GEOCHEMICAL CYCLES OF THE ATMOPHILE ELEMENTS ARSENIC AND ANTIMONY ...

• Main Author: Austin, Laurence Stuart
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: University of Plymouth 1984
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.24382/3259; https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/handle/10026.1/2514

Atmospheric aerosol samples from coastal and open ocean environments in the North Atlantic were analysed for the atmophile elements arsenic and antimony, and for the marine tracers sodium and magnesium. The aerosol concentrations of sodium and magnesium were similar in both environments, about 2000 ng Na (SCM)ˉ¹ and 320 ng Mg (SCM)ˉ¹. The atmophiles were more concentrated in the coastal aerosol, 0.67 ng As(SCM)ˉ¹ and 0.32 ng Sb (SCM)ˉ¹, than in the open ocean aerosol, 0.07 ng As (SCM)ˉ¹ and 0.086 ng Sb (SCM)ˉ¹, and as continental particles were only observed in the coastal aerosol, this indicates that arsenic and antimony in the marine aerosol are of continental origin. Total deposition fluxes to the North Atlantic were about 1.4 kt yrˉ¹for arsenic and antimony, and about 12 t As yrˉ¹ and 5 t Sb yrˉ¹to the dissolved phase of the English Channel. Coastal deposition was higher than the dissolved element fluxes from the River Tamar. From the above data, steady state models of the arsenic cycle were developed, ...