Evaluation of phosphorus bioavailability in El Mex Bay and Lake Mariut sediments

Phosphorus (P) fractions and their bioavailability in the sediments from El Mex Bay and Lake Mariut in Egypt were investigated using different chemical extraction methods. Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) extractable P (Olsen-P) was the largest fraction (14.42%), followed by algal available P (AAP) (3.56%), water soluble P (WSP) (0.79%), and readily desorbable P (RDP) (0.06%) for El Mex Bay. While AAP con-tributed 9.94% to total P in sediments from Lake Mariut, Olsen-P 8.53%, WSP 4.11%, and RDP 0.92%. Summation of the bioavailable P fractions didn't exceed the sediment quality guidelines, and, therefore, P doesn't represent a danger to marine organisms. Correlation coefficients showed that no apparent relations between total P (TP) and iron (Fe), aluminum (Al), and calcium (Ca) in the sediments. Fur-thermore, Fe:P ratio was less than 15 indicting that there was not enough Fe in surface sediments to bind to P at most of the sampling sites. The positive correlation between TP and organic matter (OM) for Lake Mariut and El Mex Bay sediments indicated that the organic matter content of the sediment was a useful predictor of the total phosphorus content. Data from this study constitute a baseline of phosphorus bioavailability in sediments from El Mex Bay and Lake Mariut and could be used as a reference for future studies on the changes of bioavailable and residual phosphorus fractions over time.     

Numerical study of combined overflow and wave overtopping over a smooth impermeable seawall

A numerical wave flume is used to investigate the discharge characteristics of combined overflow and wave overtopping of impermeable seawalls. The numerical procedure computes solutions to the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations and includes the generation of an irregular train of waves, the simulation of wave breaking and interaction with a sloping, impermeable wall. The numerical model is first tested against published experimental observations, approximate analytical solutions and empirical design formulae for the cases of pure overflow and pure overtopping. A sequence of numerical experiments simulating combined overflow and overtopping are described. The results are used to determine empirical discharge formulae of the form used in current practice.     

Comparative biomass structure and estimated carbon flow in food webs in the deep Gulf of Mexico

A budget of the standing stocks and cycling of organic carbon associated with the sea floor has been generated for seven sites across a 3-km depth gradient in the NE Gulf of Mexico, based on a series of reports by co-authors on specific biotic groups or processes. The standing stocks measured at each site were bacteria, Foraminifera, metazoan meiofauna, macrofauna, invertebrate megafauna, and demersal fishes. Sediment community oxygen consumption (SCOC) by the sediment-dwelling organisms was measured at each site using a remotely deployed benthic lander, profiles of oxygen concentration in the sediment pore water of recovered cores and ship-board core incubations. The long-term incorporation and burial of organic carbon into the sediments has been estimated using profiles of a combination of stable and radiocarbon isotopes. The total stock estimates, carbon burial, and the SCOC allowed estimates of living and detrital carbon residence time within the sediments, illustrating that the total biota turns over on time scales of months on the upper continental slope but this is extended to years on the abyssal plain at 3.6 km depth. The detrital carbon turnover is many times longer, however, over the same depths. A composite carbon budget illustrates that total carbon biomass and associated fluxes declined precipitously with increasing depth. Imbalances in the carbon budgets suggest that organic detritus is exported from the upper continental slope to greater depths offshore.The respiration of each individual “size” or functional group within the community has been estimated from allometric models, supplemented by direct measurements in the laboratory. The respiration and standing stocks were incorporated into budgets of carbon flow through and between the different size groups in hypothetical food webs. The decline in stocks and respiration with depth were more abrupt in the larger forms (fishes and megafauna), resulting in an increase in the relative predominance of smaller sizes (bacteria and meiofauna) at depth. Rates and stocks in the deep northern GoM appeared to be comparable to other continental margins where similar comparisons have been made.     

