Paleomagnetic evidence for non-apenninic origin of the sila nappes (Calabria)

The magnetization of Lower Permian rocks from Sila has a mean direction D = 56.5°, I= +20.4° with ₉₅ = 9.1° after correction for Upper Neogene tilting. A further correction for the attitude of the nappes after their Middle Miocene emplacement establishes paleolatitudes consistent with those from the Lower Permian Tethys. The remarkable internal consistency of the data has not supported the distinction of units with opposite vergences within the Sila crystalline nappes. The declination indicates that the Sila massif has rotated counter-clockwise by about 90° relative to the Apennines, Sardinia and the Southern Alps and therefore the well-known Apenninic rotation alone does not account for the total change of direction in tectonic transport. Accordingly, the structural trends of tectonic phases older than the emplacement time of the Calabrian nappes should no longer be referred to present-day geographic coordinates. The post-Late Cretaceous motion relative to the north Calabrian Apennines enhances the geotectonic role of the northern boundary of the Calabrian—Peloritan arc, since its sinistral-shear character permits both tectonic transport from the west and counter-clockwise motion during tectonic transport.     

The geophysical exploration of the upper crust from the Ligurian coast to the northern margin of the Po Valley: Problems and results

The available geophysical data are assembled and compared along an average profile that runs northwards from the Ligurian coast near Genoa, crossing the Apennines and the Po Basin and reaching the region of the Lombardian lakes. The main objective of this survey is a contribution to the knowledge of the structure of the upper crust in the transitional area from the Ligurian to the Padanian-Adriatic crust and its relationship both with the shallow geological features and with the lower crust. Gravity and aeromagnetic anomalies along several S-N profiles are compared with the results of seismic surveys. The latter are of variable type and reliability: while the Po Basin has been intensively explored by a dense network of commercial near-vertical profiles (NVR), only some wide-angle lines (WAR) are available across the Apennines. The constraints of both seismic techniques are described as well as the difficulties of comparing the different sets of data gathered in various geological settings. Difficulties involved in geophysical exploration under a thick chaotic overburden, like the one found in the Apenninic range, are also stressed.The integrated profile supports the evidence of a sharp discontinuity both in the upper and in the lower crust between the Ligurian and the Adriatic domains.     

Potential evidence for slab detachment from the flexural backstripping of a foredeep: Insight on the evolution of the Pescara basin (Italy)

The discrepancy between the size of the Apenninic chain and the depth of the Adriatic foredeep is investigated using 2D flexural backstripping on well‐constrained depth‐converted cross‐sections in the Pescara basin (Central Italy). The procedure consisted of removal, uplift, unfolding and unfaulting of the Pliocene–Pleistocene foreland deposits to produce a palaeogeographic map of the basin at the end of the Messinian and to constrain sedimentary rates since the Miocene. Results are found to support the contribution of an external load to the foreland evolution together with the Apenninic chain load. The interplay of the two types of loads resulted in spatial and temporal variations of the foredeep evolution that are quantified by palaeogeographic maps and sedimentation rates obtained through backstripping. Results are interpreted as representing the effects of a southward‐migrating wave linked to slab detachment beneath the Adriatic foredeep. This procedure can be useful to investigate similar problems on other chains worldwide.     

The collisional knot in Liguria

A series of 8 new seismic refraction profiles were computed as extensions of the borehole controlled reflection profiles of the Po plain into the northern Apennines and the Ligurian Alps. They help to more clearly define the subsurface structure of this intricate ‘Ligurian knot’. In particular, it has been possible to identify a number of high velocity bodies, and they may be correlated with such geological entities as the Adriatic Mesozoic, ophiolites of the Apenninic Liguride nappes, and ophiolites or Mesozoic carbonates underlying the Antola flysch in the Alpine part of the knot. When combining the refraction and reflection lines, these bodies appear to be bounded by important dislocation surfaces, such as the Padanide sole thrust (Plio-Pleistocene), the Villalvernia Varzi line (Oligo-Miocene), the Ottone-Levanto line (Oligo-Miocene), and the Volpedo-Valle Salimbene fault (Oligo-Miocene; reactivated as a transfer fault in the Plio-Pleistocene). The 3D geometry may be interpreted in terms of regional kinematics and is compatible with a model that envisages an Oligo-Early Miocene NW translation of the Adriatic indenter, coupled with collapse in the Provençal-Ligurian sea and rotation of the Sardinia-Liguria complex into the roll-back of the Adriatic subduction zone. The refraction interpretations, extending to a depth of 15 km, are supplemented by data on the Moho configuration obtained for the European Geotraverse. The Moho appears to be dissected into a series of patches which may be interpreted in terms of the shallow crustal configuration and its history. In particular, the deepest patch appears to be terminated by the Volpedo-Valle Salimbene fault, which consequently would displace the entire crust.     

