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Levels and distribution of heavy metals in atmospheric particular matters over the northern South China Sea

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Abstract

Oceans play a significant role in the cycling of trace metals and persistent organic pollutants. In this study, aerosol samples covering the whole northern South China Sea (SCS) were collected in 2005 and 2007, respectively, for analysis of trace metals and major elements. The levels of trace metals detected ranged from 0.514 to 119 ng/m3 in 2005 and from 0.130 to 24.2 ng/m3 in 2007, respectively. Cu, Zn, and Pb were the three predominant metals with high enrichment factors (>10), indicating the strong anthropogenic inputs. The trace metals over SCS were comparable to the values in suburban and background sites of South China, but generally higher than those over other seas and oceans. Considering the fact that they were influenced by their proximity to source regions and air mass origins, the elevated metals in 2005 were probably attributed to the strong wind and long-range atmospheric transport driven by Asian monsoon.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Xiangdong Li at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for assistance with sample analysis. This work was supported by NSFC (Nos. 41272390 and 41106104) and the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams (No. KZCX2-YW-T001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 510301, Guangzhou, China

    Weihai Xu, Wen Yan, Li Miao & Weixia Huang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 510640, Guangzhou, China

    Gan Zhang & Jun Li

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  1. Weihai Xu
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  2. Wen Yan
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  3. Gan Zhang
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  4. Jun Li
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  5. Li Miao
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  6. Weixia Huang
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Correspondence to Weihai Xu.

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Responsible editor: Gerhard Lammel

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Xu, W., Yan, W., Zhang, G. et al. Levels and distribution of heavy metals in atmospheric particular matters over the northern South China Sea. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 8774–8781 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2810-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2810-2

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