Distributions and influencing factors of total dissolved inorganic antimony in the coastal area of Zhejiang and Fujian

Antimony has been ubiquitously present in the aquatic environment as a toxic and rare metalloid element. The contamination of antimony and its compounds in the environment is increasingly severe, so it has been received extensive attention by the international scientific community. The cruise was carried out in the coastal area of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces in the East China Sea (ECS) in May 2008. The concentrations of total dissolved inorganic antimony (TDISb) were measured by Hydride Generation-Atomic Fluorescence (HG-AFS). The concentration ranges of TDISb in the surface and bottom layer were 0.68-5.64 nmol·L^-1 and 0.71-5.25 nmol·L^-1 with averages of 2.25 and 1.79 nmol·L^-1, respectively. The concentration of TDISb in the study area was lower than the environmental quality standards for surface water of China and drinking water standards of World Health Organization (about 41.08 nmol·L^-1), indicating that it remained at the pristine level. The concentration of TDISb decreased gradually from the coastal area to the central ECS shelf with higher concentration in the surface layer than the bottom. Water mass mixing, adsorption/desorption behavior on the surface of the suspended particulate matters (SPM) and biological activities were the main influence factors of TDISb biogeochemistry in the study area.