Macrobenthos monitoring in the Gulf of Suez,Egypt

The biogeography of macrobenthic communities with large-scale differences in species distribution and abundance was studied along the eastern and western coastal regions of the Gulf of Suez to indicate biodiversity of benthos in relation to the prevailing environmental conditions. In general, benthos have a wide variety of species of mainly polychaet worms, crustaceans, bivalves, and other bottom invertebrates living in burrows in/or on the sediment surface. Coastal development clearly affects the ecosystem after the construction of coastal projects. The highest values of benthic diversity, evenness, richness and dominance are found at the Gulf of Suez （WG 1, WG 3）, Ras Gharib （WG 7, WG 8） and Ras Shukier （WG 9a） by contrast to others. The abundance of macrobenthic organsims along the coasts of Gulf of Suez can be arranged in the following sequence： other groups （34%） greater than crustaceans （25%） greater than polychaetes （22%） greater than molluscs （17%） greater than echinoderms （2%）. The biomass of benthic assemblages at different sampling sites can also be ranked as follows： echinoderms （52%） greater than molluscs （27%） greater than crustaceans （16%） greater than polychaetes （2%） greater than other groups （3%）. Some benthic groups or species indicated a distinctive correlation to pollution sources in the marine ecosystem which obviously increased in the coastal areas due to the extension of the coastal development. These activities needed regular information to establish database for the biology and distribution of marine benthic communities. The density and diversity of benthos are significantly affected by eutrophication at Ain Sukhna, whereas the benthos in the open Gulf of Suez do not seem to be adversely affected by pollution.

Total Organic Carbon Enrichment and Source Rock Evaluation of the Lower Miocene Rocks Based on Well Logs: October Oil Field, Gulf of Suez-Egypt

October oil field is one of the largest hydrocarbon-bearing fields which produces oil from the sand section of the Lower Miocene Asl Formation. Two marl (Asl Marl) and shale (Hawara Formation) sections of possible source enrichment are detected above and below this oil sand section, respectively. This study aims to identify the content of the total organic carbon based on the density log and a combination technique of the resistivity and porosity logs (Δlog R Technique). The available geochemical analyses are used to calibrate the constants of the TOC and the level of maturity (LOM) used in the (Δlog R Technique). The geochemical-based LOM is found as 9.0 and the calibrated constants of the Asl Marl and Hawara Formation are found as 11.68, 3.88 and 8.77, 2.80, respectively. Fair to good TOC% content values (0.88 to 1.85) were recorded for Asl Marl section in the majority of the studied wells, while less than 0.5% is recorded for the Hawara Formation. The lateral distribution maps show that most of the TOC% enrichments are concentrated at central and eastern parts of the study area, providing a good source for the hydrocarbons encountered in the underlying Asl Sand section.

Distribution of Different Organotin and Organolead Compounds in Sediment of Suez Gulf

Organotin and organolead compounds were determined in sediments of the Suez Gulf The concentrations of Tributyltin (TBT) ranged from 0.27 to 2.77 with an average value of 1.37 μgg-1;dry wt. However, the concentrations of dibutyltin (DBT) ranged from 0.07 to 2.27 with an average value of 0.58 μgg-1;dry wt. A significant correlation was found between TBT and DBT with r = 0.82, (p = 0.05) indicating that the occurrence of DBT is mainly related to the degradation of TBT. Generally, the high concentration of TBT was attributed to shipping activity in harbours. In addition, Diphenyltin (DPhT) concentrations ranged from not detected to 2.09 with an average of 1.10 μgg-1 dry wt. Antifouling agents, industrial discharge and the influence of sewage discharge are the main sources of pollution by DPhT compounds in Suez Gulf. On the other side, organolead (OLC) concentrations ranged from 10.88 - 440.2 with an average of 168.7 ngg-1;dry wt. A significant setting of OLC recorded in sediments of Suez Gulf was mainly attributed to cars exhaust and/or spelling and direct evaporation of fuels.

