This study documents the concentrations of rare earth elements (REEs) in an acidic fresh groundwater of a coastal plain sand aquifer in south-eastern Nigeria. The aim was mainly to determine the concentrations, patterns, and probable source of REEs and to compare the REE data with reported concentrations in the literature for other areas. The results show that the concentrations of the sum of the REEs are generally less than the values in the literature for some natural fresh groundwaters, saline groundwaters and contaminated waters. The groundwaters are enriched in the middle REEs (MREEs) compared to the light REEs (LREEs) and heavy REEs (HREEs). The enrichment is attributed to secondary Al-rich mineral phases associated with the aquifer and dissolution by acidic water of Fe rich inorganic particulates and/or Fe-rich surface coating on particulates. The source of the REE signatures is related to the rocks of the adjoining areas based on similar Ce anomaly pattern in the groundwater and the source rocks.
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