الفهرس 
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Abstract
The present study was carried out to assess the levels of heavy metals and to evaluate the potential effects of human activities and natural occurrences on aquatic sediments. Twenty-five marine sediment samples from the northern area of the Gulf of Suez were collected and analyzed using different analytical techniques. Grain size analysis was performed, and the results showed that sand fractions were the main fraction in Gulf of Suez sediments. The coarse and medium sand fractions have wide distribution with variable ratios of silt and clay fractions. Source of sediment, mode of transportation and accumulation mechanism of Gulf of Suez are also suggested by applying a detailed sedimentary texture study and using applications. Correlation matrix (CM) diagram, bivariate diagram and multivariant linear discriminant functions were used for the determination of transportation mode and accumulation mechanism. The results indicated that studied sediments are subjected to a high-energy transporting agent and the deposition takes place by rolling and saltation. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and dendrogram were also used to classify the studied sites into three main categories and five clusters according to metal concentration, sources, and sediment features. ArcGIS technique was used to interpolate the obtained data to create spatial distribution maps. Metal Pollution Index (MPI), Geo-Accumulation Index (Igeo), Enrichment Factor (EF), Contamination Factor (CF), Contamination degree (CD), Modified degree of contamination (mCD), Pollution Load Index (PLI) and Potential Ecological Risk Indexes (Er and RI) were utilized for ecological assessment. The used indices indicate that the sediments of the Gulf of Suez are varied from unpolluted to low polluted (northward). The recorded values of the studied metals in sediments were lower than the levels of the corresponding consensus-based Threshold Effect Level (TEL), Probable Effect Level (PEL), Effect Range Level (ERL), and Effect Range Median (ERM).