Mobility and Fate of Pollutants in the Aquifer System of the Northwestern Suez Gulf, Egypt

  • Moustafa Gamal Snousy
  • M. F. Zawrah
  • Th. Abdel-Moghny
  • M. A. Ebiad
  • A. M. Rashad
  • Mahmoud M. Khalil
  • E. M. Abu El Ella
  • E. El-Sayed
  • M. A. Tantawy
Chapter
First Online:
Part of the Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology book series (RECT, volume 240)

Abstract

The northwestern part of Suez Gulf region is a strategic area in Egypt. It includes important sources of national income. To achieve the development goals, the government has established huge projects in this area (e.g. establishment and expanding of a large commercial port at Ain Sokhna, many industrial zones as well as tourism projects). The utilization of the Suez Gulf resources and their continuing development mainly depend on the creation of actual pollution control programs. The environmental quality control and pollution reduction activities are important ingredients of any economic development program. These different activities in this area depend mainly on the groundwater that is pumped intensively from different water bearing formations or aquifers. The main objective of the present work is compiling the previous studies from the 1980s up to 2015. These studies are concerned with estimating the concentrations of different pollutants in various ecosystems in the northwestern Suez Gulf region. Also, to provide an explanation for the movement of different pollutants such as organic and heavy metals from contaminated land to ground and surface (Gulf) waters. This issue has not been extensively surveyed before, and this review, gives specific directions for future monitoring and remediation strategies in this region.

Keywords

Suez Gulf Ecosystems Contamination Aquifers Development Monitoring 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Supplementary material

416864_1_En_5_MOESM1_ESM.doc (100 kb)
Some hydrogeological cross sections based on drilled wells that show the effect of structural pattern and faults in the study area (DOC 99 kb)

