Context:
When a measurand value falls below an instrument's sensitivity threshold, an actual physical value cannot be reported. The lower limits of detection (LLOD) are often handled using data flag codes, where the LLOD value itself takes one of two structural forms:
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Static / Constant LLOD (Header-based): A fixed threshold recorded in site metadata or file headers.
Example (EBAS steel canister data): Detection limit: 5.0 pmol/mol, Detection limit expl.: Estimated, values below detection limit are flagged with 780.
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Time-Varying LLOD (Variable-based): A threshold that changes continuously with ambient conditions, instrument drift, or sampling time, stored as a dedicated time-series variable.
Example (NASA AMS field campaign data): Flag code defined as LLOD_FLAG: -8888, with time-varying LLOD values recorded in a paired data variable (e.g., OA_DL_AMS).
Challenge:
The metadata schema must systematically record both static and dynamic LLOD values, along with their associated flag semantics, to enable automated data discovery and filtering without requiring users to download and parse individual data files.
Context:
When a measurand value falls below an instrument's sensitivity threshold, an actual physical value cannot be reported. The lower limits of detection (LLOD) are often handled using data flag codes, where the LLOD value itself takes one of two structural forms:
Static / Constant LLOD (Header-based): A fixed threshold recorded in site metadata or file headers.
Example (EBAS steel canister data): Detection limit: 5.0 pmol/mol, Detection limit expl.: Estimated, values below detection limit are flagged with 780.
Time-Varying LLOD (Variable-based): A threshold that changes continuously with ambient conditions, instrument drift, or sampling time, stored as a dedicated time-series variable.
Example (NASA AMS field campaign data): Flag code defined as LLOD_FLAG: -8888, with time-varying LLOD values recorded in a paired data variable (e.g., OA_DL_AMS).
Challenge:
The metadata schema must systematically record both static and dynamic LLOD values, along with their associated flag semantics, to enable automated data discovery and filtering without requiring users to download and parse individual data files.