Major Element Characteristics and Geochemical Significance of Surface Sediments in the Pearl River Estuary

348 sediment samples were taken from the Pearl River Estuary to analyze their major element contents,and to study geochemical characteristics and geological significance.Results show that the main chemical compositions in surface sediments are SiO2 and Al2O3,with average contents up to 60.1% and 15.1% respectively.The content of SiO2 increases from estuary to sea,while the content of Al2O3 decreases.Correlation analysis and factor analysis show that SiO2,Al2O3,P2O5,K2O,TiO2,MnO,Fe2O3 and CaO are the most important factors in surface sediments,mainly originated from continent and marine calcicolous livings.The elements originated from marine include Na2O and MgO,and K2O is derived from continent and marine.