Description of recent sediments of Nile Delta, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (Table 1-3)

Erosional disconformities near the present surface can be deduced from the strength-depth curve when as little as 1 or 2 m sediment have been removed. Flat or irregular strength-depth curves indicate beginning cementation and probably discontinuous sedimentation, provided the composition of the material remains in some degree constant. In our samples diagenetic pyrite, but no recristallisation of carbonates could be detected under the microscope.Underconsolidation and excess pore-water pressure, factors which tend to foster submarine slides, mud lumps, and diapiric folding, seem to be restricted Varito areas with mainly rapidly deposited, homogeneous or layered sediments.

But where an abundance of burrowing organisms increases the vertical permeability of the sediment, normal consolidation and stable deposits are to be expected, at least in the upper meters below the present surface.According to 14C-determinations on calcareous microorganisms the rate of deposition of the investigated sediments seems to range from 26 to 167 cm per 1000 years.