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Highlights in the field of air analysis included: a new focus on measuring tyre-wear particle emissions; an interest in using unmanned aerial vehicles for sampling purposes and an increased use of ICP-MS for measuring halogenated volatile organics, metals sampled directly from air and single particles. Workers have explored further the full capabilities of ICP-MS/MS, which continued to dominate water analysis, including the speciation analysis of non-metallic elements in environmental samples. By far the largest number of papers on water analysis involved preconcentration. The growing interest in reagents for green chemistry was evidenced by the publication of several reviews. Novelties included the direct introduction of magnetic nanoparticles into FAAS to boost sensitivity, and the simultaneous dual-drop preconcentration of oxidation state species that avoided the need for a sequence of elution steps by preconcentrating the analytes into specific reagents contained in the drops. Although the total reflection XRFS and LIBS techniques are close to achieving the detection limits needed to screen contaminated waters, users of these instruments often neglect to validate their methods adequately through the use of reference materials. In methods for the analysis of soils, plants and related materials, sustainable digestion, extraction and preconcentration methods featured strongly. The development of AAS, AES and AFS methods for the direct analysis of solid samples and for increasing sensitivity through analyte enrichment continued to be of considerable interest. The nitrogen-microwave inductively coupled atmospheric-pressure plasma showed promise for ICP-MS analyses. Applications of LIBS have increased dramatically in number with noteworthy developments including single-chamber laser-ablation LIBS and the analysis of plant leaves without the need for grinding and pelleting. However, many published studies lacked validation through e.g. analysis of CRMs or comparison with results obtained by other techniques. Efforts have continued on the characterisation of natural and synthetic materials that are sufficiently homogeneous to act as reference materials (RMs) in the analysis of geological materials. In particular, application of microanalytical techniques, such as LA-ICP-MS and SIMS, led to the availability of a variety of new RMs for in situ isotope ratio determinations. The application of portable LIBS instrumentation to mineral prospecting and ore processing has received much attention, with the development of new chemometric models to improve data quality. The enormous amount of analytical data produced by modern instrumentation prompted the development of software, most of which has been made freely available, for facilitating the processing and reduction of isotopic data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of air analysis, highlights within this review period included: a new in situ method for measuring resuspended road dust arising from vehicular movements; new ink-printed filter reference materials for black- and elemental-carbon measurements; coupling of a scanning mobility particle sizer to a single-particle-ICP-MS instrument for improved nanoparticle characterisation; developments in total-reflection XRF spectrometry for trace analysis and evaluation of vibrational spectroscopic techniques for measuring respirable crystalline silica in the workplace. The increasing availability of ICP-MS/MS instruments is revolutionising the analysis of environmental samples such as waters for trace elements. The advent of the mass shift mode makes some elements such as P and S much easier to quantify and allows the REEs and some radioisotopes to be determined at much lower concentrations than previously possible. Advances in vapour generation methods are mostly limited to photochemical and chemical vapour generation as reflected in the new table listing the main advances. Solid or liquid phase extraction prior to analysis remains of great interest, although a notable trend is the synthesis of new materials rather than optimisation of commercially available chelating agents and columns. The analytical effort presented in a paper is sometimes much less than the effort put into the synthesis of the materials so one wonders about the likelihood of methods actually being used and results replicated. Notable in the analysis of soils and plants was the unusually large number of review articles – possibly because practical research was hampered by the Covid-19 epidemic. Areas of continued growth were research on nanoparticles, the application of high-resolution continuum source AAS for multielement analysis, the development of miniaturised AES instruments that may ultimately be field-portable and application of LIBS to the analysis of plant materials. A concerted effort to characterise natural minerals that are sufficiently homogeneous to act as reference materials in the microanalysis of geological materials has resulted in the availability of new materials for isotope ratio determinations. Tied to this has been research into U–Pb dating of zircon and a variety of other accessory minerals by LA-ICP-MS and SIMS. New chemometric models have been developed to handle the complex LIBS data arising from the analysis of geological matrices in the field and during ore processing. Studies on the use of ICP-MS/MS to reduce polyatomic interferences in geological applications were widespread, reflecting the availability of such instruments. In contrast, the potential offered by integrating LIBS data with those from LA-ICP-MS has only just started to be