Characterization of nutrients in the atmospheric wet and dry deposition observed at the two monitoring sites over Yellow Sea and East China Sea

To investigate the atmospheric deposition of nutrients into the coastal and shelf regions of the northwest Pacific Ocean, observation sites were established upon Qianliyan Island (within the Yellow Sea) and the Shengsi Archipelago (within the East China Sea), respectively. Nutrient concentrations, including NH₄⁺, NO₃^-, NO ₂^-, PO₄^3- and SiO₃ ^2-, were determined in both aerosols and rainwater samples. The analytical results contain clear seasonal signatures, with high values during the dry season and low values during the rainy season. Similar trends are observed for deposition fluxes. The amount of wet deposition is greater than that of dry deposition for the studied nutrient species. The influence of meteorological factors such as rainfall means that samples from Qianliyan Island record higher nutrient values than those from Shengsi. Along with riverine inputs, atmospheric deposition plays an important role in determining the biogeochemistry of nutrient species in coastal and shelf oceans.