الفهرس 
Material and methodsOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 140 |  |  |
| | | from | 140 | | |
Abstract
the preant Work &1maat, evaluating the nature of
interference between tbe deltaic sediment. and the desert
soils of the eastern border of the Nile Delta. To·tollow
the possible variations 10 such area, t~elve protiles
were selected alOOI three lines traversing the studied
area in easte’.rn and north easterl1 di.rections. The1 st. .~
traverse extends t1”OllDikernls eastwards to El-Tina ”a.ad
il-Tina plain. The •• cOl1dtraver •• ext.enda trom Z&18z1g
north eastllards to Bl-8alh1a and West Ka.ntara. Also, the
3 -rd-. traver.. extends from Toukheastwards to Belbe1st lad1 Il-Tum.il,at and ends at Abu SWlr •.
The studied profiles were thoroughly examined ,
morpbologlcal11~ described, and ’+6 samples represent1n.g
the var1at1Olls throUChollt their entire depths ~8re collected.
the •• 8amples were subjected to pby’.lcal, chemical
~d mineraloglcal investigations. fbe obtained results
could be sWllD&rized as tollows t
1. M~chan1cal composition. reveals that the protiles or
tho 1 !!. traverse line are clay-textured. Those or the
? 2~. traverse Une are 108117 sa.D.d to s11~ clay ( 1n
zagaz11 ) a.nd change ’to aaad7 tex’bu’e aaatvards, except
the layers or profUe 6 or Kl-8alh1a who•• texture 1s
clay- The 3 -rd-. traverse 11ne includes the clay protile at Toukh changing to sandy-textured protiles, except protile
11 or EI-TUmeilat depression which displays apparent
texture dlscont1nuit,v.
2. Total carbonate content attains its~ highest value at
Dikernls, where 1t ranges trom 2.,8 to 10.32%, while the
other protiles, regardless ot their localities, shoWlow
contents ot total carbonate, ranging from traces to ~.67~.
It shows no specific pattern that could be used tor 80il
d1tterentlatlo.n.
3. Organic matter co.o.tent ls generally ve’l’7 low. It ranee.
troaa aa low aa 0.01 to 1.81$ due to the prevailing arid1 t1
which contribute. eftectivel, to its rate ot decompo8itlOll,
thus dalni.hes its conten’” in the 80118 ot the studied
area.
It. So11 reaction (pH) 11. quite variable along the stud1ed
traverse linea. Though He,ll rea~tlo.n 18 slightl)” to mildly
alkaline in most prof11(s, yet protile 2 (El-Tina) and 3
eEl-’lina plain) are nellcral to slightly acid. This ”,as
explained OA the preaj,t.e that these latter solIs are
saline-alkali, cl1splarLng some a:tages or deterioration.
In addition, the preu41C8 ot gypsUill either in the torm ot
crystauaria or 8Ab1(.rite .a7 attect. their so11 reaction
5. So1l sal1n1’t7 al’(,WS ita highest level e152-25Ommhos/em.)
at El.~1na and El-~1na plain protiles, whereas the lo~est
level 1s characterizing the sandy soils at Belbels, West
EI_Kantara and the stratif’ledprof’11e ot Wadi El·TUIlel1c1t.
With respect to the lateral pattern ot s811n1 ty along th~
studied traverse lines, data indicate that salinity incrt’
eases eastward along tbe 1 -s-t. traverse. Along the 2 n-d~.
traverse, however, soil salinity decreases until reaehin!
its lo~est level at West El-Kantara• SolI sa11n11y along
the 3 -r-d. traverse 11ne, .shOWls a alight decrease on pBss •• ing trom Toukh to Belbe1s and Wadi EI-Tumellat, tollo~ed
by a relative increase at Abu Swire Topographical variat-
10ns encoWlUred throughout the studied area 1s shown to
play an 1mport~t role in 8011 sBllnization.
6. Exchanae charac .• :r1stiC8 indicate that the .value ot
~ C.E.C. ranges tram 3.2 to ;7.0 me/lOOg depending on &011
texture. Exchangeable ca dominated the exchangeable
cations or the Nile alluvial salls and most ot the investigated
protiles, while ~ dominated those of El-T1n8 and
El-tina plain. Exchangeable cations follow the patterns,
Kg> Na> Ca> K tor the tormer and latter s011s, respectively.
At Abu Swir, however, Ha predolJl1nate,ex~hangeable
cat~.on followed bY’Ca, Me &Ad K.
7. The.~ntent oramorpbous inorganic materials varies
considerably trom one protile to another. Generally,s111ca
1s the most abwu1ant,tollowed by iron,While al.umjna 1s the
least. Along the 1 -s-t. traverse line, amorphous silica and iron are quite high ,at Dikernis ~d decrease on the
’border tringe. Along the 2-n-d. and 3 r-d-. traverses, amorphous
iron tollows a trend characterized by.continual
decrease on passing eastwards. Other amorphous materials,
however, have no specific trend.
&!gh~__!!n!!!!! t These minerals constitute more than
89.6% of the sand minerals. They are dominated by quartz
which torms more than 97% or the light mineralh The
other associated minerals are related to feldspars which
are dlstinguiaped into orthoclase,plag1oclase and microcllne.
