Samples from the Marine Exclusive Economic Zone of Qatar and the Arabian Gulf were collected using net tows with mesh sizes of 50 μm (phytoplankton) and 200 μm (zooplankton) to examine the composition of size fractionated plankton populations. Samples were collected in two different years from 11 locations to examine temporal and spatial variabilities. The biogenic concentrations of trace metals were determined by correcting the bulk analyses for the lithogenic contribution using aluminum as a lithogenic tracer. The elemental composition of atmospheric dust from Qatar was used for this correction. Dust in Qatar is depleted in aluminum and enriched in calcium relative to global average Upper Continental Crust due to the geology of the outcropping sedimentary rocks and topsoil in the source areas of the dust.The excess concentrations relative to average dust from Qatar for most trace elements decreased with distance from shore. This may be due to large scale of dust input to the nearshore surface waters in the Gulf. This is an aspect of this study that warrants more research.