Saghro Group in the Ougnat Massif (Morocco), an evidence for a continuous Cadomian basin along the northern West African Craton

The Saghro Group (SG) is a folded, low-grade volcano-sedimentary series up to 8 km thick that crops out within and to the north of the Pan-African suture zone in the central and eastern Anti-Atlas. Here we describe the SG of the Ougnat inliers that are exposed in the easternmost Anti-Atlas beneath the unconformable, Late Ediacaran Ouarzazate Group (OZG) volcanic rocks. The Ougnat SG mostly consists of volcaniclastic greywackes accumulated in a peritidal-to-shallow basin. The basin infilling was deformed by NNE-trending, mostly upright folds with axial-planar slaty cleavage and low-grade metamorphism. The deformed SG rocks were intruded by the ～550 Ma Mellab hypovolcanic granodiorite. The latter also crosscuts the lowest OZG rocks that are dated to 574–571 Ma in the western Saghro region. The SG rocks that form the Siroua and Saghro inliers have an oldest age of 620–610 Ma and were folded at ～610–580 Ma at the onset of the Cadomian orogenic events. We show that the SG rocks are similar to the “Série verte” (SV) rocks that are exposed in the Ougarta and western Hoggar east of the Pan-African suture. We infer that the SG and SV rocks accumulated in a same, continuous basin that was bounding the West African Craton to the north and the east. This strongly subsiding basin formed close to a volcanic arc and was folded during the last Pan-African synmetamorphic events. Fold orientation and age of folding differ however along the edge of the West African Craton. The orogenic greywackes that form the remnants of the SG-SV basin thus constitute a precious record of the diachronic Cadomian event s.l. along the West African Craton northern margin.     

On the focal mechanism of the 26.05.1975 North Atlantic event contribution from tsunami modeling

The 1975 May 26 earthquake, of magnitude Ms = 7.9, occurred in the North Atlantic close to the Azores Archipelago. Its epicentre, as given by US Geological Survey, was 17.5° W, 35.9° N, 200 km south of the Gloria Fault. Several authors determined the focal mechanism as a dextral strike-slip event with no significant dip-slip component, compatible with the relative motion between Eurasia and Nubia plates but away from the presumed plate boundary. The 1975 earthquake generated a tsunami of small amplitude, recorded at the Portuguese tide-gauge network, in Spain and Northern Africa. The peculiar location of the earthquake and tsunami source and the generation of a noticeable tsunami were already discussed by several authors, but up to now, no direct modelling of the tsunami generation and propagation was made to judge the set of source solutions obtained by seismological analysis. In this paper, we present tsunami simulations, backward ray tracing and forward non-linear shallow water simulations using data from Iberia and Azores and Northern Africa. We show that a good fit between observed data and synthetic waveforms can be obtained with a focal mechanism with no significant dip-slip component, favouring its interpretation as almost pure dextral strike-slip event located in an old fracture zone south of Gloria Fault.     

Evolution of groundwater quality in intensive agricultural zone: case of Chtouka-Massa Aquifer,Morocco

The Chtouka-Massa area in Southern Morocco has shown an increase in water scarcity during the last decades, caused mainly by withdrawal of water resources aggravated by agricultural intensification and climate change impacts. To better understand the changes of groundwater quality, a sampling campaign was conducted in many wells during March 2015 and compared to historical chemical data from the hydraulic basin agency, as well as previous studies performed at Ibn Zohr University. All data were used to assess the spatial-temporal evolution of nitrate and salinity relevant to the recent sampling. This paper describes the current state of groundwater quality in the Chtouka-Massa zone with an overview of different sources of water mineralization and the nitrate evolution in an agricultural area. Our results indicate a general increase in mineralization from the north to the south, and from the east to the west. The plain, dominated by farms, shows a relatively high conductivity (up to 2000 μS/cm), while in both costal area and Anti-Atlas Mountain the water salinity shows a gradient increase from the north to the south. However, the highest electrical conductivity is observed along the Massa River. The water type is bicarbonate, chloride, and sodium for farm samples, while from the other parts, it is mostly dominated by chloride and sodium. The spatial-temporal analysis of nitrates generally shows an increasing trend. However, the levels remain overall lower than the limit. The temporal evolution of control points set by the hydraulic agency shows a decreasing trend decline that can be explained by the improvement of agriculture practices, including the conversion towards drip irrigation mode. Different chemical tracers highlighted some processes involving the changes of mineralization of groundwater (e.g., irrigation water return, marine intrusion, and water/rock interaction). The results will be used to improve water management in this area showing water quality degradation.     

