Abstract
The city of Fez in northern Morocco is situated on northeastern parts of the Saïs Plain, an alluvial basin. It is spreading southwesterly onto Pleistocene sediments consisting primarily of alluvial, channel-fill conglomerates and overbank deposits, as well as Holocene tufas. As urban develop- ment expands, human activities are increasingly eradicating these deposits, about which little is known. This study focuses on the clay-mineral composition of these Pleistocene overbank de- posits, informally known as the “Red” and “Yellow” units, as well as of the Holocene tufas. In contrast to previous research that has emphasized the industrial uses of nearby Miocene marls. The objective of this study is to examine these Pleistocene and Holocene rocks to determine the likely origins, either inherited or neoformed, of the included clay minerals by comparing their compositions with those of nearby substrata. The clay-mineral analysis indicates a prevalence of smectites with varying amounts of illite, kaolinite, sepiolite, and chlorite. The presence of smectite and sepiolite likely reflects neo- formation in areas of alkaline sedimentation during Quaternary semi-arid Mediterranean cli- mates, when alkaline terrestrial environments rich in calcrete were widespread. Conversely, illite and chlorite appear to be predominantly inherited minerals within the studied units, transported by wind and water. Illite is largely sourced from Jurassic carbonates, whereas chlorite derives primarily from Miocene marine marls. Radiocarbon dating of two tufa samples indicated an age range between 6.7 and 5.6 ka Cal. B.P., aligning with the African Humid Period. The presence of significant quantities of kaolinite in the surface soils suggests that these soils formed during this humid period and are likely equivalent to the Holocene tufa deposits.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2025
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2024.e02505
Funding Information
Special thanks to Erasmus+ for funding the first part of the project, and to the department of Geology of Babes-Bolyai University for providing the lab facilities for sample analyzes. Thanks to Fulbright for funding the second part of the project.
Repository Citation
Agharabi, Ayman; Karrat, L.; Ettensohn, Frank R.; Har, N.; Gourari, L.; Bedelean, H.; Balica, C.; and Mircescu, C. V., "Clay minerals origin and paleoclimate implications in quaternary deposits of the Saïs Plain, Fez-Morocco" (2025). Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications. 47.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/ees_facpub/47
Notes/Citation Information
2468-2276/© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).