Antimony and arsenic biogeochemistry in the East China Sea

The biogeochemical cycles of the metalloid elements arsenic and antimony in the East China Sea (ECS), one of the most important marginal seas for western Pacific, were examined in May 2011. Dissolved inorganic arsenic (As(V) and As(III)) and antimony (Sb(V) and Sb(III)) species were determined by selective hydride generation–atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS). Results show that total dissolved inorganic arsenic (TDIAs; [TDIAs]=[As(V)]+[As(III)]) were moderately depleted in the surface water and enriched in the deep water. Arsenite (As(III)) showed different vertical profiles with that of TDIAs, with significant surface enrichment in the middle shelf region where the concentrations of phosphate were extremely low. Speciation of dissolved arsenic was subtly controlled by the stoichiometric molar ratio of arsenate (As(V)) to phosphate. The average As(V)/P ratio for the ECS in spring 2011 was 10.8×10−3, which is higher than previous results and indicates the arsenate stress. The concentrations of total dissolved inorganic antimony (TDISb; [TDISb]=[Sb(V)]+[Sb(III)]) were high near the Changjiang Estuary and the coastal area of Hangzhou Bay and decreased moderately off the coast. TDISb displayed moderate conservative behavior in the ECS that confirms by the correlations with salinity and dissolved aluminum. Different with that of As(III), antimonite (Sb(III)) concentrations were extremely lower in the ECS, with relative higher concentration appeared at the bottom layer which indicates the contribution from sediment-water interface. A preliminary box model was established to estimate the water-mass balance and antimony budgets for the ECS. Compared with other areas in the world, the concentrations of dissolved inorganic arsenic and antimony in the ECS remain at natural levels.