Atmospheric Concentrations, Total Deposition and Air-Water Exchange of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Anmyeon Island, Eastern Part of the Yellow Sea

Abstract

Ambient air and total deposition samples were collected in the period of January 2007 - January 2008 in Anmyeon Island, west coast of Korea and analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds. The average air concentration of ∑15PAHs were 4.3 and 10.4 ng/㎥ in particulate and gaseous phase, respectively. The average of total deposition fluxes for PAHs was 457.2±407.0 ng/㎡/d, which is higher than background level but far less than those in industrialized regions in Korea. Distinct seasonal trend was observed for PAHs concentration and fluxes with higher levels during winter, heating season due to increased fossil fuel usage and the movement of air parcels from main land China. Passive air samplers with polyurethane foam disks were applied for the determination of the seasonally averaged concentration of PAHs in ambient air. The average concentration of ∑15PAHs 13.2 ng/㎥ for polyurethane foam disks, which corresponds well with gaseous phase PAHs determined with high volume active air sampler. Gas exchange fluxes of PAHs across the air-water interface of the Yellow Sea were calculated using a modified two-film exchange model. PAHs fluxes ranged from 196 ng/m2/d net volatilization during summer to 3,830 ng/m2/d net absorption during winter.