Abstract
<jats:p>The High Field Strength Elements (HFSE), due to their relatively low mobility in the majority of sedimentary processes, are among the most suitable elements for provenance studies, as they permit collecting information on the parent material. Therefore, the distribution of the mass fractions of two incompatible elements (Co and Ni) and 13 HFSE (Sc, Zr, La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb, Tm, Yb, Hf, Th, and U) in unconsolidated sediments belonging to two different river systems, i.e., the Egyptian sector of the Nile River and the Tadjik sector of the Zarafshon River, evidences similarities and dissimilarities between the sedimentary materials and their correlation with the local geochemistry. The Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) in its Epithermal variant was used. In total, 38 and 29 samples of unconsolidated sediments were collected along the Nile and the Zarafshon rivers. In the great majority, the distribution functions of the mass fractions were not normal, as Shapiro–Wilk, Anderson–Darling, Lilliefors, and Jarque–Bera ANOVA tests proved. More discriminating bi-plots and ternary diagrams permitted a better comparison between the distribution functions of the considered elements. All of them showed, for both types of sedimentary material, a relative similarity with the less recycled felsic type of rocks. Despite this, a further detailed analysis revealed systematic differences between the two sediment categories, suggesting that the Nile sediments have been influenced by the mafic material transported from the basalt-rich plateaus of Ethiopia via the Blue Nile.</jats:p>