Cathodoluminescence investigations on quartz cement in the sandstones of Khabour Formation from Iraqi Kurdistan Region, Northern Iraq.

Highlights: [•] The Ordovician Khabour Formation is the oldest exposed rock unit in Iraq. [•] Its sandstones are characterized silica cementation. [•] Five quartz cement phases are recognized by using SEM-CL. [•] Biogenic silica, pressure solution and hydrothermal fluids were major sources for successive quartz cement phases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]