explored but is likely to increase with the development of commercial instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of air analysis, highlights within this review period included: a review paper of developments in new personal air samplers for workplace air measurements; a new passive air sampler for Hg0; new filter-based RMs; a new field-deployable carbon analyser for speciation measurements of carbonaceous aerosols and advances in the measurement of RCS using vibrational spectroscopic techniques. The maturity of AAS methods for the analysis of waters was highlighted this year by the lack of significant developments. All the novelty was in sample preparation as reflected in Tables 1 and 2. The tables also reflect the large interest in the use of graphene oxide as a solid phase for preconcentration and the continued use of magnetic nanoparticles. There are now enough methods and application to warrant the inclusion of the analysis of nanoparticles as a separate section rather than as a subsection in speciation. This trend is set to continue as instrumental improvements allow lower size LODs and the determination of lower particle numbers. Notable advances in the analysis of soils and plants included work on the preparation of new RMs as alternatives to NIST soil SRMs that are now in short supply. There was increased interest in the development of miniaturised AES instruments with the potential for field deployment. In the analysis of soil by LIBS, more studies included some form of external validation e.g. comparison with results of an established analytical method, which is most welcome. The availability of well-characterised matrix-matched reference materials continues to be a limitation in the production of high-quality geoanalytical data, particularly when exploring the fine structure of geological materials by microanalytical techniques such as LA-ICP-MS and SIMS. It is heartening to see that many of the researchers working in this area appreciate the importance of making new RMs available to the wider geochemical community. Although the development of portable LIBS systems continues to attract much interest, the current generation of instruments do not appear to be able to match the capabilities of techniques like pXRFS, particularly for the quantification of minor and trace elements in geological settings. Some of the LIBS calibration issues highlighted are reminiscent of those encountered in the early days of pXRFS and should be overcome in time. Many of the reported improvements to in situ measurements of isotope ratios were in support of geochronological studies. Likely future trends include the increased use of imaging in U–Pb geochronology given that LA-ICP-QMS mapping is now capable of acquiring all the required compositional and U–Pb age information at high-spatial resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of air analysis, highlights within this review period included: new isotopic data for reference dust materials; a new device for preparing and mounting delicate air filter samples for X-ray analysis and use of oxygen-mediated mass-shift ion chemistry for measuring sulfur in aerosol samples by ICP-MS. The use of DGT and ionic liquids for preconcentrating trace elements and other analytes from waters has become more established. The resurgence of interest in As speciation has been noted with extensive reviews as well as methods for the challenging determination of thioarsenic species. Improvements in methodologies have achieved LODs with GC-MS that were once only possible with ICP-MS, thereby making it possible for a larger number of laboratories to undertake speciation analysis. Field preconcentration methods and hand-held XRF instruments have made it easier to screen contaminated waters, thereby allowing sampling sites to be selected more effectively. There has been renewed interest in atomic emission sources such as the arc, GD and plasmatron for the analysis of plants and soils. The upward trend in publication of LIBS methods continued but many lacked validation through comparison with established methods or analysis of CRMs. There is a clear need for closer collaboration between the physicists driving fundamental developments in plasma spectroscopy and analytical geochemists, who understand the complexities of environmental samples and the requirement to implement robust QC procedures. Interest in multivariate analysis of pXRFS spectra to predict soil properties related to fertility has increased. Much research effort continues to be devoted to characterisation of matrix-matched geological RMs, both synthetic and natural samples, particularly for in situ analysis by microanalytical techniques, such as LA-MC-ICP-MS and SIMS. Such RMs are essential to compensate for matrix effects and need to be available in sufficient quantities to enable interlaboratory comparisons based on the same RM. The increased access to MC-ICP-MS instrumentation, especially in China, is reflected in the diverse range of isotopic systems now being studied. Most studies present incremental improvements to existing separation procedures or measurement protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of air analysis, highlights within the period covered by this review included a wearable air sampler with an inbuilt GPS sensor which enabled autonomous sampling to be performed at specific sites once the device had been preprogrammed with the requisite location coordinates. A prototype high resolution laser absorption spectroscopic instrument was developed as a potential SI-traceable alternative to ID-CV-ICP-MS for determining mercury concentrations in air and its isotopic