References

  1. Abd El-Moniem MA, El-Moselhy KM, Hassan SH (1994) Trace metals content in three fish species from Northern part of the Suez Gulf, Red Sea, Egypt. Symposium on Red Sea marine environment Jeddah, J. KAU marine science, special issue, 7:15–24Google Scholar
  2. Abdel-Hamid AMA, Hamed MA, Abd El-Azim H (2011) Heavy metals distribution in the coral reef ecosystems of the Northern Red Sea. Helgol Mar Res 65:67–80CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Ahmed OE, Ali NA, Mahmoud SA, Doheim MM (2014) Environmental assessment of contamination by petroleum hydrocarbons in the aquatic species of Suez Gulf. The 17th international conference on petroleum, mineral resources & development, EPRI, Cairo-Egypt, 9–11 Feb (in press)Google Scholar
  4. Ali NA, Ahmed OM, Doheim MM (2014) Evaluation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the aquatic species of Suez Gulf water along El-Sokhna area to the Suez refineries. Environ Monit Assess 186:1261–1269CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Antoniadis VA, McKinley JD, Zuhairi WYW (2007) Single-element and competitive metal mobility measured with column infiltration and batch tests. J Environ Qual 36(1):53–60CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Belal AAM (1995) Ecological studies on macrobenthic invertebrates, in the intertidal zone of the Suez region. MSc thesis, Fac. Sci., Suez Canal Univ.Google Scholar
  7. Belal AAM, Ghobashy AFA (2012) Settlement behaviour and description of the lessepsian immigrant of the serpulid polychaete Pomatoleios kraussii in the Suez Bay. Egypt J Aquat Res 38:23–30CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Berkowitz B, Dror I, Yaron B (2014) Contaminant geochemistry, interactions and transport in the subsurface environment, 2nd edn. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, p 577. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-54777-5 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Burton ED, Bush RT, Sullivan LA, Johnston SG, Hocking RK (2008) Mobility of arsenic and selected metals during re-flooding of iron- and organic-rich acid-sulfate soil. Chem Geol 253:64–73CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Cambridge University, Underwater Exploration Group, Reefwatch Egypt (1981) A report submitted by the group to Cambridge University about their expedition to the Egyptian Red Sea coastline.Google Scholar
  11. Cancès B, Ponthieu M, Castrec-Rouelle M, Aubry E, Benedetti MF (2003) Metal ions speciation in a soil and its solution: experimental data and model result. Geoderma 113:341–355CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Chaney RL, Li YM, Angle JS, Baker AJM, Reeves RD, Brown SL, Homer FA, Malik M, Chin M (1999) Improving metal-hyperaccumulators wild plants to develop commercial phytoextraction systems: approaches and progress. In: Terry N, Banuelos GS (eds) Phytoremediation of contaminated soil and water. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FLGoogle Scholar
  13. D’Costa VM, McGrann KM, Hughes DW, Wright GD (2006) Sampling the antibiotic resistome. Science 311:374–377CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Dabash MHA (2008) Hydrogeological studies on the district between Gebel Ataqa and El-Galala El-Bahariya, Eastern Desert, Egypt. Ph.D. thesis, Fac. Sci., Assiut Univ.Google Scholar
  15. Dick RP (1997) Soil enzyme activities as integrative indicators of soil health. In: Pankhurst CE, Doube BM, Gupta VVSR (eds) Biological indicators of soil health. CAB International, New York, pp 121–156Google Scholar
  16. El-Moselhy KM, Gabal MN (2004) Trace metals in water, sediments and marine organisms from the northern part of the Gulf of Suez, Red Sea. J Mar Syst 46:39–46CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. El-Nemr A, El-Sikaily A, Khaled A, Said TO, Abd-Alla AMA (2004a) Determination of hydrocarbons in mussels from the Egyptian Red Sea coast. Environ Monit Assess 96:251–261CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. El-Nemr A, El-Sikaily A, Khaled A, Said TO, Abd-Alla AMA (2004b) Chlorinated pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in the coral reef skeleton of the Egyptian Red Sea coast. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 72:1195–1202CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. El-Nemr A, Khaled A, El-Sikaily A (2006a) Distribution and statistical analysis of leachable and total heavy metals in the sediments of the Suez Gulf. Environ Monit Assess 118:89–112CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. El-Nemr A, Khaled A, El-Sikaily A, Said TO, Abd-Alla AMA (2006b) Distribution and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface sediments of the Suez Gulf. Environ Monit Assess. doi: 10.1007/s10661-005-9009-4 Google Scholar
  21. El-Nemr A, Moneer AA, Khaled A, El-Sikaily A (2013) Levels, distribution, and risk assessment of organochlorines in surficial sediments of the Red Sea coast, Egypt. Environ Monit Assess 185:4835–4853CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. El-Osta MM, El El Sheikh A, Barseem MS (2010) Comparative hydrological and geoelectrical study on the quaternary aquifer in the Deltas of Wadi Badaa and Ghweiba, El Ain El Sukhna Area, Northwest Suez Gulf, Egypt. Int J Geophys. doi: 10.1155/2010/585243 Google Scholar
