Premium
Palaeoenvironmental Reconstruction of the Early to Middle Miocene Sequence in West Central Sinai, Egypt, as Revealed from Fossil Diatoms
Author(s) -
ZALAT Abdelfattah A.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
acta geologica sinica ‐ english edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.444
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1755-6724
pISSN - 1000-9515
DOI - 10.1111/1755-6724.13510
Subject(s) - sedimentary depositional environment , geology , diatom , paleontology , biostratigraphy , unconformity , sedimentary rock , sequence (biology) , structural basin , oceanography , biology , genetics
A detailed analysis of the diatoms from the sedimentary sequence exposed in Abu Qada basin, west central Sinai, was used to determine the palaeoenvironmental changes during the Lower to Middle Miocene. A total of 85 diatom species and varieties belonging to 37 genera were identified from 154 samples collected throughout the stratigraphic succession. The lithological characters of the studied samples varied between sandstone, silty interbeds, sandy shales, shales, and terminated with anhydrite and limestones. These rock units are included in two lithostratigraphic formations (Rudies and Kareem), which are separated by a marked unconformity. The distribution and preservation of fossil diatoms in the sedimentary record are examined with the aim of outlining the temporal and spatial variation in the composition of the diatom assemblages, in order to estimate the changes in depositional environments during the Lower to Middle Miocene. The distributional pattern of the recorded diatom taxa distinguished four diatom eco‐zones. The environment of each eco‐zone is deduced and a proposed paleobathymetric change and depositional history of the Miocene sediments in the studied area are given.