Atmospheric trace elements from offshore China are vulnerable to the continental anthropogenic emissions and transport of Asian Dust. To investigate the characteristics and sources of trace elements (TEs) over the China Sea, we summarized the results from previous studies in recent years. The level, spatial variation, seasonal variation and sources of the atmospheric TEs of Al, Fe, Cu, Zn, Pb, Mn, V, Ni, Cd were characterized over the Bohai Sea (BS), Yellow Sea (YS), East China Sea (ECS) and South China Sea (SCS). EFs were also recalculated based on Al concentration to compare the influence of anthropogenic sources with a unified standard.

Overall, the elemental concentrations were highest over the BS due to the rapid expansion of industrialization in the North China Plain, especially for Zn, Pb and Mn. The SCS showed lowest level of TEs, which was mainly attributed to industrial transformation. Compared with other seasons, low concentrations of TEs were found over all the regions in summer due to the frequently precipitation. In all studied TEs, Cd exhibited the highest EFs among TEs in China Seas, especially in BS. Our results showed that BS is mainly impacted by industrialized sources, while the YS and ECS are more susceptible to ship emissions with higher ratios of V/Ni. This study suggested that the industrial sources around the BS and ship emissions from ECS need to be better controlled.