  23. El-saied HE (2014) Genotyping of uncultured archaea in a polluted site of Suez Gulf, Egypt, based on 16S rRNA gene analyses. Egypt J Aquat Res 40:27–33CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. El-saied H, Stokes HW, Kitamura K, Kurusu Y, Kamagata Y, Maruyama A (2011) Marine integrons containing novel integrase genes, attachment sites, attI, and associated gene cassettes in polluted sediments from Suez and Tokyo Bays. ISME J 5:1162–1177CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. EL-Shazely M (1977) The geology of Egyptian region. The Oce Bas Marg 4A:379–384CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. El-Shenawy MA, Farag AE (2005) Spatial and temporal variability of saprophytic and water quality bacteria along the coast of the Aqaba and Suez Gulfs and Red Sea, Egypt. Microb Ecol Health Dis 17:94–102CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. El-Sikaily A, Khaled A, El Nemr A (2004) Heavy metals monitoring using bivalves from Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea. Environ Monit Assess 98:41–58CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. El-Sikaily A, Khaled A, El-Nemr A, Said TO, Abd-Alla AMA (2003) Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and aliphatics in the coral reef skeleton of the Egyptian Red Sea Coast. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 71:1252–1259CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. Farid NA, Ibrahim M, Ahmed OE, Saad R, Emara MM (2014) State of petroleum pollution in the Suez Gulf coastal waters. The 17th international conference on petroleum, mineral resources & development, EPRI, Cairo-Egypt, 9–11 Feb (in press)Google Scholar
  30. Gadd GM (2005) Microorganisms in toxic metal-polluted soils. In: Buscot F, Varma A (eds) Soil biology, microorganisms in soils: roles in genesis and functions, vol 3. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp 325–356CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Gardea-Torresdey JL, Peralta-Videa JR, De La Rosa G, Parsons JG (2005) Phytoremediation of heavy metals and study of the metal coordination by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Review. Coord Chem Rev 249:1797–1810CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. Halmemies S, Gröndahl S, Nenonen K, Tuhkanen T (2003) Estimation of the time periods and processes for penetration of selected spilled oils and fuels in different soils in the laboratory. Spill Sci Technol Bull 8(5–6):451–465CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. Hamed MA, Emara AM (2006) Marine molluscs as biomonitors for heavy metal levels in the Gulf of Suez, Red Sea. J Mar Syst 60:220–234CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. Hamed MA, Said TO (2000) Effect of pollution on the water quality of the Gulf of Suez. Egypt J Aquat Biol Fish 4:161–178Google Scholar
  35. Hamed MAF (1992) Seawater quality at the northern part of the Gulf of Suez and the nearby area of the Suez Canal. M.Sc. thesis, Fac. Sci., El-Mansoura Univ.Google Scholar
  36. Hanna RGM (1983) Oil pollution on the Egyptian Red Sea coast. Mar Pollut Bull 14(7):268–271CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  37. Hanna RGM (1989) Levels of heavy metals in some Red Sea fish before hot brine pools mining. Mar Pollut Bull 20(12):631–635CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  38. Hanna RGM (1992) The level of heavy metals in the Red Sea after 50 years. Sci Total Environ 125:417–448CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  39. Hanna RGM (1995) An approach to evaluate the application of the vulnerability index for oil spills in tropical Red Sea environments. Spill Sci Technol Bull 2(213):171–186CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  40. Hayes HBH (1991) Concepts of the origins, composition and structures of humic substances. In: Wilson WS (ed) Advances in soil organic matter research: the impact on agriculture and the environment. The Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK, pp 3–22Google Scholar
  41. Hochella MF Jr, Moore JN, Golla U, Putnis A (1999) A TEM study of samples from acid mine drainage systems: metal-mineral association with implications for transport. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 63:3395–3406CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  42. Honeyman BD (1999) Colloidal culprits in contamination. Nature 397:23–24CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  43. Ibrahim MBM (2004) Levels and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments from the Gulf of Suez. Mar Pollut Bull 49:356–367CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  44. Jakob A, Pfingsten W, VanLoon L (2009) Effects of sorption competition on caesium diffusion through compacted argillaceous rock. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 73(9):2441–2456CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  45. Janetti EB, Dror I, Riva M, Guadagnini A, Sanchez-Vila X, Berkowitz B (2013) Mobility and interaction of heavy metals in a natural soil. Transp Porous Med 97:295–315CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  46. Keely JF, Piwoni MD, Wilson JT (1986) Evolving concepts of subsurface contaminant transport. J Water Pollut Control Fed 58(5):349–357Google Scholar