Overexploitation and continuous drought effects on groundwater yield and marine intrusion: considerations arising from the modelling of Mamora coastal aquifer,Morocco

This paper studies the effect of drought and pumping discharge on groundwater supplies and marine intrusion. The investigation concerns the Mamora coastal aquifer, northwest of Morocco. A large‐scale groundwater model was established to model (a) the amount of freshwater discharge towards the ocean and the sea water volumes flowing inland as a consequence of the inverse hydraulic gradient, (b) the impact of drought and pumping discharge on the water table level and, as a consequence, on marine water intrusion. In fact, the simulated submarine groundwater discharge (SGWD) would decrease from 864 m³/d/km in 1987 to 425 m³/d/km in 2000. The simulated volumes of sea water intruding the aquifer as a result of inverse hydraulic gradient would increase from 0·25 Mm³/y in 1987 to 0·3 Mm³/y in 2000. As a consequence of a negative rainfall gradient of −5 mm/y, the simulated SGWD would decline to 9 m³/d/km and the sea water intrusion (SWI) would increase to 0·35 Mm³/y since the year 2010. Due to insufficient data on the trend of pumping discharge, a hypothetical increase of this latter from 38·3 Mm³/y to 53·2 Mm³/y is simulated to induce an increase of marine water intrusion from 0·25 Mm³/y to 0·9 Mm³/y. Consequently, to optimally exploit this seemingly fragile coastal aquifer, a plan of future actions to implement is proposed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Genèse et déformation des bassins néogènes du Rif central (Maroc) au cours du rapprochement Europe-Afrique

Résumé

Après la mise en place des nappes dans le Rif, des bassins intramontagneux se sont créés et ont subi des déformations depuis le Miocène supérieur jusqu’au Quaternaire. L’analyse microtectonique de la fracluration, et les marqueurs de tectonique synsédimentaire (tailles synsédimentaires, discordances progressives, talus de progradation) montrent que ces bassins ont été soumis à un régime tectonique compressif depuis le Tortonien. La direction de la contramte maximale compressive a changé au cours du temps depuis la direction N040 au Tortono-Messinien jusqu’à la direction N000-140 au Plio-quaternaire. L’évolution sédimentaire et tectonique de ces bassins est à mettre en relation avec l’avancée vers l’WSW du bloc d’Alboran et son blocage entre l’Europe et l’Afrique.     

Hydrochemical analysis and evaluation of groundwater quality of a Mio-Plio-Quaternary aquifer system in an arid regions: case of El Hancha, Djebeniana and El Amra regions, Tunisia

A hydrogeochemical approach has been carried out in the Mio-Plio-Quaternary aquifer system of northern Sfax to investigate the geochemical evolution, the origin of groundwaters and their circulation patterns. The groundwater samples collected from different wells seem to be dominated by sodium chloride type to sulphate chloride type. Detail analysis of chemical data including the thermodynamic calculations was used to assess that the chemical evolution of groundwater is primarily controlled by water–rock interactions. The values of sodium absorption ratio and electrical conductivity of the groundwater were plotted in the US Salinity Laboratory diagram for irrigation water. Most of the water samples in northern Sfax fall in the fields of C4S1, C4S2 and C4S3 indicating very high salinity and medium to high sodium alkalinity hazard. Thus, groundwater quality is ranging between doubtful to unsuitable for irrigation uses under normal condition, and further action for salinity control is required in remediating such problem. Principal component analysis of geochemical data used in conjunction with bivariate diagrams of major elements indicates that groundwater mineralization is mainly controlled by (1) water–rock interaction processes, (2) anthropogenic process in relation with return flow of NO₃-rich irrigation waters and (3) domestic discharges.     

