During the Palaeocene and Eocene Epochs (65.5–33.9 Ma) the Earth experienced the warmest conditions of the Cenozoic. This Palaeogene greenhouse episode is characterized by several short-lived negative carbon isotope (δ ¹³ C) excursions, which are usually interpreted as transient warming events (‘hyperthermals') as indicated by rising temperatures of surface and bottom waters, and accompanied carbonate dissolution in deep-sea settings. Among these events, the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, c . 55.5 Ma) is globally the best documented and most prominent. Further negative δ ¹³ C anomalies have recently been identified in the Eocene, but the early to middle Palaeocene has mostly been neglected. Here, benthic foraminiferal δ ¹³ C records are presented from four upper Danian–lower Selandian sections in the Nile Basin (eastern Egypt). All records show a negative δ ¹³ C shift with an amplitude of up to 2‰ at the base of planktonic foraminiferal subzone P3b ( c . 61 Ma). The supra-regional nature of this event is emphasized by correlation with a well-dated, similar δ ¹³ C record from Zumaia (Spain). Lithological changes, the δ ¹³ C signature and biotic responses strongly resemble those of the PETM in Egypt, which leads to the hypothesis that this ‘Latest Danian Event' (LDE) may represent another early Palaeocene hyperthermal.

The Yanbu industrial city along the Red Sea coast includes industries associated with crude oil and natural gas production and refining and support industries that produce manufactured goods for domestic and/or internal consumption. This study investigates the potential environmental impact and the possible sources of heavy metals (HMs), and it evaluates the quality of coastal surface seawater in the vicinity of Yanbu, along the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia. Thirty seawater samples have been collected and analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) in order to determine the concentration values of Fe, Cr, Pb, Sb, Mn, Cu, Zn, Al, Ni, As, Cd, Co, and Hg. Reported HMs averages (μg/L) are in the following sequence: Ni (4.424) > As (4.297) > Cu (2.447) > Zn (1.667) > Al (1.133) > Fe (0.983) > Cr (0.723) > Mn (0.328) > Cd (0.309) > Pb (0.276) > Sb (0.238) > Co (0.144) > Hg (0.058). The contamination index (Cd) showed low contamination levels in all of the analyzed samples, whereas the index of heavy metal pollution (HPI) revealed medium contamination levels in 28 samples and low levels in two samples. Reported high HMs variations within samples are attributed to the multiplication of sources. The statistical analyses indicated anthropogenic sources for Cd, Co, Hg, Zn, and Ni, which may have originated from industrial, farming, or fishing activities around Yanbu city, while the remaining metals might be originated from combined lithogenic and human sources.