Within an international collaboration of the eight metrological institutes represented by the authors, the dependence of the triple-point temperature of equilibrium hydrogen on the deuterium content at low concentrations has been precisely determined so that the uncertainty in realizing the triple point as a temperature fixed point might be reduced by nearly one order of magnitude. To investigate the thermodynamic properties of the hydrogen-deuterium mixtures and to elucidate the factors that influence the melting temperature, 28 sealed fixed-point cells have been filled and measured, and some of these have been compared with an open-cell system. Hydrogen gas with a deuterium content ranging from 27.2 µmol D/mol H to 154.9 µmol D/mol H was studied using cells containing five different types of spin-conversion catalyst, with different catalyst-to-liquid volume ratios (a few per cent to more than 100%) and of different designs. The latter consideration is especially influential in determining the thermal behaviour of the cells and, thus, the temperature-measurement errors. The cells were measured at the eight participating institutes in accordance with a detailed protocol that facilitates a direct comparison of the results. Through analysis of the measurements, significant inter-institute deviations due to different measurement facilities and methods have been ruled out with respect to the determination of both the melting temperatures and the thermal parameters of the cells. The uncertainty estimates for the determination of the deuterium content have been verified by including isotopic analysis results from four different sources. The slope of the dependence of the triple-point temperature of equilibrium hydrogen isotopic mixtures on the deuterium content has been deduced from the melting temperatures of those sample portions not in direct contact with the catalysts. Evaluation of the data using different mathematical methods has yielded an average value of 5.4 2 µK per µmol D/mol H, with an upper bound of the standard uncertainty of 0.3 1 µK per µmol D/mol H. This is close to the literature value of 5.6 µK per µmol D/mol H that was obtained at higher deuterium concentrations.

Following the finalization of the work performed to establish the triplepoint temperature versus isotopic composition relationship for protium (Metrologia 42, 171 (2005)) adopted into the ITS-90 definition by the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) in 2005, and a preliminary exploration of the variability in the triple-point temperature of neon gas samples arising from differences in isotopic

ABSTRACT:The study describes significant outcomes of the 'Metrology for Meteorology' project, MeteoMet, which is an attempt to bridge the meteorological and metrological communities. The concept of traceability, an idea used in both fields but with a subtle difference in meaning, is at the heart of the project. For meteorology, a traceable measurement is the one that can be traced back to a particular instrument, time and location. From a metrological perspective, traceability further implies that the measurement can be traced back to a primary realization of the quantity being measured in terms of the base units of the International System of Units, the SI. These two perspectives reflect long-standing differences in culture and practice and this project -and this study -represents only the first step towards better communication between the two communities. The 3 year MeteoMet project was funded by the European Metrology Research Program (EMRP) and involved 18 European National Metrological Institutes, 3 universities and 35 collaborating stakeholders including national meteorology organizations, research institutes, universities, associations and instrument companies. The project brought a metrological perspective to several long-standing measurement problems in meteorology and climatology, varying from conventional ground-based measurements to those made in the upper atmosphere. It included development and testing of novel instrumentation as well as improved calibration procedures and facilities, instrument intercomparison under realistic conditions and best practice dissemination. Additionally, the validation of historical temperature data series with respect to measurement uncertainties and a methodology for recalculation of the values were included.

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Following the start of exploration of the problem of the effect of neon isotopes on the triple-point temperature in 2005, further progress was achieved in 2006-2008, and published in 2008. This paper summarizes the advances to date in our understanding as obtained from further work done in 2008-2009 on five basic aspects of the problem: new isotopic assays; new thermal measurements on neon of "natural" composition; the feasibility of obtaining a value of the slope dT tp /dx( 22 Ne) with an accuracy sufficient for the purpose; the possible occurrence of isotopic fractionation during the process of sealing the samples in the cells; and new thermal measurements