ANU Node initiates new quality control process for field radiometers

The APPN team at our Australian National University (ANU) Node in Canberra recently hosted a customised training course on their SVC field spectroradiometers. 

The course covered the correct handling and operation of these popular field-portable instruments and was delivered by Chris MacLellan from Precision Photometrics Limited. The session was funded by APPN with staff from our nodes at University of Sydney , University of Western Australia and Central Data team taking part. 

Field spectroradiometers are very sensitive optical instruments that are often used in plant research to measure the reflectance properties of plant leaves and canopies.  During the course the group discussed the challenges of managing their instruments, including running regular in-house calibration and quality checks. 

Chris’s work at Precision Photometrics is split into the development of optical instruments and on-site training in field spectroscopy. However he also has considerable experience in managing a fleet of field spectroradiometers from his previous work at the Field Spectroscopy Facility in the UK – and was happy to share his knowledge and best practices by putting together a detailed sequence of QC steps for the APPN teams to follow.

He says he was very glad that APPN contacted him for the training – and was delighted when they asked about developing an in-house protocol for routinely monitoring instrument performance and verifying the calibration prior to and following each field trip.

“Understanding the quality and accuracy of any shared spectroscopy data is crucial for assessing research results,” he said. 

“While the field measurement methodologies are important, it all starts with effective calibration and quality control protocols.”

ANU will now be sharing the new quality control procedure with the other eight APPN Nodes nationally. As a result, APPN clients can count on utilising instruments  with verified wavelength calibration and produce certified reflectance data whenever they go out into the field. 

8 April 2025