Assessment of the Hydrochemical Characteristics of the Suez Gulf Coastal Waters during 2011-2013

The coastal region of the Suez Gulf, is one of the most densely industrialized zones in Egypt. In order to assess the quality of Suez Gulf coastal waters for the sustainable use and development, and consequently for the national income, 12 field campaigns were carried out in 3 years (2011-2013). The results of beach litter cleared out that the shoreline of the Suez Gulf, especially Ras Gharib area was subjected to many factors which undoubtedly affected the rate of man-made litter accumulation. The most abundant visible items were general litter as they represented 30.64% of the total items encountered. Oil, seaweeds as well as old and new tar constituted 15.41%, 14.85% and 11.84%, respectively. The increase on the levels of water temperature, Chl-a, TSM, DO, BOD, DOM, COD, ammonium ion, nitrite, nitrate, total phosphorus, silicate and total nitrogen developed a eutrophic region. In general, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) species were almost 9 times higher in the northern parts compared to the south-ern ones revealing that the northern parts of the Gulf were more affected by human impacts compared to the southern area. Moreover, concentrations of most studied metals such as Zn, Mn, Ni, Cu, Cr, Cd, Pb, and Hg were higher in Northern parts com-pared to southern parts of the Gulf. The concentrations of dissolved metals in the northern and southern Suez Gulf followed the following order: Fe ≥ Zn ≥ Cu > Pb > Mn > Ni > Cr > Cd ≥ Hg. Except for Hg, concentrations of metals were in the accepta-ble ranges recommended internationally. Hg concentrations especially in the northern Suez Gulf were slightly higher than the permissible levels. As the northern parts of the Gulf were more suffered from oil pollution, total petroleum hydrocarbons revealed higher concentrations in the northern parts compared to the southern parts of the Gulf. Seasonal variations, on the other hand, indicated higher levels of DO, BOD, DOM and COD, chloropyll-a, TSM, ammonia, nitrate, total nitrogen in winter compared to their corresponding values in summer. In general, the majority of TN and TP in winter were in the form of organic-N (87.2%) and organic P (94.1%). These percentages were 77.8% and 37.3%, respectively in summer. The surface coastal water of the Suez Gulf was principally, P-limited for phytoplankton growth in different investigated regions. Furthermore, the DIN/DIP ratio was higher (94.2:1) in winter season compared to summer season (6.3:1). Concentrations of Fe, Zn, Cd, and Hg in winter exhibited sig-nificantly higher values compared to their corresponding values in summer. On con-trast, Mn, Ni, Cu, Cr, and Pb exhibited significantly higher values in summer compared to their corresponding values in winter. Furthermore, concentrations of petroleum hy-drocarbons were significantly higher in winter than in summer which is mainly at-tributed to the increase in the rate of evaporation for petroleum hydrocarbons in summer due to the increase in water temperature and water salinity. In general, the maximum concentration was much lower than the harmful concentrations reported for seawater. A stepwise multiple linear regression, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and principle component analysis (PCA) were applied.

