Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark; National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
Environ Pollut. 2021 Dec 15;291:118174. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118174. Epub 2021 Sep 13.
Since 2004, there has been a marked diversification in the methods used to determine aquatic microplastic (MP) concentrations. Despite calls for a unified approach to MP sampling, the proliferation of new methods has accelerated in recent years. Both minor method adaptations and entirely novel approaches have been introduced to overcome barriers to reliable MP sampling, extraction and quantification, resulting in a variety of complimentary but also competing approaches. However, there is little clarity regarding the extent to which new methods are acknowledged and adopted, or of the apparent drivers of, as well as barriers to, said adoption. To explore these issues, the rate of method diversification was examined in a systematic review. The rate and degree of diversification were determined by scoring each method by its "degree of novelty": highly novel methods, secondary adaptations of existing methods and smaller, tertiary adaptations of existing methods. This analysis revealed that the rate of method diversification has been greatest since 2011. Our results indicate limited use of these novel methods and adaptations in the subsequent literature, with many researchers falling back on methods that are well established in the existing literature. Importantly, there is little consistency in the units used when reporting MP concentrations. However, these differences are seldom driven by method selection and are rather the result of discrepancies between researchers. Thus, in understanding the requirements of comparability and consistent reporting for monitoring purposes, we can apply a diverse approach to sampling whilst maintaining the applicability and usefulness of the resulting data.
自 2004 年以来，用于确定水生微塑料（MP）浓度的方法明显多样化。尽管人们呼吁采用统一的 MP 采样方法，但近年来新方法的激增速度有所加快。为了克服可靠的 MP 采样、提取和定量的障碍，已经引入了一些较小的方法改进和全新的方法，从而产生了各种互补但也具有竞争的方法。然而，对于新方法的认可和采用程度，以及采用的明显驱动因素和障碍，缺乏明确的认识。为了探讨这些问题，我们在系统评价中检查了方法多样化的速度。通过对每种方法的“新颖程度”进行评分，确定了方法多样化的速度和程度：高度新颖的方法、现有方法的次要改编以及现有方法的较小的三级改编。这项分析表明，自 2011 年以来，方法多样化的速度最快。我们的研究结果表明，在随后的文献中，这些新方法和改编的使用有限，许多研究人员仍然依赖于现有文献中已经确立的方法。重要的是，在报告 MP 浓度时，使用的单位几乎没有一致性。然而，这些差异很少是由方法选择驱动的，而是研究人员之间差异的结果。因此，在理解监测目的的可比性和一致报告的要求时，我们可以在保持数据适用性和有用性的同时，采用多样化的采样方法。
