Massoud, E.E.; G.A. Abd El-Kader and A. Hassanin( 2013). Clay minerals in the nile delta soil at varying altitudes and Proximities to northern sediments brine lakes and the Mediterranean seaJ. Biol. Chem. Environ. Sci., 2013, Vol. 8(4): 675-689
Abstract: The Nile alluvial soils in the northern part of the Delta have been formed under the active effects of the sea and the brine lakes in the recent geological period. The clay minerals (in the soil fraction < 0.002 mm) of five soil profiles at different proximities to northern brine lakes (0-22 km) and the sea (15-39 km) and at varying altitudes (2-10 m) were identified and their contents were semi quantitatively determined. In all the samples, an iron-rich smectite mineral assumed predominance accompanied with varying amounts of kaolinite and in some cases illite. The distribution of these varying quantities of kaolinite and illite in the soil showed no presumable relationship to the setting of the profiles relative to the lakes or the sea nor to their elevation relative to each other or to the sea level. Results thus suggested that the Nile suspended matter was nearly the only source of clay minerals in all the sediments, regardless of their various mode of origin, either in the Nile Delta or even in the Nile Valley. Reasons that prevent using clay minerals distribution, in drawing conclusions about the history of soil formation were listed and discussed.
Keywords: (Clay minerals, kaolinite, illite, Nile Delta sediments, smectite.)
