Air—water exchange of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the New York—New Jersey, USA, Harbor Estuary

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs, n = 36) were measured in the gas and particle phases in the atmosphere and the dissolved and particle phases in the waters of the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary, USA, during a weeklong intensive field campaign in July 1998. Mean total (gas + particulate) phenanthrene and pyrene concentrations were 3.3 and 0.33 ng/m3, respectively, over Raritan Bay, and 14 and 1.1 ng/ml, respectively, over New York Harbor. Similar PAH profiles (p values < 0.01) in the atmospheric gas phase and the dissolved phase in water demonstrate the close coupling of the air and water compartments. Air-water exchange fluxes of PAHs estimated using shore-based air data lead to erroneous flux estimates when compared to those derived using over-water air samples. The gross absorptive air-water flux dominates atmospheric loadings (wet, dry particle, gas absorption) to the estuary for PAHs of molecular weight < 234 g/mol. Dry particle deposition is increasingly more important for the higher-molecular-weight, particle-bound PAH species. Gross volatilization dominates gross absorption for the majority of PAHs in the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary.

Size distributions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban atmosphere: sorption mechanism and source contributions to respiratory deposition

“…Factor 5 is more influenced by two-and three-ring PAHs. These PAHs are favored in air-surface exchange (Gigliotti et al, 2002). The "exchange"…”

Diffusive exchange of PAHs across the air–water interface of the Kaohsiung Harbor lagoon, Taiwan

“…The magnitude and direction of PAH fluxes between the atmosphere and surface waters have been found to vary seasonally (Bamford et al, 1999a;Hornbuckle et al, 1994). Release of PAHs has also been demonstrated from polluted water bodies (e.g., New York, New Jersey, and Baltimore harbors, as well as northern Chesapeake Bay) through volatilization processes (Bamford et al, 1999a(Bamford et al, , 2002aGigliotti et al, 2002;Nelson et al, 1998;Totten et al, 2001). Because of the potential for high aqueous concentrations of PAHs, these findings suggest that volatilization of pollutants from harbor waters could be an important source of PAH deposition in adjacent populated areas.…”

“…They may also be re-emitted to the atmosphere, resulting in "grasshopper"-fashion transfers throughout the world (Garcia-Flor et al, 2005;Jurado et al, 2004a;Ottar, 1981;Wania et al, 1998). To quantify airewater exchange of SOCs, a simple model, Whitman thin film model, is generally used (Achman et al, 1996;Bamford et al, 2002a;Dachs and Eisenreich, 2000;Fang et al, 2008;Gigliotti et al, 2002;Nelson et al, 1998;Pandit et al, 2006;Park et al, 2001;Perez et al, 2003;Rowe et al, 2007;Sabin et al, 2010;Totten et al, 2003;Tsai et al, 2002;Xie et al, 2011;Zhang et al, 1999). In addition to model itself, accuracy of SOC's Henry's law constants (H) is also crucial in calculating the magnitude and direction of SOC flux between airewater interfaces.…”

Exchange of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons across the air-water interface in the Bohai and Yellow Seas

“…S1); therefore, the concentration levels of PAHs in the atmosphere above the BS and YS were lower compared to those detected in continental outflow over a large area of the coast located upwind (Wang et al, 2011a,b). Under the circumstances volatilization of PAHs from seawater represented a significant contribution to the atmosphere over the BS and YS, as indicated by the profiles of gaseous PAH concentrations which demonstrated a proportionate decrease in concentration with increasing molecular weight (Gigliotti et al, 2002). As observation in this study, Fl and Phe had the highest concentrations in the gaseous PAHs, followed by Flu and Pyr, which differed from the observed profiles of gaseous PAHs (dominated by Phe and four-ring PAHs) from several background reference sites in coastal areas Wang et al, 2013b).…”