Abstract
The degree of pollution of marine sediments close to urban and industrial sites has been evaluated at various sampling points in the south of Spain, using both chemical and thermal analyses. Chemical variables including organic carbon, total nitrogen and HEM (n-hexane extractable material) showed high levels of pollution in the samples. Thermogravimetry Analysis (TGA) of the sediments, previously ground and treated, was also performed, under oxidizing conditions, from 50 to 900°C. The first derivative of TGA curves (DTG) and the chemical parameters analyzed were compared and those that provided better Pearson's coefficients were fitted by linear regression. From these fits several linear regression equations are proposed, with good linear regression coefficients (R2) of 0.931, 0.871, 0,732, for the following variables: OC, N and HEM.