Major and trace element compositions of sands from pocket beaches in western Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan

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Beach sands were collected from ten beaches on the western coast of Yamaguchi Prefecture. The average length of the beaches was 1.13 km. Half of the beaches are less than 1 km in length, indicating the domination of pocket beaches in the area. X-ray fluorescence major and trace element analyses were made of 27 samples, to estimate the composition of the sands at each site. The sands can be divided into three types (silicate, carbonate and mixed sands), based on their geochemical composition. The silicate sands were rich in SiO2, and consist mainly of quartz and feldspar, whereas carbonate sands had high CaO contents and LOI values due to significant contents of shell material. Compositions of mixed sands were intermediate between these two extremes, containing both silicate and carbonate sand.13;