National Reference Datum on which the altitude is based.
Format Char4
Source Ground Water Minimum Data Elements
Authority USEPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water
Related Terms Method type

Name Bottom depth
Definition Depth of water column at station, measured from the surface of the water to the sediment/water interface.
Format Num 6.2 (feet or meters)
Source Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study (Tetra Tech, Inc., 1993)
Authority N/A
Related Terms Depth

Name FIPS county code
Definition FIPS numeric code to indicate the county (or county equivalent) in which a site is located.
Format nnn
Source Ground Water Minimum Data Elements (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992)
Authorit y FIPS

Name FIPS state code
Definition FIPS alphabetic or numeric code to indicate the state in which the site is located.
Format aa or nn
Source Ground Water Minimum Data Elements (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992)
Authority FIPS

Name Land net
Definition Location of a site described by the U.S. township and range-grid survey system.
Format SnnTnnaRnna (S31T06NR66W)
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Land net code
Definition Code that represents the appropriate 0.5 or 0.25 section description of the site (North, South, East, West, Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, Southwest).
Format Char2, Char2, Char2
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Latitude
Definition Coordinate representation that indicates a location on the surface of the Earth by using the equator as the latitude origin, reported in degrees, minutes, and seconds.
Format +/ddmmss.ssss (N = +; S = )
Source Ground Water Minimum Data Elements (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992)
Authority N/A

Name Lat/long accuracy
Definition Quantitative measurement of the amount of deviation from true value present in a measurement that describes the correctness of a measurement.
Format Num 4.2 (+/)
Source Ground Water Minimum Data Elements (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992)
Authority N/A

Name Lat/long method
Definition Procedure used to determine the latitude and longitude, includes the reference datum.
Format Char4
Source Ground Water Minimum Data Elements (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992)
Authority Standard methods adopted by ITFM or its designated representative
Related Terms Method type

Name Longitude
Definition Coordinate representation that indicates a location on the surface of the Earth by using the prime meridian as the origin, reported in degrees, minutes and seconds.
Format +/dddmmss.ssss (W = ; E = +)
Source Ground Water Minimum Data Elements (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992)
Authority N/A

Name Section node distance
Definition Distance from initial point of river cross section or biological transect to the point of sampling or measurement (feet or meters).
Format Num 4.2 (feet or meters)
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Site offset
Environmental Reference Information

Name Aquifer name (GW)
Definition Soil or rock unit that by virtue of its hydraulic properties has a distinct influence on the storage or movement of ground water. The zones include aquifers and confining units.
Format Char50
Source NWIS-II
Authority U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Related Terms Hydrogeologic unit

Name Aquifer type (GW)
Definition Description of the physical condition of the aquifer, which includes confined/unconfined, fractured, karst, and consolidate/unconsolidated/semiconsolidated.
Format Char50
Source Ground Water Focus Group of the ITFM
Authority N/A
Related Terms Hydrogeologic setting, Aquifer matrix

Name Ecoregion code
Definition USEPA code of ecoregions, which are homogeneous areas defined by similarity of climate, landform, soil, potential natural vegetation, hydrology, or other ecologically relevant variables.
Format Char7
Source Lake Michigan Mass Balance; Study (Tetra Tech, Inc., 1993), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, written commun., 1994)
Authority USEPA

Name USEPA river reach code (SW)
Definition Code representing a section of a river or stream defined by the components of the River Reach File 3 (RF3) file.
Format Char12
Source DMIS
Authority USEPA

Name HUC
Definition Code that represents the region, subregion, accounting unit, and cataloging units of hydrologic units (watersheds), as defined by the U.S. Water Resources Council. The current code is 8 characters but is being expanded to 16 characters to provide for greater subdivision of watersheds.
Format Char16
Source NWIS-II
Authority FIPS
Related Terms HUC

Name Waterbody alias (SW)
Definition Userdefined name of a water body that differs from the official name approved by the Board of Geographic Names (Geographic Names Information System).
Format Char50
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Waterbody name
Definition Name of the lake, stream, river, estuary, or other water feature related to the physical site.
Format Char50
Source DMIS
Authority USGS, Geographic Names Information System
Name Waterbody type
Definition Code that represents the type of water body, such as stream/river, lake, canal, aquifer, or spring.
Format Char4
Source DMIS
Authority USEPA
Related Terms Station type, Site type
Site Characteristics