Effect of Tourism Activities on Coral Communities at the Gulf of Suez, Red Sea

Although the rapidly expanding tourism industry is considered an extremely important economic activity, it caused increasing pressure on coral reefs of Egypt. Damage occurs from both direct and indirect impacts of tourism activities on coral communities. The Gulf of Suez has increasing of resorts from 8 at 2000 to 31 at 2014. This affected the coral communities along the area of study leads to a decrease in coral areas from 960 m2 at 2000 to 750 m2 at 2014, number of coral species from 21 species at 2000 to only 14 species at 2014, percentage cover of life coral from 46.4% at 2000 to 10.6% at 2014;on contrary, dead coral increased from 23.8% to 47.9% at the same period. This accompanied with an increase in the percentage of the algal cover from 8.6% at 2000 to 19.4% at 2014. The statistical analysis revealed a high correlation between the increased tourism activities and the coral status variables measured during the study. The data obtained showed high significant positive and negative correlation between the different variables that determined according to the effect of the different variables on each other and the relation between them. The simple linear regression statistical analyses showed a significant effect of tourism activities on the coral status, the analyses indicated that each increase in number of resorts by one resort leads to significant decrease in total coral area at the site by 0.9%, the analysis also showed that 80% of that decrease referred to the effect of tourism activities and 20% referred to other reasons. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) divided the recoded coral species into three categories, the first is soft corals which recorded significant increase in percentage cover from 2000 to 2014, the second is three species that recorded insignificant difference during the period of study, while the third category include most of the recorded species and they showed significant decrease in their percentage cover along time of study. The data obtained illustrated that all the investigated coral parameters are affected by the increasing tourism activities.

Taxonomic Study on the Feather Stars (Crinoidea: Echinodermata) from Egyptian Red Sea Coasts and Suez Canal, Egypt

A taxonomic study on the crinoids (feather stars) collected from 34 sites from the Red Sea coasts and islands as well as the Suez Canal was done during the period from 1992 to 2003. A total of 15 species are now known from the Red Sea belonging to eleven genera under six families. Among them four species are endemic to the Red Sea and the two spe- cies, Decametra chadwicki and Lamprometra klunzingeri, are recorded from the Suez Canal for the first time. Also, the two species, Oligometra serripinna and Dorometra aegyptica, are new record from Gulf of Suez, and Decametra mollis from Gulf of Aqaba and Northern Red Sea. This study represents the first proper documentation of crinoid species in the study area. Summaries are provided of the specific habitats and geographical distribution.

Environmental and Mineralogical Studies of the Sabkhas Soil at Ismailia—Suez Roadbed, Southern of Suez Canal District, Egypt

Eight surface sabkha soils samples were collected from Ismailia—Suez roadbed, southwestern of Suez Canal district. Sedimentological and mineralogical analyses were conducted using grain size;X-ray diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Grain size analysis indicates high contents of fine sand and mud as well as presence of salts. X-ray diffraction;Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and EDAX tool clarified that the sabkha soils are enriched by quartz, sulfate minerals (gypsum, anhydrite), carbonate minerals (calcite-dolomite-aragonite), chlorides (halite and bischofite), and clay minerals. The results elucidate that the appearance of sabkha deposits and their distribution in the study area are controlled mainly by the content of water soluble salts through parent materials;ground water table;subsurface structural;and physiographic features for instance surface relief or topography;and human activity.

Accumulation model and prediction of Miocene heavy oil distribution in Gulf of Suez Basin,Egypt

The Gulf of Suez Basin is a very mature and extremely prospective petroleum province. Many heavy oil fields have been found in the Basin,and such reserves are abundant. Characteristics and models of heavy oil are analyzed in this study based on tectonic,basin evolution,stratigraphic distribution and geochemical data.The best reservoirs of heavy oil are Miocene sandstone and limestone formations. Source rocks of hydrocarbon include deep limestone and shale of the Brown Limestone,the Thebes Formation and the Rudeis Formation.Thick evaporite rocks with rock salts and anhydrites deposited broadly throughout the basin are the most important regional seals,whereas Miocene shales are intraformational and regional seals that cover small areas. Heavy oil could be directly generated or densified during vertical migration along faults and reservoir accumulation.The heavy oil accumulation model is a mixed model that includes three mechanisms: fault dispersal,sulfocompound reactions and hydrocarbons generated from immature source rock. After analyzing the model and the distribution of source rocks,reservoirs,heavy oil fields and structures,it is concluded that the potential heavy oil area is at the center of the basin.

