Sedimentological and Mineralogical Fingerprint of the Beach Sediments, Western Mediterranean Coast, Egypt
The composition and texture of beach sediments along continental coastlines vary considerably. Beach sands made completely of carbonate sediments are prevalent along Egypt's Western Mediterranean Coast. Forty-five sediment samples were collected from various locations (El-Dekhela, Kilo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Union of Iraqi Geologists (UIG)
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Iraqi Geological Journal |
| Online Access: | https://igj-iraq.org/igj/index.php/igj/article/view/1640 |
| _version_ | 1797766909159014400 |
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| author | Esraa El-Shlemy Abdel-Moneim Mahmoud Ahmed Gad Sahar Abd El Bakey |
| author_facet | Esraa El-Shlemy Abdel-Moneim Mahmoud Ahmed Gad Sahar Abd El Bakey |
| author_sort | Esraa El-Shlemy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The composition and texture of beach sediments along continental coastlines vary considerably. Beach sands made completely of carbonate sediments are prevalent along Egypt's Western Mediterranean Coast. Forty-five sediment samples were collected from various locations (El-Dekhela, Kilo-21, Abu Talat, and Sidi Krir) along the Western Mediterranean Coast of Egypt. The sedimentological and mineralogical attributes of the collected sediments were investigated using collaborative techniques. The beach sediments in the coastal region between El-Dekhela and Sidi Krir consist mainly of carbonate sands that are mineralogically composed of dolomite, calcite, and aragonite with smaller amounts of quartz, sylvite, anhydrite, gypsum, and trace amounts of microcline. They contain ooids with bioclasts and very few heavy minerals, except for notable amounts of these minerals in the El-Dekhela region. These heavy minerals primarily consist of opaque minerals, amphiboles, and pyroxenes, with smaller amounts of epidote, zircon, tourmaline, rutile, garnet, kyanite, monazite, sphene, staurolite, and biotite. The combination of heavy minerals in these deposits indicates a wide variety of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rock types as potential source rocks. Heavy mineral concentrations decrease westward from the Nile River's mouth near Rosetta to Egypt's Western Mediterranean Coast. Most of the studied ooids are white colored and usually have a pearly luster; these characteristics indicate that these sediments were formed in agitated water. The current study reveals that the ooids in the study area originated from a variety of sources, including autochthonous and allochthonous ooids that eroded and broke, implying that they may have originated from coastal plain carbonate ridges. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T20:32:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-38c0c73c1cd44c2c8f70d40be3e9b048 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2414-6064 2663-8754 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T20:32:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Union of Iraqi Geologists (UIG) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Iraqi Geological Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-38c0c73c1cd44c2c8f70d40be3e9b0482023-08-01T20:50:09ZengUnion of Iraqi Geologists (UIG)Iraqi Geological Journal2414-60642663-87542023-07-01562A10212510.46717/igj.56.2A.8ms-2023-7-17Sedimentological and Mineralogical Fingerprint of the Beach Sediments, Western Mediterranean Coast, EgyptEsraa El-ShlemyAbdel-Moneim MahmoudAhmed GadSahar Abd El Bakey The composition and texture of beach sediments along continental coastlines vary considerably. Beach sands made completely of carbonate sediments are prevalent along Egypt's Western Mediterranean Coast. Forty-five sediment samples were collected from various locations (El-Dekhela, Kilo-21, Abu Talat, and Sidi Krir) along the Western Mediterranean Coast of Egypt. The sedimentological and mineralogical attributes of the collected sediments were investigated using collaborative techniques. The beach sediments in the coastal region between El-Dekhela and Sidi Krir consist mainly of carbonate sands that are mineralogically composed of dolomite, calcite, and aragonite with smaller amounts of quartz, sylvite, anhydrite, gypsum, and trace amounts of microcline. They contain ooids with bioclasts and very few heavy minerals, except for notable amounts of these minerals in the El-Dekhela region. These heavy minerals primarily consist of opaque minerals, amphiboles, and pyroxenes, with smaller amounts of epidote, zircon, tourmaline, rutile, garnet, kyanite, monazite, sphene, staurolite, and biotite. The combination of heavy minerals in these deposits indicates a wide variety of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rock types as potential source rocks. Heavy mineral concentrations decrease westward from the Nile River's mouth near Rosetta to Egypt's Western Mediterranean Coast. Most of the studied ooids are white colored and usually have a pearly luster; these characteristics indicate that these sediments were formed in agitated water. The current study reveals that the ooids in the study area originated from a variety of sources, including autochthonous and allochthonous ooids that eroded and broke, implying that they may have originated from coastal plain carbonate ridges.https://igj-iraq.org/igj/index.php/igj/article/view/1640 |
| spellingShingle | Esraa El-Shlemy Abdel-Moneim Mahmoud Ahmed Gad Sahar Abd El Bakey Sedimentological and Mineralogical Fingerprint of the Beach Sediments, Western Mediterranean Coast, Egypt Iraqi Geological Journal |
| title | Sedimentological and Mineralogical Fingerprint of the Beach Sediments, Western Mediterranean Coast, Egypt |
| title_full | Sedimentological and Mineralogical Fingerprint of the Beach Sediments, Western Mediterranean Coast, Egypt |
| title_fullStr | Sedimentological and Mineralogical Fingerprint of the Beach Sediments, Western Mediterranean Coast, Egypt |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sedimentological and Mineralogical Fingerprint of the Beach Sediments, Western Mediterranean Coast, Egypt |
| title_short | Sedimentological and Mineralogical Fingerprint of the Beach Sediments, Western Mediterranean Coast, Egypt |
| title_sort | sedimentological and mineralogical fingerprint of the beach sediments western mediterranean coast egypt |
| url | https://igj-iraq.org/igj/index.php/igj/article/view/1640 |
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