Name Geomorphology code (SW)
Definition Code used to define the secondary topographic features which are carved by erosion in the primary elements and built up of the erosional debris at the indicated site.
Format Char4
Source McGrawHill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms (Parker, 1994)
Authority ITFM or designated representative

Name Habitat
Definition Narrative description of morphology, substrate, aquatic and riparian cover of the site, offset point, or cross section.
Format Char300
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Habitat type code
Definition Code for a finite list of habitat characteristics.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Name Land use/cover code
Definition Code that represents the land-use types, as defined by the Anderson classification system.
Format Char4
Source DMIS
Authority USGS

Name Microhabitat name
Definition Name that designates a specific, small isolated patch of homogeneous habitat.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Site use code
Definition Code that represents the primary use and water use, status, and water quality.
Format Char2
Source DMIS
Authority USGS

Name Substrate code
Definition Code that represents the material to which sessile organisms are attached.
Format Char4
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Bottom type

Name Well casing diameter (GW)
Definition Inside diameter of the well casing at land surface (inches).
Format Num 5.2
Source NWIS-II Lexicon (U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 1994)
Authority N/A
Related Terms Casing nominal diameter

Name Well casing material code (GW)
Definition Code that represents the type of casing material used.
Format Char4
Source NWIS-II Lexicon (U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 1994)
Authority USGS

Name Well depth (GW)
Definition Depth of the completed well below the land surface, in feet or meters.
Format Num 7.2 (feet or meters)
Source Ground Water Minimum Data Elements (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992)
Authority N/A

Name Well open interval, bottom (GW)
Definition Bottom of the open or screened interval of the well (feet or meters below land surface).
Format Num 6.2 (feet or meters)
Source Ground Water Minimum Data Elements (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992)
Authority N/A

Name Well open interval, top (GW)
Definition Top of the open or screened interval of the well (feet or meters below land surface).
Format Num 6.2 (feet or meters)
Source Ground Water Minimum Data Elements (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992)
Authority N/A
Related Terms Well screen top depth

Name Well screen type code (GW)
Definition Code that represents the type of screen and material used in the production interval of the well.
Format Char4
Source DMIS
Authority USGS
Related Terms Slot sizes, Screen mesh size

Name Well seal code (GW)
Definition Code that represents the type of seal or fill used in the well.
Format Char2
Source DQO-IDS Data Dictionary (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, written commun., 1993)
Authority USGS
Events, Samples, Observations
Events

Name Analysis end date
Definition Date that analysis was completed.
Format yyyymmdd
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Report date

Name Analysis end time
Definition Time that analysis was completed.
Format hhmm
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Analysis Organization
Definition Textual information used to identify the name of the group that is performing the analysis associated with a result.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Agency, Organization name

Name Analysis start date
Definition Date that analysis began.
Format yyyymmdd
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Analysis start time
Definition Time that analysis began.
Format hhmm
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Analyst
Definition Name or identification of the person performing the analysis.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Event contact name

Name Analytical method
Definition Method of analysis applied to determine the analytical concentration/value for a particular parameter. Reference to the specific analytical method should include information on the minimum detection limit of that method and the units of measurement used.
Format Character
Source Ground Water Minimum Data Elements (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992)
Authority N/A

Name Analyzing lab
Definition Name of the facility from which the analytical result was obtained.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Organization name

Name Batch number
Definition Alphanumeric designation assigned to samples treated as an analytical grouping (with the same controls) for preparation and (or) analysis.
Format Character
Source Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study (Tetra Tech, Inc., 1993)
Authority N/A
Related Terms Batch name

Name Biological part code
Definition Alphanumeric code that designates the identification of the specific anatomical part of an organism that is being measured; for example, liver, heart, cell wall, or whole organism.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Collecting organization
Definition Name of a group that is in charge of collecting a sample or making a measurement.
Format Character
Source STORET modernization (American Management Systems, Inc., written commun., 1992)
Authority N/A
Related Terms Agency, Organization name

Name Collection end date
Definition Date that measurement or sampling was completed.
Format yyyymmdd
Source Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study (Tetra Tech, Inc., 1993)
Authority N/A
Related Terms Sample end date

Name Collection end time
Definition Time that measurement or sampling was completed.
Format hhmm
Source Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study (Tetra Tech, Inc., 1993)
Authority N/A

Name Collection start date
Definition Date that measurement or sampling began.
Format yyyymmdd
Source Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study (Tetra Tech, Inc., 1993)
Authority N/A
Related Terms Sample start date