Impact of the Human Activities on the Local Climate and Environment of the Suez City in Egypt

Surface temperature and vegetation are the major land cover changes that significantly affect on the thermal environment. In the present study, remote sensing techniques were applied to identify the relationship between anthropogenic activities and the thermal environment in the North Gulf of Suez area. Results have indicated that the urbanization and agricultural expansion have been increased during the last 25 years. Although urban areas increased from 49 km2 in 1987 to 57 km2 in 2012, the urban heat island-range declined from very high and high, to moderate and low. An expansion in cultivated areas from 3 km2 in 1987 to 26 km2 in 2012 was responsible for the decline. The results of this study provided valuable information for understanding the local thermal changes that associate rapid urbanization and expansion of cultivated areas. Consequently, this work recommends that proper planning and management regimes for land use and cover changes associated with rapid urbanization will result in positive impacts on the local climate and environment.

An Assessment on the Coastal Seawater Quality of the Gulf of Suez, Egypt

The present study focused on water quality assessment of 14 hotspot locations in the Gulf of Suez by measuring the physicochemical parameters seasonally during 2016. The results of investigated area revealed that, the annual mean range of water was: temperature (21.91°C - 29.22°C), pH (7.64 - 7.78), salinity (38.71‰ - 42.74‰), dissolved oxygen (6.09 - 8.78 mgO2/l,) oxidizable organic matter (1.4 - 5.4 mg/l), biological oxygen demand (1.14 - 3.94 mgO2/l), total suspended solids (18.56 - 37.69 mg/l), ammonia (13.51 - 494.41 μg/l), nitrite (1.261 - 151.76 μg/l), nitrate (7.11 - 487.85), dissolved inorganic phosphate (2.22 - 53.26) and silicate (19.83 - 347.61 μg/l). The N:P ratio fluctuated between 4.21 and 1214.61 with the main value of 81.16 indicating that the different sites in the northern part of the Gulf of Suez are P-limited. Based on the Principal Component Analysis Data, the stations locating in the Northern and Southern side of the Gulf of Suez are relatively good water quality;meanwhile, water quality of the other stations locating in the northern side of the Gulf of Suez is found slightly polluted to a different degree co-incided with an increase in the human activities in each of these locations.

Mapping Potential Wind Energy Zones in Suez Canal Region, Using Satellite Data and Spatial Multicriteria Decision Models

Spatial mapping of potential zones for wind energy is crucial for sustainable regional planning. The Suez Canal Region, Egypt, is currently a focus for national government and international investments for developing the logistic area. The Suez Governorate region is known of its high wind speed along the Gulf of Suez coast. This paper aims at estimating and mapping the potential zones for harnessing wind energy in such region. The method utilizes satellite data and spatial multi-criteria evaluation. Landsat 8 OLI satellite image was used to derive the land-use/land-cover map. Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM) was used in modeling the wind power density map using the region’s annual average wind speed data. Decision criteria including the climatic conditions, topography, infrastructure and land-cover maps were standardized, weighted and aggregated using weighted linear combination to identify the potential wind energy zones. The results reveal that the highest potential zones for wind energy reach a maximum value of 650 Watt/m2 and a mean of 310 watt/m2 and are located in the south-eastern part of the Suez Governorate Region along the Gulf of Suez. Findings indicate a high potential for harnessing wind energy in the region. The resultant maps can be used as guidelines for regional planning and zoning of renewable energy resources.

Teda Suez, a Cooperation Model under the Belt and Road Initiative

THE China-Egypt Teda Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, or simply Teda Cooperation Zone, is located in Sokhna District of Suez Province, more than 120 kilometers away from Cairo, the capital of Egypt. It is among the second batch of state-level overseas economic and trade cooperation zones approved by the Chinese government. Signboards bearing the phrase “A sign of development” can be seen everywhere in the park, marking the original intention of setting up this economic and trade cooperation zone.

