Journal of Applied Sciences1812-56541812-5662Asian Network for Scientific Information10.3923/jas.2011.3070.3088M. AkarishAdel I.El-GoharyAmr M.1220111117The study aimed at characterizing the geochemical compositions of the pre-Cenomanian sandstones of Gebel Ghazalani area, east Sinai. X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Induced Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and Induced Coupled Plasma-Emission Spectrometry (ICP-ES) analyses were used to determine the sandstone composition. Major, trace and rare earth element compositions of the sandstones have been investigated to determine their provenance, tectonic setting and the influence of weathering conditions. The studied succession (~214 m thick) starts by undifferentiated pre- Carboniferous sediments that unconformably overlies the Katherina Volcanics and followed upwards by the Lower Cretaceous sandstones of the Malha Formation. The pre-Cenomanian sandstones are enriched in SiO2 and High Field Strength Elements (HFSE) and are depleted in mobile elements, Large-Ion Lithophile Elements (LILE), transition metals and possess low contents of TiO2 and Fe2O3. Their Rare Earth Elements (REE) pattern displays high Light REE/Heavy REE (LREE/ HREE) ratio, flat HREE and a significant negative Eu anomaly. The source area may have contained quartzose sedimentary rocks. The geochemical data support deposition in a passive continental margin and the sediments were derived from felsic (granitic) source rocks. Trace and REE data as well as the high values of the weathering indices: Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA), Plagioclase Index of Alteration (PIA) and Chemical Index of Weathering (CIW) suggest moderate to extreme weathering conditions in the source area or during transportation. Also, they indicate that recycling processes might have been significant. Clay content, zircons and quartz dilution are responsible for the variation in REE contents.]]>Abdallah, A.M. and A. El-Adindani,1963251818Abd El-Khalek, M.L.A., N.A. Abd El-Wahed and A.A. Sehim,19931409444Abu-Zeid, M.M., K.M. Amer, N.N. Yanni and S.S. El-Wekeil,199134145169Abd El-Rahman, Y., A. Polat, B.J. Fryer, Y. Dilek, M. El-Sharkawy and S. Sakran,201058185196Ajayi, T.R., A.A. Oyawale, F.Y. Islander, O.I. Asubiojo, D.E. Klein and A.I. Adediran,2006620672076Akarish, A.I.M.,1998124864Akarish, A.I.M. and A.M. El-Gohary,2008524354Armstrong-Altrin, J.S., Y.L. Lee, S.P. Verma and S. Ramasamy,200474285297Asiedu, D.K., E. Hegner, A. Rocholl and D. Atta-Peters,200541316328Barshad, I.,19661167173Bauluz, B., M.J. Mayayo, C. Fernandez-Nieto and J.M.G. Lopez,2000168135150Bhatia, M.R.,198391611627Bhatia, M.R. and K.A.W. Crook,198692181193Borges, J.B., Y. Huh, S. Moon and H. Noh,20082545272Brindley, G.W.,19611961pp: 51-131pp: 51-131Braun, J.J., J. Viers, B. Dupre, M. Polve, J. Ndam and J.P. Muller,199862273299Condie, K.C., J. Dengate and R.L. Cullers,19955279294Crook, K.A.W.,1974Flysch arenites (graywakes).]]>1974pp: 304-310pp: 304-310Cox, R., D.R. Lowe and R.L. Cullers,19955929192940Cullers, R.L.,19945849554972Cullers, R.L.,200051181203Cullers, R.L. and J.L. Graf,19841984pp: 275-316pp: 275-316Cullers, R.L. and V.N. Podkovyrov,20001047793Cullers, R.L., A. Basu and L.J. Suttner,198870335348Cullers, R.L., S. Chaudhuri, B. Arnold, M. Lee and C.W. Jr. Wolf,19753916911703El-Kelany, A. and M. Said,199016215221Fedo, C.M., H.W. Nesbitt and G.M. Young,199523921924Fedo, C.M., K.A. Eriksson and E.J. Krogstad,19966017511763Gallala, W.E., M.E. Gaied and M. Montacer,2009Early Cretaceous) in central and southwestern Tunisia: Implications for provenance, tectonic setting and paleoenvironment.]]>53159170Garver, J.I., P.R. Royce and T.A. Smick,199666100106Ghosh, S. and S. Sarkar,201027778100Herron, M.M.,198858820829Hirst, D.M.,19622611741187Hossain, H.M.Z., B.P. Roser and J.I. Kimura,2010228171183Issawi, B., M. El-Hinnawi, M. Francis and A. Mazhar,19991999Jin, Z., F. Li, J. Cao, S. Wang and J. Yu,200680147163Joo, Y.J., Y. Lee and Z. Baib,2005Late Carboniferous), NE China: Implications for tectonic processes in the northern margin of the North China block.]]>17797114Keller, W.D.,19564026892710Klitzsch, E., F.K. List and G. Pohlmann,19861986Kora, M.,1991244557Kostandi, A.B.,195925462Lee, Y.I.I.,2002149219235Le Maitre, R.W.,197617589637Lonnie, T.P.,198252529536Mader, D. and F. Neubauer,200493262281Mahjoor, A.S., M. Karimi and A. Rastegarlari,20099601614McLennan, S.M.,198921169200McLennan, S.M., S. Hemming, D.K. McDaniel and G.N. Hanson,19931993pp: 21-40pp: 21-40McLennan, S.M., W.B. Nance and S.R. Taylor,19804418331839McLennan, S.M., S.R. Taylor, M.T. Mcculloch and J.B. Maynard,19905420152050Nagarajani, R., J.S. Armstrong-Altrin, R. Nagendra, J. Madhavaraju and J. Moutte,200770297312Nesbitt, H.W. and G.M. Young,1982299715717Nesbitt, H.W. and G.M. Young,19844815231534Nesbitt, H.W., C.M. Fedo and G.M. Young,1997105173191Potter, P.E., J.B. Maynard and W.A. Pryor,19802nd Edn.,pp: 306pp: 306Roser, B.P. and R.J. Korsch,198694635650Roser, B.P. and R.J. Korsch,198867119139Roser, B.P., R.A. Cooper, S. Nathan and A.J. Tulloch,199639116Roy, P.D., M. Caballeroa, R. Lozanoc and W. Smykatz-Klossd,200868383393Said, R.,1962Said, R.,1971pp: 123pp: 123Said, R., A.H. Sabet, A.A. Zalata, V.A. Toniakov and V.I. Pokryshin,19766632Salem, A.M., A.T. Abd El-hamed, I. Hassanein and A.M. Fouda,200195772Samuel, M.D., H.E. Moussa and M.K. Azer,200752203226Taylor, S.R. and S.M. McLennan,1985Pages: 312Pages: 312Tucker, M.E.,1988pp: 391pp: 391Turekian, K.K. and H.C. Michael,196011427Valloni, R. and J.B. Maynard,1981287583Wronkiewicz, D.J. and K.C. Condie,19895315371549Yanni, N.N.,198731129141Feng, R. and R. Kerrich,19905410611081