Thermal microstructural changes of grain-supported limestones

The microstructure of grainstone, grain-supported limestone, samples representing different geographic and stratigraphic intervals in Egypt were examined before and after calcination at 950°C for 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2?h. The examination utilized are X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), transmitted light microscopy (TLM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray micro tomography (??-CT). Both the free lime content and reactivity of the produced quicklime were measured. The quicklime produced at 950°C for 0.25 and 0.5?h is un-reactive (R_DIN < 10) due to its low content of free lime. However, quicklime produced at 1 and 2?h conditions is highly reactive (R_DIN > 30) with variable reactivity due to the differences in the lime microfabric. The grainstones enriched in nummulites resulted in quicklime of higher reactivity than those dominated by foraminifera, peloids and miliolids. This is mainly attributed to the preservation of the intraparticle pores of the original limestone and the development of pinhole and fracture micropores. The shape of pores and not their amount is the main controlling variable in the quicklime reactivity. The grainstones enriched in fracture pores showed more reactive lime, whereas those with compact structures are less reactive post calcination.     

Antibiotic resistant bacteria as bio-indicator of polluted effluent in the green turtles, Chelonia mydas in Oman

Antibiotic resistant bacteria were studied as bio-indicators of marine polluted effluents during egg-laying in green turtles. A non-invasive procedure for sampling oviductal fluid was used to test for exposure of turtles to pollution in Ras Al-Hadd, Oman, which is one of the most important nesting beaches in the world. Each sample was obtained by inserting a 15 cm sterile swab gently into the cloacal vent as the sphincter muscle is relaxed and the cloacal lining is unfolded to the outside. Forty turtles were sampled. A hundred and thirty-two species of bacteria from 7 genera were isolated. The dominant isolate was Citrobacter. Among the isolates 60.6% were multiple resistant to 15 tested antibiotics. The dominant resistance to antibiotics was ampicillin followed by streptomycin and sulphamethoxazole. Sampling oviductal fluid for resistant bacteria to antibiotics is valuable way to assess exposure to polluted effluents during feeding and migratory in turtles. Polluted effluents using bacteria as bio-indicator may influence reproductive potential in this endangered species.     

Investigation of groundwater mineralization in the Hammamet–Nabeul unconfined aquifer,north-eastern Tunisia: geochemical and isotopic approach

Detailed hydrogeochemical and isotopic data of groundwaters from the Hammamet–Nabeul unconfined aquifer are used to provide a better understanding of the natural and anthropogenic processes that control the groundwater mineralization as well as the sources of different groundwater bodies. It has been demonstrated that groundwaters, which show Na–Cl and Ca–SO₄–Cl water facies, are mainly influenced by the dissolution of evaporates, the dedolomitization and the cation-exchange process; and supplementary by anthropogenic process in relation with return flow of irrigation waters. The isotopic signatures permit to classify the studied groundwaters into two different groups. Non-evaporated groundwaters that are characterized by depleted δ ¹⁸O and δ ²H contents highlighting the importance of modern recharge at higher altitude. Evaporated groundwaters with enriched contents reflecting the significance infiltration of return flow irrigation waters. Tritium data in the studied groundwaters lend support to the existence of pre-1950 and post-1960 recharge. Carbon-14 activities in shallow wells that provide evidence to the large contamination by organic ¹⁴C corroborate the recent origin of the groundwaters in the study area.     

Temporal variations of gravity in the Aswan region of Egypt

The Kalabsha region at the northwest side of Lake Aswan has been a subject of seismological and geodetic investigations since 1981, after the 5.5 M earthquake on 14 November. The subsequent seismic activity was related to the effect of water-level oscillations in the Lake. Geodetic measurements provided indications of regional stress and of the local character of vertical movements. As crustal dynamics represents a potential hazard with respect to the size of the lake, other techniques have been applied to the monitoring system. Repeated gravity test measurements were already made in the late 1980s and in 1994, but only in 1997 was a new epoch of long-term investigation initiated. The measured data showed sufficient accuracy of approx. 5 μGal. Already the first difference of the two campaigns of the years 1997 and 2000 showed a few important features. First of all, the temporal non-tidal changes of gravity exceed the level of confidence significantly. The changes were compared with older available geodetic data, and it was concluded, that the gravity changes were not related directly to the vertical movements of the surface. On the contrary, a water loading effect may be expected on the eastern side of the network, especially in the Kalabsha local net. The development of the stress field is considered to be the main source of observed gravity changes. In both the Kalabsha and Seiyal nets the changes differ according to the relative positions of the particular measuring points with respect to the faults.     

