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Flux and budget of BC in the continental shelf seas adjacent to Chinese high BC emission source regions
Author(s) -
Fang Yin,
Chen Yingjun,
Tian Chongguo,
Lin Tian,
Hu Limin,
Huang Guopei,
Tang Jianhui,
Li Jun,
Zhang Gan
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
global biogeochemical cycles
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.512
H-Index - 187
eISSN - 1944-9224
pISSN - 0886-6236
DOI - 10.1002/2014gb004985
Subject(s) - flux (metallurgy) , continental shelf , sink (geography) , sedimentary rock , deposition (geology) , oceanography , seawater , environmental science , geology , surface water , hydrology (agriculture) , sediment , geochemistry , geomorphology , geography , chemistry , cartography , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , environmental engineering
This study conducted the first comprehensive investigation of sedimentary black carbon (BC) concentration, flux, and budget in the continental shelves of “Bohai Sea (BS) and Yellow Sea (YS),” based on measurements of BC in 191 surface sediments, 36 riverine water, and 2 seawater samples, as well as the reported data set of the atmospheric samples from seven coastal cities in the Bohai Rim. BC concentrations in these matrices were measured using the method of thermal/optical reflectance. The spatial distribution of the BC concentration in surface sediments was largely influenced by the regional hydrodynamic conditions, with high values mainly occurring in the central mud areas where fine‐grained particles (median diameters > 6 Φ (i.e., <0.0156 mm)) were deposited. The BC burial flux in the BS and YS ranged from 4 to 1100 µg/cm 2 yr, and averaged 166 ± 200 µg/cm 2 yr, which was within the range of burial fluxes reported in other continental shelf regimes. The area‐integrated sedimentary BC sink flux in the entire BS and YS was ~325 Gg/yr, and the BS alone contributed ~50% (~157 Gg/yr). The BC budget calculated in the BS showed that atmospheric deposition, riverine discharge, and import from the Northern Yellow Sea (NYS) each contributed ~51%, ~47%, and ~2%. Therefore, atmospheric deposition and riverine discharge dominated the total BC influx (~98%). Sequestration to bottom sediments was the major BC output pattern, accounting for ~88% of the input BC. Water exchange between the BS and the NYS was also an important BC transport route, with net BC transport from the BS to the NYS.