Challenges and Solutions with Managing Electronic Deliverables from Multiple Laboratories

Oral Presentation

Prepared by E. Strout, B. Franz, J. Hall
EcoChem, Inc., 1011 Western Avenue, Suite 1011, Seattle, WA, 98104, United States


Contact Information: [email protected]; 206-233-9332


ABSTRACT

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill was a catastrophic event that triggered the collection of thousands of samples. This required immediate decisions as to how the environmental data would be assembled from a large number of analytical laboratories, and managed such that the data would be accessible, usable, and comparable, while maintaining data integrity and defensibility. Through a collaboration between laboratories, NOAA Data Management Team, and EcoChem, millions of analytical records have been verified and validated; matched to the appropriate field data; and made available to the data users to support studies and assessments relating to the spill. Some of the challenges of managing such a large data set will be discussed, along with problem resolution procedures and lessons learned.