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Gardens’ City is a new city in newly discovered area in the Egyptian western desert, which is rich to be developed. It lies in new Farafra Oasis. The site has different potential aspects for sustainable development; it has agricultural and industrial economic bases. The city center’s area is designed to be about 5% of the city’s area. The area of the industrial zone is about 22% of city area. This paper refers to the development of the city with a focus on the central and the industrial zones. The city center has the major managerial and commercial services. The industrial zone includes industrial areas as well as the major industrial education, training and managerial services. Renewable energy will be generated with different methods. This city will be the first step of development series opportunities in Egypt. Gardens’ City will have different sustainable options and the estimated yearly net profit for it would be 63-90 Million Egyptian pound (LE) and 394-535 Million LE yearly net profit for the whole new Farafra Oasis from olive, palm, and wheat only. This city will be the first step that opens great development opportunities in Egypt. Egypt has already adopted developing in the newly discovered areas and there are steps on the road.

Acarinina sibaiyaensis is a very distinctive and short-lived planktonic foraminiferal taxon that is restricted to the temporally short Carbon Isotope Excursion (CIE) interval characteristic of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) event. It is confined to the planktonic foraminiferal Zone E1 which in southern Egypt corresponds to the Dababiya Quarry Member (DQM). This member yields a complete record of the biotic changes induced by the intense warming during the basal Eocene . Although this distinctive taxon is widely distributed throughout the tropic to the temperate regions, its morphologic changes and phylogenetic relations during the CIE/PETM interval have not yet been documented. The present study discusses and documents the morphologic changes which affected the short-lived Ac. sibaiyaensis probably caused by the extreme warming during the very brief (175–200 ka) CIE/PETM interval in southern Egypt. These morphologic variations are particularly well developed in the middle phosphatic phase (Beds 2 and 3 of the DQM), in which the CIE curve shows its maximum negative shift. The origin, morphology, wall texture, coiling direction and their changes during ontogeny and evolution of Ac. sibaiyaensis during the CIE-PETM interval at Qreiya, Gebel Abu Had, northeast Qena (southern Nile Valley) and Darb Gaga (southeast of Kharga Oasis, southern Western Desert) are described, interpreted and illustrated. During the PETM, numerous intraspecific varieties of Ac. sibaiyaensis are recorded. Several evolutionary lineages are delineated; some of them stay within the morphologic range of Ac. sibaiyaensis, whereas others lead to other excursion taxa i.e. Acarinina africana and Morozovella allisonensis. In addition, forms transitional to taxa which appear in younger horizons than the PETM (younger than Zone E1) are recorded, described and illustrated.

Non-marine vertebrates, including many crocodyliform clades, remain poorly documented from uppermost Cretaceous deposits of Africa. Recent exploratory fieldwork in the Upper Cretaceous (middle Campanian) Quseir Formation exposed around Dakhla Oasis (Western Desert of Egypt) has revealed new fossils from continental and marginal marine settings that include abundant crocodyliform remains. In particular, materials of an enigmatic crocodyliform, Wahasuchus egyptensis gen. et sp. nov., represented by both cranial and postcranial remains, suggest the presence of a novel southern Tethyan crocodyliform assemblage from northern Africa during the Late Cretaceous. Materials recovered of this taxon thus far include fragmentary portions of the skull and mandible, amphicoelous dorsal vertebrae, and fragmentary appendicular remains. This form is distinguished by a number of unique features including a domed platyrostral skull; a strongly festooned lateral margin of the maxilla with two waves of tooth enlargement; a deep, sculptured fossa at the base of the postorbital bar; a jugal with an anterior process that is at least three times broader than the posterior process; an orbital margin dorsally overlapping the lateral temporal fenestra; a supraoccipital with a distinct medial tuber and associated ventral fossa; and a robust straight dentary with contribution of the splenial to the symphysis. This new form suggests a potentially unique Late Cretaceous assemblage from northern Africa, markedly different from better-known Late Cretaceous crocodyliform assemblages of South America and Madagascar, or from earlier (pre-Turonian) deposits in Africa. This pattern may reveal a distinct regional fauna along the southern Tethys, or potential Cretaceous relationships with Eurasian neosuchian-dominated assemblages.

