Geochemistry of muds along the coast of China and their significance

Abstract: Four sea areas may be distinguished in China; they are the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea. Muddy sediments are distributed as patches or bands along the continent of China in the four sea areas. Representative samples of muds were taken from their coasts and they were analyzed by XRF and ICP-Ms methods for K, Li, Rb, Sc, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Al, Fe, Ti, Be, Nb, Ta, W , Sn, Bi, La, Ce and Th. The element geochemistry indicates that the geochemical characteristics of the muds along the coasts of the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea are consistent with those of the sediments of the Yellow River, Yangtze River and Pearl River respectively, showing the material source effect of the elements. From the Bohai Sea to South China Sea, some elements in the coastal muds lose or are enriched more or less owing to the climatic change, showing the climatic effect of the elements. The element abundances in the muds along the coast of China are close to those in sediments in the continent of China but different from those of brown clays and abyssal clays in the western Pacific Ocean, showing the continental affinity of the elements.