Processus de minéralisation de la nappe du Plio-Quaternaire dans la plaine de Segui-Zograta (Sud-Ouest tunisien)

Résumé

La plaine de Segui-Zograta est une cuvette synclinale à remplissage Mio-Plio-Quaternaire où la nappe du Plio-Quaternaire constitue la principale source d’approvisionnement en eau pour l’abreuvement du chaptel et pour l’agriculture. Cette zone présente une hétérogénéité de répartition de la minéralisation des eaux souterraines. L’investigation des outils géochimiques basée sur l’étude des éléments majeurs, des isotopes stables (¹⁸O, ²H) et radioactifs (³H, ¹⁴C) indique la combinaison de différents processus contrôlant la minéralisation de ces eaux. Dans la partie Ouest, les eaux du Plio-Quaternaire présentent un facies de type sulfato-calco-sodique et des salinités élevées. Elles subissent l’effet de la dissolution des minéraux évaporitiques et résultent du mélange par drainance ascendante des eaux fossi des aquifères les plus profonds, à salinité élevée et à faciès chloruro-sulfato-sodique, à travers la faille d’Om Ali où leur contribution peut atteindre 96%. Dans la partie Est, ces eaux sont de type sulfato-calcique, considérées relativement moins minéralisées que celles de la partie Ouest. Elles sont issues de l’infiltration des eaux de pluie récentes et qui ont subi l’effet de l’évaporation.

Editeur Z.W. Kundzewicz     

Features of interaction between lake water and springs,and evaluation of hydrochemical composition of water in Ifni Lake (High Atlas Mountains,Morocco, north of Africa)

The National Park of Toubkal is located in the High Moroccan Atlas Mountains, one of the regions sheltering the highest summits of North Africa (Mount Toubkal with an elevation of 4167 m). The park is characterized by very important water resources, including Ifni Lake, which is the highest natural lake in Morocco (with an elevation of 2320 m). This lake is located on the southern side of Mt. Toubkal. This area has never been the object of an environmental or hydrological study. The objective of the current study was the characterization of Ifni Lake and the spring waters located in this area, as the basis of a framework to protect natural resources in northern Africa. The hydrochemical composition of water determines its origin and relationship with its catchment. Hydrochemical studies were carried out to assess the ions water composition, and processes governing the hydrochemistry of Ifni Lake water and the springs in the study area. A total of 20 water samples were collected in 2013 and analyzed for various parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity, and major ions. The physico-chemical analysis of the Ifni Lake water showed that this is the least mineralized water studied in this region, having a bicarbonate, calcium, and magnesium as dominate ions. Also there is a relationship between the hydrochemical composition of Ifni Lake and spring waters.     

Seasonal variation of particulate organic compounds in atmospheric PM10 in the biggest municipal waste landfill of Algeria

The average composition and seasonal variations of atmospheric organic particulates with respect to n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acid, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs), and nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (N-PAHs) were determined at the biggest municipal waste landfill in Algeria located in Oued Smar, 13 km east of downtown Algiers. Samplings were carried out from August 2002 to February 2003, and organic compounds adsorbed in air particles having an aerodynamic diameter lower than 10 μm (PM₁₀) were characterized using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometric detection (GC/MSD). Total concentrations ranged from 828 to 11,068 ng per cubic meter of air for n-alkanes, from 1714 to 21,710 ng per cubic meter of air for n-alkanoic acids, from 13 to 212 ng per cubic meter of air for PAHs and from 93 to 205 pg per cubic meter of air for N-PAHs. n-Alkanoic acids accounted for 85 and 56% of the total organic composition of the aerosol measured in summer and winter, respectively, were the biggest fraction. The distribution profiles and the diagnostic ratios of some marker compounds allowed to identify the combustion and microbial activity as the major sources of particulate organic pollutants associated with direct emission. The year-time dependence of organic fraction content of aerosol in Oued Smar appeared to be related to average meteorological conditions as well as variability of rate and nature of materials wasted into the landfill.