A variety of spectroscopic methods (ETAAS, FAAS, ICP–MS, ICP–OES) were comparatively characterized with respect to analysis of brown alga Fucus vesiculosus and Baltic seawater samples (with a specific low salinity). Attention was focused on the determination of Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Mn, Cr, and As in algae samples. Methods of atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) are well suited for the determination of Mn, Zn, As, and Cu, to a lesser extent for that of Pb and Cd. The brackish Baltic seawater has its peculiarities relative to the effectiveness of analysis methods. The contents of arsenic (2.12 ± 0.03 μg L–1) and cadmium (0.061 ± 0.003 μg L–1) were determined directly from seawater by AAS using a palladium modifier. The enrichment factors for microelement content in seaweeds (characterizing the increase of element concentration from seawater to algae) have no constant value for different algae samples and therefore algae cannot be used as quantitative bioindicators for analytical characterization of seawater.
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