Sedimentary complexes of ancient gulfs provide valuable information about paleoenvironmental dynamics. The study of several
Pliocene–Pleistocene sections allowed reconstruction of the regional stratigraphical framework in the southwestern fringes of the Nile
Delta. The Kafr El-Shiekh, the Gar El-Muluk, and the Kom El-Shelul formations of the Zanclean Age and theWastani Formation of the
Piacenzian Age constitute the Pliocene sedimentary succession in the study area. The establishment of 11 facies types related to 5 facies
associations coupled with the results of the stratigraphical study indicate the existence of a paleogulf corresponding to the modern delta
and lower valley of the Nile. This Nile Paleogulf appeared and reached its maximum spatial extent in the beginning of the Pliocene.
Then, it retreated gradually and disappeared before the end of this epoch when alluvial sedimentation reestablished. There was significant
flux of siliciclastic material to the study area. The Zanclean Flood in the Mediterranean Sea allowed marine incursion in the study area
where the river valley incised during the precedent Messinian Salinity Crisis. Regional tectonic uplift and filling of the accommodation
space with siliciclastic material from the eroded land were the main controls on the paleogulf evolution. Strengthened glaciation triggered
global sea level fall, and alluvial deposition dominated the study area in the late Pliocene–Pleistocene. |