A World Heritage Site since 1979, the Theban Necropolis was built by the Pharaohs of the 18th to 20th Dynasties ( c. 1539 – 1075 BCE). A variety of pharaonic (and lesser nobles9) tombs, funerary temples and sanctuaries were located/excavated in the lower part of the c. 400 m high pyramidal El Qurn in a variety of lithofacies (predominantly marine limestones and shales). These monuments are located in regionally persistent structural entities as well as gravitational collapse structures (GCS) whose probable origin and timing are reviewed and updated here, based on information that was unavailable to us at the time of writing a complementary paper in 2008 (but only published in 2015). We review here the historical development of the Theban Necropolis in the framework of the geological and geomorphological landscape and the first geological map of the region prepared by our Working Group for the Theban International Geoarcheological Project (TIGA) in 2011. We conclude with a preferential prioritizing of the perceived short- and long-term threats to the preservation of the Theban Necropolis and its monuments: least vulnerable to destabilization are the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Block of Sheik Abdel Qurnah – El Khokkah; more vulnerable are Deir El Medina, Qunet Mura9I and El Assasif; most vulnerable are the Village of the Workers, Deir El Bahari and the Valley of the Colors. Accordingly it will be necessary to devise geotechnical solutions to prevent the destruction of (at least) some of the monuments under consideration here.

Paleontological studies on the Upper Paleocene-Lower Eocene succession at Darb Gaga, southeastern Kharga Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt document the changes associated with the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), such as 1) a radical alteration of the relative and absolute abundance of planktonic foraminifera; 2) a massive occurrence of the excursion planktonic foraminiferal taxa; 3) a widespread deposition of calcarenite yielding atypical (extremely high) faunal abundance associated with the younger phase of warming; and 4) a concentration of coprolites associated with the middle phase of warming. We also document the Lowest Occurrence (LO) of dimorphic larger benthic and excursion foraminifera during the earlier phase of warming at Darb Gaga, as recorded in Bed 1 of the Dababiya Quarry Member. The absence of these faunas in Bed 1 at Dababiya (the GSSP for the P/E Boundary) is likely to be due to both intense deficiency in dissolved oxygen and massive carbonate dissolution. Only remains (fish remains) of faunas that can tolerate the toxicity produced by low oxygen conditions are found in the stratigraphic record of this (oldest) phase at Dababiya. The Dababiya Quarry Member (DQM) at Darb Gaga reflects the unfolding of the sedimentary and biotic changes associated with the PETM global warming at, and following, the Paleocene/Eocene boundary on the southern Tethys platform. The changes began with a rapid increase in bottom and “intermediate” water temperature. The temperature increase was accompanied by removal of oxygen during the early and middle stages of warming. This led to the absence of both subbotinids and calcareous benthic foraminifera in the early and second coprolite-bearing phases (Beds 2 and 3 of the DQM). Dissolution seems to have no role during these stages as shown by the unusual abundance and good preservation of the warm-tolerant Ac. sibaiyaensis. This species reaches its maximum abundance in Bed 2 where it exhibits a broad range of size (63–250 μm) and shape that probably reflect optimal growth under the warmest water conditions. Thus, we infer that temperature and dissolved oxygen content of the sea-water were the main factors controlling the distribution pattern(s) of the microplankton and microbenthos during the PETM.

The Campanian and Maastrichtian stages are very poorly documented time intervals in Africa's record of terrestrial vertebrate evolution. Upper Cretaceous deposits exposed in southern Egypt, near the Dakhla and Kharga Oases in the Western Desert, preserve abundant vertebrate fossils in nearshore marine environments, but have not yet been the focus of intensive collection and description. Our recent paleontological work in these areas has resulted in the discovery of numerous new vertebrate fossil-bearing localities within the middle Campanian Qusier Formation and the upper Campanian-lower Maastrichtian Duwi Formation. Fossil remains recovered from the Campanian-aged Quseir Formation include sharks, rays, actinopterygian and sarcopterygian fishes, turtles, and rare terrestrial archosaurians, including some of the only dinosaurs known from this interval on continental Africa. The upper Campanian/lower Maastrichtian Duwi Formation preserves sharks, sawfish, actinopterygians, and marine reptiles (mosasaurs and plesiosaurs). Notably absent from these collections are representatives of Mammalia and Avialae, both of which remain effectively undocumented in the Upper Cretaceous rocks of Africa and Arabia. New age constraints on the examined rock units is provided by 23 nannofossil taxa, some of which are reported from the Duwi Formation for the first time. Fossil discoveries from rock units of this age are essential for characterizing the degree of endemism that may have developed as the continent became increasingly tectonically isolated from the rest of Gondwana, not to mention for fully evaluating origin and diversification hypotheses of major modern groups of vertebrates (e.g., crown birds, placental mammals).