Analysis of refracturing in horizontal wells: Insights from the poroelastic displacement discontinuity method

In this paper, a fully coupled 2‐dimensional poroelastic displacement discontinuity method is used to investigate the refracturing process in horizontal wells. One of the objectives of refracturing is to access new reserves by adding new hydraulic fractures in zones that were bypassed in the initial fracturing attempt. Pore pressure depletion in the vicinity of old fractures directly affects the state of stress and eventually the propagation of newly created hydraulic fractures. Thus, a poroelastic analysis is required to identify guidelines for the refracturing process, in particular to understand the extension of the pore pressure depletion, and eventually, the orientation of new as well as old fractures. We propose a fully coupled approach to model the whole process of child fracture propagation in a depleted area between 2 parent fractures in the same wellbore. This approach omits the need of using multistep workflow that is regularly used to model the process. The maximum tensile stress criterion (σ criterion) is used for hydraulic fracture propagation. The proposed method is verified using available analytical solutions for total stress and pore pressure loading modes on a line fracture in drained and undrained conditions. Then, test cases of multifractured horizontal wells are studied to calculate the time evolution of the stress and pore pressure fields around old fractures and to understand the effect of these fields on the propagation path of newly created fractures. Finally, the effect of the pore pressure depletion on the propagation path of the newly created fractures in the bypassed area of the same wellbore is studied. The results show that the depleted areas around old fractures are highly affected by the extent and severity of the stress redistribution and pore pressure depletion. It is observed that a successful creation of new fractures may only happen in certain time frames. The results of this study provide new insights on the behavior of newly created fractures in depleted zones. They also clarify the relationship between stress change and pore pressure depletion in horizontal wells.     

Groundwater quality model with applications to various aquifers

A finite element model was developed in order to solve for both regional groundwater flow and conservative solute transport in porous medium. The model was applied to a 55-sq-km groundwater basin in the Ruehen region of Germany using a network of 1450 elements and 780 nodes. This model was used in simulating a contaminant plume done through injection. Similarly, the model was applied to a 4750-sq-km portion in the eastern Nile Delta aquifer in Egypt. The model was applied to this portion of the delta using a network of 543 elements and 310 nodes with the main objective of simulating the problem of salt water intrusion.     

Geochemical prospecting for lead and zine in Gebel el Rousas,Eastern Desert,Egypt

Gebel El Rousas is an isolated hillock in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. It consists of the Basement Complex (subsurface) which is non-conformably overlain by the Middle Miocene and successively by Pleistocene-Recent terraces. The Miocene strata are mineralized by oxidized hypogene lead-zinc deposits.Geochemical prospecting was attempted for the first time in Gebel El Rousas and for the second time in Egypt. The old terraces of gravels and sands covering the hillock were sampled on a grid pattern of a 30 m spacing. The samples were taken at a depth of 30 cm from the surface. They were sieved to –150 mesh and analyzed for Pb, Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn, and CO₂.Significant contrasts and anomalies resulted for Pb, Zn, and Fe. The main anomalies are parallel and generally coincide with the subsurface mineralized zone which is inferred to cross the area on the same trend. The mineralized zone extends as shown by the geochemical pattern southward, from the known northern part, to a southern district which has not been checked by drilling or any other testing.

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Zusammenfassung Djebel El Rousas ist ein isolierter Hügel in der Ägyptischen Ostwüste. Er besteht aus dem Basementkomplex, der diskordant von MittelmiozÄn und aufeinanderfolgend von PleistozÄn-HolozÄn-Terrassen überlagert wird. Die MiozÄn-Schichten sind mit oxydischen hypogenen Blei-Zink-Ablagerungen vererzt.Im Djebel El Rousas wurde zum erstenmal der Versuch einer geochemischen Prospektion durchgeführt, für ganz Ägypten ist es das zweite Mal. Gitterförmig wurden im Abstand von 30 m den alten Kies- und Sandterrassen, die den Hügel bedecken, Proben aus einer Tiefe von 30 cm unter der OberflÄche entnommen. Die Proben wurden mit 150 Maschenweite gesiebt und auf Pb, Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn und CO₂ analysiert.Eindeutige Kontraste und Anomalien wurden für Pb, Zn und Fe festgestellt. Die Hauptanomalien sind parallel und fallen normalerweise mit der mineralisierten Zone unter Tage zusammen, die das Gebiet in derselben Richtung durchquert. Wie aus der geochemischen Karte hervorgeht, setzt sich die vererzte Zone nach Süden in ein Gebiet fort, das bisher noch nicht durch Bohrungen untersucht wurde.

