نشریه کواترنری ایران
پیاپی 19 (پاییز 1398)

 One of the processes of the Quaternary era is the glacial and interglacial periods. In the glacial period, loesses deposited and in the interglacial period, Paleosoils were formed. The northern part of Iran is geographically the same as countries such as China, a large part of which has been covered with loess sediments during the Pleistocene glacial period. Loess sediments in northern Iran reflect several cycles of climate changes and the evolution of the earthchr('39')s appearance for the middle to late Quaternary period. In this region, the Loes-Paleosoil sequences are one of the most important terrestrial archives of climate change and provide a bridge between Southeast European and Central Asian loess sediments. To reconstruct paleoclimate changes, magnetic susceptibility is used as a climate proxy. The high magnitude of the magnetic susceptibility indicates the large volume of magnetic minerals. Chemical weathering causes the formation of magnetic minerals such as magnetite and maghemitite. These minerals are abundant in Paleosoils and can be determined by analyzing the magnetic susceptibility of Loess and Paleosoils. The magnetic properties of the Loess-Paleosoil sequence are considered to be evidence of paleo precipitation and weathering.Study area Geographical location of Saadabad sedimentary section in the northern region is 36° 49chr('39') N and 54° 22chr('39') E, at an altitude of 140 m a.s.l. Saadabad sedimentary section is located in the construction zone of Alborz and in terms of the main sedimentary-structural zones of Iran is part of the southern Caspian coast. This zone includes areas, which are located in the north of Alborz fault and block the Caspian Sea coast on the coast of Iran and are covered to the east with thick layers of loess.

In the field work that was carried out in May 2017, after determining the exact location of the sedimentary section, sampling was performed. Before sampling, aerated sedimentary layers are dug up and removed to reveal fresh deposits. Then, using the meter, the layers were divided into 10 cm intervals. 92 samples were prepared at 10 cm intervals from the sequence. Measurement of natural residue magnetic (NRM), by the model rotating magnetometer (JR-6A), and measurement of magnetic susceptibility by magnetic intensity measuring device, in the magnetometry laboratory of the Geological Survey of Iran.

Table 1 shows the measured values of the magnetic parameters. Due to the length of the table, only a few examples are given in the table. Since high magnetic susceptibility can indicate a greater concentration of magnetic minerals in the sample, it can be concluded that the paleosils of the sequence studied have more magnetic materials than the loesses, which are inside the soils. They can be the result of podogenesis processes. Because rising temperatures and humidity cause soil erosion processes and increase oxidation and thus increase the amount of magnetic materials, it can be concluded that in paleosoils with higher magnetic susceptibility, warm and humid climates dominate in the environment. Micromorphological studies of directional clay layers, Fe-Mn hydroxide, show that the palaeosoil of section 5 is moderate to well developed. As the climate changes to higher temperatures and higher humidity, weathering and pedogenesis also increase, leading to the development of a pedogenic oxidation environment as a result this produce the formation of tiny magnetic grains such as maghemite and magnetite in this oxidizer environment and thus increases the magnetic susceptibility. In Saadabad, the high amount of xlf along with the high percentage of xfd suggests that many of the ultra-fine maghemite and magentite grains may have been formed during pedogenesis under a long, humid, warm climate. The findings show that the different behaviors of magnetic susceptibility between the loess of the drier and wetter areas are mainly caused by their different pathogenic environments, which in turn are related to local topography and climatic conditions.

High levels of xlf and xfd indicate high precipitation during the formation of Paleosoils. Post-sedimentation processes may increase the amount of MS by producing new ferromagnetic minerals during the oxidation of wheathered soils, and may also reduce the amount of MS by reducing the processes. The clay material in which the soil is made is the main factor influencing the change in magnetic mineralogy and magnetic susceptibility. This study also shows that magnetic susceptibility is a complex parameter and its use as a precipitation control has certain limitations and conditions, and when the magnetic properties of the loesses are used for paleo climate reconstruction, more attention should be paid to topography, environment. Sediment and weather factors.

