Geochemical and mineralogical characterization of coastal sediments in Al-Hoceima Bay (Central Rif, Morocco)

Laboratory of Research and Development in Engineering Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology of Al Hoceima, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tetouan, Morocco.

^* Corresponding author: lamgharbaj123mustapha@gmail.com

Abstract

This work aims to characterize the morphosedimentaty dynamics of the shores of Al-Hoceima Bay through geochemical and mineralogical analysis of surface sediments. The results reveal a direct relationship between marine hydrodynamic forcing on the one hand and detrital inputs from land on the other. Calcimetric analysis makes it possible to highlight the transport and deposition processes at the beaches of Al-Hoceima bay. The difference in the reasonably high carbonate contents in the western beaches (Isli, Cala Bonita and Quemado) (> 60%) and low in the beaches of the central and eastern zone (Sfiha, Souani, Salina and Lharch) (≈ 15%) are mainly due to the influence of coastal currents, littoral drift, and fluvial action. The higher levels of heavy minerals in Lharch beach (18%) are expressed by volcanic outcrops of Cap Quelates and Jbel Tamsamen. The low values at the Souani and Tayth beaches (7% on average) are due to erosion by the two types of coastal drift, NW-SE and NNE-SSW, which carry the sediments of schist origin brought by the Oueds Ghiss and Nekôr. In contrast, the reasonably high contents in the Sfiha beach (12%) are attributed to the accumulation of allochthonous sediments by NW-SE littoral drift which carries sediments of volcanometamorphic origin from Rass Quelates.