Name Collection start time
Definition Time that measurement or sampling began.
Format hhmm
Source Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study (Tetra Tech, Inc., 1993)
Authority N/A

Name Data collector
Definition Individual who collects a sample or makes a measurement.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Event contact name

Name Data analysis method
Definition Process of transforming raw data by arithmetic or statistical calculations, standard curves, concentration factors, and so forth, and collation into a more useful form.
Format Character
Source STORET modernization (American Management Systems, Inc., written commun., 1992)
Authority N/A
Related Terms Data reduction

Name Field lot number
Definition Alphanumeric designation used to group together all field samples associated with or judged against a particular set of QC samples.
Format Character
Source TriService CADD-GIS (1993)
Authority N/A
Related Terms Shipment bundle id

Name Field preparation methods
Definition Name of method(s) that involves the addition to a sample, such as a solution, or procedures, such as the filtering or drying of a sample before shipment to laboratory.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Instrument component number
Definition Instrument component identification number; for example, one column of a gas chromatograph.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Name Instrument log
Definition Narrative that concerns the use and maintenance of equipment for past projects and events to aid in the identification of any suspected anomalies.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Instrument number
Definition Instrument identification number or characters used by the organization doing the analysis.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Serial number, Lab equipment id

Name Laboratory preparation methods
Definition Name of method(s) that involves the addition to a sample, such as a solution, or procedures, such as the filtering or extraction or digestion of a sample before analysis.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Method references
Definition Identification or textual information that identifies a published source describing the method used to analyze the sample and produce the result.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Method type description

Name Offset point
Definition Point whose location is defined by using azimuth (degrees) and distance (feet or meters) relative to a predefined site (locational point).
Format Degrees (Num 5.2) and distance (Num 6.2 feet or meters)
Source STORET modernization (American Management System, Inc., written commun., 1992)
Authority N/A

Name Preparation or extraction end date
Definition Date that preparation or extraction was completed.
Format yyyymmdd
Source Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study (Tetra Tech, Inc., 1993)
Authority N/A

Name Preparation or extraction end time
Definition Time that preparation or extraction was completed.
Format hhmm
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Preparation or extraction start date
Definition Date that preparation or extraction began.
Format yyyymmdd
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Preparation or extraction start time
Definition Time that preparation or extraction began.
Format hhmm
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name QC sample type
Definition Blank, spike, split, or replicate sample whose results are compared to a sample or control to ensure that the sample test results are within expected parameters.
Format Character
Source Modernized STORET
Authority N/A
Related Terms Field blank, Trip blank, Equipment blank

Name Replicate number
Definition Alphanumeric designation used to identify the replicate sample taken or observation made.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Name Sample alias
Definition Alphanumeric designation used for internal tracking to remove bias.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Sample collection method
Definition Name that identifies the process or procedure used to collect a sample or make a measurement.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Sample comments
Definition Notes or comments about sample.
Format Character
Source Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study (Tetra Tech, Inc., 1993)
Authority N/A
Related Terms Sample note

Name Sample depth
Definition Depth (feet or meters) at which a sample is collected for analysis relative to the land surface or surface of a water body or a ground-water table.
Format Num 7.2 (feet or meters)
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Depth

Name Sample medium code
Definition Alphanumeric code that designates the environmental material about which results are reported from either direct observation or collected samples; for example, water, tissue, and (or) sediment.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Sample matrix

Name Sample number
Definition Alphanumeric designation of a unit, substance, specimen, or observation taken at a specific date, time, and geographic location for the purpose of determining the identity and characterization of chemicals, bacteria, plants, animals, or other substances and (or) materials of concern.
Format Character
Source STORET modernization (American Management Systems, Inc., written commun., 1992).
Authority N/A
Related Terms Sample name, Sample Id

Name Sample size
Definition Weight, volume, dimensions, or count of elements or individuals in the sample or sample aliquot.
Format Num 7.2 (units)
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Secondary sample number
Definition Unique number used to identify a portion of the original sample. Sufficient information is provided to trace the sample within the organization's laboratory-management system.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Subsample number, Laboratory number, Sample Id

Name Voucher collection location
Definition Information required to identify the location where the analyzing organization maintains the voucher collection.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Reference collection, Standard reference material
Results