The Romagna Apennines,Italy: an eroded duplex

The study of clast composition carried out on the alluvial gravels of the Romagna Apennines of northern Italy has provided evidence for an extensive covering of allochthonous units (Ligurian nappe and Epiligurian succession) above the Miocene foredeep deposits (Marnoso‐Arenacea Formation), which has been subsequently eroded during the Late Miocene–Pleistocene uplift. This result is confirmed by the burial history outlined in the Marnoso‐Arenacea Formation through vitrinite reflectance and apatite fission‐track analyses. The Romagna Apennines represent, therefore, a regional tectonic window where the thrust system that displaced the Marnoso‐Arenacea Formation crops out. The geometric relations between this thrust system and the basal thrust of the Ligurian nappe, exposed at the boundaries of the Romagna Apennines (Sillaro Zone and Val Marecchia klippe), are consistent with a duplex structure. Thus, the Romagna Apennines thrust system is an eroded duplex. The duplex roof‐thrust corresponds to the surface of the synsedimentary overthrust of the Ligurian nappe on the Marnoso‐Arenacea Formation; the floor‐thrust is located in the pelagic pre‐foredeep deposits (Schlier Formation). Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

3D crustal architecture of the Alps-Apennines join - a new view on seismic data

Seismic data from the Alps-Apennines join have usually been interpreted in the form of 2D cross-sections, passing either through the Western Alps or the Ligurian Alps-Monferrato Apennines. However, the oblique SE-NW convergence of Adria and Europa and superimposed rotations imply a distinct 3D kinematic development around the Adriatic Indenter (AI), the westernmost spur of Adria. In order to develop kinematic models, data on motion at the different margins of AI must be coordinated. Along the northern margin, the dextrally transpressive Insubric line (IL) was active between 25 and 16 Ma (Insubric-Helvetic phase of Alpine orogeny). Contemporaneously, along the southern margin (Paleo-Apenninic phase), a complementary sinistral motion took place along the Villalvernia-Varzi line (VVL). It emplaced the Monferrato Apennines westward to the north of the Ligurian Alps by carrying them westward on top of AI. Between 14 and 6 Ma (Jura-Lombardic phase of Alpine orogeny) the Lombardic thrust belt developed on the northern margin of AI, now largely hidden under the Po plain. Its continuation to the southwest is impeded by older thrust masses along the Western Alps that consist largely of basement, their sediments having been eroded, as noted on the deep reflection line CROP ALPI-1 by earlier investigators. This line, moreover, contains a deep reflection band originating in the autochthonous Mesozoic of the Apenninic foredeep. In order to better visualize this origin and the relation of further elements identified on reflection lines around the northwestern end of the Monferrato Apennines, a 3D fence diagram was constructed. It helps in establishing a 3D structural-kinematic model of the Alps-Apennines join based on the kinematics of AI. This model features an underthrust of AI under the western Alps in the Paleo-Apenninic phase. In the course of this underthrust, the Paleo-Apenninic elements of the Monferrato moved under the marginal thrusts of the western Alps. Subsequent Neo-Apenninic thrusting brought both elements together to the surface where they now form the Monferrato and Turin hills. A derivation of the Alpine Collina di Torino from the south instead of from the west, as recently proposed, meets with serious kinematic difficulties.     