Research on ancient and recent global environmental change has mainly been based on natural records, such as those preserved in ice cores, loess deposits, tree rings, corals, stalagmites, and deep-sea and lake sediments (Li et al, 2014). These records have been used to reconstruct the Earth’s past climate, environment, and ecological history (Zhou, 2006). However, in the arid and semi-arid desert regions that are an important part of Earth’s system, the difficulty in finding highresolution natural records has made research on environmental changes in these regions lag behind research in other areas (Xia, 2005). Nebkhas are fixed aeolian landform which are formed around Shrubs and trees in dry and semiarid areas as a result of the aggregation of aeolian sediments (Cooke et al, 1993). The unique developmental and depositional characteristics of nebkhas make them ideal carriers of proxies that can be used to study late-Holocene regional aeolian activity, the alternation between dry and wet conditions, hydrological characteristics, the ecological environment, and their evolution in arid and semi-arid desert regions (Wang et al, 2004; Hesp and Mclachlan, 2000; Wolf et al, 2000 )

In the first step, according to satellite google earth images and field observations an area with a dimension of 400 * 400 meters was specified. In the next step, the existing Nebkhas near the specified area whose vegetation was at least covering between 85 to 95 percent of the deposits were numbered. Then, through MATLAB and Random order, four Nebkhas were randomly selected. In the following stage morphometric parameters such as the height, width, Length, and the height of the Shrubs was measured. Afterwards, using field instruments, the nebkha selected for intensive analysis was excavated from its crest to its base, and sediments were sampled at 5-cm intervals throughout the profile. Overall, 79 samples from 4 Nebkhas were taken and transferred to the geomorphology laboratory for the purpose of determining organic matter and geain size of the sediments. To determine the grain size of the sediments hydrometric and granulometric methods were employed. The geain size results were analyzed in GRADISTAT4.0 and RockWorks software with Folk (1954) method. The measurement of organic matter in this study was done according to loss on ignition (LOI) method when the samples were heated at 550 °C for 2 h (Qiang et al, 2013).

The results of analyzing the organic matter of the Nebkhas’ sediments show that despite the fact the content of the organic matter during the formation of Nebkhas showed a significant change, the content of the organic matter of lower layers’ Nebkhas was higher compared to other layers, indicating a drier environmental condition after the formation of Nebkhas. The findings of the geain size of sediments show that although the threshold speed of past winds had some fluctuations in the studied area, in the upper layers of all Nebkahs a significant aggregation of higher than 250 micron sediments was observed. The findings obtained from the fluctuations of the relative speed of wind threshold based on the diameter of sediment particles in the studied area demonstrated that the size of different particles in the layers of Nebkhas of the studied area show the fluctuation of wind energy when the Nebkhas were formed.

The results of organic matter showed that in the initial stages of the formation of Nebkhas, the studied area had a suitable condition regarding the amount of water for the growth  Shrubs which cover Nebkhas but in the course of time the aridity level of the area increased. Moreover, the findings of geain size of the sediments suggested that the aggregation particles which were larger than 250 microns in the upper layers of the nebkhas was the result of human activities such as abandoning farm lands and withering of palm trees. As a result, the threshold speed decrease of wind erosion and deflation of larger particles has occurred in the studied area. In sum, the findings showed that the studied Nebkhas are relatively exact proxies which can provide us with significant insights with regard to environmental changes in the area.

Lake basins have spatially and temporally index patterns and represent valuable maps of physical and chemical history. According to this point, that direct survey of climate changes has only been available as machinery in the past few decades, so past’s climate changes indexes can give a better understanding of climate changes in the past era and its causes. Of these, lake sediments have an extraordinary ability to record climatic and environmental events with high sensitivity and resolution and very high- resolution amounts. Therefore, lake sediments can be considered as regions for detecting paleontological environments. Abzalou Lake formed in the northeast of Khuzestan province on the hillsides of folded Zagros and under the Izeh unit in a pit. This study has been tried to by sedimentary examination, identification of sedimentary facies, identification of sedimentary environments and changes of these environments set to the reformation the climatic and environmental conditions of Abzalou wetland in the end Holocene.

