Trace metal distribution for water samples of the cruise AT010

Offshore wind energy is a steadily growing sector contributing to the worldwide energy production. The impact of these offshore constructions on the marine environment, however, remains unclear in many aspects. In fact, little is known about potential emissions from corrosion protection systems such as organic coatings or galvanic anodes composed of Al and Zn alloys, used to protect offshore structures. In order to assess potential chemical emissions from offshore wind farms and their impact on the marine environment water and sediment samples were taken in and around offshore wind farms of the German Bight between 04.04.2022 and 14.04.2022 within the context of the Hereon-BSH project OffChEm II. The water samples were taken in metal-free GO-FLO sampling bottles, filtered over <0.45 µm polycarbonate filters into pre-cleaned LDPE bottles and acidified with nitric acid. The filtrates were then measured for their (trace) metal concentrations with ICP-MS/MS coupled online to a seaFAST preconcentration and matrix removal system.