Distributions and sea-to-air fluxes of volatile halocarbons in the southern Yellow Sea and the East China Sea

Distributions and sea-to-air fluxes of five kinds of volatile halocarbons(VHCs) were studied in the southern Yellow Sea(SYS) and the East China Sea(ECS) in November 2007. The results showed that the concentrations of 1,1,1-trichloroethane(C2H3Cl3), 1,1-dichloroethene(C2H2Cl2), 1,1,2-trichloroethene(C2HCl3), trichloromethane(CHCl3) and tetrachloromethane(CCl4) in the surface water were 0.31–4.81, 2.75–21.3, 1.21–17.1, 5.02–233 and 0.045–4.47 pmol/L, respectively, with the average values of 1.89, 12.20, 6.93, 60.90 and 0.33 pmol/L. On the whole, the horizontal distributions of C2H3Cl3, C2H2Cl2 and CCl4 were affected mainly by anthropogenic activities, while C2HCl3 and CHCl3 were influenced by biological factors as well as anthropogenic activities. In the study area, the concentrations of VHCs(except C2HCl3) exhibited a decreasing trend from inshore to offshore sites, with the higher values occurring in the coastal waters. The sea-to-air fluxes of C2H3Cl3, C2HCl3, CHCl3 and CCl4 were calculated to be-56.00–(-5.68),-7.31–123.42, 148.00–1 309.31 and-83.32–(-1.53) nmol/(m2·d), respectively, with the average values of-6.77, 17.14, 183.38 and-21.27 nmol/(m2·d). Our data showed that the SYS and ECS in autumn was a sink for C2H3Cl3 and CCl4, while it was a source for C2HCl3 and CHCl3 in the atmosphere.