Abstract
This paper deals with grain size analysis, heavy mineral analysis and trace element analysis of the recent sediments of Han River basin between Cheongpyong, Gyeonggi province and Seoul. For each location the samples are taken at river shoreline, river berm and river dune. The size analysis discloses that the mean values range from $-1.37{\phi}$ to $-1.60{\phi}$, sorting values range from 0.25 to 1.84, skewness values range from -0.44 to 0.51 and kurtosis values range from -0.1 to 1.75. Based on the textural parameters, the dune sand can be distinguished from the shoreline-berm sand. The content of heavy minerals of each sample ranges from 0.04 to 4.7%. The principal heavy minerals are ilmenite, magnetite, leucoxene, garnet, amphibole, pyroxene, kyanite, zircon, monazite, tourmaline, epidote, limonite, and minor minerals are apatite, sillimanite, andalusite and olivine. In general, dune sand samples contain more heavy minerals than the samples of shoreline or berm sand. This suggests that the heavy mineral concentration is affected by wind action more than by any other causes. The content of ilmenite and leucoxene decreases, whereas the content of zircon and epidote increases as it approaches the downstream region. The differences result from the variance of geological occurrences. The emission spectrochemical analysis and colorimetry analysis revealed that the content of Ni and V in the heavy minerals of the study area are higher than those of other stream sediments in Korea. On the other hand the content of Cu, Ph, Zn, Mo, W, P, Mn, Cr, Ag and Sn are lower in the study area. It has been observed also that the contents of all the elements except for Bi are higher in this area than the samples of marine sediments of Yellow Sea.