The distribution of phosphorus, iron and manganese in recent marine sediments of the Nile Delta

Abstract

        The distribution of non-detrital phosphorus, iron and manganese was studied in some sediment samples from the Mediterranean Sea shelf off the Nile Delta. On average, the sediments contained 0.422 mg phosphorus/g, 5.860 mg iron/g, and 0.426 mg mangenese/g. The distribution of the three elements was very similar, suggesting a certain degree of geochemical association. The area distribution of the ele­ments, the tendency of their concentrations to decrease as we moved farther away from the Nile mouths and the Lakes’ openings, and the relative richness of the sediments in the cones before the two major estuaries of the river, suggested that the River Nile water was the major source of these elements’ ions to the area. Adsorption of P ions on to Fe and Mn oxides may have taken place during trans­portation before it reached the sea.