Schoolchildren discover hotspots of floating plastic litter in rivers using a large-scale collaborative approach

Kiessling, Tim; Knickmeier, Katrin; Kruse, Katrin; Gatta‐Rosemary, Magdalena; Nauendorf, Alice; Brennecke, Dennis; Thiel, Laura; Wichels, Antje; Parchmann, Ilka; Körtzinger, Arne; Thiel, Martín

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147849

Cited by 31 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…These databases can be easily applied via open access software such as 'siMPle' or 'Open Specy' (Primpke et al, 2020b, Cowger et al, 2021). In a recent example, data was harmonized within a Citizen Science project following this approach (Kiessling et al, 2021). This development of open access software is accompanied by the improvement of the chemical identification approaches by other chemometric methods (Mecozzi et al, 2016, Renner et al, 2017, Renner et al, 2019a, Hufnagl et al, 2019, Kedzierski et al, 2019, da Silva et al, 2020, some of which are already commercially available (e.g.…”

Section: Synergies Between Thermoanalytical and Spectroscopic Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring of microplastic pollution in the Arctic: recent developments in polymer identification, quality assurance and control, and data reporting

et al. 2023

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The pollution of the environment with plastics is of growing concern worldwide, including the Arctic region. While larger plastic pieces are a visible pollution issue, smaller microplastics are not visible with the naked eye. These particles are available for interaction by Arctic biota and have become a concern for animal and human health. The determination of microplastic properties includes several methodological steps, i.e. sampling, extraction, quantification and chemical identification. This review discusses suitable analytical tools for the identification, quantification and characterization of microplastics in the context of monitoring in the Arctic. It further addresses quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) which is particularly important for the determination of microplastic in the Arctic, as both contamination and analyte losses can occur. It presents specific QA/QC measures for sampling procedures and for the handling of samples in the laboratory, either on land or on ship, and considering the small size of microplastics as well as the high risk of contamination. The review depicts which data should be mandatory to report, thereby supporting a framework for harmonized data reporting.

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Section: Synergies Between Thermoanalytical and Spectroscopic Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring of microplastic pollution in the Arctic: recent developments in polymer identification, quality assurance and control, and data reporting

et al. 2023

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“…Data are validated and curated by the scientific team and are made available upon request, as are also all the educational and scientific materials. The approach of the Cientificos de la Basura programme has been replicated in Germany 250,251 , where the sister programme -Plastic Pirates -is currently expanding to work with schools from other European countries.…”

Section: Box 2 | Collaborative Creation Of Scientific Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Citizen science in environmental and ecological sciences

Fraisl

Hager

Bedessem

et al. 2022

Nat Rev Methods Primers

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185

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Citizen science, broadly defined as public participation in scientific research and knowledge production, is becoming an increasingly well developed and valued approach with global reach and used in a wide range of scientific domains [1][2][3] . Much of this growth is driven by the availability of information technology infrastructures such as mobile phones and low-cost sensors for gathering and reporting data, the internet for sharing data, and cloud storage for hosting and storing data 4,5 . Growing literacy levels and educational attainment in many parts of the world also make it possible for many more people to contribute to knowledge creation in a meaningful way 6,7 .Citizen science initiatives involve the public in the research process to generate genuine scientific outcomes [8][9][10][11] . These outcomes include discoveries, such as in astrophysics 12 and archaeology projects 13 ; new insights, such as in epidemiology 14 and socio-linguistics projects 15 ; evidence-based policymaking, such as in pollution-monitoring initiatives [16][17][18] ; interventions such as in public health research 19 ; and environmental governance, including in ecology and biodiversity monitoring initiatives [20][21][22] . Citizen science research can fill important data gaps across both time and space 23 , which might not otherwise be possible without the contribution of many participants, including people with local and lay knowledge 24,25 or Indigenous knowledge 26,27 .

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“…Third, future studies should put their emphasis on tackling plastic pollution using all the published literature. Also, using citizen science and providing awareness of the problem to people, could be of great importance for achieving it (Kiessling et al, 2021). In detail, future research would be encouraged to focus on 1) standardizing the plastic size thresholds used in literature, 2) monitoring plastic pollution on the entire river course (i.e., sampling along three river zones), and 3) assessing whether MA distribution and transport along rivers might be affected by other factors (e.g., river width, riparian vegetation, natural barrages).…”

Section: Future Perspectives and Knowledge Gapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Riverine macroplastic gradient along watercourses: A global overview

Gallitelli

Scalici

2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Nowadays, plastics represent growing concern in aquatic habitats, harming more and more both ecosystem and human health. Since rivers are the main carriers of plastics to the sea, some studies were conducted on the transport of overall small plastics, but observations on big plastics (i.e., macroplastics) in rivers are poorly reported in the literature. Although most studies focused on plastic transport in the lower part of the rivers, research on the upper and middle zones are completely lacking. In this regard, this could influence the transport of plastics to the sea, with insights into the source and origin of macroplastics. Here, we aimed at overviewing macroplastic distribution along rivers, emphasizing on the global riverine plastic hotspot areas. First, 1) we analyzed and discussed the bibliometric analysis on macroplastics in rivers providing a framework for plastic pollution management. second, 2) we provided geographical insights into macroplastics by mapping global riverine plastic hotspot areas. Then, 3) we analyzed the main factors affecting macroplastic distribution and accumulation in rivers. Furthermore, 4) we assessed crucial gaps in riverine macroplastic accumulation, highlighting the importance of a plastic gradient in the horizontal transport along the entire river course (i.e., three river zones). Then, 5) we highlighted the lack of standardization regarding macroplastic size, concentration, and polymers that does not allow valuable comparisons among studies. At the end, 6) we concluded by providing future perspectives and conclusions on macroplastic distribution and accumulation in rivers worldwide. Our results might provide new insights into a comprehensive framework of macroplastic distribution along global rivers, suggesting the river rod approach as a way for future monitoring as all the complete course of a river plays a pivotal role in accumulating macroplastics.

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Schoolchildren discover hotspots of floating plastic litter in rivers using a large-scale collaborative approach

Cited by 31 publications

References 68 publications

Monitoring of microplastic pollution in the Arctic: recent developments in polymer identification, quality assurance and control, and data reporting

Monitoring of microplastic pollution in the Arctic: recent developments in polymer identification, quality assurance and control, and data reporting

Citizen science in environmental and ecological sciences

Riverine macroplastic gradient along watercourses: A global overview

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