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Late Cretaceous palynology and paleoenvironment of the Razzak-3 well, North Western Desert, Egypt

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Abstract

Palynological analysis of the Bahariya and Abu Roash Formations from the Razzak-3 (RZ-3) well, North Western Desert, Egypt, has yielded rich and very-well-diversified spores, pollen and dinoflagellate cysts which allow subdividing the studied rock units into four pollen/spore (PS) zones and three dinoflagellate cyst (D) zones. Miospores are abundant in the Cenomanian, while dinoflagellates predominate the Turonian-Santonian. A barren interzone delineates the oceanic anoxic event 2 and embraces member “F” of the Abu Roash Formation. The marine/nonmarine palynomorph ratio in the studied samples indicate that the Bahariya Formation was deposited in a nearshore paleoenvironment affected by continental sources with an arid to semiarid hinterland having local or seasonal humid conditions. Deposition of the Abu Roash Formation took place in the transitional zone between the inner and outer shelf. Dinoflagellate cysts in this study are of the Tethyan Realm.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) for providing the samples and well log for the Razzak-3 well. This study was funded by a US–Egypt Joint grant (#369) to Mohamed Ibrahim and a US National Science Foundation grant (OISE-0707183) to Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe. We are indebted to the Chief Editor (Prof. Beatiz Bádenas), the Associate Editor (Prof. Dalila Zaghbib-Turki) and anonymous reviewer for their constructive revision that improved an earlier version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Moharam Bay, Alexandria, 21511, Egypt

    Mohamed I. A. Ibrahim

  2. Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

    Sameh S. Tahoun

  3. Department of Geoscience, The University of Texas Permian Basin, Texas, USA

    Mohamed K. Zobaa

  4. Department of Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO, 65409, USA

    Francisca E. Oboh-Ikuenobe

  5. National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF), Alexandria, Egypt

    Suzan E. Kholeif

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  1. Mohamed I. A. Ibrahim
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  2. Sameh S. Tahoun
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  3. Mohamed K. Zobaa
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  4. Francisca E. Oboh-Ikuenobe
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  5. Suzan E. Kholeif
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Correspondence to Mohamed I. A. Ibrahim.

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Responsible Editor: Beatriz Badenas

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Ibrahim, M.I.A., Tahoun, S.S., Zobaa, M.K. et al. Late Cretaceous palynology and paleoenvironment of the Razzak-3 well, North Western Desert, Egypt. Arab J Geosci 13, 870 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-05705-z

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