The steps of this research include book studies, field works, laboratory works, data processing and then interpretation and conclusion. To investigate the paleontological climate and conditions of the sedimentary environment, 8 intact sediment cores with a maximum depth of 7.5 m and total of 35 m collected with using Auger corer. In this regard, tried to the position of the core be in a way that makes it possible to collect the maximum thickness of wetland bed’s sediments, give maximum coverage to wetland’s sedimentary environments and at least collect one sample in each homogenization work unit as much as possible. Based on field observations, core’s description and lab results, the cores separated into sedimentary units and their stratigraphy columns drew and determined under each sedimentary unit. Also, 3 sediment samples sent to ETH Zürich Institute of geology to age/ date measurement analyzing by the radiocarbon method of organic matters.

in the studied cores, 8 major sedimentary facies identified. The facies often contains clay, silt, sand, gravel, and interstitial sediments along with vegetation and shell fossils which in most cases frequency and interference in the mentioned sediments are often seen. Changes were in particle size between clay to gravel due to process type changes, environmentchr('39')s energy and river inputchr('39')s amounts and sediment color variations concerning sedimentation conditions, presence of organic matter, pH amount, salinity and temperature variations, and drought occurrence, throughout the cores. Three wetland sedimentary, river and alluvial environments identified. According to the age measurement, the average sedimentation rate in the Abzalou wetland is 1.22 mm / year, which this amount is different for various depths. Due to the type of sediments, the Abzalou wetland has undergone human changes for about 600 - 500 years ago. The high water period of the Abzalou wetland has been established between 1800 and 500 years ago. The study of the facies bed sediments of the wetland shows that climate change occurred gradually (not suddenly) about 1800 years ago and this trend has taken at least 200 years. The relatively dry period lasted about 700 years from 2500 years to 1800 years ago and is confirmed with the reported dry periods in the Maharlou lake about 1800 years ago, in the Mir Abad lake about 1500 years ago and in the Urmia lake between 2500 and 1500 years ago. From 4400 years ago to about 2500 years ago, stable and slow wetland conditions prevailed. The conditions for creating a peatland environment have been provided in the wetland and were associated with increasing the amount of organic matter, vegetation and shell fossils and consequently increasing sedimentation rate. This period which lasted for about 1900 years, has been accompanied by extremely humid conditions, high groundwater level and activity of springs feeder in the region. The existence of light brown mud which has the age ranges from 4400 to 4700 years ago, indicates a dry period (300 years). This dry period shows suitable approximate conformity with a dry event of 4200 years ago in the northern hemisphere. This period in the studied region appeared with at least 200 years of temporal delay. After this dry period, we see again a gray sequence with plant and shell fossils that continue to a depth of 7 meters (about 5300 years ago). At depths of 7 to 7.5 m, the existence of brown-muddy sediments along with coarse-grained sediment in size of gravel, pebble and rubble, strengthen the possibility of very strong flood in the region that sent the coarse-grained sediments of around formation to bed of the wetland or maybe has hit to the area of wetland sediments bed in the region.

According to the results of surveys in the Abzalou wetland, at least 3 high water periods with humid climate and at least 2 dry periods during the Late Holocene were identified.  Dry periods appear more suddenly and with more intensity and shorter duration than humid periods in the region and gradually lead to from very dry periods to semi-arid, semi-humid, and eventually humid periods.

