Climate change; facies alternation; Holocene; sebkha; south-east Tunisia; Evaporites; Facies alternation; Frequency curve; Grainsize; Holocenes; Huntite; Quartz grains; Sebkha; South-east tunisia; Tunisia; Geology; Stratigraphy; General Engineering; Energy Engineering and Power Technology
Abstract :
[en] The sedimentological and geochemical properties of a 146 cm long sediment core collected from Sebkha el Melah (Ml core) in south-eastern Tunisia have been used to infer the genesis and evolution of the Sebkha el Melah over the last 5000 years. Two main sedimentary units have been defined: a huntite [Mg3Ca(CO3)4] unit at the bottom of core Ml is covered by a second unit made up of siliciclastic and evaporitic materials. The huntite level is synchronous with Holocene marine transgression, which was followed by a regression of about 5300 years bp. Geochemical data (major and trace element), magnetic analyses, grain-size distribution and microtexture of quartz grains were performed to assess the sediment provenance. The upper unit of Ml core is characterized by alternations between fluvial, aeolian and evaporite deposits. Redox proxies displaying marked Fe/Ca and Rb/S peaks, in addition to high magnetic susceptibility (MS) values, polymodal grain-size frequency curves, as well as sub-angular grains with V-shaped percussion cracks, are suggestive of palaeohydrological events. In contrast, a decreasing trend in the low MS values, bi-modal grain-size frequency curves as well as well-rounded quartz grains with crescent percussion marks would indicate enhanced aeolian sand input in the sebkah el Melah sequence. Moreover, geochemical proxies suggest formation of evaporite facies under a strongly warm climate contemporary with marine intrusion.
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Author, co-author :
Ben Ameur, Mariem ; Engineering School of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia ; GEOGLOB Laboratory, FSS (LR13ES23), University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia
Masmoudi, Sameh; Laboratoire de Spectroscopie et Caractérisation Optique des Matériaux La.S.C.O.M (LR17 ES 09), FSS, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia
Omar, Hamdi ; Engineering School of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia ; Sedimentary Petrology Laboratory, Liège University, Liège, Belgium
Ouameni, Imen; Faculty of Sciences of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia
Medhioub, Mounir; Laboratoire de Spectroscopie et Caractérisation Optique des Matériaux La.S.C.O.M (LR17 ES 09), FSS, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia
Yaich, Chokri; Engineering School of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia ; GEOGLOB Laboratory, FSS (LR13ES23), University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia
Language :
English
Title :
Middle to late Holocene sedimentary filling history of the Sebkha el Melah in south-eastern Tunisia
The authors would like to thank Pr. Ali Tlili from Faculty of Sciences of Sfax for XRF measurements. We are deeply grateful to Technopole of Borj Cedria (Laboratory of Georesources, Tunisia) for mineralogy analyses. Special thanks are due to Prof. Xiaoguang Qin (Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for providing the software applied to the lognormal distribution of the function method. The authors kindly like to thank Mohamed Sghair Ben Reguiga and the “Entreprise Tunisienne d’Activités Pétrolières” (ETAP, Tunisia) for the technical support during the SEM microscopy in their facilities. The magnetic susceptibility and the grain-size distribution analyses were performed at the National Engineering School of Sfax in Tunisia. This study was financially supported by the University of Sfax and GEOGLOB Laboratory, «Géoressources, Environnement Naturels et Changements Globaux» (LR-13-ES-23). The authors wish to thank the reviewers for their incisive and helpful comments which greatly improved the original manuscript.The authors would like to thank Pr. Ali Tlili from Faculty of Sciences of Sfax for XRF measurements. We are deeply grateful to Technopole of Borj Cedria (Laboratory of Georesources, Tunisia) for mineralogy analyses. Special thanks are due to Prof. Xiaoguang Qin (Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for providing the software applied to the lognormal distribution of the function method. The authors kindly like to thank Mohamed Sghair Ben Reguiga and the “Entreprise Tunisienne d’Activités Pétrolières” (ETAP, Tunisia) for the technical support during the SEM microscopy in their facilities. The magnetic susceptibility and the grain‐size distribution analyses were performed at the National Engineering School of Sfax in Tunisia. This study was financially supported by the University of Sfax and GEOGLOB Laboratory, «Géoressources, Environnement Naturels et Changements Globaux» (LR‐13‐ES‐23). The authors wish to thank the reviewers for their incisive and helpful comments which greatly improved the original manuscript.
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