Risk of North Pole Route on Suez Canal Revenue

The inauguration of the North Pole route as an alternate route for transporting cargoes between the Far East and Europe appears to be extremely acceptable by shipping companies owing to the huge saving in fuel consumption, bunker cost, operating cost, emissions and journey time. This route conversion will not only have an impact on the maritime business activity in the Suez Canal, but also the Egyptian economy in several aspects when the number of vessels passing through the Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean decreases. The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of the opening of the Northern Sea route on maritime sector of the Egyptian economy. The scope of this study is concentrating on the Suez Canal shipping activity by using the statistics that have been received from Suez Canal Authority through a set of direct and indirect interview sessions with authority＇s experts.

Precise Determination of Uranium Isotopes in Suez Canal Sediment

The streambed sediments of the Suez Canal have been analyzed for determining the natural radionuclides and long-lived radionuclides such as uranium by gamma and alpha spectrometric techniques. The specific activities of 238U series, 232Th series and 40K (Bq/kg) were measured by gamma spectrometry based on Hyper-Pure Germanium detector (HPGe). The average specific activities of 226Ra(238U) series, 232Th series and 40K were ranged from 3.04 ± 1.10 to 14.70 ± 1.24 Bq/kg, from 1.12 ± 0.66 to 16.10 ± 1.30 and from 77 ± 4.90 to 350.50 ± 8.90 Bq/kg respectively. The concentration of 238U and 234U in the streambed sediments are ranged from 3.24 ± 0.21 to 13.34 ± 0.61 ppm and from 3.18 ± 0.02 to 13.77 ± 0.03 ppm in dry weight respectively. 234U/238U ratios of the sediments are relatively lower than unity in many locations indicating the preferential uranium leaching process. The results with the high ratios for 234U/238U were observed in the sediment collected from Port Said. This may be attributed to the sorption of uranium by sediment which has a relatively high content of organic matter. The geochemical behavior of sediment, the chemistry of uranium and the flow rates of water are considered as the most important factors controlling uranium isotopic composition of the streambed sediment. The result of radioactivity in sediment samples can be used to distinguish any future changes due to non-nuclear industries on the Suez Canal area.

Microalgal Epibiontic Communities on Some Brachyuran Crabs in Suez Canal, Egypt

The microalgal epibiontic communities of the brachyuran crabs Dorippe quadridens, Schizophrys aspera and Hyastenus hilgendorfi were studied during spring and summer of 2011. A total of 68 microalgal species of four phyla （Chlorophyta, Bascillariophyta, Cyanophyta and Pyrrhophyta） was recorded in the epibiosis of the investigated brachyuran crabs males and females Generally, Bascillariophyta predominate in number of species over the other microalgal groups, followed by Cyanophyta and Pyrrhophyta, while Chlorophyta was represented by the lowest number of species. Highly percentage of occurrence of microalgal epibionts was observed on the dorsal part of the investigated crabs followed by chela and ventral parts.

Seasonal Effect on Biomarkers of Exposure to Petroleum Hydrocarbons in the Coasts of North Western Suez Gulf,Egypt

Petroleum hydrocarbons of surface water were collected from eight loca-tions of from the coasts of north western Suez Gulf,Egypt.The extracted petroleum hydrocarbons were determined by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector and quantified by integrating the areas of both the resolved and unresolved components.The results confirm that the con-centration is relatively higher than the recommended in the regulations of the Egyptian low of Environment of No.4/1994 of petroleum products.At various locations.The dissolved petroleum hydrocarbons ranged from 5.639 to 74.8 and 1.868 to 65.698 mg/ml for summer and winter sea-sons,respectively.This indicates that chronic oil pollution,in addition to hydrocarbon concentrations,the diagnostic indices used shows that the hydrocarbons in the area were comes from biogenic,petrogenic and anthropogenic sources.FT-IR spectrometric analysis confirms die petro-genic nature of pollutants.