Abstrac t—This paper discusses the primary master plan of the gardens’ city, which is planned to depend on renewable energy. Gardens’ city lies in the Egyptian’s western desert in newly discovered to be developed areas, namely in the new Farafra oases. The general master plan of the city is designed for 117,000 inhabitants, with a final target of settling of 1 Million inhabitants in the oasis. The city has agricultural and industrial based economy, depend on renewable energy (solar and wind energy), and has the first Egyptian college of renewable energy.

We present a review of archaeological and geological studies on the West Bank as a basis for discussing the geological setting of the tombs and geologically related problems with a view to providing archaeologists with a framework in which to conduct their investigations on the restoration, preservation and management of the antique monuments. Whereas the geology of the Upper Nile Valley appears to be deceptively simple, the lithological succession is vertically variable, and we have recognized and defined several new lithological units within the upper Esna Shale Formation. We have been able to delineate lithological (shale/limestone) contacts in several tombs and observed that the main chambers in some were excavated below the Esna Shale in the Tarawan Chalk Formation. We have been able to document changing dip in the strata (warping) in several tombs, and to delineate two major orientations of fractures in the field. Investigations behind the Temple of Hatshepsut, in the Valley of the Kings and around Deir El Medina have revealed four broad regional structures. We confirm that the hills located near the Nile Valley, such as Sheik Abdel Qurna, do not belong to the tabular structure of the Theban Mountain, but are discrete displaced blocks including the Thebes Limestone, as supported by Google Earth photographs.

We describe the planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy of the ~61m thick stratigraphic section spanning the Tarawan Chalk (~17 m) and Esna Shale (~44 m) at Gebel Owaina and the ~35m thick section spanning the total thickness of the Esna Shale at Gebel Kilabiya, ~10km west of Owaina. The Owaina section spans Zones P4a ( partim ) to P6a ( partim ), whereas Kilabiya spans Zones P4c ( partim ) to P6a ( partim ). The Esna/Thebes contact at both localities is marked by a distinct angular unconformity within Zone P6a and a hiatus estimated >3 my; the sections are thus considerably less complete than at Dababiya, ~25km to the north. The recently revised Paleocene/Eocene boundary is located in both sections within the lower part of the Esna Shale at ~12m and 16.3m, respectively, above the base of the Esna Shale. The CIE-interval is reduced in both sections (~1m thick at G. Owaina and ~1.5m at G. Kilabiya) and exhibits evidence of a stratigraphic gap/hiatus within its upper part at both localities. The base of the CIE-interval is characterized by the lowest occurrences (LO) of Acarinina sibaiyaensis and marked at its top by the LO of Pseudohastigerina wilcoxensis . At Gebel Owaina the CIE-interval is directly preceded by the LO of Ac. wilcoxensis, Ac. angulosa , Acarinina esnaensis and Igorina broedermanni in descending order, whereas at Kilabiya this sequential order of bioevents is less well developed. Although the characteristic paleontologic trends observed elsewhere are subdued in the Kilabiya section, the latter shows a phased pattern within the CIE-interval comparable to that of the Dababiya Quarry Beds at Dababiya.

The search for a Global Standard Stratotype-section and Point (GSSP) for the Paleocene/Eocene boundary has resulted in several concurrent studies of the Upper Paleocene-Lower Eocene interval in sections across Egypt from the Eastern and Western Deserts to Upper Egypt where spectacular outcrops occur along the Nile Valley. These studies have brought a wealth of data but their conclusions have been occasionally contradictory. I introduce these, and other relevant, sections, describing their lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy and chemostratigraphy, summarizing the main results of their study, and discussing conflicting interpretations. Special attention is given to the interval that yields a record of the short-term events that are specific to the carbon isotope excursion, or CIE, and whose base now constitutes the principal means of correlation of the Paleocene/Eocene boundary.

Because Upper Egypt (stable shelf, pre-rift) contains some of the most expanded and continuous stratigraphic records of the biologic and chemical changes across the P-E transition, the P/E Boundary Working Group have conducted over the course of the last four years a series of integrated studies on this anomalous interval. These studies have led to the recognition of several bio- and chemostratigraphic events that can serve to denote the P/E boundary and to correlate upper Paleocene-lower Eocene stratigraphic successions that were deposited at different bathymetries in the southern Nile Valley. The main bioevents that occur within this stratigraphic interval (that spans from the upper Tarawan Limestone to the basal Thebes Limestone, and ecompasses the entire Esna Shale Formation) are identified and correlated in terms of pre-CIE-Interval, CIE-Interval and post-CIE-Interval. Faunal patterns and mechanism of faunal changes as well as paleoecologic inferences from these changes are described and discussed for the warming episode associated with the CIE-interval as well as for the intervals immediately preceding and following it. Stratigraphic correlations of upper Paleocene-lower Eocene sections in the southern Nile Valley are correlated based on the most prominent events. The biostratigraphy of the Tarawan Chalk and Esna Shale are correlated with the Integrated Magnetobiostratigraphic scale of Berggren et al. (1995). The vertical (stratigraphic) and lateral (geographic) changes in biota and depositional environments and their facies variants are examined over ~300 km from the vicinity of Qena (in the north) to Wadi Abu Ghurra in the southwestern Nile Valley.

