Distributions and sea-to-air fluxes of chloroform, trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, chlorodibromomethane and bromoform in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea during spring

Halocarbons including chloroform (CHCl3), trichloroethylene (C2HCl3), tetrachloroethylene (C2Cl4), chlorodibromomethane (CHBr2Cl) and bromoform (CHBr3) were measured in the Yellow Sea (YS) and the East China Sea (ECS) during spring 2011. The influences of chlorophyll a, salinity and nutrients on the distributions of these gases were examined. Elevated levels of these gases in the coastal waters were attributed to anthropogenic inputs and biological release by phytoplankton. The vertical distributions of these gases in the water column were controlled by different source strengths and water masses. Using atmospheric concentrations measured in spring 2012 and seawater concentrations obtained from this study, the sea-to-air fluxes of these gases were estimated. Our results showed that the emissions of C2HCl3, C2Cl4, CHBr2Cl, and CHBr3 from the study area could account for 16.5%, 10.5%, 14.6%, and 3.5% of global oceanic emissions, respectively, indicating that the coastal shelf may contribute significantly to the global oceanic emissions of these gases.

► Distributions of the VHCs were studied in the YS and the ECS.
► Elevated levels of VHCs were related to terrestrial input from the Yangtze River.
►  Biogenic production from diatoms was an important source of the VHCs.
► Shelf seas could significantly contribute to the global oceanic VHCs emission.