Name Bias of value
Definition Systematic error that is manifested as one or more consistent positive or negative deviations from the known or true value. It differs from random error, which shows no such deviation, in that it is inherent in a method or is caused by some artifact or idiosyncrasy of the measurement system.
Format Numeric
Source USGS National Water Quality Laboratory (written commun., 1994)
Authority N/A

Name Constituent
Definition Physical, chemical, or biological variable (component, element, compound) that may be assigned a value as the result of a measurement or observation.
Format Character
Source NWIS-II Lexicon (U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 1994)
Authority N/A
Related Terms Analyte, Characteristic

Name Detection level method
Definition Method for determining the detectable quantity of a constituent on the basis of laboratory conditions, analytical method, and (or) field conditions.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Method detection limit, Practical quantification limit

Name Detection level value
Definition Numeric quantity of an analyte that can be assessed and reported to a level of confidence that the analyte concentration is greater than zero and is determined from an analysis of a sample in a given matrix that contains the analyte.
Format Numeric
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Error value
Definition Numerical value of the error assigned to a result on the basis of the appropriate error model.
Format Numeric
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Precision of value
Definition Degree of similarity or mutual agreement among independent measurements of the same quantity as a result of repeated application of the process under specified conditions, without reference to the known or true value.
Format Numeric
Source USGS National Water Quality Laboratory (written commun., 1994)
Authority N/A
Related Terms Precision units

Name QA/QC results
Definition Narrative description of the collective quantitative and qualitative results of analyses of supplementary samples (replicates, blanks, standards, and so forth) that serves to evaluate the acceptability of the result.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Reporting form
Definition Form of a value reported for a constituent; for example, nitrate as nitrogen, alkalinity as calcium carbonate.
Format Character
Source NWIS-II
Authority N/A

Name Reporting unit
Definition (1) Designation by which a determined or specified amount of a measured or estimated quantity can be compared with any other quantity of the same kind; for example, micrograms per liter, feet per second and so forth. (2) Measurement scale that accompanies the value supplied in the sample result. (3) Dimensional unit of the value of a constituent.
Format Character
Source (1) DMIS, (2) STORET modernization (American Management Systems, Inc., written commun., 1992), (3) NWIS-II Lexicon (U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 1994)
Authority N/A
Related Terms Unit Id, Unit description

Name Result comment
Definition User or analyst supplied textual information that concerns the result obtained from a measurement or an analysis.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Proc result description

Name Result type
Definition Statistic or statistical element used as a basis for reporting the results of an analysis; for example, discrete, continuous, mean, median, max, and so forth.
Format Char4
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Statistical qualifier, Result code

Name Review and validation code
Definition Code that indicates that the result has been reviewed and has passed validation checks according to the program or protocol indicated and that the result as reported is the result that was determined.
Format Char4
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

Name Taxonomic key
Definition Alphanumeric designation for the unique, official scientific name of a biological organism and its position in the taxonomic nomenclature hierarchy.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority NOAA
Related Terms Taxa category, Taxonomic code

Name Value
Definition Numerical quantity determined, computed, or estimated or descriptive text assigned to a constituent as the result of a measurement or observation, includes values for analyses of QA/QC samples.
Format Numeric
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Result, Quantitative value

Name Value qualifier(s)
Definition Code(s) that specify a qualification of the result; for example, less than, greater than, estimated, and so forth.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A
Related Terms Remark code, Flag, Tag

Name Voucher number
Definition Identification used to specify which reference sample was used by the organization doing the analysis to classify a biological sample.
Format Character
Source DMIS
Authority N/A

References

Parker, S.P., 1994, McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms (5th ed.): New York, McGraw-Hill, Inc., 2194 p.

Tetra Tech, Inc., 1993, Lake Michigan mass balance study--Data element dictionary: Prepared by Tetra Tech, Inc., Fairfax, Va., for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 46 p.

Tri-Service CADD-GIS, 1993, Tri-Service GIS/spatial data standards--Release 1.2: Prepared by Tri-Service CADD-GIS Technology Center, U.S. Department of Defense, Waterways Experiment Station, 1006 p.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1988, Glossary of quality assurance related terms: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, EPA, 26 p.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992, Definitions for the minimum set of data elements for ground water quality: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 813/B-92-002, 98 p.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1993, DQO-IDS Data Dictionary: Prepared by Dyn Corp-Viar for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Quality Assurance Management, 60 p.

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Please e-mail comments to lorna@usgs.gov

Last modified: Fri Feb 8 14:39:11 EST 2002