Detrital Chromian Spinel Geochemistry from Miocene Red Bed Sandstones of Northeastern Iraq: Implication for Provenance and Tectonic Setting

Abstract

The provenance and tectonic setting of clastic sediments present in the Miocene Red Bed Series located in northeastern Iraq were analyzed. The analysis is based on the composition of detrital chrome spinel and represents the first examination of this topic. The detrital chrome spinel exhibits Cr # (Cr/(Cr + Al)) values ranging from 0.54 to 0.77 and Mg # (Mg/(Mg + Fe2+)) values ranging from 0.37 to 0.69. This indicates a potential incorporation of ultramafic sources, possibly including peridotites (namely Harzburgite and Lherzolite precursors), within the supra-subduction zone. The analysis of modified Cr-spinels extracted from the Red Beds indicates that the source rocks underwent a process of metamorphism and that the Cr-spinel particles were surrounded by a magnetite rim. The Cr-spinel compositions of the examined samples are situated tectonically in the fore-arc setting of peridotite protoliths, except for a small number of samples that exhibit boninite affinity. The observed resemblance in the Cr-spinel number content between the examined specimens and the Zagros Ophiolite peridotites suggests that the Red Beds may have originated from the Cretaceous Mawat Ophiolite Complex. The deposition of Paleocene Walash-Naopurdan rocks indicates that the lower allochthon served as a source during this process. The tectonic context of the Red Bed Series suggests that the allochthonous terranes in the Mawat region were transported and obducted onto the northeastern Arabian passive margin in the early Miocene period. The deposition of the Red Bed Series occurred concurrently with the closure of the Neo-Tethys Ocean in the Miocene.