Seismicity is closely related to active Quaternary faults.This attracts many researchers to investigate the quantitative relationships between them. As a new parameter, FMP is defined to quantify earthquake risk.Iran is one of the most active areas of the world in terms of tectonic activities in the Alps-Himalayan belt. One of the characteristics of this belt includes the presence of thrust faults and associated folds along with the general trend of the belt - northwest - southeast as well as transverse faults with north, northwest - south southeast trend . Folded - Thrust Zagros as a part of the Alpine - Himalayan orogenic belt and one of the youngest and most active continental collision zones on earth, with a length of about 1500 km extending from the Tarsus Mountains in northeast Turkey to Minab fault in the northeast of Hormoz Island in southern Iran.the earthquake risk in Iran, especially in populated cities, is high and the high risk areas are located near Iranchr('39')s active faults in terms of earthquake events. earthquake is one of the natural disasters and has been a major threat to human being, over the past history. for this reason, man is always seeking a solution to reduce earthquake risk in earthquake-prone areas. The 180-km-long Glabaf fault system and the NNW-SSE overall Trend comprise several fault-stepped fault sections that have steep slopes (60 to 90 degrees) on both the east and west sides. The Gelbaf fault itself is part of a larger fault system, called the Neyband-Golbaf fault. It is a strike-slip fault system and forms the western margin of the Lut desert. In this paper, The Movement Potential Evaluation of the Active Faults of the Golbaf area is investigated based on the relationship between the geometric properties of the fault and the Regional tectonic stress field region. The parameters examined for the active faults and the ratio of the range of possible movement has been obtained. The results of this method show high compatibility with past seismic records, therefore, this theoretical model is based on the relations between the geometrical properties of faults and the Regional tectonic stress field of dominant dominance, to assess the activity of a seismic fault in terms of different criteria have been proposed. In the empirical investigations, there are various estimates for the longitudinal selection of the part of the fault that the movement recovers for each tectonic seismic zone. The problem with these estimates is the lack of sufficient data available for different states tectonic in Iran. There are also various empirical equations for the relationship between seismic fault length and fault length. One drawback of these empirical equations is the failure to pay attention to the mechanism of the faults, Therefore, the relationship created is for the large region, which will cause an error in seismic power calculation. These points have been applied in some equations, and factors such as cumulative fault accumulation, morph faults geometrical , location tectonic region and seismic features of each area should not be overlooked. In this study, the possibility of faults future movement based on the relationship between the maximum axis of tectonic stress and fault geometry and then the estimation of FMP variable for seismic probability in the surrounding of major and active faults in the studied area was evaluated.

How to calculate the maximum calculated stress is that it draws calculation to the seams conjugate harvested and Schmidt network, the maximum stress in the region studied was calculated and after the structural impressions at  18 Section, the equations of this model were used. Using the inversion method, the main maximum stress is calculated as the regional stress in each section and is embedded in the equations.

In order to properly analyze the study area, The Movement Potential Evaluation of each active fault was calculated in these sections.

According to the Movement Potential Evaluation of the Active Faults  values of Golbaf and Shahdad faults, the Golbaf fault is introduced as a young fault in the study area. Regarding the obtained values, it can be analyzed that, in view of the high epicenters of earthquakes occurring in the northwest and southwest of the area, a tension aggregation in a large area in a perpendicular direction to the north-east-south-east trend of not expecting.

Geoarchaeology is defined as the application of geological concepts and methods to solve archaeological research questions (Butzer, 1971, 1982; Waters, 1992; Pollard, 1999; Goldberg and Macphail, 2006).Urban geoarchaeology is focused on site accumulation, collapse, weathering and erosion, These may document settlement growth and decay, as well as environmental history, posing a multidisciplinary challenge of interactive and fluctuating processes (Butzer et al., 2013). The purpose of this research is to reconstruct paleo-environment of the area to investigate the rich culture in a place as capital of Ilam Majesty and their relations of the people with their natural environment.

