MNERALOGY AND CHEMSTRY OF THE SOILS OF MANGROVE VEGETATIONIN HURGHADA – QUSEIR AREA

Abstract

The present work deals with the study of the sedimentary environment of the mangroves in the area between Hurghada and Qusier district. The collected samples represented by two types; surface and core samples. The studied localities include two types of environments. The coastal mangrove environment that is representing by four localities that are; the Km 17 S. Safaga, the Km 43 S. Safaga, AI Sharm AI Bahari and AI Sharm AI Qubli, whereas, the island mangrove environment is represented on two islands, Abu Minqar island and Safaga island. Sediment samples representing the different parts of the mangrove environment were collected. These are from the beach off the mangrove, under mangrove, in the mangle lagoons, channels and from the intertidal off mangrove zone. The samples were prepared for two main types of investigation; the geological study including (granulometric, Mineralogical and compositional analyses) and The geochemical study which includes the analysis of (carbonates, organic matter content, major and trace elements). The results of the textural analysis of sediments in the different parts of the mangrove environments are sununarized in the (Table 80). That showed that the mean grain size varies between very coarse and medium sand for the intertidal zone where sediments in that area are moderately sorted and has a wide range of skewness around the nearly symmetrical average. The beach sediments varies from coarse to very fine sand, i.e. finer than those of the intertidal zone, which are moderately to poorly sorted with a wide range of skewness. The under mangrove sediments constitute the finest portion of sediments where they vary in Mz between medium sand and fme with a moderately to poor sorted and a wide range of skewness.