composition. Improvements in the capabilities of single-particle aerosol mass spectrometers were noted. New measurements using tools such as LDI-MS and PTR-MS are providing new insights into the composition of carbonaceous particles. A large amount of effort continues to be directed towards multi-element preconcentration methods for water analysis, using either liquid or solid phase extraction to boost the sensitivity of instrumentation. Species-specific preconcentration methods were developed for the determination of mercury or arsenic species and methodologies employed to isolate elements from matrices such as seawater before isotope-ratio determinations. The focus of elemental speciation has shifted towards elemental fractionation with the determination of nano-sized fractions. The advent of ICP-MS/MS instrumentation has made the analysis of non-metallic elements such as F or P possible with improved detection limits. An interesting development of the isotope dilution technique was the use of isotopically labelled cell gasses to investigate the possibility of carrying out isotope dilution analysis of monoisotopic elements such as As or Y. Much effort has been devoted to characterising new and existing matrix-matched reference materials for calibration and quality control in the determination of the elemental and isotopic composition of geological samples. Zircon geochronology is a very active area of research and there is now considerable interest in developing U–Pb dating methods for other accessory minerals and carbonates. The application of in situ techniques such as LA-ICP-MS, SIMS, and LIBS to obtain geochemical information at high spatial resolution is another continuing theme. The ongoing interest in the optimisation of methods for extraction of analytes from soil and plants included developments relating to nanoparticles, estimation of bioavailability and non-chromatographic speciation analysis. The relative maturity of the AAS, AES and AFS techniques means that there have been few reports of major advances in these fields. Many of the developments in ICP-MS have been driven by the increased availability of ICP-MS/MS instrumentation. The importance of sample preparation in LIBS has increasingly been recognised. Proximal analysis – in which chemometric approaches are applied to data obtained by atomic (and molecular) spectroscopy to infer physical or chemical properties of a sample e.g. the pH of a soil – are becoming more common, in particular in relation to field-portable techniques such as LIBS and pXRFS, with increased attention being paid to the opportunities arising from data fusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the 34th annual review of the application of atomic spectrometry to the chemical analysis of environmental samples. This Update refers to papers published approximately between August 2017 and June 2018 and continues the series of Atomic Spectrometry Updates (ASUs) in Environmental Analysis that should be read in conjunction with other related ASUs in the series, namely: clinical and biological materials, foods and beverages; advances in atomic spectrometry and related techniques; elemental speciation; X-ray spectrometry; and metals, chemicals and functional materials. The review is not intended to be a comprehensive overview but selective with the aim of providing a critical insight into developments in instrumentation, methodologies and data handling that represent a significant advance in the use of atomic spectrometry in the environmental sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the 33th annual review of the application of atomic spectrometry to the chemical analysis of environmental samples. This update refers to papers published approximately between August 2016 and June 2017 and continues the series of Atomic Spectrometry Updates (ASUs) in environmental analysis that should be read in conjunction with other related ASUs in the series, namely: clinical and biological materials, foods and beverages; advances in atomic spectrometry and related techniques; elemental speciation; X-ray spectrometry; and metals, chemicals and functional materials. In the field of air analysis, highlights within this review period included the fabrication of new air samplers using 3D printer technology, development of a portable aerosol concentrator unit based upon electrostatic precipitation and instrumental developments such as a prototype portable spark emission spectrometer to quantify metal particles in workplace air. The advent of ICP-MS/MS systems has enabled analysts to develop improved methods for the determination of PGEs and radioactive elements present in airborne particles. With such instruments, the capacity to eliminate or minimise many isobaric interferences now enables analysts to forego the use of many onerous sample clean-up procedures. Improvements in the capabilities of aerosol mass spectrometers were noted as were developments in other complimentary measurement techniques such as Raman. In the arena of water analysis there are growing concerns regarding engineered NPs e.g. Ag NPs, entering water courses resulting in the development and optimisation of new methods based upon FFF and sp-ICP-MS techniques to measure such inputs. Similar concerns exist for MRI contrasting agents e.g. Gd-based compounds and here improved methodologies that involve the use of sample preconcentration using chelating columns and ICP-MS analysis have been proposed. In the field of plant and soil analysis, similar to developments in the water sector, there has been increased interest in the measurement of NPs. Many comparisons of sample digestion or extraction methods have