A program at research that is required to certify standard reference materials for carbon dioxide measurements in sea water will be conducted. Such standards are needed to ensure adequate quality control of the measurements of carbon dioxide planned as part of the Global Ocean Flux Study (GOFS), and of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE). The standards are primarily to prescribe total dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity, but also encompass the equilibrium partial pressure of CO2 and pH. Particular stress will be placed on the use of appropriate primary standards to control the various laboratory procedures, and on demonstrating that the various measurements are consistent with a model for the chemistry of acidbase processes in sea water. This approach will help to ensure the accuracy as well as the precision of the measurements used to certify such standard reference materials.