The predominance ot orthoclase ~ong this group
is remarkable. Computation of the weighted mean (profile
mean) indicates that orthoclase increases progress1vly
eastward along the 1 -s-t. traverse, while it d08S not tollow any trend with respect to other traverses. The
presence ot t.ldsp8rs leads to the suggestion that the
stUdied soils are young trom the pedological point of
view.
~~!y_~!g!!!!!Th!e content and distribution of these
mLnerals vary considerably from one protile to aoother
and even in the subsequent layers or the same pro tile •
Weighted meSA or opaqu.es along the 1 st. traverse
indicates a tendency of slight increase on passing from
the n.lta to the eastern tringe. Along the 2!!g. and 3 !2·
traverses, opaques tend to increase abruptly on moving
toward the eastern border. Augite 1s the most representative
of pyroxene” it constitutes more than 90% ot such
minerals. Its protile mean indicates an 1nc,;re8se eastward
along the 1 ,~. traverse, while it decreases north-eastward
$longthe 2.!l4. and 3 Eg. traverses. Hypersthene and.
d10pside are absent in ~he deltaic sediments ot Dikern!s,
zagazlg and ’roukh, ’While 1t appears in those ot the eastern
tringe. Hornblende, which 18 tb, most predominant
amphibole, shows a general decreasing tendenC7 on pas.ing·
from the Delta eastward. or north-eastwards, Glaucophane·
shoWI a tendenc1ot decrea.e on passing e8stli8rd or northea8tw~
rd along the 1 ~. and 3 ~. traverse 11nes, ~hlle’
1t 1I1creases along the 2~. traverse. Epidote group 1s
represented by epidote, z01a1te and cl1nozois1 te. Weighted
mean or epidote shows a distinct pattern of decrease on
passing along the 2 D4. traverse trom zagazlg, while an
opposite tr-od i8 maintained along the 3 £9. traverse.
The 1!!. traverse, however, displays a rluctu~tlng trend
With resg8ct’ to that mineral. Prof118 !Deans tor zircon is
char.ct&rized by an increase in that mlneral,on passing
trom the Delta eastwards along the studied three traverses.
Witl11.o. the studied travers.a, rutile is absent in some
pretl1 •• er lay&ra while displays an irrigular distribution
in the others. Tou~allne distribution reveals no specific
pattern pertaining to locality nor to soil depth.
Tne latter three minerals indicate an apparent
discontinuity ot the studied profiles, even those repra’8Ating
the deltaic sediments. This is explained on basis ot
the v~iation. in multi-depositional regime or the deltaic
sediments and/or tne multi-origin or sediments in the eastern
border.
computation or weathering ratios. indicates that
Wr
1
and figure index are the most suitable ratios. Wr1
reveals that the delt_ic sediments display similar values
which are q,uite different from. those consti tutlng the eastern
border ot the Nile Delta. This 1s also evident from
the figure index, however it sho~s some discrepancy Within
the deltaic sediments.
~!2!!!!2’l_2!_g!!I_~£!g~!22~
The data sbows that lnter$tratifled minerals and/or mont-
!porillonl te dominate the 1~.Layminerals suite or the stUdied
clars, irrespective of lo:~ation. Other associated minerals, -
however. var.y with locali;y, are commonly identified as
hydrous mica, kandi tet virmlcull te and chlorite.
S£~!!£!T!h!e c18) fractions of soil ~rorl1es located
along this traverse are dominated by Interstratlf1ed minerals.
~ectlte’montmor1l1onlte} dominates the clay trac~
tion of Dikernia, while it only dom1nates ia some layers
of protiles locatedeastw8rds along that traverse. Hydrous
mica is present as a second predominant clay mineral.
Kandlt8(kaollnite) is a180 detected in moderate to rew
quantities. Vermicul1te and chlor1te are commonly present
in traceable amounts.
This identical pattern of clay mtnerals SUite,
may 10 tact suggest a unique origin or parent material,
mainly the deltaic deposits. The minute variation, within
the profiles are attributed mainly to the depositional
regime a~ well 8S the local environments ot each profile.
-2--n-d-.---t-r-a-v-e-rs..e_r--mineralogical data indicate a marked
change on passing eastward trom El-Zagaz1g. In tact,the
dominant minerals ot the deltaic sediments are changeable
as in El-Salhi8t where smectite(montmorillon1te) 1s shown
to be the dominant. The differences in clay minerals
assemblage are a true reflection of the multi-origin ot
sediments in El-Salhia as well as the multI-depositional
regimes prevailed in the area during soils formation.
J_~g~_!!!~!!!!Th!e clay fractions of soil profiles located
along this traverse are characterized by the dominance of
interstratif1ed minerals + smectlte(montnorillon1te) and
1s somewhat disturbed on passing north east~ards to Wadi
EI-Tumellat and ~bu Swir. The mineralogy of clay in the
latter sediments is dominated by interstr8tltled minerals
tollo~ed by smectite(monbnorillonlte),l.e., deltaic snd
probably lacustrine and aeolian deposits.
Noteworthy to mention that the multi-origin ot
sediments 1n the eastern-fringe and/or the multi-depositional
regime have had their influence on the accessory
minerals assemblage, as all of them, except quartz, d1splay
discontinuity throughout the entire depth of the
studied profiles.