Vulnerability and fate of a coastal sand dune complex,Rosetta-Idku,northwestern Nile Delta,Egypt

Types, distribution, and origin of recent sand dunes between Rosetta and Idku, in the western sector of the Nile Delta, Egypt were investigated. Sand samples from the dunes, beach, and seafloor were studied for grain size distribution and mineralogical composition. It has been found that most of the dunes in the study area have been subjected to deterioration and removal due to the construction of buildings and the International Coastal Highway. The remnant constitutes a damaged belt of foredunes that extends from El Bouseily village to the west of Idku town. The dune’s origin is interpreted to be the result of coastal drifting and the subsequent transport of sediments of the former Canopic Nile branch eastward by the predominant longshore current and by aeolian processes. The blown sand grains accumulated to form a belt of coastal sand dunes of original longitudinal and crescentic forms. Urbanization of the coast has severely altered the landscape. The study area is considered vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and the expected rise in sea level. The outcome of potential sea level rise is serious; erosion problems are expected to be exacerbated and vast areas from land and property would be lost. Thus, protection and preservation the remaining dunes in the study area are vital requirements for shore protection.     

Wave Interactions with Multiple Semi-Immersed Jarlan-Type Perforated Breakwaters

This study examines wave interactions with multiple semi-immersed Jarlan-type perforated breakwaters. A numerical model based on linear wave theory and an eigenfunction expansion method has been developed to study the hydrodynamic characteristics of breakwaters. The numerical results show a good agreement with previous analytical results and experimental data for limiting cases of double partially immersed impermeable walls and double and triple Jarlan-type breakwaters. The wave transmission coefficient C_T; reflection coefficient C_R, and energy dissipation coefficient C_E coefficients and the horizontal wave force exerted on the front and rear walls are examined. The results show that C_R reaches the maximum value when B/L = 0.46n while it is smallest when B/L=0.46n+0.24 (n=0, 1, 2,...). An economical triple semi-immersed Jarlan-type perforated breakwater can be designed with B/L = 0.25 and C_R and C_T ranging from 0.25 to 0.32 by choosing a relative draft d/h of 0.35 and a permeability parameter of the perforated front walls being 0.5 for an incident wave number kh nearly equal to 2.0. The triple semi-immersed Jarlan-type perforated breakwaters with significantly reduced C_R, will enhance the structure’s wave absorption ability, and lead to smaller wave forces compared with the double one. The proposed model may be used to predict the response of a structure in the preliminary design stage for practical engineering.     

Discussion of “Interfacing the geographic information system,remote sensing,and the soil conservation service-curve number method to estimate curve number and runoff volume in the ASIR region of Saudi Arabia” by Fawzi S. Mohammad,Jan Adamowski

The soil conservation service curve number (SCS-CN) method is one of the most commonly used methods to compute the direct runoff from a rainfall event. Since the method was established, numerous researches were undertaken to improve the method through accurate estimation of its parameter and especially the curve number (CN). However, the essence of the SCS method, as an event-based Hortonian mechanism method, remained unchanged. The main assumption of the method related to the rainfall input is that the rainfall is continuous in time and uniform over the watershed. Mohammad and Adamowski (2015) paper apparently used the SCS method to estimate the annual runoff using the annual rainfall as one cumulative rainfall input value, which is a violation of the event-based principle of the method and of the assumption of the continuity of the rainfall event.To re-estimate the average annual runoff more realistically for the Asir region, Saudi Arabia, daily rainfall data from 14 rainfall stations are used for calculating the resulting runoff depths, on a daily event-by-event rainfall basis, throughout the whole simulation period. The resulting runoff depths are added for each year, and the total cumulative annual runoff values for each year are averaged to get the average annual runoff. The runoff values based on the previously mentioned procedure are an upper limit of the actual average annual runoff as the underlying SCS equations discard evaporation and similar long-term losses. Nevertheless, the average runoff values obtained in the discussion paper are an order of magnitude (at least five to tenfold) lower than the ones of the original paper. An equation is proposed to obtain a more realistic estimate of the average annual runoff, to be used with the average annual rainfall as an input, if the annual value is the only available rainfall information.     

Simultaneous Determination of 11 Sulfonamides by HPLC–UV and Application for Fast Screening of Their Aerobic Elimination and Biodegradation in a Simple Test

Sulfonamides (SAs) are one of the most frequently used antibiotics. SAs have been found in various environmental compartments. If SAs are not degraded in the environment, they can affect bacteria by their antibiotic properties and contribute to bacterial antibiotic resistance. Therefore, the biodegradability of 11 SAs (sulfanilamide, sulfaguanidine monohydrate, sulfadiazine, sulfathiazole, sulfapyridine, sulfamerazine, sulfamethoxypyridazine, sulfachloropyridazine, sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole, and sulfadimethoxine) was studied. For this purpose, the Closed Bottle Test (CBT, OECD 301D) was performed, which includes a toxicity control. In order to monitor the environmental fate of the parent compound and to check for transformation products, a simple, efficient, and reliable HPLC–UV method for the simultaneous determination of these SAs has been developed. Acetonitrile and water (with 0.1% formic acid) were used as mobile phase solvents for gradient elution. The method was validated in terms of precision, detection and quantitation limits, selectivity, and analytical solution stability. In the CBT, none of these SAs was readily biodegradable. The HPLC–UV analysis confirmed that no degradation of any SA took place. In the toxicity control, these SAs showed no toxic effect in the used concentration of environmental bacteria applied in the test.     