  47. Khaled A, El-Nemr A, Said TO, El-Sikaily A, Abd-Alla AMA (2004) Polychlorinated biphenyls and chlorinated pesticides in mussels from the Egyptian Red Sea coast. Chemosphere 54:1407–1412CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  48. Law RJ (1981) Hydrocarbons concentrations in water and sediments form UK marine waters determined by fluorescence spectroscopy. Mar Pollut Bull 12:153–157CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  49. Lobartini JC, Tan KH, Pape C (1994) The nature of humic acid-apatite interaction products and their availability to plant growth. Comm Soil Sci Plant Anal 25:2355–2369CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  50. Mackay D (1985) The chemistry and modeling of soil contamination with petroleum. In: Calabrese EJ, Kostecki PT, Fleis-cher EJ (eds) Soils contaminated by petroleum: environmental and public health effects. Wiley, New YorkGoogle Scholar
  51. Mavropoulos E, Rocha NCC, Moreira JC, Rossi AM, Soares GA (2004) Characterization of phase evolution during lead immobilization by synthetic hydroxyapatite. Mater Charact 53:71–78CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  52. McKnight DM, Scott DT, Himcir DC, Lovşey DR (2001) Photochemical and microbial processes influencing iron-humic interactions in stream and lake sediments. In: Clapp CE, Hayes MHB, Senesi N, Bloom PR, Jardine PM (eds) Humic substances and chemical contaminations. Madison, WI, pp 351–369Google Scholar
  53. Meshal AL (1970) Water pollution in Suez Bay. Bull Inst Oceanogr Fish 1:463–473Google Scholar
  54. Mohamed HM (2010) Hydrochemistry of groundwater and assessment of treated water quality along the western side of Gulf Suez–Egypt. M.Sc. thesis, Fac. Sci., Sohag Univ.Google Scholar
  55. Nannipieri P (1994) The potential use of soil enzymes as indicators of productivity, sustainability and pollution. In: Double BM, Gupta VVSR, Grace PP, Pankhurst CE (eds) Soil biota management in sustainable farming systems. CSIRO, East Melbourne, VC, pp 238–244Google Scholar
  56. Pascual JA, Hernandez T, Garcia C, Ayuso M (1998) Enzymatic activities in an arid soil amended with urban organic wastes: laboratory experiment. Bioresour Technol 64:131–138CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  57. Perdue EM, Reuter JH, Parrish RS (1984) A statistical model of proton binding by humus. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 48:1257–1263CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  58. REGWA (1979) Groundwater resources in wadi Badaa and wadi Hagul, Internal report.Google Scholar
  59. Rubin S, Dror I, Berkowitz B (2012) Experimental and modeling analysis of coupled non-Fickian transport and sorption in natural soils. J Contam Hydrol 132:28–36CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  60. Rushdi AI, Kassim TATA, Simoneit BRT (2009) Organic tracers in sediments from the coastal zone of Ras Abu El-Darag, Gulf of Suez. Environ Geol 58:1675–1687CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  61. Said R (1962) The geology of Egypt. Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, p 734Google Scholar
  62. Said TO, Hamed MA (2006) Mobility of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water of the Egyptian Red Sea coasts. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 77:126–136CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  63. Said TO (1992) Study on oil pollution in the northern part of the Gulf of Suez. M.Sc. thesis, Fac. Sci., Mansour Univ.Google Scholar
  64. Sauvé S, Martínez CE, McBride M, Hendershot W (2000) Adsorption of free lead (Pb2+) by pedogenic oxides, ferrihydrite, and leaf compost. Soil Sci Soc Am J 64:595–599CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  65. Sen TK, Khilar KC (2006) Review on subsurface colloids and colloid-associated contaminant transport in saturated porous media. Adv Colloid Interface Sci 119:71–96CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  66. Seo DC, Yu K, De Laune RD (2008) Comparison of monometal and multimetal adsorption in Mississippi River alluvial wetland sediment: batch and column experiments. Chemosphere 73:1757–1764CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  67. Shams El-Din NG, El-Moselhy KM, Amer A (2004) Distribution of some macroalgae in the intertidal zone of the Suez bay in relation to environmental conditions. Egypt J Aquat Res 30(A):171–188Google Scholar
  68. Shreadah MA, Said TO, Abd El-Ghani SA, Abd El-Moniem MA (2011) Distribution of different organotin and organolead compounds in sediment of Suez Gulf. J Environ Protect 2:545–554CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  69. Snousy MG (2014) Application of environmental nanotechnology for removal of petroleum products from the polluted shallow aquifers. Ph.D. thesis, Fac. Sci., Minia Univ.Google Scholar
