The Dababiya Core: A window into Paleocene to Early Eocene depositional history in Egypt based on coccolith stratigraphy

The composite Paleocene-lower Eocene Dababiya section recovered in the Dababiya Quarry core and accessible in outcrop in the Dababiya Quarry exhibits an unexpected contrast in thickness between the Lower Eocene succession (similar to Esna Shales) and the Paleocene one (similar to Dakhla Shales and Tarawan Chalk). We investigate the significance of this contrast by reviewing calcareous nannofossil stratigraphic studies performed on sections throughout Egypt. We show that a regional pattern occurs, and distinguish six areas-Nile Valley, Eastern Desert and western Sinai, Central and eastern Sinai, northern Egypt and Western Desert. Based on patterns related to thicknesses of selected lithobiostratigraphic intervals and distribution of main stratigraphic gaps, we propose that the differences in the stratigraphic architecture between these regions result from differential latest Paleocene and Early Eocene subsidence following intense Middle to Late Paleocene tectonic activity in the Syrian Arc folds as a result of the closure of the Neo-Tethys.