Speciation, distribution and relationship of zinc and cadmium in summer coastal seawater of northern China

Considering that zinc (Zn) is essential for marine phytoplankton growth and cadmium (Cd) can replace Zn as a cofactor of mutual conversion and regulate the effect of carbonic anhydrase, we here presented the concentration, chemical speciation and relationship of Zn and Cd collected from three consecutive voyages (2019–2021) in summer coastal seawater of northern China. Dissolved Zn and Cd concentrations were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass–spectrometry (ICP–MS) and ranged from 0.37 to 3.09 μM and 1.88–13.66 nM, respectively. Natural labile Zn and Cd were determined using a highly automated electrochemical detection system and ranged from below detection limit-1.11 μM and below detection limit-5.23 nM, respectively. The speciation, distribution and interrelationships of Zn and Cd were compared with the distribution of the diatoms community, and studied by the correlation with pH and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). Finally, the Zn and Cd labile and inert chemical species concentrations were compared with those of the open sea and the coast. The results indicated that the dissolved Zn and Cd concentrations in surface seawater were higher than those in bottom seawater, possibly due to the dominance of exogenous inputs compared to phytoplankton uptake. Higher phytoplankton abundance was associated with lower natural labile Zn and Cd concentrations, but this was not the main factor affecting the distribution of natural labile Zn and Cd. Unlike the open ocean, there was no potential for Zn limitation of certain phytoplankton groups in this region, but both Zn and Cd played important roles in the fixation of carbon dioxide, and Cd might result in mitigating Zn uptake. Activities such as ocean currents, which bring limiting nutrient trace metals (e.g., Zn) from the coast into the open ocean, could regulate the structure of primary producers. This study has great potential for the investigation of the biogeochemical cycling of Zn and Cd and their role in marine carbon fixation in coastal seawater.