Chemical and isotopic constraints on the origin of Wadi El-Tarfa ground waters, Eastern Desert, Egypt.

Journal Article · Sun Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 2000 · Ground Water

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6584.2000.tb02710.x· OSTI ID:942482

Sultan, M; Sturchio, N C; Abdel Hady, Y; El Anbeawy, M

We evaluated the use of the renewable ground water resources of the Eastern Desert to develop sustainable agriculture in Upper Egypt, an alternative that could alleviate some of Egypt's dependence on water from the Nile River. Ground water from shallow aquifers in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, near the intersection of Wadi El-Tarfa and the Nile River, was analyzed for chemical compositions, stable isotope ratios, and tritium activities. The ground water has a range in total dissolved solids of 300 to 5000 mg/L. Values of {delta}D and {delta}{sup 18}O range from -10 to +34 %o and -2 to +5.2 %o, respectively, and defines a line having a slope of 5.7 that intersects the meteoric water line at about {delta}D = -15% on a plot of 8D versus {delta}{sup 18}O. These findings indicate that the water might have been derived by a combination of evaporation of and salt addition to regional precipitation. Only one sample could have been derived directly by evaporation and transpiration of modern Nile River water. Salinization of the ground water could have occurred through dissolution of marine aerosol dry fallout, carbonate minerals, gypsum, and other trace evaporitic minerals at and near the ground surface. Tritium activities ranged from 0.04 to 12.9 TU (tritium unite), indicating that all but one of the samples were derived at least partly from precipitation that occurred within the last 45 years. These data indicate that Nubian Aquifer paleowater is not a significant component of the shallow aquifers of this portion of the Eastern Desert. The most likely source of this ground water is sporadic flash flood events yielding locally voluminous recharge that accumulates in coarse sediments and fractured rock beneath alluvial channels. The magnitude of this renewable ground water resource and its potential for supporting sustainable agriculture require further investigation.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
• Sponsoring Organization: FOR
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 942482
• Report Number(s): ANL/ER/JA-31911
• Journal Information: Ground Water, Journal Name: Ground Water Journal Issue: 5 ; Oct. 2000 Vol. 38; ISSN GRWAAP; ISSN 0017-467X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: ENGLISH

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
EGYPTIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
GEOCHEMISTRY
GROUND WATER
ISOTOPE RATIO
ORIGIN
RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
TRITIUM