一种确定Suez海湾泥质砂岩的泥质含量和油气潜能的综合方法

在Ｓｕｅｚ海湾的Ｚｅｉｔ油田Ｎｕｂｉａｎ砂岩地层评价中一个极具争议性的问题就是储集岩泥质的影响。在泥质砂岩中精确求取地层孔隙度和流体饱和度时常受多种不确定参数的影响。

Geochemical and stable isotopic studies of Gulf of Suez’s hot springs,Egypt

The Gulf of Suez region is one of the most interesting geothermal areas in Egypt because of the high temperatures of its springs.The eastern and western shores of the Gulf of Suez are characterized by superficial thermal manifestations including a cluster of hot springs with varied temperatures.Variations of deuterium and oxygen-18 concentrations in thermal waters have been used to aid in describing the source of recharge in the Gulf of Suez hot springs.Isotope and geochemical data for the Gulf of Suez thermal waters suggest that recharge to the hot springs may not be entirely from the Gulf of Suez water,but possibly from the meteoric water that comes from areas of higher altitude surrounding the hot springs.

Depositional Environment,Petrophysical Evaluation and Electrical Properties of Zeit Formation,Northwestern Shore of Gulf of Suez,Egypt

The Zeit sand reservoir is one of the most prolific formations at Northwestern side of the Gulf of Suez.In this research we will try to coordinate between electrical,petrophysical properties,depositional environment and facies discrimination in order to evaluate the hydrocarbon potentiality of studied Zeit Formation.The statistical parameters for potassium(K),thorium(Th)and Th/U ratio contents have a general increase towards northwestern parts,whereas uranium(U)content has a general increase towards southeastern parts.The sandstone facies is distinguished from the other facies by its thorium content>4 ppm.U has high carbonate content(U≥1 ppm).Rocks'electrical properties vary greatly depending on a number of factors.Electrical measurements were taken at frequencies range of(5×10^(-4)Hz-100 kHz)for fully saturated samples(clayey sandstone)with NaCl(20 gm/L).As salinity,clay content,and frequency increase,consequently does the electrical properties.The continental condition are present in northwestern part(back-sea)which is distinguished by high K percent,high Th,high Th/U ratio,and low U contents.Low K,Th,and Th/U ratio contents,with high U contents,characterize the marine depositional environment that existed around the east and southeastern parts(foresea coincide with the dipping of strata).Furthermore,the studied Zeit Formation has good petrophysical properties that coincide with marine conditions.The middle and eastern parts(around ISS-94 and CSS-288)is a good reservoir(porosity 36%-39%,shale content<15%,hydrocarbon saturation 71%-92%,and net pay thickness 17-63 feet).

3D-static reservoir and basin modeling of a lacustrine fan-deltaic system in the Gulf of Suez,Egypt

Lacustrine-fan deltas feature high reservoir-quality lithounits that are critical targets to hydrocarbon exploration and development.However,depicting their intricate sedimentary architectural elements is still challenging due to complex stacking-patterns and limited examples.In this study,both 3D-static geocellular reservoir modeling and 1D-basin modeling approaches were combined as an established effective workflow that is capable of efficiently delineating reservoir-heterogeneities and confirming hydrocarbon-charging.This integration was for the purpose of unlocking the ultimate petroleum potential of fluvio-lacustrine units,Nubia Formation,in the southwest of the Gulf of Suez rift(West Esh-ElMallaha Concession,Egypt).Pixel-based stochastic-simulation was applied,constrained by an established depositional-model developed after adequate integrated-facies analysis,upon geocellularly modeling rock and fluid properties of Nubia reservoir intervals;utilizing several key-information scales(seismic-profiles,well-logs).The results reveal a lowstand-transgressive systems tract encompassing fluvio-lacustrine depositional-systems subdivided into eight facies-associations,of which fluvialchannels and deltaic mouth bars represent significant reservoir-quality facies.Given efficient reservoir-quality,mouth sand-bars deserve special consideration,and testing,while running further oilfield development-endeavours and investigating similar-settings.