{"title":"Lithostratigraphy, petrography, and geochemistry of the Eocene–Oligocene rock succession, Wadi Arhab area, North Eastern Desert, Egypt","authors":"","doi":"10.1007/s13146-024-00928-7","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<h3>Abstract</h3> <p>The present study recorded for the first time, an occurrence of Oligocene basaltic plugs in Beni-Suef Governorate, Egypt. In addition, Egyptian alabaster was discovered in the study area, further the well-known ancient area around the Cavern of Wadi Sannur. In this work, the lithostratigraphy, structure, petrography, and geochemistry including TGA and DSC were studied. In addition, the thermal effect of the basaltic magma on the Eocene carbonates that covered most of the area, caused the formation of the Egyptian alabaster in the region. The Eocene succession represents different stages in age (late Middle–Late Eocene). Their outcrops are disconformably overlain by the basaltic plugs extruded along the NW–SE fault trend which is parallel to the Red Sea graben which was formed in the Oligo–Miocene Period. Petrographically, the Eocene rocks show ten microfacies types indicating that deposition of Eocene carbonates in the subtidal shallow marine environment except for microfacies of the Egyptian alabaster shows that the precipitation is related to the basaltic thermal effect and related hydrothermal waters within open cavities or karstic systems in the Eocene carbonate. The chemical analysis showed that SiO<sub>2</sub>, Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>, MgO, Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>, and CaO are of high content as major oxides, while Sr and Ba are of high content in the basaltic plugs as trace elements. TG analysis shows that basaltic rocks in the present study are suitable for conserving high-temperature thermal energy because they do not exhibit any thermal events when exposed to thermal influences by DSC between 30 °C and 1000 °C. Unlike both Egyptian alabaster and recrystallized limestone which are not suitable for maintaining high temperatures between 695 °C and 965 °C and decompose into CaO and CO<sub>2</sub> due to the decarbonization of the calcite mineral.</p>","PeriodicalId":9612,"journal":{"name":"Carbonates and Evaporites","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Carbonates and Evaporites","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s13146-024-00928-7","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"GEOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The present study recorded for the first time, an occurrence of Oligocene basaltic plugs in Beni-Suef Governorate, Egypt. In addition, Egyptian alabaster was discovered in the study area, further the well-known ancient area around the Cavern of Wadi Sannur. In this work, the lithostratigraphy, structure, petrography, and geochemistry including TGA and DSC were studied. In addition, the thermal effect of the basaltic magma on the Eocene carbonates that covered most of the area, caused the formation of the Egyptian alabaster in the region. The Eocene succession represents different stages in age (late Middle–Late Eocene). Their outcrops are disconformably overlain by the basaltic plugs extruded along the NW–SE fault trend which is parallel to the Red Sea graben which was formed in the Oligo–Miocene Period. Petrographically, the Eocene rocks show ten microfacies types indicating that deposition of Eocene carbonates in the subtidal shallow marine environment except for microfacies of the Egyptian alabaster shows that the precipitation is related to the basaltic thermal effect and related hydrothermal waters within open cavities or karstic systems in the Eocene carbonate. The chemical analysis showed that SiO2, Al2O3, MgO, Fe2O3, and CaO are of high content as major oxides, while Sr and Ba are of high content in the basaltic plugs as trace elements. TG analysis shows that basaltic rocks in the present study are suitable for conserving high-temperature thermal energy because they do not exhibit any thermal events when exposed to thermal influences by DSC between 30 °C and 1000 °C. Unlike both Egyptian alabaster and recrystallized limestone which are not suitable for maintaining high temperatures between 695 °C and 965 °C and decompose into CaO and CO2 due to the decarbonization of the calcite mineral.
期刊介绍：
Established in 1979, the international journal Carbonates and Evaporites provides a forum for the exchange of concepts, research and applications on all aspects of carbonate and evaporite geology. This includes the origin and stratigraphy of carbonate and evaporite rocks and issues unique to these rock types: weathering phenomena, notably karst; engineering and environmental issues; mining and minerals extraction; and caves and permeability.
The journal publishes current information in the form of original peer-reviewed articles, invited papers, and reports from meetings, editorials, and book and software reviews. The target audience includes professional geologists, hydrogeologists, engineers, geochemists, and other researchers, libraries, and educational centers.
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