In a sampling of the ancient site of Tal-e Malyan (Anshan), Fars province, for reconstruction of its environmental conditions, we have collected a total of 140 samples from 22 transects. The sampling was based on the changes in layer and color of the deposits, in every 20 cm in cases with gradual color change. To determine the texture of the sediments, the samples were dried at 105 ° C for one night. The particle size larger than 2 mm was considered to separate gravel and sand using a Shaker machine. Smaller particles were also read 9 times for separation of silt and clay and sand using hydrometric and ASTM Standards. The amount of organic matter in the sediments (10-20 g) was determined by thermal loss method. The samples were initially dried at 105 ° C and then weighed and heated in a furnace at 450 ° C for 4.5 hours to calculate their weight and organic matter. Soil chemistry measurements were performed using distilled water and soil sample. To measure soil acidity and salinity, 30 grams of each sample was taken. After preparation, the samples were measured by pH meter. In this study, for XRF analysis 72 samples were delivered to the laboratory of the Institute for Conservation and Restoration of Historical and Cultural Works. The elements were measured using X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy Model 8420.The study area is located in Fars Province, 46 km from northwest Shiraz. The Ilam civilization had two capital settlements in south and southwest parts of Iran, Shoosh in Khuzestan and Anshan in Fars. The Anshan was the greatest urban center, more than 200 hectares in area, with a population of 16000 people in Beyza plain. The Tal-e Malyan is located in N and  E. Kor River is the most essential hydrographic network in the area.
 Results and discussion

According to the results of the study, the soil texture is mostly fine-grained and in some transects, such as 18 and 9, it is mainly composed of coarse-grained sediments related to river deposits. The orientation of the deposition in transect 18 is West-Northeast and in transect 9 is West-East. Most of the flooding evidence and texture were observed in transects 18 and 9 in the northeast and southern parts of the area. Among the flood deposits and debris, we identified evidence of pottery confirming that there were settlements in Tal-e Malyan at the time of drainage, but later they reached their final extent.According to the results of the oxidation-reduction diagram, the natural and cultural samples are mainly classified into three groups of hydromorphic soils, calcareous soils and sodium soils. The superiority of the hydromorphic soils indicates that the Tal-e Malyan (Anshan) site has been affected seasonally by groundwater. In general, transects on the east side of the site are more affected by groundwater and this can be testified by the light gray color of the sediments.

In this study, using physical and chemical properties, we reconstructed environmental conditions of Tal-e Malyan (Anshan) area. Given the location of the site on the plain and the activity of drainage networks originating from the western highlands, the area has always been affected by the fluvial processes. Based on the texture characteristics, the drainage network in transect 18 is located in northeast of the area and the more recent drainage is located in the transect 9 in northeast. The northern part of the drainage network appears to be older and deposited in the lower layers where fluvial sediments were deposited in a shallow lake environment, in northeast part. This claim can be affirmed by the existence of light gray sediments with ammonites and bivalve layers, and the absence of cultural layers in the eastern parts. According to archaeological experts, the northern part of the site was likely settlement for nomadic tribes and the highlands of the southern areas of the region were perennial settlement. The drainage network in the southern part next to the south wall indicates newer fluvial sedimentation with good sorting that can be attributed to the inner channel environment. The sedimentation of this transect represents a general western-eastern orientation consistent with the overall pattern of drainage network on surface of the site.

The gravity method measures the vertical component of the acceleration at the Earth’s surface. The earth’s gravity field is affected by the density of different rocks and structures. Therefore, this method can be used in mineral exploration or studying the subsurface cavities and structures such as bedrocks, channels, and dikes.Inverse modeling is useful in understanding the physical phenomena on earth and applies to various fields of earth science, including geophysical exploration, groundwater hydrology, and seismology. In forward modeling, we assume that all physical parameters are known, and various models can be simulated through physical laws and scientific relationships. Despite the direct measuring of unknown parameters in inverse modeling, we would like to know their spatial distribution.Recognition of bedrock depth and geometry in aquifers, is the first stage of groundwater investigation. Geophysical methods play a significant role in the investigation of aquifers because they are the only way to detect deep subsurface structures at much lower costs than the most direct methods like drilling. Due to the complexity of alluvial sediments in terms of type and grading as well as difference between type and depth of bedrock, geophysical modeling approach and achieving the expected result are very important. Undetermined inverse problems that the unknown parameters are more than the measured values, can be solved using problem physics in the partial differential equation (PDE) system. Inverse modeling is one of the useful solutions to create a logical model with relationships between observed and measured values.