Holocene stromatolites and microbial laminites associated with lenticular gypsum in a marine-dominated environment, Ras El Shetan area, Gulf of Aqaba, Egypt

Field and petrographic investigations of Holocene evaporites in the Ras El Shetan area, Gulf of Aqaba, Egypt, indicate the presence of microbial mats either in the form of laminites or stromatolites. The morphology of microbial mats and gypsum crystal size characterize the following lithofacies: (1) slump-stromatolitic gypsarenite, (2) random gypsrudite, (3) stromatolitic gypsarenite, and (4) microbially laminated gypsrudite. These evaporite lithofacies are formed above pre-evaporitic mudstones rich in disrupted cyanobacterial filaments, burrows and cerithid gastropods. The morphology of the gypsum crystals is mainly lenticular, indicating enrichment of dissolved organic compounds in the depositional environment. The difference in size of the lenticular gypsum crystals is related to minor changes in salinity and temperature of the parent brine. Fluid inclusions in gypsum crystals indicate their formation at low temperature (<50°C) in a seawater sourced brine that evaporated to gypsum saturation or higher. The brine salinities range from 10·62 to 12·99 equivalent wt% NaCl, and the brine densities range from 1·08 to 1·11 g/cm³. The change in morphology of the microbial mats (stromatolites and laminites) is related mainly to changes in water depth, from a very shallow salina to a coastal sabkha. Lenticular gypsum nucleated displacively in the microbial mats from saline, oxygenated groundwater that seeped from the sea through a barrier.     

Provenance,weathering, and paleoenvironment of the Upper Cretaceous Duwi black shales,Aswan Governorate,Egypt

The mineralogy and geochemistry of the Upper Cretaceous Duwi black shales of Nile Valley district, Aswan Governorate, Egypt, have been investigated to identify the source rock characteristics, paleoweathering, and paleoenvironment of the source area. The Duwi Formation consists mainly of phosphorite and black shales and is subdivided into three members. The lower and upper members composed mainly of phosphorite beds intercalated with thin lenses of gray shales, while the middle member is mainly composed of gray shale, cracked, and filled with gypsum. Mineralogically, the Duwi black shales consist mainly of smectite and kaolinite. The non-clay minerals are dominated by quartz, calcite, phosphate, dolomite, feldspar, with little gypsum, anhydrite, iron oxides, and pyrite. Based on the CIA, PIA, and CIW values (average?=?84, 94, 95, respectively), it can be concluded that the litho-components of the studied shales were subjected to intense chemical weathering and reflect warm/humid climatic conditions in the depositional basin. The provenance discrimination diagram indicates that the nature of the source rocks probably was mainly intermediate and mafic igneous sources with subordinate recycled sedimentary rocks (Nubia Formation). Geochemical characteristics indicate that the Duwi black shales in Nile Valley district were deposited under anoxic reducing marine environments.     

Assessment of proposed approaches for bathymetry calculations using multispectral satellite images in shallow coastal/lake areas: a comparison of five models

Bathymetric information for shallow coastal/lake areas is essential for hydrological engineering applications such as sedimentary processes and coastal studies. Remotely sensed imagery is considered a time-effective, low-cost, and wide-coverage solution for bathymetric measurements. This study assesses the performance of three proposed empirical models for bathymetry calculations in three different areas: Alexandria port, Egypt, as an example of a low-turbidity deep water area with silt-sand bottom cover and a depth range of 10.5 m; the Lake Nubia entrance zone, Sudan, which is a highly turbid, unstable, clay bottom area with water depths to 6 m; and Shiraho, Ishigaki Island, Japan, a coral reef area with varied depths ranging up to 14 m. The proposed models are the ensemble regression tree-fitting algorithm using bagging (BAG), ensemble regression tree-fitting algorithm of least squares boosting (LSB), and support vector regression algorithm (SVR). Data from Landsat 8 and Spot 6 satellite images were used to assess the performance of the proposed models. The three models were used to obtain bathymetric maps using the reflectance of green, red, blue/red, and green/red band ratios. The results were compared with corresponding results yielded by two conventional empirical methods, the neural network (NN) and the Lyzenga generalised linear model (GLM). Compared with echosounder data, BAG, LSB, and SVR results demonstrate higher accuracy ranges from 0.04 to 0.35 m more than Lyzenga GLM. The BAG algorithm, producing the most accurate results, proved to be the preferable algorithm for bathymetry calculation.     

