There are few papers dealing with nutrients distribution in the mixing region of the Huanghe River Estuary, although the Huanghe River is one of the largest rivers in China. We investigated nutrients (nitrate nitrite, phosphate and silicate) at 81 stations in the southwest Bohai Sea and the Huanghe River Estuary in July, 1984. The concentrations of nitrate, nitrite, phosphate and silicate are higher in the estuary and offshore than those in the centre of the Bohai Sea. They are 44.3ug-at/L for nitrate, 0.31ug-at/L for nitrite, 0.36ug-at/L for phosphate and 60.4ug-at/L for silicate. There are negative correlations between nutrients and salinity in this region. The correlation coefficients in surface layer are:γSiO3-si=-0.963(n=81) γPO4-P=-0.829(n=81) γNO3-N=-0.971(n=81) γNO2-N=-0.553(n=81) The correlation coefficients show that, in the surface layer, there are no obvious removal of nutrients during mixing river-water and seawater in the Huanghe River Estuary.
