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Groundwater in the Nile Delta pp 161–186Cite as

Sedimentological Characteristics of the Quaternary Groundwater Aquifer, Northwestern Nile Delta, Egypt

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Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry ((HEC,volume 73))

Abstract

A total of 110 sediment samples were collected at various levels during the well drilling. Mechanical analysis of 70 sediment samples was done in order to study the sedimentological and depositional environments of the studied aquifer. Another 40 samples were subjected to X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis to detect the mineralogical composition of the aquifer sediments. The sedimentary work revealed that the majority of the samples are medium to coarse clayey sand, moderately sorted and coarse skewed. This may support the multi-directional depositional currents. The present-day, wind action influences skin of the sediments. The samples lie within the field of river processes. Mineralogical analysis by X-ray diffractometry revealed that smectite is the most abundant clay mineral, followed by kaolinite, whereas illite is the less abundant clay mineral. The essential carbonate minerals are calcite and dolomite whereas non-carbonate minerals include quartz, feldspar, and hematite.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Tanta University for the financial support offered during the course of this research work. The authors thank the editor Prof. Dr. Abdelazim Negm for his constructive remarks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt

    Abdelmonem T. Abdelhameed & Zenhom E. Salem

  2. Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Damanhour University, Damanhour, Egypt

    Osman M. Osman

Authors
  1. Abdelmonem T. Abdelhameed
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  2. Zenhom E. Salem
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  3. Osman M. Osman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zenhom E. Salem .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt

    Abdelazim M. Negm

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Abdelhameed, A.T., Salem, Z.E., Osman, O.M. (2017). Sedimentological Characteristics of the Quaternary Groundwater Aquifer, Northwestern Nile Delta, Egypt. In: Negm, A. (eds) Groundwater in the Nile Delta . The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 73. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2017_153

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