Differential scavenging behavior of anthropogenic Pb revealed by sediment traps in the northern South China Sea basin

Weiying Li; Jingjing Zhang; Hongliang Li; Shuh-Ji Kao; Zezhou Wu; Xingju He; Lihua Ran; Martin G. Wiesner; Jianfang Chen

doi:10.1007/s13131-024-2430-8

Volume 43 Issue 11

Nov. 2024

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Weiying Li, Jingjing Zhang, Hongliang Li, Shuh-Ji Kao, Zezhou Wu, Xingju He, Lihua Ran, Martin G. Wiesner, Jianfang Chen. Differential scavenging behavior of anthropogenic Pb revealed by sediment traps in the northern South China Sea basin[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2024, 43(11): 26-33. doi: 10.1007/s13131-024-2430-8

Citation:

Weiying Li, Jingjing Zhang, Hongliang Li, Shuh-Ji Kao, Zezhou Wu, Xingju He, Lihua Ran, Martin G. Wiesner, Jianfang Chen. Differential scavenging behavior of anthropogenic Pb revealed by sediment traps in the northern South China Sea basin[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2024, 43(11): 26-33. doi: 10.1007/s13131-024-2430-8

Citation:

Weiying Li, Jingjing Zhang, Hongliang Li, Shuh-Ji Kao, Zezhou Wu, Xingju He, Lihua Ran, Martin G. Wiesner, Jianfang Chen. Differential scavenging behavior of anthropogenic Pb revealed by sediment traps in the northern South China Sea basin[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2024, 43(11): 26-33. doi: 10.1007/s13131-024-2430-8

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Differential scavenging behavior of anthropogenic Pb revealed by sediment traps in the northern South China Sea basin

doi: 10.1007/s13131-024-2430-8

Weiying Li¹,
Jingjing Zhang¹,
Hongliang Li^{1, 2, 3
,
,},
Shuh-Ji Kao^{4, 5},
Zezhou Wu¹,
Xingju He¹,
Lihua Ran¹,
Martin G. Wiesner^{1, 6},
Jianfang Chen^{1, 7
,
,}

1.
Key Laboratory of Marine Ecosystem Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou 310012, China
2.
Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519099, China
3.
Observation and Research Station of Yangtze River Delta Marine Ecosystems, Ministry of Natural Resources, Zhoushan 316021, China
4.
State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science and College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
5.
State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
6.
Institute of Geology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg 20146, Germany
7.
State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou 310012, China

Funds: The National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 42106045; the Scientific Research Fund of the Second Institute of Oceanography, MNR under contract No. JB2208; the National Science Foundation for Post-doctoral Scientists of China under contract No. 2021M703793; the Project Fund of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai) under contract No. SML2021SP207; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 42330412.

More Information

Corresponding author: lihongliang@sio.org.cn; jfchen@sio.org.cn
Received Date: 2023-11-15
Accepted Date: 2023-12-15

Available Online: 2024-11-29

Publish Date: 2024-11-25

Abstract

Abstract

Trace metals emitted from human activities may have penetrated into the deep seas, and the underlying control mechanisms remain poorly understood. Sinking particles collected by moored time-series sediment traps from the northern South China Sea (NSCS) basin showed significant enrichment of anthropogenic aerosol Pb relative to lithogenic Fe. Total mass flux was primarily driven by seasonal primary production, and significant positive correlations were found between Pb/Fe flux and major biogenic components, indicating the crucial role of the biological pump in Pb/Fe scavenging in the water column. Notably, Pb exhibited 30−50 times higher affinity to biogenic components than Fe. A comparison was made between the enrichment factors of Fe and Pb in aerosols, euphotic particles, and sinking particles, which revealed that Pb exhibited significantly higher particle reactivity than Fe. This higher particle reactivity may encompass processes such as adsorption/desorption, bioaccumulation and decomposition release. The differential scavenging behavior of Pb suggested that the majority of Pb was rapidly scavenged in the euphotic zone and was preferentially released for accumulation in the twilight zone. This accumulation may further outflow through the Luzon Strait and result in the high dissolved Pb concentration observed in the subsurface water columns in both the NSCS and western Pacific Ocean. The rest of anthropogenic Pb in sinking particles tended to penetrate into deeper water layers and continue to be released below the twilight zone. These findings provide new insights into the biogeochemical cycling of trace metals originating from anthropogenic aerosols in marginal seas and serve as an example of the fate of other anthropogenic atmospheric pollutants.
- anthropogenic aerosol,
- Pb,
- sinking particle,
- biological pump,
- northern South China Sea

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