Major and trace element distribution in soil and sediments from the Egyptian central Nile Valley

The distributions of 32 major and trace elements in 72 surface soil and sediment samples collected from the Asyut to Cairo Nile river section were determined by epithermal neutron activation analysis and compared with corresponding data for the Upper Continental Crust, North American Shale Composite, Average Soil and Average Sediment as well as suspended sediments from Congo and Upper Niger Rivers, in order to establish to which extent the Nile sedimentary material can be related to similar material all over the world as well as to local geology. Their relative distributions indicate the presence of detrital material of igneous origin, most probably resulting from weathering of the Ethiopian Highlands and transported by the Blue Nile, the Nile main tributary. The distributions of nickel, zinc, and arsenic contents suggest that the lower part of the Nile and its surroundings including the Nile Delta is not seriously polluted with heavy metals, so that, in spite of a human activity, which lasted four millennia, the Nile River continues to be less affected by any anthropogenic contamination.