Preposition following "estimated"

Question

I'm working on a scientific paper and I want to convey the idea that I have obtained some data by using a certain source. The phrase I wrote was:

The turbulent fluxes at the air-sea interface are estimated by using in-situ data from a moored buoy of the Prediction and Research Moored Array over the Tropical Atlantic Ocean.

Is the by in the phrase correctly used?

Not when it's a noun. But when it's an adjective, it wants a hyphen. Many people use it as an adjective without the hyphen, though, so it wouldn't be wrong if it was changed. — Daniel, Oct 20 '11 at 00:06
I'm using in situ to describe the 'quality' of the data, that it was measured, well, in situ. — Draconar, Oct 20 '11 at 10:05

score 8 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 19 '11 at 18:51

8

Yes, the usage of by in your sentence is correct, though unnecessary. You could remove the by and retain the original meaning:

The turbulent fluxes at the air-sea interface are estimated using in-situ data ...

answered Oct 19 '11 at 18:51

Daniel

57,547

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 10 '12 at 16:52

1

The usage of "by using" is often encountered in scientific articles and literature. I suppose your example is from a similar source.

answered Aug 10 '12 at 16:52

Arsen Y.M.

1,325

Preposition following "estimated"

2 Answers2