been reported but a key issue rarely addressed is transferability, i.e. whether methods preferred by one group of researchers using particular apparatus are also optimal in a different laboratory using different apparatus. New sample preconcentration methods continued to appear although – as in previous years – the CRMs selected for method validation often failed to reflect the nature of the intended sample(s). A noteworthy advance is the use of HR-CS-ETMAS for elemental analysis. Developments in LIBS included greater use of TEA CO2 lasers in place of Nd:YAG lasers and increased use of stand-off measurement. The past year has also seen a rise in proximal sensing using LIBS and pXRFS. In the field of geological analysis, the quest continues for well-characterised matrix-matched materials suitable for the calibration of elemental and, particularly, isotopic measurements by microanalytical techniques. Increasing interest in stable isotope analysis by SIMS is reflected by the number of matrix-matched RMs developed specifically for this technique. Much work continues on ways of improving isotope ratio measurements by ICP-MS and TIMS for a wide range of different isotope systems relevant to geochemical studies. High spatial resolution analysis by LIBS, LA-ICP-MS and SIMS to obtain data on chemical and isotopic variations in minerals and biogenic materials in two and three dimensions are the foundation for many new insights in geoscientific research. In XRFS and LIBS, the advantages and limitations of portable instrumentation continue to be major focus of activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the 32nd annual review of the application of atomic spectrometry to the chemical analysis of environmental samples. This update refers to papers published approximately between August 2015 and June 2016 and continues the series of Atomic Spectrometry Updates (ASUs) in environmental analysis that should be read in conjunction with other related ASUs in the series, namely: clinical and biological materials, foods and beverages; advances in atomic spectrometry and related techniques; elemental speciation; X-ray spectrometry; and metals, chemicals and functional materials. In the field of air analysis, highlights within this review period included the development of a new prototype fluorescence instrument for the ultratrace determination of oxidised mercury species, and coupling of elemental analysers to CRDS alongside the development of FTIR and Raman techniques for the improved characterisation of carbonaceous aerosols. In the arena of water analysis, methods continued to be reported for the speciation of As, Cr and Hg species and, following on from last year, Gd species derived from MRI agents discharged at low level from medical facilities into water courses. Improved methods for the determination of legacy compounds such as organoleads and tins made use of plasma techniques that nowadays are more tolerant of organic solvents. Instrumental developments reported included the use of MC-ICP-MS for isotopic tracer studies and a review of TXRF techniques and associated preconcentration procedures for trace element analysis. In the field of plant and soil analysis, there is a welcome trend in that more workers appear to be optimising their analytical methods (or at least checking their performance, e.g. by analysis of CRMs) even if the main purpose of their study is environmental application rather than fundamental spectroscopy. On-going challenges include: the fact that most speciation methods reported are still too complicated, costly or time consuming, for routine use; the need for more and a wider range of CRMs, especially for speciation analysis and for use with laser-based techniques; and the lack of harmonised analytical methodology, which hinders international environmental regulatory monitoring efforts. In geological applications, a variety of techniques have been employed in the drive towards high resolution multi-elemental imaging of complex solid samples. Recent developments in cell design, aerosol transport and data acquisition for LA-ICP-MS, combined with improvements in ICP mass spectrometer design, provided evidence of its potential for very rapid quantitative 3D imaging. Elemental and isotope imaging by NanoSIMS enabled accurate U–Pb dating of mineral domains too small for reliable measurements by LA-ICP-MS. Although megapixel synchrotron XRFS is still in its infancy, it too should open up new horizons in the study of trace and major element distributions and speciation in geological materials and offer a complementary method to other imaging techniques. The deployment of ICP-MS/MS technology has resulted in successful method development to overcome several intractable isobaric interferences in the analysis of geological materials by single quadrupole ICP-MS with LA and solution sample introduction. Many more environmental applications using this approach are likely to be reported in future ASUs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the 31st annual review of the application of atomic spectrometry to the chemical analysis of environmental samples. This update refers to papers published approximately between August 2014 and July 2015 and continues the series of Atomic Spectrometry Updates (ASUs) in Environmental Analysis that should be read in conjunction with other related ASUs in the series, namely: clinical and biological materials, foods and beverages; advances in atomic spectrometry and related techniques; elemental speciation; X-ray spectrometry; and metals, chemicals and functional materials. In the field of air analysis, highlights within this review period included: