Antimony cycling in the western Mediterranean

Vertical profiles of dissolved inorganic antimony (Sb) at nine stations in the western Mediterranean Sea have been determined. At northern stations, neither horizontal nor vertical concentration variation was observed. The concentration was constant at about 1.35 nM from the surface to the bottom. However, at the southern stations, a surface enrichment up to 1.82 nM was observed. Below a depth of 300 m the concentration decreased to about 1.35 nM, the value similar to the northern stations. An atmospheric source is suggested for this enrichment. A two-box flux model indicates that most of the incoming dissolved Sb is removed within the western Mediterranean. The residence time of dissolved Sb in the surface water is calculated to be 0.8 year and it is 11.6 year in the deep water. This lies between nutrient-type elements such as Cu, Cd and Ni and particle-reactive elements such as Al and Pb.