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Geochemical signatures of provenance, chemical weathering, and tectonic setting in the Greater Zab River sediments, Iraqi Kurdistan Region

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Abstract

Active sediments along a 90 km section of Greater Zab River (GZR) in Kurdistan Region/ Iraq were analyzed for their major, trace, and rare earth elements contents to investigate their provenance, weathering at the source area, and tectonic setting. The enrichment of sediments with transition elements (Co, Cr, and Ni), the bivariate (Zr/Sc vs Th/Sc, K2O vs Rb, and Al2O3/TiO2 vs SiO2adj) plots, and elemental ratios (Th/Sc, Th/Co, Th/Cr, La/Sc, and Eu/Eu*) suggest the GZR sediments are derived from basic igneous rocks. However, the Al2O3/TiO2 ratio, bivariate TiO2 vs Zr, and chondrite-normalized patterns (enriched with LREE and small negative Eu anomalies) suggest some contribution of intermediate and felsic rock sources of the upper continental crust. The weathering indices (CIA and PIA) and the A-CN-K ternary diagram indicate a weak degree of weathering for the source materials. Th/U and Rb/Sr ratios of the stream sediments also suggest a low degree of weathering. Low CIA reflects limited or the near absence of chemical alteration and thus indicates arid and/or cool conditions. The Index of Compositional Variability (ICV) indicates very low compositional maturity. Tectonic discrimination diagrams log (K2O/Na2O) vs SiO2/Al2O3 ratios, log (K2O/Na2O) vs SiO2, and La-Th-Sc ternary diagram indicate the studied sediments plot in the oceanic and continental island arc. These tectonic settings are consistent with the northeastern tectonically active uplands closely associated with the subduction zone of the colliding Arabian and Iranian Plates.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. Hikmat S. Mustafa, Dr. Dilshad O. Ali, and Miss Baran Hassan Mustafa at the Department of Geology/ Salahaddin University for their support during the fieldwork. We would like to thank an anonymous reviewer who offered critical comments which helped us to improve our presentation.

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  1. Department of Geology, Salahaddin University, Salahaddin, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

    Rand Haiman Kafy & Faraj Habeeb Tobia

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Kafy, R.H., Tobia, F.H. Geochemical signatures of provenance, chemical weathering, and tectonic setting in the Greater Zab River sediments, Iraqi Kurdistan Region. Arab J Geosci 15, 1556 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-022-10823-x

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