Spatiotemporal Profiling and Phase Partitioning of Emerging Pollutants in the Southern Bohai Sea: Insights from High-Resolution Screening and Risk Assessment

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Emerging pollutants (EPs) in the marine environment pose growing ecological concerns due to their persistence, bioactivity, and limited regulatory oversight. As a critical interface between land and sea, coastal environments are highly vulnerable to anthropogenic contamination. In this study, 403 compounds spanning 14 chemical categories were identified in seawater, suspended particulate matter, and sediments using high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) combined with suspect screening. By integrating multimatrix occurrence data with physicochemical descriptor analysis, this work provides a broader perspective on pollutant occurrence and environmental behavior in a semienclosed coastal system. Concentrations in seawater ranged from below detection limits to 8.6 × 10 3 ng L –1, while suspended particulate matter and sediment concentrations reached up to 5.9 × 10 3 ng L –1 and 7.6 × 10 2 ng g –1, respectively. Active pharmaceutical ingredients, pesticides, and intermediates were the dominant contaminant categories. Notably, 78 compounds appear to be newly reported in this region based on available literature. Partitioning analysis indicates that dissolved-particulate distribution patterns were associated with multiple physicochemical descriptors, including log K OW, molar refractivity, polarizability, and aqueous solubility, indicating that hydrophobicity alone may not fully capture the phase behavior of polar or multifunctional compounds. Differences between spring and summer sampling campaigns indicated potential seasonal variability, with generally higher detection frequencies and concentrations during summer. Spatial hotspots were mainly associated with land-based inputs and hydrodynamic transport. Ecological risk assessment identified 17 prioritized compounds, with pesticide-related compounds and certain personal care product ingredients exhibiting elevated ecological risks, underscoring the importance of considering co-occurring contaminants in future ecological risk assessments. Collectively, this study provides insight into the occurrence and distribution characteristics of EPs in coastal environments and provides a transferable framework for risk-based management in marginal seas.