For many VOCs very little work has been done on assessing their emission from the ocean. Anthropogenic emissions of CO2 to the atmosphere have already increased ocean acidity and this is projected to continue through this century. The uptake or emission of trace gases from the ocean is likely to change in a future higher CO2 world, since the distribution of biological communities and biological processes will be affected (Gattuso and Hansson, 2011). In order to monitor the concomitant changes in VOC concentrations for such studies,

the marine chemist will be required to frequently analyze large numbers of organic compounds in seawater, accurately and precisely even at very low concentration levels. A suitable analytical method must be sensitive, reliable, Selleckchem MEK inhibitor simple, robust, fast, reproducible, accurate, constructed to minimize biological influence and capable of measuring diverse VOCs. The most

common DZNeP mw extraction techniques currently used for the analysis of dissolved VOCs in small volumes of marine samples are the purge-and-trap (P&T) and the solid phase microextraction (SPME) techniques. Adequate limits of detection have been reported for the first (e.g. Huybrechts et al., 2000, Kiene and Service S.K., 1991, Li et al., 2007, Orlikowska and Schulz-Bull, 2009 and Vogt et al., 2008a) and the second method (e.g. Li et al., 2010, Niki et al., 2004, Niri et al., 2008, Sakamoto et al., 2006 and Yassaa et al., 2006) in previous aqueous studies. However, further improvement in sensitivity is required due to the low marine derived VOC concentrations usually present in seawater samples. The P&T method requires that the sample stream is dried (by Nafion or chemical agents) prior to entering the concentration trap, a process that can compromise the measurement of some VOCs (e.g. oxygenated

species). The SPME method has a relatively easy sampling procedure and does not require additional Methane monooxygenase sample preparation. However, the SPME has a relatively limited coating capacity and robustness (Bigham et al., 2002 and Yassaa et al., 2006), the extraction efficiency depends on the fiber coating type and analytes used (Niri et al., 2008), and the overall analytical sensitivity cannot be further enhanced by increasing sample volumes (Bigham et al., 2002). Furthermore, the problem of competitive displacement limits the scope of VOCs that can be simultaneously sampled, meaning that a SPME method must be developed for a specific compound or family (Hudson et al., 2007 and Yassaa et al., 2006). Recently developed methods using NTDs (found in the review article (Lord et al., 2010) and more recently (Alonso et al., 2011a, Alonso et al., 2011b, Bagheri et al., 2011 and Trefz et al., 2012)) overcome these problems. In this study, appropriate sorbent packed syringes are used during extraction and concentration followed by a thermal desorption into GC systems.