Major, Trace, and Rare Earth Elements Geochemistry of the Upper Miocene Injana Formation Sandstone, Northern Iraq: Provenance, Paleoclimate and Palaeoweathering

Al-Maadhidi, Anwaar S.; Alkhafaji, Mohamed W.; Kadhim, Lefta S.

doi:10.33899/earth.2024.143982.1162

	Major, Trace, and Rare Earth Elements Geochemistry of the Upper Miocene Injana Formation Sandstone, Northern Iraq: Provenance, Paleoclimate and Palaeoweathering
Iraqi National Journal of Earth Science (INJES)
Article 15, Volume 25, Issue 2 - Serial Number 1, April 2025, Pages 177-198 PDF (866.03 K)
Document Type: Research Paper
DOI: 10.33899/earth.2024.143982.1162
Authors
Anwaar S. Al-Maadhidi¹; Mohamed W. Alkhafaji^* ²; Lefta S. Kadhim²
¹Department of Geology, College of Science, University of Kirkuk, Kirkuk, Iraq.
²Applied Geology Department, College of Science, University of Tikrit, Tikrit, Iraq.
Abstract
To determine the provenance, paleoclimate and palaeoweathering of the Upper Miocene sandstones of the Injana Formation, 12 sandstone samples from two sites (Mirawa and Degala) in Erbil Governorate, northern Iraq are investigated. Major, trace, and rare earth elements are measured using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The elemental concentrations and ratios of the studied sandstones indicate their sources from intermediate to mafic igneous rocks. All the chondrite-normalized REEs samples are similar and exhibit a minor enrichment of light rare-earth elements (LREE) in comparison to the heavy rare earth elements (HREE) with a negligible negative europium (Eu) anomaly. The low to moderate values of the plagioclase index of alteration (PIA), chemical index of alteration (CIA), high values of index of compositional variability (ICV > 1), and the A-CN-K plot, all indicate a low to moderate chemically weathered source area. Palaeoclimatic information can be provided using the plot of the SiO₂ versus (Al₂O₃+Na₂O + K₂O) indicating that the deposition of Injana sandstones has occurred under fluctuated climate between arid to semi-arid.
Keywords
Injana Formation; Provenance; Paleoclimate; Plaeoweathering; REE

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