Provenance and depositional setting of the Late Miocene- Pleistocene clastic sediments in the eastern Arabian Peninsula and western Iraq using rare earth elements geochemistry

Abstract

The sandstones of the Late miocene–Pliocene Dibdibba Formation in the Najaf–Karbala Plateau and Basra were examined to determine their source rocks and origin. The rare earth elements (REE) and trace elements (Sc, Co, V, and Th) concentrations in these sandstones revealed that they likely derived from a single source. The steep light rare earth elements (LREE) and flat, heavy rare earth element (HREE) patterns, negative Eu anomaly, and high ΣREE contents in sandstones suggest its derivation from a suggests that a passive continental margin environment and originated from felsic source rocks. The average concentration of ΣREE is 93.5 ppm, which is lower than that of the average crustal compositions like Upper Continental Crust and Post Archean Australian Shale. The higher proportion of LREE compared to HREE implies that these sandstones were recycled and derived from a distal source. The Th/Co, Th/Sc, La/Sc, La/Co, Eu/Eu* and (La/Lu)cn elemental ratios indicated that these Late Miocene–Pliocene sandstones were derived from felsic rocks located in the marginal region of the Arabian Shield.