Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-5-2010

Abstract

Interpretatilon of many radar images by many workers dramatically changed previous concept that the North African Sahara have been arld through out a long time during its history. Now the many Radar Images reveal extensive long buried fluvial channels dominating the Sahara landscape over the Late Paleogene and the Neogene (post Early Eocene flooding of the Mediterranean Sea over Eastern Sahara) in shaping the now extremely flat general, eatureless and hyper-arid AS landscape. The fallin base level associated with the Messinian desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea promoted down-cutting and extension of river systems throughout much of North Africa and South Europe. On the same time corridors of fresh water across the North African Sahara are now dlstinguished through Radar images. These corridors connect Serir Tebisti to the Sirt Basin passing by Kufra Oasis and further north into the Mediterranean. Two important rivers dominated eastern Libya, the Sahabi In the west and the Kufra in the east, though in the Early Pliocene the latter captured the former and control the paleohyderological system in east Libya. A nother important resh water corridor connects the Uweinat - Gilf high in southwest Egypt with the Mediterranean Sea in north through the Gilf River. A connection Was suggested in-between the Gilf F River and the Kufra River during d the Mio-Pliocene tlme interval, Through these water systems migration of fish took place from Chad to north Egypt. The interplay of the flowing North Rivers (Sahabi, Kufra and Gilf with the constant north retreat of the Mediterranean Sea shore led to a complex of fluvitial-marine sedimentation, with every possible gradation between these two modes of deposition, several times along the courses of these rivers. Several deltaic, fluriomarine, lagoonal and fluvial sediments were described by many authors during the Oligocene, the Miocene and the_ Pliocene in-between Tebisti massive and the present Mediterranean shoreline. In east Egypt and as a consequence of the Oligocene uplift of the Red Sea hills, several cracks, faults distinguish the area to the east of the Red Sea. Along one of these cracks the Qena River flowed from north to southwest Egypt, dispersed near Latitude 23% 30/N in the south Western Desert. Here, the Qena lost its confined course and give rise to many wide to. narrow streamlets which are known as the Radar Rivers. It was suggested that the Qena River continued to flow southwest where it reached the Atlantic Ocean in what is known as Trans. African Drainage System(TADS).

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