Sedimentological and Mineralogical Caracterisation to Assess the Erodability of the Chichaoua Watershed (Morocco)

Abstract

Water erosion of soil is created by the uprooting and degradation of soil during runoff. Water erosion causes soil to move from upstream to downstream. This is certainly the case in the Chichaoua watershed. However, numerous human practices, mainly agricultural, can trigger and/or reinforce soil erosion. Our study includes a geotechnical characterization following a physico-chemical or mineralogical characterization of the samples taken from the Chichaoua basin. Analysis of the results of the various physical and mineralogical characteristics reveals that these samples are generally of coarse and fine sandy nature. These samples contain several minor elements. It is possible to determine the distribution of the various elements in each of the zones identified. Carbonates (calcites, dolomites) are variable in shape, rarely rhombohedral, with a transparent appearance. Silica grains are made up of quartz, subspherical in shape and filamentous in appearance, with a shiny vitreous appearance. The results of Fourier Transform Infrared (IR) analysis. These spectra identify the presence of Calcite, Dolomite and Silica in the samples studied. And finally, the results of our thin-slice studies show that igneous and metamorphic rocks constitute the upstream part of the Chichaoua watershed.