Elemental compositions in the surface sediments of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River are quite different. The Yangtze River's sediment is rich in K, Fe, Mg, Al and most of trace elements, and its elemental composition show remarkable spatial variations, whereas the Yellow River's sediment has higher contents of Ca, Na, Sr, Be, Zr and Hf, and the elemental composition remains relatively stable. The ratios of some elements are also different in the sediments of the two rivers. The elemental composition of the Yangtze River sediment results from widely distributed igneous rocks and complicated source rocks and strong chemical weathering in the Yangtze River catchment basin, while the main provenance of the Yellow River sediment is the Loess Plateau which has dominant influence on the elemental composition, and the intense physical weathering is another controlling factor. The elements such as Cu, Zn, Sc, Ti, Fe, V, Ni, Cr, Co, Li and element ratios such as La/Sc, La/Co, Th/Co, Ti/Zr and Zr/Y can be used as the tracers to distinguish the Yangtze River sediment from the Yellow River's. The tracers can he used in the study of the mixing and distribution of the substances of the two rivers' matters in coastal zones of China.