Depth and modes of Pliocene–Pleistocene crustal extension of the Apennines (Italy)

Since early Pliocene times the Apenninic chain has been dissected by normal faults propagating towards the Adriatic foreland. In the Tyrrhenian Sea extension involved deep crustal sections, whereas in the 'Central Apennines Downfaulted Area' it affected the shallow crust. The Tyrrhenian back-arc domain is connected to the overall flexural retreat of the Adriatic–Apulia plate in front of the Apenninic collisional wedge. In the outer Apenninic belt thin-skinned delamination and gravitational collapse occurred in the hanging wall of a thickened wedge, overthrusting the uplifted, buoyant crust of the Apulia foreland. Differential sinking velocity of the foreland plate results from the inherited competence contrast between the rigid Gargano–Apulia carbonate platform to the south, and the low-competence lithology of the pelagic sequence of the Adriatic basin to the north. During late Messinian–early Pliocene times this palaeogeographical boundary acted as a lithospheric tear, separating segments of the Apulia plate subjected to different subduction modes.     

The architecture of an incipient oceanic basin: a tentative reconstruction of the Jurassic Liguria-Piemonte basin along the Northern Apennines–Alpine Corsica transect

In this paper, a scenario for the early evolution of the Jurassic oceanic Liguria-Piemonte basin is sketched. For this purpose, four selected examples of ophiolite sequences from the Northern Apennines and Corsica are described and analyzed. In the External Ligurian units (Northern Apennines), the ocean–continent transition of the Adria plate was characterized by a basement made up of subcontinental mantle and lower continental crust, covered by extensional allochthons of upper crust. Both, the basement rocks and the extensional allochthons are cut by basaltic dikes and covered by basalts and pelagic deposits. The conjugate ocean–continent transition of the Corsica margin, represented by the Balagne nappe (Corsica), was composed of mantle peridotites and gabbros covered by basaltic flows and minor breccias, that in addition include continent-derived clasts. By contrast, the innermost (i.e., closest to the ocean) preserved area observed in the Internal Ligurian (Northern Apennines) and Inzecca (Corsica) units consists of former morphological highs of mantle peridotites and gabbros, bordered by small basins where the basement is covered by a volcano-sedimentary complex, characterized by ophiolitic breccias and cherts interlayered with basaltic flows. The overall picture resulting from our reconstructions suggests an asymmetric architecture for the Liguria-Piemonte basin with a central area bounded by two different transition zones toward the continental margins. This architecture can be interpreted as the result of a rifting process whose development includes a final stage characterized by passive, asymmetric extension of the lithosphere along an east-dipping detachment fault system.     

Tracking the Adriatic-slab travel beneath the Tethyan margin of Corsica–Sardinia by low-temperature thermochronometry

A new multi-thermochronological dataset from Corsica–Sardinia is here employed to constrain the Meso–Cenozoic evolution of the Western Mediterranean area and the problematic transition in space and time between the opposite-dipping Alpine (European) and Apenninic (Adriatic) subductions.The dataset, including zircon and apatite fission track and apatite (U–Th)/He data, covers the whole Meso–Cenozoic time interval, and fits the theoretical age pattern that is expected in distal passive margins after continental break-up. This demonstrates that Corsica–Sardinia represents a fragment of the northern Tethyan margin still preserving the thermochronological fingerprint acquired during Middle Jurassic rifting. Mesozoic apatite (U–Th)/He ages from crustal sections located close to the Tethyan rift axis (i.e., central and eastern Sardinia) show that no European continental subduction took place south of Corsica since the Mesozoic. Along the Sardinia transect, post-Jurassic Adria–Europe convergence was possibly accommodated by Adriatic subduction, consistent with the onset of orogenic magmatism. In middle Eocene–Oligocene times, the northward translation of the Adriatic slab beneath the former Tethyan margin induced a coeval northward migration of erosional pulses at the surface, constrained by a trend of progressively decreasing fission track ages from southern Sardinia to NW Corsica. The Adriatic slab reached the Alpine wedge of Corsica by the end of the Oligocene without any breakoff of the European slab, and started retreating in Neogene times triggering the long-recognized basin opening in the backarc region.     