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Résumé Gebel El Rousas est un monticule isolé dans le Désert Oriental de l'égypte. Il se compose de roches du Basement Complex (sous-sol) surmontées en discordance par des terrasses du Miocène Moyen et succéssivement par des terrasses du Pleistocène-Récent. Les couches du Miocène sont mineralisées par des dépÔts hypogènes de plomb et de zinc oxidés.Les prospections géochimiques furent essayées pour la première fois au Gebel El Rousas et pour la seconde fois en égypte. Des échantillons des anciennes terrasses de galets et de sables recouvrant ce monticule furent prises en une carte quadrillé de 30 m. Les échantillons furent prélevés à une profondeur de 30 cm de la surface. Ils furent criblés jusqu'aux mailles de 150 analysées pour la détermination de Pb, Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn, et CO₂.Des contrastes et des anomalies significatifs furent obtenus pour le Pb, Zn, et Fe. Les anomalies essentielles sont parallèles et généralement coincident avec la zone minéralisée du sous-sol qui est supposée traverser la région suivant la mÊme direction. La zone minéralisée s'étend comme l'indique la carte géochimique du Nord au Sud vers un district qui n'a pas été vérifié par forage ou par toute autre méthode éxpérimentale.

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Geophysical Exploration of Shallow Groundwater Aquifers in Arid Regions: A Case Study of Siwa Oasis,Egypt

Geophysical and geological studies play a fundamental role in the strategic and sustainable utilization of natural resources, especially that of fossil groundwater, in arid regions. The geophysical exploration of shallow groundwater aquifers is common in arid regions. In this work, a feasibility study of future development plans in the Siwa Oasis, Egypt, was carried out. A land electric resistivity survey was conducted, and approximately 14 vertical electric soundings were measured covering the Siwa Oasis, northwestern desert, Egypt. A detailed surface geology study was also conducted to study the underground water aquifer. Digital filters were applied to the reduced to pole-available magnetic data covering the area. The normalized source strength transformation and tilt depth were calculated and applied to delineate the possible structures that may control the shallow and deep aquifers in the area. The integrated interpretation showed the presence of four main geoelectric layers forming the shallow section of the Siwa Oasis down to 220 m. These layers varied in their resistivity and rock constituents from very low (0.2 Ω m) to very high (6200 Ω m) values. The calculated hydraulic parameters showed that the uppermost central area and the eastern area were the most promising areas for the required water development. Finally, based on the integrated interpretation and the estimated shallow aquifer potentiality, a land use map for the Siwa Oasis was produced to assist future strategic development of the region.

     

Geophysical Constraints on the Hydrogeologic and Structural Settings of the Gulf of Suez Rift-Related Basins: Case Study from the El Qaa Plain,Sinai, Egypt

Groundwater has been identified as one of the major freshwater sources that can potentially meet the growing demands of Egypt’s population. Gravity data (from 381 ground gravity stations) were collected, processed, and analyzed together with the available aeromagnetic (800 line-km) data to investigate the hydrogeologic and structural settings, areal distribution, geometry, and water storage of the aquifers in El Qaa coastal plain in the southwest Sinai Peninsula, and to assess their longevity given projected extraction rates. Findings include (1) complete Bouguer anomaly and total magnetic intensity maps show two connected sub-basins separated by a narrow saddle with an average basin length of 43 km and an average width of 12 km; (2) two-dimensional modeling of both gravity and magnetic data indicates basin fill with a maximum thickness of 3.5 km; (3) using anomalous residual gravity, the volume of water in storage was estimated at 40–56 km³; and (4) progressive increases in extraction rates over time will deplete up to 40 % of the aquifers’ volume in 200–230 years and will cause the water quality to deteriorate due to seawater intrusion in 45 years. Similar geophysical exploration campaigns, if conducted over the entire coastal plains of the Red Sea and the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba, could assist in the development of sound and sustainable management schemes for the freshwater resources in these areas. The adopted techniques could pave the way toward the establishment of sustainable utilization schemes for a much larger suite of similar aquifers worldwide.     

Characterization of some bacterial strains isolated from the Egyptian eastern and northern coastlines with antimicrobial activity of Bacillus zhangzhouensis OMER4

Marine microorganisms were considered to be important sources of marine bioactive compounds. The major objective of the study was to isolate and characterize bacteria with antimicrobial activities from the various marine environment of Egypt. In this respect, thirty-five bacterial isolates were recovered from sediment samples collected from different spots along the Egyptian Red Sea coastline and Alexandria coastline during the summer season of 2017 and 2018. According to the morphological, phys...