In this research, a template is presented to solve undetermined inverse problems using COMSOL multiphysics’ optimization that can be used in modelling a wide range of physical systems governed by the partial differential equation laws. The results indicated that this method, while high in computational speed, can accurately discriminate between low-density contrast regions and the background. Flexible and fast processing is an advantage of this method.

In this paper, gravity forward modeling will be implemented by solving Poisson’s equations with the appropriate boundary conditions, and then a methodology is presented for solving gravity inversion problems using COMSOL Multiphysics. COMSOL multiphysics does not include a gravity calculation module. However, since gravity and electrostatics are both governed by Poisson’s equation, a gravity model can be created in the electrostatics module by changing the electrical permittivity value.In inverse problems, if the number of unknown parameters is more than that of measurement values, the inverse problem is called underdetermined. The objective function for an underground inverse problem is the sum of a fitness and penalty term: The first term is equivalent to a weighted data-fitting criterion, and the second term measures the smoothness of the field relative to the given variogram. The penalty term distinguishes between solutions with comparable fitness values in problems where the number of parameters, exceeds the number of measurement values.We will apply this technique to a 2D synthetic gravity model using the AC/DC module of COMSOL. In the gravity field, a common inverse problem is estimating the density of subsurface structure givenmeasurements from the vertical component of gravitational acceleration. First of all, 2D inversion of gravity data has been run and validated in COMSOL software using some synthetic models and synthetic data in a forward modeling process. Afterwards, using real gravity data surveyed along two cross-sections in a part of Qotrum plain, the bedrock lateral structure was estimated and inverted density values cross-correlated with existing well logs.

Undetermined inverse problems in which the unknown parameters are more than the measured values can be solved using problem physics in the partial differential equation (PDE) system. This research, presented a template to solve undetermined inverse problems of 2D gravity data using COMSOL multiphysics’ optimization applying in 2D or 3D modeling of a wide range of different underdetermined inverse geophysical problems. Despite the most inversion codes designed for a particular application, this method applies to a broad range of physical systems governed by PDEs.The main benefit of COMSOL for solving inverse problems is that, once a user is comfortable with the software, it can solve a wide range of physical problems. Additionally, COMSOL’s ‘‘Multiphysics’’ capabilities allow coupling intrinsically to several physical equations.

In theory, the bulk composition of the sediment may provide a way of determining the provenance of this material if there is sufficient diversity in the bedrock compositions. However, sediment compositions may be changed from the original bedrock as a result of transport and chemical weathering. The geochemistry of bedload and suspended sediments has been used by many workers to determine the provenance, weathering, and tectonics of several river basins. Geochemical studies of sediments of aquatic bodies such as rivers can be an effective step to find sediment source, elements distribution pattern and climatic conditions at the time of formation of cementitious carbonates between gravelly sediments and riverine sands.

In this study, 16 samples were collected from different sites of the study profile in one of the main tributaries of Saqqez River to geochemistry studies of river sediments, cement carbonates and paleosols horizons of the river. The samples include 2 samples of pedogenic carbonate horizon, 7 samples of paleosols horizon (fine-grained alluvial sediments affected by pedogenic processes), 2 samples of coarse-grained alluvial unconsolidated sediments, 4 samples of alluvial consolidated sediments (conglomerate) and one sample of basaltic bedrock. After crushing the samples, for alluvial samples (conglomerates), their carbonates were separated by binocular microscope; then processing the samples in laboratory, they were all filtered to less than 63 microns (screening at 200 meshes); the samples were further sent to Actlabs Laboratory, Canada, for ICP-MS analysis and 4-acid digestion (Ut4).