We describe the lithostratigraphy and planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy of the upper Paleocene- lowermost Eocene (Zones P4a-P5c) stratigraphic section exposed in a neritic/shelf carbonate setting at Wadi Abu Ghurra in the southern part of the Upper Nile Valley. The 2.5cm thick PETM-correlative interval lacks the phosphatic-coprolitic horizon(s) typical of the Dababiya Quarry Beds to the north, but does contain elements ( Acarinina africana, Ac. sibaiyaensis and M. allisonensis ) of the planktonic foraminifera excursion taxa (PFET). The PETM-correlative interval is bracketed (below) by the LO of Acarinina esnaensis, Igorina broedermanni, Ac. angulosa and Ac. wilcoxensis and (above) the LO of Pseudohastigerina wilcoxensis. The top of the inferred PETM-interval coincides with the Garra / Dungul formational contact and is marked by an abrupt enrichment in planktonic foraminifera together with a low-diversity benthic foraminiferal association, comparable to those of the calcarenites which terminate the Dababiya Quarry Beds in deeper water sections in the north. Angulogavelinella avnimelechi , together with several long-ranging Paleocene benthic forms, have their HO at the base of the PETM-interval, whereas dimorphic larger foraminifera ( Discocyclina , Operculina , primitive Nummulites ) have their LO at its top.

We describe the upper Paleocene-lower Eocene planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy at Qreiya (southeastern exposure of Gebel Abu Had), about 50km ENE of Qena, Egypt. The ~54m thick section spans the Tarawan Chalk (~8.6m thick; Zone P4a+b) and the Esna Shale (~45m thick; Zones P4c-P7, partim ). The Tarawan/Esna contact is paraconformable, and coincident with the NP8/NP9 and P4a+b/P4c zonal boundaries. The Esna Shale is subdivided into units, and the Dababiya Quarry Beds (=CIE-interval) lie at the base of Unit Esna 2, whereas Unit Esna 3 is much reduced in thickness owing to an unconformity that separates Zones P6/P7 cutting out ~ 40+m of the upper Esna Shale. The Esna Shale/Thebes Limestone contact is probably also unconformable inasmuch as it lies within Zone P7, whereas at Dababiya it lies within Zone P8. The ~2.4m thick CIE-interval is located in the lower part of the Esna Shale, 7.2m above the top of the Tarawan Chalk and is divided into three distinct lithic components as at Dababiya. Quantitative analysis of the planktonic foraminifera spanning the interval from 2.6m below, through, and to 1m above the CIE, has revealed significant assemblage change patterns and enabled precise inter-locality correlation with the Dababiya Quarry and Owaina sections.

Gardens’ City is a new city in newly discovered area in the Egyptian western desert, which is rich to be developed. It lies in new Farafra Oasis. The site has different potential aspects for sustainable development; it has agricultural and industrial economic bases. The city center's area is designed to be about 5% of the city's area. The area of the industrial zone is about 22% of city area. This paper refers to the development of the city with a focus on the central and the industrial zones. The city center has the major managerial and commercial services. The industrial zone includes industrial areas as well as the major industrial education, training and managerial services. Renewable energy will be generated with different methods. This city will be the first step of development series opportunities in Egypt.