  70. Snousy MG, Zawrah MF, Rashad AM, Ebiad MA, El-Sayed E, Tantawy MA (2015) HPLC evaluation of PAHS polluted soil in coastal petroleum refinery site Northwestern Suez Gulf, Egypt. Res J Environ Toxicol 9(5):251–260CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  71. Soliman GF (1996) Simulation of water circulation in the Suez Bay and its hydrographic features during winter and summer. The 6th conference of the Envi. Prot. is a Must. Nat. Oceanogr. and Fish., Euro-Arab Cooperation Center, Inter. Sci. Asso. and Soci. Fund for Development, 400–433Google Scholar
  72. Soliman SA (2010) Geoenvironmental studies on the area west of the Gulf of Suez using geological, geophysical and remote sensing data. Ph.D. thesis, Fac. Sci., Al-Azhar Univ.Google Scholar
  73. Stevenson FJ (1994) Humus chemistry: genesis, composition, reactions, 2nd edn. Wiley, New YorkGoogle Scholar
  74. Sultan M, Metwally S, Milewski A, Becker D, Ahmed M, Sauck W, Soliman F, Sturchio N, Yan E, Rashed M, Wagdy A, Becker R, Welton B (2011) Modern recharge to fossil aquifers: geochemical, geophysical, and modeling constraints. J Hydrol 403:14–24CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  75. Taillefert M, Gaillard J-F (2002) Reactive transport modeling of trace elements in the water column of a stratified lake: iron cycling and metal scavenging. J Hydrol 256:16–34CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  76. Thurman EM (1985) Organic geochemistry of natural waters. Nijhoff and Junk Publishers, DordrechtCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  77. Tsang DCW, Olds WE, Weber P (2013) Residual leachability of CCA-contaminated soil after treatment with biodegradable chelating agents and lignite-derived humic substances. J Soils Sediments 13:895–905CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  78. Usama AA (2001) Geophysical studies on wadi Hagoul-wadi Badaa area, north of Ain Sukhna, Gulf of Suez. Ph.D. thesis, Damietta Fac. Sci., Mansoura Univ.Google Scholar
  79. Voegelin A, Vulava VM, Kretzschmar R (2001) Reaction-based model describing competitive sorption and transport of Cd, Zn, and Ni in an acidic soil. Environ Sci Technol 35:1651–1657CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  80. WHO (World Health Organization) (1973) Health hazard in drinking water. WHO, Geneva, SwitzerlandGoogle Scholar
  81. WHO (World Health Organization) (1984) Guidelines for drinking water quality, vol 1 and 2. WHO, Geneva, SwitzerlandGoogle Scholar
  82. Yamashita Y, Tanaka T, Adachi Y (2013) Transport behavior and deposition kinetics of humic acid under acidic conditions in porous media. Colloids Surf A Physicochem Eng Asp 417:230–235CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  83. Zanardi E, Bícego MC, Miranda LB, Weber RR (1999) Distribution and origin of hydrocarbons in water and sediments in São Sebastião, SP, Brazil. Mar Pollut Bull 38:261–267CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  84. Zawrah MF, Ebiad MA, Rashad AM, El-Sayed E, Snousy MG, Tantawy MA (2013a) GC estimation of organic hydrocarbons threaten shallow Quaternary sandy aquifer Northwestern Gulf of Suez, Egypt. The 16th international conference on petroleum, mineral resources & development, EPRI, Cairo-Egypt, 10–12 Feb (in press)Google Scholar
  85. Zawrah MF, Ebiad MA, Rashad AM, El-Sayed E, Snousy MG, Tantawy MA (2013b) HPLC evaluation of PAHs polluted soil in a coastal petroleum refinery Northwestern Suez Gulf, Egypt. The 16th international conference on petroleum, mineral resources & development, EPRI, Cairo-Egypt, 10–12 Feb (in press)Google Scholar
  86. Zawrah MF, Ebiad MA, Rashad AM, El-Sayed E, Snousy MG, Tantawy MA (2013c) Groundwater vulnerability assessment and evaluation of industrial activity impact (IAI) within the north western part of Suez Gulf groundwater basin, Egypt. The 16th international conference on petroleum, mineral resources & development, EPRI, Cairo-Egypt, 10–12 Feb (in press)Google Scholar
  87. Zawrah MF, Ebiad MA, Rashad AM, El-Sayed E, Snousy MG, Tantawy MA (2014) GC estimation of organic hydrocarbons that threaten shallow Quaternary sandy aquifer Northwestern Gulf of Suez, Egypt. Environ Monit Assess 186:7579–7591CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  • Moustafa Gamal Snousy
    • 1
  • M. F. Zawrah
    • 2
  • Th. Abdel-Moghny
    • 3
  • M. A. Ebiad
    • 4
  • A. M. Rashad
    • 4
  • Mahmoud M. Khalil
    • 5
    • 6
  • E. M. Abu El Ella
    • 7
  • E. El-Sayed
    • 6
  • M. A. Tantawy
    • 8
  1. 1.Egyptian Petroleum Sector, Petrotread co.Nasr City, CairoEgypt
  2. 2.National Research Center, Center of Excellence, Nano GroupDokki, CairoEgypt
  3. 3.Applications DepartmentEgyptian Petroleum Research InstituteCairoEgypt
  4. 4.Analysis and Evaluation DepartmentEgyptian Petroleum Research InstituteCairoEgypt
  5. 5.Department of Environment Systems, Graduate School of Frontier SciencesThe University of TokyoChibaJapan
  6. 6.Faculty of Science, Geology DepartmentEl-Minia UniversityEl-MiniaEgypt
  7. 7.Faculty of Science, Geology DepartmentAssiut UniversityAssiutEgypt
  8. 8.Faculty of Science, Chemistry DepartmentEl-Minia UniversityEl-MiniaEgypt

Personalised recommendations