ABSTRACT
Automation of one or more steps in the analysis of environmental samples, whether it be the sample preparation/dissolution stage, the determination stage, or simply the collation/reporting of results, is accepted as essential in many modern laboratories. Longterm comparisons of manual and automated methods for nutrient analysis show that both give similar results (Nausch, 1997). Automated analytical procedures, however, offer numerous advantages. These include the reduced possibility of procedural errors (perhaps through a momentary lapse in concentration), capability for multielement or multispecies analysis, small sample volume requirement, and the possibility of inclusion within a laboratory information management system (LIMS), whereby samples are identified automatically throughout the analytical procedure. Automated instruments used in seawater surveys, for example, may produce vast quantities of data, and in such cases fully automated data handling may be deemed essential (Whitehouse and Preston, 1997).
