Chapter 6
Sea Spray Elements (Na, Cl, Mg, Ca, K,
Br, I)
Pranvera Lazo, Flora Qarri, Shaniko Allajbeu, Sonila Kane, Lirim Bekteshi,
Marina Frontasyeva, and Trajce Stafilov
Sea salt is a major contributor of Na
+ , Mg
2+ , Ca
2+ , K
+ , Cl
− , SO 4
2− in coastal areas
(Xiao et al. 2018). Chloride (Cl) and sodium (Na) are generally used as tracers of
marine origin (Boatta et al. 2014). Beside the important contributions of sea spray
and seawater for Na
+ and Cl
− in coastal regions, the natural sources of Na
+ and
Cl
− include the atmospheric deposition, interactions between water and soil, rocks,
brines and salt deposits (Long et al. 2015). Different concentration ranges of Na and
Cl were found in the moss samples collected at three sampling transects. The content
of Na in moss samples along three sampling transects ranged from 31 to 338 mg kg
−1
(average concentration of 117 mg kg
−1 ), 28 to 231 mg kg
−1 (average concentration
of 95 mg kg
−1 ) and 74 to 142 mg kg
−1 (average concentration of 88 mg kg
−1 ) in the
1st, 2nd and the 3rd transects respectively. The content of Cl in moss samples showed
higher variation than Na. Cl contents along three sampling transects ranged from 46 to
1020 mg kg
−1 (average concentration of 338 mg kg
−1 ), 88 to 606 mg kg
−1 (average
concentration of 259 mg kg
−1 ) and 84 to 388 mg kg
−1 (average concentration of
148 mg kg
−1 ) in the 1st, 2nd and the 3rd trasect respectively. The spatial analysis
of Na and Cl (linear model) showed a decline from the coastal areas (St. 1–14) or
from the south to the north direction of the country (Na = 114 − 0.629 × n and
Cl = 331 − 3.66 × n, n represents the number of sampling site) (Fig. 6.1) that is
characterized by a higher negative slope in the linear trend model of Cl (b = −3.66,
and a = 331) compared to Na (b = −0.629, and a = 114).
The differentiations in Cl and Na spatial distribution patterns were observed also
among different sampling transects positioned at different distances from the coast.
It was found that the Cl and Na content in moss samples were decreased as the
distances of sampling sites from the coastal areas were increased. High Cl and Na
concentrations were found in the coastal areas (1st Transect), followed by the 2nd
Transect, and lower content in inland (the 3rd Transect).
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
P. Lazo et al., The Evaluation of Air Quality in Albania by Moss Biomonitoring and Metals
Atmospheric Deposition, SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62355-5_6
77
Sea Spray Elements (Na, Cl, Mg, Ca, K,
Br, I)
Pranvera Lazo, Flora Qarri, Shaniko Allajbeu, Sonila Kane, Lirim Bekteshi,
Marina Frontasyeva, and Trajce Stafilov
Sea salt is a major contributor of Na
+ , Mg
2+ , Ca
2+ , K
+ , Cl
− , SO 4
2− in coastal areas
(Xiao et al. 2018). Chloride (Cl) and sodium (Na) are generally used as tracers of
marine origin (Boatta et al. 2014). Beside the important contributions of sea spray
and seawater for Na
+ and Cl
− in coastal regions, the natural sources of Na
+ and
Cl
− include the atmospheric deposition, interactions between water and soil, rocks,
brines and salt deposits (Long et al. 2015). Different concentration ranges of Na and
Cl were found in the moss samples collected at three sampling transects. The content
of Na in moss samples along three sampling transects ranged from 31 to 338 mg kg
−1
(average concentration of 117 mg kg
−1 ), 28 to 231 mg kg
−1 (average concentration
of 95 mg kg
−1 ) and 74 to 142 mg kg
−1 (average concentration of 88 mg kg
−1 ) in the
1st, 2nd and the 3rd transects respectively. The content of Cl in moss samples showed
higher variation than Na. Cl contents along three sampling transects ranged from 46 to
1020 mg kg
−1 (average concentration of 338 mg kg
−1 ), 88 to 606 mg kg
−1 (average
concentration of 259 mg kg
−1 ) and 84 to 388 mg kg
−1 (average concentration of
148 mg kg
−1 ) in the 1st, 2nd and the 3rd trasect respectively. The spatial analysis
of Na and Cl (linear model) showed a decline from the coastal areas (St. 1–14) or
from the south to the north direction of the country (Na = 114 − 0.629 × n and
Cl = 331 − 3.66 × n, n represents the number of sampling site) (Fig. 6.1) that is
characterized by a higher negative slope in the linear trend model of Cl (b = −3.66,
and a = 331) compared to Na (b = −0.629, and a = 114).
The differentiations in Cl and Na spatial distribution patterns were observed also
among different sampling transects positioned at different distances from the coast.
It was found that the Cl and Na content in moss samples were decreased as the
distances of sampling sites from the coastal areas were increased. High Cl and Na
concentrations were found in the coastal areas (1st Transect), followed by the 2nd
Transect, and lower content in inland (the 3rd Transect).
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
P. Lazo et al., The Evaluation of Air Quality in Albania by Moss Biomonitoring and Metals
Atmospheric Deposition, SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62355-5_6
77