Predicting the Shear Behavior of Cemented and Uncemented Carbonate Sands Using a Genetic Algorithm-Based Artificial Neural Network

Carbonate sands that are known as problematic soils, have some unusual features like particle crushability and compressibility that discriminate their behavior from other types of soil. Because of their vast diversity, they have a wide range of mechanical behavior. In recent decades, there have been many attempts to model the mechanical behavior of carbonate sands but all these efforts have been focused on experimental and case studies of some especial sands and there is still no unique way which can appraises all types of carbonate sands behavior and describes their various aspects. In this paper, a new approach is presented based on the integration of Genetic Algorithm (GA) into an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to predict the shear behavior of carbonate sands. In the proposed approach, the GA was utilized to optimize the connection weights of the ANN. The network was trained and tested using a comprehensive set of triaxial tests that were carried out on three different carbonate sands in both grouted and ungrouted (cemented and uncemented) condition. The network prediction was then compared to the experimental results and it was concluded that the GA-based ANN has a good potential in predicting the behavior and generalizing the training data to simulate new unseen data.     

Recent crustal deformation and seismicity studies at Abu-Dabbab area, Red Sea, Egypt

The Abu-Dabbab area is characterized by high seismicity and complex tectonic setting; for these facts, a local geodetic network consisting of 11 geodetic benchmarks has been established. The crustal deformation data in this area are collected using the GPS techniques. Five campaigns of GPS measurements have been collected, processed, and adjusted to get the more accurate positions of the GPS stations. The horizontal velocity vectors, the dilatational, the maximum shear strains, and the principal strain rates were estimated. The horizontal velocity varies in average between 3 and 6 mm per year across the network. The results of the deformation analysis indicate a significant contraction and extension across the southern central part of the study area which is characterized by high seismic activity represented by the clustering shape of the microearthquakes that trending ENE. The north and northeastern parts are characterized by small strain rates. This study is an attempt to provide valuable information about the present state of the crustal deformation and its relationship to seismic activity and tectonic setting at the Abu-Dabbab area. The present study is the first work demonstrating crustal deformation monitoring at the Abu-Dabbab area. The time interval is relatively short. Actually, these results are preliminary results. So, the continuity of GPS measurements is needed for providing more information about the recent crustal deformation in that area.     

Quality assessment of groundwater at south Al Madinah Al Munawarah area, Saudi Arabia

Groundwater is the main source of irrigation within south Al Madinah Al Munawarah region. It is also an important source of drinking water in many areas including Madinah city. The wells installed in the aquifer of the study area (south Madinah city) are not currently regulated by the local authorities although they are a key component of water supply. The aquifers in the study area range from unconfined to semi-confined and confined. The main aim of this study is to assess the groundwater in the region for drinking and agricultural uses. For this purpose, hydrochemical analyses of major, minor and trace constituents and nutrients were performed on 29 groundwater samples from the aquifer located about 20 km south of Madinah. The recharge rate of the aquifer of the study area was estimated to be 6.58 % of the annual precipitation using the chloride mass-balance method. Chloride was positively correlated with major ions, which suggests that agricultural activities have some effect on groundwater chemistry through leaching of readily soluble salts from the soil zone. Groundwater of the study area is characterized by dominance of Na over Ca. Chloride was found to be the most dominant anion and replaced by HCO₃, thus reflecting geochemical evolution in the study area. The groundwater of the study area is not safe for drinking but can be safely used for salt-tolerant crops.     