Types of crust beneath the Ligurian Sea

The structural setting beneath the Ligurian Sea resuJts from several tectonic events reflected in the nature of the crust. The central-western sector, called the Ligurian basin, is part of the northwestern Mediterranean. It is a marginal basin that was generated in Oligocene-Miocene time by subduction of the Adriatic plate beneath the European plate and by the eastward drift of the Corsica-Sardinia block. The eastern sector belongs to the Tyrrhenian basin system and is characterized by extensional activity which since Tortonian time superimposed an earlier compressional regime. Our effort has been addressed in particular towards simplifying the complex nature of the crust of the Ligurian basin by modelling its genesis using uniform extension and sea-floor depth variation with age. In the rift stage of the basin's evolution, the initial subsidence reaches the isostatic equilibrium level of the asthenosphere by a thinning factor of 3.15. The additional passive process, corresponding to the cooling of the lithosphere since 21 Ma, leads to a total tectonic subsidence of 3.4 km, representing the boundary of the extended continental crust. For values up to 4.1 km a transitional-type crust is expected, whereas for higher tectonic subsidence values a typical oceanic crust should exist. After setting these constraints, the boundaries of the different crust types have been drawn based on total tectonic subsidence observations deduced from bathymetry and post-rift sediment thickness. Although there is a general agreement with the previous reconstructions deduced from other experimental data, the oceanic realm has wider extent and more complex shape. The northernmost part of this realm shows crust of sub-oceanic type altemating basement highs with lower subsidence values. The observed surface heat flux is consistent with the predicted geothermal held in the Alpine-Provençal continental margin and in the oceanic domain. However, a characteristic thermal asymmetry is clearly visible astride the basin, due to the enhanced heat flux of the Corsica margin. Even if the uniform extension model accounts well at a regional level for the present basement depth, a remarkable tectonic subsidence excess has been found in the Alpine-Provençal continental margin. This evidence agrees with the reprise in compression of the margin; the direction of the greatest principal stress is N120°E on average.     

A geodynamic model of the Southern Apennines accretionary prism

The Apennines comprise a Neogen—Quaternary accretionary prism that shows several anomalies with respect to classic alpine-type mountain belts, namely (i) low elevation, (ii) a shallow new Moho below the core of the belt, (iii) high heat flow in the internal parts, (iv) mainly sedimentary cover involved in the prism, (v) a deep foredeep and (vi) a fully developed back-arc basin. The suction exerted by a relatively eastward migrating mantle can determine the eastward retreat of the subduction zone and an asthenospheric wedging at the retreating subduction hinge. Heat flow, geochemical and seismological data support the presence of a hot mantle wedge underlying the western side of the Apenninic accretionary prism. A thermal model of the belt with foreland dipping isotherms fits with deepening of the seismicity toward the east. Mantle volatiles signatures are also widespread in springs along the Apennines.     

Space/time tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Umbria-Romagna-Marche Miocene Basin (Northern Apennines, Italy): a foredeep model

The space/time evolution of the Umbria-Romagna-Marche domains of the northern Apennine Miocene foredeep is proposed. In this period, the turbidite siliciclastic sedimentation is represented mainly by the Miocene Marnoso-Arenacea Formation, which generally ends with mainly marly deposits. From the internal Apennine sectors (Umbria-Romagna domain) to the external Adriatic Margin (Marche domain) the siliciclastic succession overlies hemipelagic marly deposits (Schlier Formation). The whole depositional area can be considered as a single wide basin with depocenter or main sedimentation areas progressively migrating eastwards. This basin is characterized by some morphological highs which did not constitute real dams for the sedimentary flows (turbidity currents). Multiple feeding (arkose, litharenites, calcarenites) from different sources is related to palaeogeographical and palaeotectonic reorganization of the most internal, previously deformed, Apennine areas. The activation of the foredeep stage is marked by the beginning of the siliciclastic sedimentation (Late Burdigalian in the most internal sector). This sedimentation ends in the most external sector in the Early Messinian, pointing to a depositional cycle of about 9?C10?Ma. The diachronism of the base of the siliciclastic deposition proves to be almost 5?Ma. The syn-depositional compressional deformation, which shows a marked diachronism, affected the internal area of the foredeep in the Early-Middle Serravallian, and progressively migrated up to Late Miocene, involving more and more external sectors. The deformed siliciclastic sedimentary wedge constitutes an orogenic pile incorporated in the Apennine Chain, represented by different tectonic elements superimposed by means of NE-vergent thrusts. The main stratigraphic and tectonic events of the Toscana-Romagna-Marche Apennines are presented in a general framework, resulting also in a terminological revision.     