Marie-Pierr e A ubryDepartment of Geolo gical Sciences, Rutg ers Univer sity, 610 Taylor Road, Piscataway , Ne w J ersey 08554, USAW illiam A. Ber ggr enDepartment of Geolo gy and Geophysics, W oods Hole Oceano gr aphic Institution, W oods Hole , Massac hussetts 02543, USA, and Department of Geolo gical Sciences, Rutg ers Univer sity, 610 Taylor Road, Piscataway , Ne w J ersey 08554, USAJohn A. V an Couv eringMicr opaleontolo gy Pr ess, American Museum of Natur al History , Ne w York, Ne w York 10024, USAJason AliDepartment of Earth Sciences, Univer sity of Hong K ong , Pokfulam Road, Hong K ong , ChinaHenk BrinkhuisLabor atory of P alaeobotany and P alynolo gy , Univer sity of Utr ec ht, Budapestlaan 4, 3584 CD, Utr ec ht, The NetherlandsBenjamin CramerDennis V K ent*Carl C. Swisher , IIIDepartment of Geolo gical Sciences, Rutg ers Univer sity, 610 Taylor Road, Piscataway , Ne w J ersey 08554, USAChristian DupuisGŽolo gie F ondamentale et AppliquŽe , Mons P olytec hnics, Rue de Houdain, 9 B-7000 Mons, BelgiumPhilip. D . GingerichDepartment of Geolo gical Sciences and Museum of P aleontolo gy , Univer sity of Mic higan, Ann Arbor , Mic higan 48109Ð1079, USAClaus Heilmann-ClausenGeolo gisk Institut, Aarhus Univer sitet, DK-8000 Aarhus C, DenmarkChris KingDa vid J . W ardDepartment of Earth Sciences, Univer sity of Gr eenwic h, Chatham, K ent, UKRobert W .OOB. KnoxBritish Geolo gical Surve y, K eyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UKKhaled OudaDepartment of Geolo gy , Univer sity of Assiut, Assiut, 71516 EgyptLo well D . StottDepartment of Geolo gy , Univer sity of Southern California, Los Ang eles, California 90089Ð0740, USAMedard ThiryEcole des Mines de P aris, 35, rue Saint Honor Ž, 77305 F ontainebleau, F rance1

The Global Standard Stratotype-section (GSSP) for the Paleocene/Eocene (P/E) boundary has been selected in the Dababiya Quarry, near Luxor, at the base of a lithostratigraphic unit where the base of the so-called Carbon Isotope Excursion (CIE) is recorded. The Dababiya Quarry offers remarkable three-dimensional exposures of the Upper Paleocene-Lower Eocene succession in the Nile Valley which comprises the Tarawan Chalk, the Esna Shale and the Thebes Limestone. The horizon that constitutes the P/E GSSP is located in the lower part of the Esna Shale Formation. This formation, remarkably thick (similar to 130m) at Dababiya, is largely of homogenous gray shales. Its lower part includes, however, a thin lithostratigraphic unit in a typical succession of five characteristic beds that can be followed throughout Upper Egypt, and at the base of which the GSSP is defined. We formally describe this unit as the Dababiya Quarry Beds at the same time as we subdivide the Esna Shale Formation into three formal lithostratigraphic units. The Dababiya Quarry Beds constitute the lower part of Unit Esna 2. While we place emphasis on the description of the lithology, mineralogy, carbon isotope stratigraphy and paleontology of the Dababiya Beds, we provide a mineralogic and biostratigraphic framework for the whole exposure of Esna Shale at Dababiya that constitutes essentially a complete record from the base of calcareous nannofossil Zone NP9 to Zone NP11 and planktonic foraminiferal Zone P4 to P8. The carbon isotopic excursion, measured on organic matter is similar to3m thick and has an amplitude of similar to4%. The planktonic foraminiferal excursion taxa are sporadic and the distinct Discoaster araneus Rhomboaster spp. association is persistent throughout the CIE-interval. ispartof: Micropaleontology vol:49 issue:SUPPLEMENT 1 pages:41-59 status: published

The GSSP for the base of the Eocene Series is located at 1.58 m above the base of Section DBH in the Dababiya Quarry, on the east bank of the Nile River, about 35 km south of Luxor, Egypt. It is the base of Bed 1 of the Dababyia Quarry Beds of the El Mahmiya Member of the Esna Formation, interpreted as having recorded the basal inflection of the carbon isotope excursion (CIE), a prominent (3 to 5%) geochemical signature which is recorded in marine (deep and shallow) and terrestrial settings around the world. The Paleocene/Eocene boundary is thus truly a globally correlatable chronostratigraphic level. It may be correlated also on the basis of 1) the mass extinction of abyssal and bathyal benthic foraminifera (Stensioina beccariiformis microfauna), and reflected at shallower depths by a minor event; 2) the transient occurrence of the excursion taxa among the planktonic foraminifera (Acarinina africana, A. sibaiyaensis, Morozovella allisonensis); 3) the transient occurrence of the Rhomboaster spp. - Discoaster araneus (RD) assemblage; 4) an acme of the dinoflagellate Apectodinium complex. The GSSP-defined Paleocene/Eocene boundary is approximately 0.8 my older than the base of the standard Eocene Series as defined by the Ypresian Stage in epicontinental northwestern Europe.