A preliminary study of graphite-bearing rocks at Wadi Sikait area, South Eastern Desert, Egypt

The studied graphite-bearing rocks are located at Wadi Sikait in the southern part of the Eastern Desert of Egypt to the west of Marsa Alam on the Red Sea coast. They are intruded by granitic rocks and they have low radioactivity level. Mica-graphite schists are considered as a matrix of ophiolitic mélange. Graphite occurs in mica-graphite schists as disseminated grains and in talc carbonates rocks as bands or veins. Petrographically, the mica-graphite schists are mainly composed of quartz, plagioclase, muscovite, biotite, and graphite. Geochemical characteristics show that trace elements analysis reflects higher content in Cr and Ni in ash-free graphite than mica-graphite schists. Spectrometrically, the graphite-bearing rocks at Wadi Sikait are showing eU values greater than eTh values, indicating that the graphite-bearing rocks gain U from the country rocks. The U/eU ratio range from 2.7 to 11 manifesting enrichment of chemical uranium (U) may be related to recent uranium transported from the mineralized country rocks. There is a role of graphite and carbonaceous matter in the genesis of U deposits.     

Late Cretaceous calcareous nannofossil and planktonic foraminiferal bioevents of the shallow-marine carbonate platform in the Mitla Pass, west central Sinai, Egypt

The first detailed biostratigraphic analyses of the Coniacian-middle Campanian shallow-marine carbonate successions exposed in the Mitla Pass, west central Sinai, Egypt have revealed the stratigraphic distribution of diverse calcareous nannofossil and planktonic foraminiferal species. Thirty-six calcareous nannofossils and thirty-two planktonic foraminifera are identified, indicating a Coniacian to middle Campanian age and four Tethyan planktonic foraminiferal and five calcareous nannofossil zones. A comparison of these bioevents from different palaeolatitudes shows considerable variation in age.Three sequence boundaries coincident with the Turonian/Coniacian, Coniacian/Santonian and Santonian/Campanian stage boundaries are recognized. A fourth sequence boundary is marked by a major upper Campanian to early Ypresian (early Eocene) unconformity. These sequence boundaries are primarily related to regional tectonism associated with the Syrian Arc Fold System and secondarily to eustatic sea-level fluctuations.     

Lithostratigraphy and standard microfacies types of the Neogene carbonates of Rabigh and Ubhur areas, Red Sea coastal plain of Saudi Arabia

The Neogene carbonate rocks have relatively small exposure relative to the siliciclastic and evaporite rocks in Rabigh and Ubhur areas, north Jeddah, Red Sea coastal plain of Saudi Arabia. The Miocene carbonates form small hills in both areas, which conformably overlie the siliciclastics, whereas the Pleistocene coral reefs form terraces facing the Red Sea in Rabigh area. The Neogene carbonates are represented by the following microfacies types: (1) dolomitic, oolitic, foraminiferal packstone; (2) sandy, dolomitic, intraclastic, foraminiferal packstone; (3) dolomitic and oolitic wackestone; (4) dolomitic, foraminiferal, intraclastic wackestone; (5) dolomitic mudstone; (6) coral boundstone; and (7) grainstone. The diagenetic processes affecting these carbonates are compaction, dissolution, aggrading neomorphism, and replacement that took place during deposition, shallow burial, and uplift. Pervasive dolomitization by the seepage reflux mechanism is responsible for the mimic replacement of the calcite of the original component of the limestone with dolomite. Sediments, biota, and lithofacies characteristics of the studied carbonate rocks of Rabigh and Ubhur areas indicate the presence of three facies zones; these are (1) FZ 5 platform margin reefs, (2) FZ 6 (platform margin sand shoals), and (3) FZ 7 platform interior-normal marine. The standard microfacies types are represented by (1) SMF 12, limestone with shell concentration; (2) SMF 15, oolitic wackestone and packstone; and (3) SMF 18, bioclastic grainstone and packstone with abundant benthic foraminifera.