Assessing hydrography and man's influence on sediments in the northern Suez Canal

Abstract

This study identifies the distribution of water masses and surficial sediment texture in the northern part of the Suez Canal after its reopening and just before completion of the widening and deepening project which took place in 1980. The investigation compares the results of a hydrographic-bottom sediment texture survey made in June 1979 with a comprehensive analysis of Canal mineralogical-sedimentological provinces made at about the same time, in April 1980. The two studies, conducted independently, provide a basis for assessing the role of hydrography versus that of dredging and ship traffic on the distribution of surficial sediments in this part of the Canal. Although Mediterranean water flowing into the Canal carries some sediment of Nile-Mediterranean derivation, it is a considerably less significant factor than anthropogenic influences on sediment dispersal.