Comment on “Danian/Selandian unconformity in the central and southern Western Desert of Egypt” by S. Farouk and A. El-Sorogy [J. Afr. Earth Sci. 103 (2015) 42–53

Abstract

In their recent paper, Farouk and El-Sorogy (2015) present a reconstruction of the Danian–Selandian relative sea-level changes for the Western Desert of Egypt and an interpretation of eustatic versus tectonic controls on the latter. However, the relative sea-level changes should be distinguished from the shoreline shifts (also for the purposes of inter-regional comparisons). From three alternative global curves, two confirm the authors’ conclusions, although it is questionable whether these curves are suitable for the purposes of such an analysis. It cannot be excluded that the relative sea-level fall in the late Danian was caused by the same regional tectonic uplift that resulted in the hiatus at the Danian/Selandian boundary. More research (including quantitative palaeobathymetric modelling) is necessary to understand the relative importance of the eustatic and tectonic controls on the sea-level changes established in the Western Desert of Egypt.