Atmosphere-coastal ocean fluxes of particulate arsenic and antimony

Abstract

Aerosol concentrations of arsenic determined on samples from the English Channel were in the range<0.05 to 11.0 ng As (SCM) −1 and from the North Atlantic<0.03 to 0.36 ng As (SCM) −1. Antimony concentrations were in the range<0.06 to 2.7 ng Sb (SCM) −1 in the English Channel and<0.02 to 0.4 ng Sb (SCM) −1 for the North Atlantic. The bulk aerosol in each area was predominantly of marine origin, although an anthropogenic component was evident in some samples. Aerosol deposition to coastal waters may be a more important source of dissolved arsenic and antimony than the riverine input. The results suggest that the flux of soluble arsenic from the aerosol to the English Channel is five times higher, and that of antimony 15 times higher, than the corresponding dissolved fluxes from the River Tamar. The concentrations and fluxes of the metals in the open ocean are an order of magnitude lower than in the coastal environment. The potential for the interhemispheric transfer of the metals is also examined.