Detrital carbonate grains as provenance indicators in the Upper Cretaceous Pietraforte Formation (northern Apennines)

The Upper Cretaceous Pietraforte Formation, an allochthonous unit of the Ligurian domain in the northern Apennines, provides a case study of the importance of detrital carbonate grains for provenance determination in sandstones. The Pietraforte Formation is composed of turbidite sandstones with subordinate conglomerate, deposited in an external sector of the Ligurian ocean, close to the Adriatic margin. The sandstones have a lithic composition, characterized by abundant sedimentary and metasedimentary rock fragments (35–56% of the terrigenous framework), little feldspar (<7%) that is almost exclusively plagioclase, and a high ratio of fine- to coarse-grained polycrystalline quartzose grains to total quartzose grains (average Q_p/Q_t=0.37). Carbonate rock fragments dominate the lithic association of both sandstones and conglomerates and provide the most detailed information for provenance determination. They are composed primarily of dolostones and a wide variety of limestones containing identifiable age-diagnostic microfossils. Fossils and rock textures of carbonate clasts document the erosion of Upper Triassic to Lower Cretaceous shelf and pelagic carbonate units which can be matched with Mesozoic rock types present in the Tuscan domain of the northern Apennines. Compositional results constrain the source of the Pietraforte Formation sandstones to the western margin of the Adriatic plate, from uplifted sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks of the Tuscan domain and its low-grade metamorphic basement. Coeval intrabasinal sources provided additional supplies to the depositional basin of the Pietraforte Formation; this intrabasinal supply consists of shelf carbonate allochems, planktonic foraminifera and argillaceous rip-up clasts. The presence of carbonate grains from shallow-water environments may indicate the existence during deposition of marginal shelf areas favourable for carbonate allochem production.     

Application of revised ray tracing migration to imagine lateral variations of seismic fabric corresponding to different tectonic styles in the northern Apennines

Migration of zero-offset seismic sections of deep crust can be done with methods based on ray tracing. We modify the classical ray tracing migration method (RTM), introducing a consistency check to control whether back-propagated rays satisfy the condition of strict normal incidence at the migrated reflector. A synthetic test shows the effectiveness of the method; in particular the control of normal incidence allows elimination of physically inconsistent reflectors from the migrated section. Then RTM is applied to a crustal seismic profile acquired in central Italy, using a velocity model obtained from wide-angle data that reproduces the gross structures of the Apenninic crust. The lateral variation of the seismic fabric shown from the migrated section reveals the presence of coexisting extensional and compressional tectonic regimes. Kinematic diffraction modelling gives additional information about both the distribution of seismic velocities and major active geodynamic processes in the upper lithosphere. The migrated section supports the subdivision of northern Apennines in two tectonic regions: a stretched upper plate (Tuscany and northern Thyrrenian), supported by a rise of the asthenosphere, and a downwarped lower plate (Adria), subducted below the mountain belt.     

Litho-asthenospheric structures of northern Italy as inferred from teleseismic P-wave tomography

Regional three-dimensional inversions of teleseismic P-wave travel time residuals recorded by high-frequency regional and local seismic networks operating along the Western Alps and surrounding regions were carried out and lithosphere and upper mantle P-wave velocity models down to 300 km were obtained.

Residuals of more than 500 teleseismic events, recorded by 98 fixed and temporary seismic stations, have been inverted.

The comparison between real residuals and the ones obtained from tomographic model indicates that the method is able to solve the feature of the regional heterogeneities.

