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Designing and implementing a marine microplastics monitoring program: the AIMS experience
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Researchers described the development and validation of a long-term microplastic monitoring program for Australian marine waters by the Australian Institute of Marine Science, covering methodology development, spatial sampling design, and the influence of oceanographic conditions on microplastic distribution. Long-term monitoring programs are essential for detecting trends in microplastic contamination over time.
Marine plastic pollution will likely increase should projections of increased plastic production eventuate. This necessitates monitoring status and trends of plastics entering the marine environment. Presented here is the development and validation of microplastics methodologies for quantifying microplastics in the marine environment. The translation of these methods into a long term spatial and temporal marine microplastic monitoring program in Australian waters is also described. Data will be discussed in the context of physiochemical parameters (i.e., surface current speed, wind speed, salinity, and temperature) to reveal the potential drivers of microplastic distributions. Also see: https://micro2022.sciencesconf.org/427402/document
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.