The provenance and history of Abu Muharak barchan sands (Kharga Depression) inferred from textural, mineralogical, and geochemical perspectives

The current study deals with textural, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics of the barchan dune sands of Abu Muharak dune belts in the Kharga Depression. Abu Muharak is the longest dune belt in the Western Desert of Egypt. Sand samples from 37 sites were texturally, petrologically, and chemically analyzed. Our goals were to interpret the provenance of the sands in terms of grain size, petrology, and geochemistry and correlate these data with the proposed source such as Nubian sandstone, Pleistocene alluvial, and Holocene lacustrine sediments as well as ancient aeolian deposits exposed at the Kharga Depression. The present study concludes that the Moghra sandstone is the main source of the Abu Muharak dune belt with local contributions from Pleistocene alluvial and dune deposits as well as weathered Nubian sandstone in the Kharga Depression.