Where the resolution is good, coherent lithospheric and upper mantle structures are imaged. In the shallower layers, high- and low-velocity anomalies follow the structural behaviour of the Alpine-Apenninic chains showing the existence of very strong velocity contrasts. In the deepest layers, velocity contrast decreases however two deep-seated high-velocity structures are observed. The most extended in depth and approximately trending NE-SW has been interpreted as a wreck of the oldest subduction responsible of the Alpine orogenesis. The second one, connected to the northwestern sector of the Apenninic chain, appears to vanish at depths greater than 180 km and is probably due to still active Apenninic roots.

Cross-sections depict the spatial trend of perturbations and in particular outline the sub-vertical character of the Alpine and Apenninic anomalies. Under the Ligurian Sea, the 3-D inversion confirms the uplift of the asthenosphere in agreement with the tectonic evolution of the basin.     

Tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the Lower Pliocene Periadriatic foredeep in Central Italy

The Periadriatic foredeep (Italy) was generated by Neogene downbending of the Adria Plate under the Apennine Chain. The basin is filled with Plio-Pleistocene siliciclastic turbidites. Its substratum consists of the carbonate succession of the southwestern Adria Plate margin. The influence of the basin’s morphology on sedimentation and subsequent tectonic evolution is investigated in the Abruzzo sector of the foredeep (Cellino Basin). The substratum is composed of Messinian evaporites that dip towards the Apennines (W). A NNW component along the depocentral axis is divided into four blocks with different depths. The substratum was also affected by a Messinian extensional fault system, not involving the overlying Pliocene sequence. This morphology controlled the distribution of the turbidites in the lower part of the Cellino Basin. The Plio-Pleistocene compressional deformation of the foredeep produced an inner complex structure (Internal Structure), involving the foredeep substratum and an outer imbricate thrust system (Coastal Structure), detached over the faulted Messinian evaporites. This thrust system is parallel to the extensional faults, suggesting a strong influence of the substratum morphology on the development of the compressional structures. The overall structural setting was validated with a balanced cross-section. Out-of-sequence thrusting and non-coeval deformation within each thrust sheet characterize the local tectonic history.     

Foreland-dipping normal faults in the inner edges of syn-orogenic basins: a case from the Central Apennines, Italy

Extensional deformations are common within foredeep basins and generally consist of hinterland-dipping normal faults located at the foredeep–foreland transition zones. Foreland-dipping normal faults at the belt–foredeep boundaries, by contrast, are far less documented and their occurrence is not predicted by simple orogenic load models. New surface data integrated with seismic reflection profiles across the Central Apennines of Italy reveal the occurrence of foreland-dipping normal faults located in the inner edges of foredeep depressions. Extensional deformations are systematically found within sequentially younger Tortonian, Messinian and Early Pliocene foredeep basins, thus suggesting that normal fault development was an intrinsic feature of the evolving belt–foredeep–foreland system and could have influenced the stratal architectures of the host syn-orogenic deposits. Foreland extension is consistent with existing geodynamic models for the Apennines and could represent the effects of lithospheric bending: its recognition and documentation elsewhere could provide significant insights to improve our understanding of syn-orogenic basin dynamics.     

Seismic activity along the central america volcanic arc: is it related to subduction of the Cocos plate?

We determine seismic strain rate of tectonic earthquakes along the Central America Volcanic Arc. We then compare this result to those obtained from earthquakes related to the convergence of the Cocos and Caribbean plates and to earthquakes in the back-arc region of northern Central America.

The seismic strain-rate tensor for shallow-focus earthquakes along the Central America volcanic arc since 1700, has a compressive eigenvector with a magnitude of 0.7 × 10⁻⁸ year⁻¹, and oriented in a 357° azimuth. The extensive eigenvector is oriented in a 86° azimuth, with a magnitude of 0.82 × 10⁻⁸ year⁻¹. When only Centroid Moment-tensor solutions (CMT) are considered, the respective eigenvectors are 1.2 × 10⁻⁸ year⁻¹ and 1.0 × 10⁻⁸ year⁻¹.

