Tracing provenance and chemical weathering changes in Ankara Stream sediments, central Turkey: Geochemical and Sr–Nd–Pb–O isotopic evidence

This study aims to analyze the changes in sediment provenance through the geochemical and Sr–Nd–Pb–O isotopic composition of the Ankara Stream bed and overbank sediments (ASBS and ASOS) and to examine the weathering and sediment transport processes in response to step climate variability. Major, trace, and rare earth elements, as well as Sr–Nd–Pb–O isotopic composition, exhibit generally similar variations for the investigated samples. These sediments have relatively high εNd(0) values and low 87Sr/86Sr ratios. Similar Pb isotopic ratios also characterize these sediments but have slightly different δ18O isotope values with relatively higher δ18O isotope values in the ASBS and lower δ18O isotope values in the ASOS samples. Chemical indices indicate low–moderate chemical weathering in the step-dominated climate. The low average Zr/Sc and Zr/Nb ratios indicate that such geochemical change was dominated by the composition of the source rocks but not sedimentary recycling with zircon enrichment, reflecting first-cycle deposit. Low radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr ratios and negative εNd(0) values indicate that the investigated sediments are relatively derived from young magmatic provinces, which are intermediate sources. Finally, the findings show that the geochemical compositions of the ASBS and ASOS were dominated by the composition of the source materials that originate from Galatia province and Late Cretaceous- Early Tertiary volcanic rocks in central Anatolia. Reasonable semiarid to arid climatic conditions are observed in the region. Active tectonism, increased erosion, and the investigated sediments are also transported rapidly to the stream channel without chemical alteration, and the sediments are the first-cycle products.