The provenance of Cretaceous to Quaternary sediments in the Tarfaya basin, SW Morocco: Evidence from trace element geochemistry and radiogenic Nd–Sr isotopes

• The Tarfaya basin sediments were deposited in a passive margin tectonic setting.
• The Tarfaya basin sediments were originated from felsic source rocks.
• The Tarfaya basin sediments demonstrate a change in provenance over time.

We present trace element compositions, rare earth elements (REEs) and radiogenic Nd–Sr isotope analyses of Cretaceous to recent sediments of the Tarfaya basin, SW Morocco, in order to identify tectonic setting, source rocks composition and sediments provenance. The results suggest that the sediments originate from heterogeneous source areas of the Reguibat Shield and the Mauritanides (West African Craton), as well as the western Anti-Atlas, which probably form the basement in this area. For interpreting the analyzed trace element results, we assume that elemental ratios such as La/Sc, Th/Sc, Cr/Th, Th/Co, La/Co and Eu/Eu∗ in the detrital silicate fraction of the sedimentary rocks behaved as a closed system during transport and cementation, which is justified by the consistency of all obtained results. The La/Y-Sc/Cr binary and La–Th–Sc ternary relationships suggest that the Tarfaya basin sediments were deposited in a passive margin setting. The trace element ratios of La/Sc, Th/Sc, Cr/Th and Th/Co indicate a felsic source. Moreover, chondrite-normalized REE patterns with light rare earth elements (LREE) enrichment, a flat heavy rare earth elements (HREE) and negative Eu anomalies can also be attributed to a felsic source for the Tarfaya basin sediments. The Nd isotope model ages (TDM = 2.0–2.2 Ga) of the Early Cretaceous sediments suggest that sediments were derived from the Eburnean terrain (Reguibat Shield). On the other hand, Late Cretaceous to Miocene–-Pliocene sediments show younger model ages (TDM = 1.8 Ga, on average) indicating an origin from both the Reguibat Shield and the western Anti-Atlas. In contrast, the southernmost studied Sebkha Aridal section (Oligocene to Miocene–Pliocene) yields older provenance ages (TDM = 2.5–2.6 Ga) indicating that these sediments were dominantly derived from the Archean terrain of the Reguibat Shield.