the development of a new laser fluorescence instrument for the ultratrace determination of mercury vapour; single particle ICP-MS studies and the coupling of elemental analysers to mass spectrometers for the improved characterisation of carbonaceous aerosols. In the arena of water analysis, methods continue to be developed: for the extraction and preconcentration of elements, As, Cr, Hg and Sb species and determination of elemental constituents in colloidal and NP fractions. Emerging elements of interest include Gd derived from MRI agents discharged at low level from medical facilities in water courses. Instrumental developments reported included the use of MC-ICP-MS for isotopic tracer studies and a review of TXRF techniques and associated preconcentration procedures for trace element analysis. In the period covered by this update several articles have explored the analysis of soil extracts for geochemical prospecting. There has been widening interest in the use of CS-AAS and in the application of techniques capable of direct sample analysis such as slurry sampling ETAAS and ETV-ICP-AES. Portable XRF instrumentation is now being used in many disciplines to quantify trace elements in soils – bringing a need for better transfer of analytical knowledge to non-specialist users – and the growing use of portable XRF in proximal sensing is also noteworthy. Recent research indicates that geological applications still drive many of the instrumental and methodological advances in LA-ICP-MS. Fundamental studies continued to shed light on the processes involved and hence ways of improving the analysis of laser-produced aerosols and to minimise matrix and fractionation effects. A new technique LA-DOF-MS (distance of flight) was described. The utility of LIBS and portable XRF for in situ survey work continues to show promise but issues such as appropriate calibration regimes and data processing protocols will still need to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an analysis of the advances in environmental analysis using atomic spectrometry as of December 2014, highlighting review papers published between August 2013 to July 2014. Topics of the review papers include x-ray spectrometry, plasma-cavity ringdown spectrometry, and atomic absorption spectrometry. A glossary of terms related to atomic spectrometry is also presented.

This is the 29th annual review of the application of atomic spectrometry to the chemical analysis of environmental samples. This Update refers to papers published approximately between September 2012 and July 2013 and continues the series of Atomic Spectrometry Updates (ASUs) in Environmental Analysis1 that should be read in conjunction with other related ASUs in the series namely: clinical and biological materials, foods and beverages;2 advances in atomic spectrometry and related techniques;3 elemental speciation;3 X-ray spectrometry4 and advances in the analysis of metals, chemicals and materials.5 In the field of air analysis, highlights within this review period include measuring the bioaccessible fraction of metals in particles and ongoing work in assessing the performance of optical and combustion techniques for the determination of the carbonaceous content of airborne particulate matter. Developments in instrumentation included new sampler designs for the collection of nanoparticles, the coupling of FFF and hydrodynamic chromatography to ICP-MS for the sizing and compositional analysis of such particles and the ongoing development of aerosol mass spectrometry. In the eld of water ? analysis, new procedures for the detection and quanti cation of ? emerging pollutants in water such as MRI contrast agents have been developed. Instrumental developments reported include the use of molecular absorption spectrometry, by exploiting the CS-AAS technique, for measuring halogen species in water. Numerous articles involving the application of atomic spectrometry to plants, soils and related materials appeared in this review period but, as usual, most were concerned with the environmental signi cance of ? the results, rather than the methodology used to obtain them. Nevertheless, there have been some interesting developments. Both LIBS and PXRF spectrometry have been used more widely, variants such as LA-LIBS and microwave assisted LIBS have appeared, and PXRF spectrometry has been applied for the rst time in the analysis ? of plants. Developments in geochemical analysis include the production and (re)certi cation of new geological RMs for bulk, ? isotopic and microspatial analysis. Optimisation of LA-ICP-MS techniques for the interrogation of geochemical samples continues to be reported and a number of useful instrumental review articles (AMS, ICP-MS and SIMS) have been published. Feedback on this review is most welcome and the review coordinator can be contacted using the email address provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the 28th annual review published in JAAS on the application of atomic spectrometry to the chemical analysis of environmental samples. This Update refers to papers published approximately between September 2011 and August 2012 and continues the series of Atomic Spectrometry Updates (ASUs) in Environmental Analysis1 that should be read in conjunction with other related ASUs in the series, namely: clinical and biological materials, foods and beverages2; advances in atomic spectrometry and related techniques3; elemental speciation4; X-ray spectrometry5 and industrial analysis: metals, chemicals and advanced materials.6 In the field of air analysis there is ongoing interest in measuring atmospheric Hg species and evaluating procedures for the