The graph for transition metals shows that carbonate cements in conglomerate sediments as well as pedogenic carbonates (paleosols horizon) have a small amount of these elements; only Zn and Cu have been reported in one sample. But for other samples, the amount of reported transition metals, especially Ni, is higher. The basaltic andesite bedrock has similar geochemical properties with pedogenic alluvial sediment samples in terms of transition metals. The elements of Zr, Hf, Nb, Mo and W are part of the HFS (high-field intensity) elements reported in the geochemistry analysis; in the case of carbonate cement samples, conglomerate sediments have higher Mo than another element. This is most abundant in pedogenic alluvial sediment samples including Zr and then Mo. The basaltic andesite bedrock in terms of HFS elements, such as basic elements and transition metals, exhibits geochemical properties similar to pedogenic alluvial sediments. Geochemistry analyzes reported for alkaline earth elements indicates that carbonate samples (pedogenic and cement carbonate) contain a small amount of these elements. Whereas the abundance of alkali elements is more in alluvial sediment samples; the elements of Sr, Cs, Ba and Li have been reported in these samples. The geochemical properties of the basaltic andesite bedrock sample in term of alkali elements are similar to the pedogenic alluvial sediment samples; however, the Sr and Ba values ​​in bedrock have been reported more than other samples due to the absence of leaching the elements in the bedrock sample. Geochemistry analyzes of rare earth elements show that carbonate cement samples of conglomerate sediments generally contain small amounts of La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Yb, Lu and Eu; pedogenic carbonate samples is also contains a small amount of these rare earth elements. In alluvial sedimentary samples affected by pedogenic and pedogenic carbonate samples, the amounts of these elements increased and Nd, Eu and La were most abundant. In relation to heavy metals and actinides, elements of Tl, Pb, Th, U and Bi have been reported; conglomerate sediments with higher carbonate cement content large amounts of the element Pb. In pedogenic carbonates, the elements U and Bi are slightly higher than other elements. In the case of alluvial sediments affected by pedogenic and paleosols, the amount of heavy metals is approximately the same. The geochemical report of heavy metal elements in the basaltic andesite bedrock sample are similar to those of the pedogenic affected sediments, except that the bedrock has a smaller number of elements, especially Bi and Tl.

One of the major element ratios is (K+Na) / Al that the average of this index in the 11 studied samples is equal to 0.35, which is very low and indicating low salinity of the studied samples. Leaching was another ratio of tracer element using Ba/Sr; the mean of this indicator was 0.74 for the 11 investigated samples. Higher values of this, ​​indicate more leaching because Sr is significantly more soluble than Ba ​​and is more easily washed under most conditions. According to the calculated average for this index in the studied samples of the paleosols profile of Saqqez River basin, the Sr content in the samples was higher than Ba ​​and the leaching is less frequent in this profile. Acidification is another ratio of trace element that uses La/Ce, Sm/Nd or U/Th ratios. The CIA, CIW and ƩBases/Al indices have been used to understand the weathering intensity in the paleosols profile of the Saqqez River basin based on pedogenic alluvial sediment samples. The average CIA calculated for the 9 samples under study is 66.5; this value is similar to the CIA of Alfisol-like paleosols (Argillisols) on tholeiitic basalts of the Columbia River Flood Basalt group under temperate conditions gave rise to B horizon CIA values of 60–70 ᵒC. The mean of ƩBases/Al index is 0.96 in the samples collected from the paleosols horizon. Given a value of 0.5 of the Bases/Al ratios, which is a statistically significant dividing line between alfisol (>0.5; dystric Argillisols) and Ultisol (<0.5; eutric Argillisols), the paleosols horizon or alluvial sediment affected by pedogenic processes, is similar to aliphosols. Based on weathering indices derived from geochemical element ratios in pedogenic-influenced alluvial sediment samples, the calculated average of CIA was 66.5 for the 9 samples, which is similar to CIA of Alfisol-like (Argillisols) and Histosol-like paleosols.