The compressive eigenvector from the seismic strain-rate tensor for earthquakes along the Cocos-Caribbean convergent margin is 2.0 × 10⁻⁸ year⁻¹, plunging at 25°, and oriented in a 29° azimuth. Its magnitude and direction are similar to those of the compressive eigenvector for earthquakes along the volcanic arc. The extensive eigenvector along the convergent margin, on the other hand, has a large vertical component. The compressive and extensive eigevenvectors are 4.9 × 10⁻⁸ year⁻¹ and 4.6 × 10⁻⁸ year⁻¹, using only CMTs as the database.

Earthquakes along the grabens of northern Central America yield a seismic strain-rate tensor whose extensive eigenvector has a magnitude of 2.4 × 10⁻⁸ year⁻¹, oriented in a 109° azimuth. Magnitude and direction are similar to those of the extensive eigenvector for earthquakes along the volcanic arc. The compressive eigenvector along the grabens is practically vertical.

Similarities in magnitudes and directions for compressive and extensive eigenvectors suggest to us that the strain field along the Central America volcanic arc is the result of compression along the convergent Cocos-Caribbean margin, and extension in the back-arc region, along the grabens of northern Central America. This field is resolved as strike-slip faulting along the arc.     

Turbidites facies response to the morphological confinement of a foredeep (Cervarola Sandstones Formation,Miocene, northern Apennines,Italy)

The Cervarola Sandstones Formation, Aquitanian–Burdigalian in age, was deposited in an elongate, north‐west stretched foredeep basin formed in front of the growing northern Apennines orogenic wedge. As other Apennine foredeep deposits, such as the Marnoso‐arenacea Formation, the stratigraphic succession of the Cervarola Sandstones Formation records the progressive closure of the basin due to the propagation of thrust fronts towards the north‐east, i.e. towards the outer and shallower foreland ramp. This process produces a complex foredeep that is characterized by syn‐sedimentary structural highs and depocentres that strongly influence lateral and vertical turbidite facies distribution. This work describes and discusses this influence, providing a high‐resolution physical stratigraphy with ‘bed by bed’ correlations of an interval ca 1000 m thick, parallel and perpendicular to the palaeocurrents and to the main structural alignments, on an area of ca 30 km that covers the proximal portion of the Cervarola basin in the northern Apennines. The main aim is to show, for the first time ever, a detailed facies analysis of the Cervarola Sandstones Formation, based on a series of bed types that have proven fundamental to understand the morphology of the basin. The knowledge of the vertical and lateral distribution of these bed types, such as contained‐reflected and slurry (i.e. hybrid) beds, together with other important sedimentary structures, i.e. cross‐bedded bypass facies and delamination structures, is the basis for better understanding of facies processes, as well as for proposing an evolutionary model of the foredeep in relation to the syn‐sedimentary growth of the main tectonic structures. This makes the Cervarola Sandstones, like the Marnoso‐arenacea Formation, a typical example of foredeep evolution.     

The structure of the upper crust in the Alps-Apennines boundary region deduced from refraction seismic data

Analysis of data gathered during the 1983 European Geotraverse southern segment (EGT-S '83) experiments in the region extending from the Emilia-Liguria Apennines to the western Alpine Arc together with data from seismic profiles in the northwestern Apennines accumulated within the framework of the Alps-Apennines Orogene Study Group indicate new details on the structure of the upper crust east and west of the Alps-Apennines boundary.The main results of this analysis centre on two areas. In the Piedmont Tertiary Basin we could determine the depocenter configurations of the 6–7 km thick terrigenous sequence and differentiate the tectonic units in the Piedmont (Alpine) and the Ligurian (Apennine) domains within the basement. In the other area, the Insubric domain underneath the Ligurian nappes of the northern Apennines, we found indications of tectonic doubling within the terrigenous-carbonate sequence in which thrusting attenuates towards the underlying basement, detected at a depth of 12–15 km. In addition, we found that, on a line from the Emilia Apennines to the Monferrato Hills, displacement of the Ligurian nappes over the Insubric domain diminishes to nearly one-third its original extent.