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Description
The Libyan Fazzan region provides fossil sand dune samples from the Zarzur Formation. The dataset includes magnetostratigraphy dating, particle size, surface micromorphology, sand provenance, and heavy mineral data across 9 Excel sheets. Mark W Hounslow authored this 1.1 MB dataset, last updated in May 2026.
Use Cases
Dating fossil dune formations based on magnetostratigraphy data.
Comparing sediment characteristics between ancient and modern dunes based on particle size and surface micromorphology.
Analyzing sand provenance and maturity based on heavy mineral and XRF datasets.
Studying paleoenvironmental conditions from magnetic fabric and grain orientation data.
Strengths
Data is organized into 9 distinct Excel sheets covering multiple analytical methods.
Includes comparative data from modern dunes and a cited 1979 source (Ahlbrandt).
Released under a permissive CC-BY-4.0 license for reuse.
Limitations
Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
Provenance
Source
figshare
Collection Method
Field sampling and laboratory analysis including magnetostratigraphy, XRF, and particle size measurement.
Freshness
Last updated 2026-05-18 19:23:46; freshness should be verified.
Geography
Northern Fazzan, Libyan Sahara, fringing the Awbari Sand Sea.
Requires software capable of reading XLS format; data is contained within a single 1.1 MB Excel file.