Geological and geochemical studies on the underground water characteristics in the area between Marsa Alam and BaraneesRed Sea- Egypt

Geological and geochemical studies on the underground water
characteristics in the area between Marsa Alam and BaraneesRed Sea- Egypt
Ahmed W. Mohamed*, Abbas M. Mansour** and Mohamed A. Tahoon***
* National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Hurghada Research Station, Red Sea Branch.
** Geology Dept. Fac. Science, South Valley Univ., 83511 Qena, Egypt
*** Manager, Wadi El Gimal National Park- Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency
Received 4th November 2009, Accepted 3th December 2009
Abstract
Thirty nine Groundwater samples were collected from the available water points from the study area, is located
at the southern part of the Red Sea, it lies between Marsa Alam at the north and Baranees at the south. From the
results it is visible that the highest concentration of major and trace elements in the underground water samples
collected from different wells might be due to either one or more of the following: 1) presence of limestone and
gypsum rocks, 2) it might be related to the sea water intrusion as it locates near the sea, 3) as a result of leaching of
the wadi sediments by the floods, 4) or water flow as in the Abu Ghusun wells. On the other hand, the lowest
concentration of trace and major elements except for the cobalt in most of the wells is related to the basement rocks
of the aquifer in these wells, and all of these wells are far from the coastal plain so the water type related to the
aquifer type and the wadi sediments. In the present work, the available groundwater resources are subjected to
evaluation for only livestock and agricultural purposes.