DISTRIBUTION AND PROVENANCE OF THE SURFACE SEDIMENTS OF THE YELLOW RIVER MOUTH AND LAIZHOU BAY DEDUCED FROM HEAVY MINERALS

A total of 250 surface samples collected from the Yellow River mouth and Laizhou Bay in 2007 were analyzed for heavy minerals. The content of heavy minerals on an average of 1.51% is very low in the study area. The assemblage of mica, hornblend and epidote dominates over the others, and the content of muscovite is higher than that of biotite. The heavy mineral distribution pattern and provinces show that the surface sediments in the study area are mainly from the Yellow River, with some from the local rivers southwest to the Laizhou Bay and scattered islands to the west of Shandong Peninsula as the second. The heavy minerals, especially mica can be used as an indicator to trace the path of sediments transportation. According to the distribution pattern of mica, it is concluded that the Yellow River sediments were mainly transported to the south and east.