Major, Minor and Trace Elements Existence in Surface Sediments from Gwadar to Jiwani Coastal Areas of Pakistan

Abstract

This study was carried out along the western coastal parts of Balochistan from Gwadar east Bay to Jiwani.
The local anomaly of major, minor and trace elements were studied in this area. Zone-I (Gwadar east and west Bay)
indicates that calcium oxide, potassium oxide and titanium dioxide have higher or average concentrations, while Zone
II indicates higher or average concentrations of calcium oxide, titanium dioxide and ferric oxide. Trace elements
zirconium, chromium, europium, strontium, and copper are in higher or average concentrations in both zones. Gwadar
west Bay and Jiwani are intermediate in carbonate, which show a high degree of maturity, suggesting the high rate of
weathering in the source area. Sediment samples from Ganz, Jiwani, and Gwadar east Bay represent the quartz-rich
fields in this region. Gwadar east Bay has a positive correlation between aluminium oxide and potassium oxide which
suggests that abundance of potassium oxide is controlled by variation in K-feldspar contents. A positive correlation
between strontium and calcium oxide suggests that strontium is associated with calcium oxide in biogenic carbonate
material in Gwadar west Bay. The positive correlation between aluminium oxide, copper, and zinc in Pishukan
indicates that the abundance of these elements is due to limited silt and clay fractions present in sediments. Enrichment
factor shows that chromium and strontium are probably of anthropogenic origin in this region.

Keywords: Makran coastal area, X-ray fluorescence, major elements, trace elements.