Geochemistry and tectonic setting of early Pan-African metamorphosed volcano–sedimentary sequence in southern Solaf zone, SW Sinai, Egypt

The south Solaf zone in SW Sinai comprises a metasedimentary sequence of metagraywackes intercalated with minor metavolcanic sheets, metasiltstones, meta-arenites, and calc–silicates. The metavolcanics (basalt–andesite) show high- to medium-K calc–alkaline nature. They exhibit distinctive Nb-Ta negative anomalies relative to enriched LILE, being highly similar to active continental margin lavas, but they also have the characteristics of rift-related magmatism. Magmas of similar composition are interpreted to be formed in an extensional environment and their source regions are zones of enriched subcontinental lithosphere. The metasediments are poor to moderate sorting, intercalated to the north with minor impure calcareous layers. Geochemical investigation shows that they are immature to semi-mature sediments derived from a source of mafic to felsic composition. These metasediments are chemically similar to the active continental margins and are comparable to the Feiran gneisses and metagraywackes that were deposited before 800 Ma in an extensional environment. The investigated rocks suffered LP-HT amphibolite facies metamorphism. The P-T estimates using various thermobarometric calibrations gave temperatures of 554–610 °C and pressures of 2.2–4.0 kbar.     

Eruptive history of the Barombi Mbo Maar, Cameroon Volcanic Line, Central Africa: Constraints from volcanic facies analysis

his study presents the first and detail field investigations of exposed deposits at proximal sections of the Barombi Mbo Maar (BMM), NE Mt Cameroon, with the aim of documenting its past activity, providing insight on the stratigraphic distribution, depositional process, and evolution of the eruptive sequences during its formation. Field evidence reveals that the BMM deposit is about 126m thick, of which about 20m is buried lowermost under the lake level and covered by vegetation. Based on variation in pyroclastic facies within the deposit, it can be divided into three main stratigraphic units: U₁, U₂ and U₃. Interpretation of these features indicates that U₁ consists of alternating lapilli-ash-lapilli beds series, in which fallout derived individual lapilli-rich beds are demarcated by surges deposits made up of thin, fine-grained and consolidated ash-beds that are well-defined, well-sorted and laterally continuous in outcrop scale. U₂, a pyroclastic fall-derived unit, shows crudely lenticular stratified scoriaceous layers, in which many fluidal and spindle bombs-rich lapilli-beds are separated by very thin, coarse-vesiculatedash-beds, overlain by a mantle xenolith- and accidental lithic-rich explosive breccia, and massive lapilli tuff and lapillistone. U3 displays a series of surges and pyroclastic fall layers. Emplacement processes were largely controlled by fallout deposition and turbulent diluted pyroclastic density currents under “dry” and “wet” conditions. The eruptive activity evolved in a series of initial phreatic eruptions, which gradually became phreatomagmatic, followed by a phreato-Strombolian and a violent phreatomagmatic fragmentation. A relatively long-time break, demonstrated by a paleosol between U₂ and U₃, would have permitted the feeding of the root zone or the prominent crater by the water that sustained the next eruptive episode, dominated by subsequent phreatomagmatic eruptions. These preliminary results require complementary studies, such as geochemistry, for a better understanding of the changes in the eruptive styles, and to develop more constraints on the maar’s polygenetic origin.     

Hydrochemical and stable isotopic investigation of groundwater quality and its sustainability for irrigation in the Hammamet-Nabeul basin,northeastern Tunisia

The major ion hydrochemistry, sodium absorption ratio (SAR), sodium percentage, and isotopic signatures of Hammamet-Nabeul groundwaters were used to identify the processes that control the mineralization, irrigation suitability, and origin of different water bodies. This investigation highlights that groundwater mineralization is mainly influenced by water-rock interaction and pollution by the return flow of irrigation water. The comparison of groundwater quality with irrigation suitability standards proves that most parts of groundwater are unacceptable for irrigation and this long-term practice may result in a significant increase of the salinity and alkalinity in the soils. Based on isotopic signatures, the shallow aquifer groundwater samples were classified into (i) waters with depleted δ¹⁸O and δ²H contents, highlighting recharge by modern precipitation, and (ii) waters with enriched stable isotope contents, reflecting the significance of recharge by contaminated water derived from the return flow of evaporated irrigation waters. The deep-aquifer groundwater samples were also classified into (i) waters with relatively enriched isotope contents derived from modern recharge and mixed with shallow-aquifer groundwater and (ii) waters with depleted stable isotope contents reflecting a paleoclimatic origin. Tritium data permit to identify three origins of recharge, i.e., contemporaneous, post-nuclear, and pre-nuclear. Carbon-14 activities demonstrate the existence of old paleoclimatic recharge related to the Holocene and Late Pleistocene humid periods.