Geochemistry of Uranium in Sediments of the Bohai Gulf,China

The following conclusions can be drawn from the work reported in this paper :（1）Sixteen samples wore determined for uranium by spectrophotometric method.Theuranium content in the sea floor sediments of the Bohai Gulf ranges from 1.6 to 6.3 ppm,withan average of 4.3 ppm.（2）Statistical data show close relationship between U concentration and grain size.Rela-tively larger amount of uranium was found accumulated in mud than in sand.The bulk of ura-nium is assumed to be derived from terrestrial detrital minerals.（3）A positive correlation between U and Fe is recognized.Similar relation also can beseen between U and A1.The plot of U concentration vs.Fe is linear,and can be expressed bythe linear regression equation:Y=-0.37+1.35X,The plot of U against A1 gives an equationof Y=-2.48+1.01X.（4）The average U/C;.ratio for these sediments is 7×10;,and the average ratios ofU/P,U/Mn,and U/CaCO;are 100×10;,50×10;and 2×10;,respectively.（5）Compared with the abundances of other shelf sediments,the average concentration ofU in the area under consideration is close to that of sediments on the selves of Japan and theGulf of Mexico,and the Black Sea.Uranium concentration in the Bohai Gulf sediments iscomparable to that of the continental crust,but differs from that of deep-sea clay.