determination of the carbonaceous content of airborne particulate matter. Other noteworthy areas of interest include: development of LIBS and MS systems for in situ measurement; and the use of synchrotron-based X-ray techniques for the solid-state speciation of airborne particles. In the field of water analysis, as in previous years, the main areas of activity are the development, some may say redevelopment, of preconcentration and extraction procedures and elemental speciation protocols for elements such as As, Cr and Sb. There is increasing interest in developing portable instrumentation for field use using AES or XRF techniques. In the field of soil and plant analysis, noteworthy developments this year include the emergence of nanoSIMS as a tool for trace element imaging, and greater use of techniques such as LIBS and PXRF with chemometric data processing to provide overall identification or classification of samples, rather than accurate quantification of specific analytes. Of concern, however, is the publication of several articles ‘reinventing the wheel’. For example, one study compared the analysis of dust by PIXE with results obtained by ICP-AES following HNO3 digestion according to USEPA Method 3050B, and another compared XRF data for soil samples with data from ICP-MS analysis of aqua regia soil digests. Unsurprisingly, both concluded that the X-ray technique produced higher concentrations for some elements than pseudo-total digestion! This suggests that there is a need for greater engagement between analytical and environmental geochemists to ensure that users of atomic spectrometry―and perhaps also some journal editors―are aware of the established scope of different analytical techniques and methods. Developments in geochemical analysis include: production and certification of new geological RMs with well-constrained isotopic contents or the recertification of existing RMs to include such isotopic data; optimisation of LA-ICP-MS and TIMS techniques and the reported use of a new ICP-MS instrument equipped with a Mattauch-Herzog type array detector to deliver improved isotopic measurement capabilities. Feedback on this review is most welcome and the lead author can be contacted using the email address provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the 27th annual review published in Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry of the application of atomic spectrometry to the chemical analysis of environmental samples. This Update refers to papers published approximately between September 2010 and August 2011 and continues the series of Atomic Spectrometry Updates (ASUs) in Environmental Analysis1 that should be read in conjunction with other related ASU reviews in the series, namely: clinical and biological materials, foods and beverages;2 advances in atomic spectrometry and related techniques;3 elemental speciation;4 X-ray fluorescence spectrometry5 and industrial analysis: metals, chemicals and advanced materials.6 To celebrate the 25th anniversary of JAAS, a 25-year retrospective of ASU reviews has been published7 to highlight the development and evolution of atomic spectrometric techniques and their use in measurement applications. Specific to this review, in the field of air analysis there is ongoing interest in measuring atmospheric Hg species and evaluating procedures for the determination of the carbonaceous content of airborne particulate matter. In a measurement arena where RMs are relatively scarce, a number of useful interlaboratory comparison studies have been reported. In the field of water analysis, as in previous years, the main areas of activity are the development of preconcentration and extraction procedures and elemental speciation protocols for elements such as As, Cr and Hg. There is increasing interest in evaluating TXRF for trace analysis. In the field of soil and plant analysis, sample dissolution and extraction remain a major focus of interest―especially methods to assess bioavailability―and there is a hint that ‘greener’ approaches, using less concentrated acid, are becoming important. Especially notable are the continued developments in LIBS, a shift towards more widespread use of techniques such as HPLC-ICP-MS and synchrotron-based XRF, and growth in studies where multiple techniques have been applied to the same sample for trace element mapping or speciation analysis. Less desirable are the publication of variants on well-established analytical methods with marginal novelty and several instances where substantially similar articles appeared almost simultaneously in more than one journal, thus generating ‘two publications for the price of one’. It is evident that MC-ICP-MS and LA-MC-ICP-MS are now so widely available in geoanalytical laboratories that applications papers, that include little of novelty from an analytical perspective, dominate the literature. However, this trend should not mask the vital research required to underpin and improve the quality of the geochemical data on which any interpretation is based. Another observation is the high proportion of analytical and applications papers with Chinese authors, reflecting the rise of atomic spectrometry in China over the past number of years. Feedback on this review is most welcome and the lead author can be contacted using the email address provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on Atomic Spectrometry Updates (ASU) which were incorporated into this journal in the year 1986. The Atomic Spectroscopy Group of the Society for Analytical Chemistry started a process for establishing an annual publication to review the rapidly progressing field if atomic spectroscopy.