Mineralogy, petrography, and biostratigraphy of the Lower Eocene succession at Gebel El-Qurn, West Luxor, Southern Egypt

The widely exposed siliciclastic/carbonate succession exposed at Gebel El-Qurn, west Luxor, has been investigated from the mineralogical, petrographical and biostratigraphical points of view. The succession belongs to the lower Eocene, including the upper Esna Shale and the Thebes Formations that have been deposited under varied marine conditions and during alternating periods of abundant and ceased clastic influx. They contain abundant and well-diversified planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannoplankton, suggesting deposition in open marine inner to middle shelf environments. Mineralogical analysis carried out by XRD revealed the presence of smectite, illite, kaolinite, sepiolite, palygorskite, and smectite–illite-mixed layer as the principal clay minerals, and calcite, dolomite, quartz, anhydrite, gypsum, hematite, and goethite as non-clay minerals. The clay mineral distributions in the sediments reflect the climatic conditions and the weathering processes at the source area as well as the differential hydraulic sorting during transportation. Calcite is the most abundant non-clay mineral, and this is consistent with high calcareous fossil content of the sediments. Petrographic examination of the carbonate lithologies within the succession enables to identify eight microfacies associations. These microfacies were affected by several diagenetic processes including; micritization, compaction, cementation, neomorphism, dissolution, dolomitization, and silicification. Dissolution of original test wall and replacement and infilling by iron oxides and recrystallized calcite were commonly observed. Calcareous nannofossils are generally common to frequent, highly diversified, and moderately to well preserved. Two calcareous nannofossil biozones; Tribrachiatus contortus Zone (NP10) and Discoaster binodosus (NP11) are recorded in the studied sediments suggesting lower Eocene age. Their associated nannofossil taxa are characterized by the predominance of warm water species. Sea-level fluctuations, basin physiography, climate, paleogeography, and sediment supply were the major controls on the deposition of the lower Eocene sediments at Gebel El-Qurn.