Late Miocene shortening of the Northern Apennines back-arc

The inner Northern Apennines (western Tuscany and Tyrrhenian basin) is characterized by a relatively thin continental crust (∼20–25 km), high heat flow (>100 mW m⁻²), and the presence of relevant tectonic elision of stratigraphic sequences, a setting known as Serie Ridotta. These features are normally ascribed to an extensional deformation that affected the back-arc area above the subducting Adria plate since the Early-Middle Miocene (∼16 Ma). However, various geophysical studies image the continental crust to be currently affected by W-dipping thrust faults (and associated basement uplifts) that have not been obliterated by this claimed long-lasting extensional process. These observations raise the question whether the thrusts are older or younger than the continental extension. To address this question we have reprocessed and interpreted the deep seismic reflection profile CROP03/c that crosses the onshore hinterland sector, and investigated the structural setting of some of the Late Miocene-Pliocene hinterland basins (Cinigiano-Baccinello, Siena-Radicofani, Tafone, Albegna and Radicondoli basins) that are situated at the front or in-between the basement uplifts. The analysis of field structures and commercial seismic profiles has allowed the recognition that both substratum and basins’ infill have been intensely shortened. These findings and the architecture of the basins suggest that the latter developed under a contractional regime, which would have started around 8.5 Ma with the onset of the continental sedimentation. This compressive stress state followed an earlier phase of continental extension that presumably started at ∼16 Ma (with the blocking of the Corsica-Sardinia rotation), and thinned both the continental crust and sedimentary cover producing most of the Serie Ridotta. The main phases of basin shortening are bracketed between 7.5 and 3.5 Ma, and thus overlap with the increase in the exhumation rate of the metamorphic cores at ∼6–4 Ma determined through thermochronological data. We therefore propose a correlation between the basin deformation and the activity of the nearby basement thrusts, which would have thus shortened a previously thinned continental crust. This chronology of deformation may suggest a geodynamic model in which the back-arc and hinterland sector of the Northern Apennines was recompressed during Late Miocene-Early Pliocene times. This evolution may be explained through different speculative scenarios involving a blockage of the subduction process, which may vary between end members of complete slab detachment and stalled subduction.     

Neotectonics of the Dinarides–Pannonian Basin transition and possible earthquake sources in the Banja Luka epicentral area

This study provides evidence for post-5 Ma shortening in the transition area between the Dinarides fold-and-thrust belt and the Pannonian Basin and reviews possible earthquake sources for the Banja Luka epicentral area (northern Bosnia and Herzegovina) where the strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake (M_L 6.4) occurred on 27 October 1969. Geological, geomorphological and reflection seismic data provide evidence for a contractional reactivation of Late Palaeogene to Middle Miocene normal faults at slip rates below 0.1 mm/a. This reactivation postdates deposition of the youngest sediments in the Pannonian Basin of Pontian age (c. 5 Ma). Fault plane solutions for the main 1969 Banja Luka earthquake (M_L 6.4) and its largest foreshock (M_L 6.0) indicate reverse faulting along ESE–WNW-striking nodal planes and generally N–S trending pressure axes. The spatial distribution of epicentres and focal depths, analyses of the macroseismic field and fault-plane solutions for several smaller events suggest on-going shortening in the internal Dinarides. Seismic deformation of the upper crust is also associated with strike-slip faults, likely related to the NE–SW trending, sinistral Banja Luka fault. Possibly, this fault transfers contraction between adjacent segments of the Dinarides thrust system. The study area represents the seismically most active region of the Dinarides apart from the Adriatic Sea coast and the bend zone around Zagreb. We propose that on-going thrusting in the internal Dinarides thrust system takes up a portion of the current Adria–Europe convergence.     

Magnetic survey of topsoils in Windsor–Essex County,Canada

Windsor–Essex County is a major cross-border truck and transportation route, with significant localized industrialization as well as rural and farming areas. Magnetic property measurements (in-field and laboratory susceptibility, frequency-dependent susceptibility, hysteresis properties, thermomagnetic and thermosusceptibility curves, anhysteretic and isothermal magnetizations) were made in order to determine the potential for using such variables to distinguish between natural and anthropogenic pollutants. In-field magnetic susceptibility measured on 324 soil sampling sites on a 0.5–2 km grid spacing through Windsor–Essex County ranged from 3.7 × 10^− 6 to 305.2 × 10^− 6 SI (average 36.2 ± 35.8 × 10^− 6 SI), and showed that high magnetic susceptibility values were obtained on soil sampling sites in and around the cities/towns of Windsor, Harrow, Olinda and Oakland and near the beaches of Point Pelee National Park (PPNP) and Deerbrook, whereas lower susceptibility values were observed in near the towns of Lakeshore and Essex. On this grid spacing, Highway 401 (the major truck route) did not show anomalous susceptibility values; however, closer (1–3 m) sampling on other roads did show anomalously high values, suggesting that the coarser grid spacing may have missed anomalies. Laboratory measurements indicated that the dominant magnetic mineral in the Windsor–Essex County soils is magnetite; however, the grain size is variable. Pseudo-single domain (PSD)–multidomain (MD) magnetite is generally found on beaches and in PPNP, whereas single domain (SD)–PSD magnetite has been found near the City of Windsor and other towns. While certain correlations exist between some anthropogenic activities and the measured magnetic susceptibility and magnetic property values, no overall correlation can be made. A variety of geologic and anthropogenic factors must be considered when interpreting the origin of the magnetic signal in a particular area.     

Structural setting of the Southern Apennine fold-and-thrust belt (Italy) at hypocentral depth: The Calore Valley case history

The reconstruction of the main structural features of the Southern Apennines (Italy), in correspondence with the focal volume of some strong earthquakes that have affected this chain, can be attempted by analysing reflection seismic lines and deep well logs in comparison with surface geology.For instance, the Calore Valley and its surroundings have been the object of intense hydrocarbon exploration, and a wealth of subsurface data is available. Moreover, this area was affected by the 1688 Sannio earthquake (macroseismic magnitude 7.1), and a new location has recently been proposed for the related causative fault system. The present work defines the structural setting of the Southern Apennine chain in correspondence with this new location, and compares it with similar cases along the Italian peninsula.The analysis was focussed on the reconstruction of deep tectonic units (formed by the buried Apulia carbonate platform succession), which generally correspond to the hypocentral depths of strong earthquakes along the axis of the Southern Apennines. The results show that the Apulia platform succession is affected by three main thrusts, locally accompanied by backthrusts. The top of this succession is relatively shallow: the maximum depth does not exceed 1.8 s TWT (i.e. about 3500 m b.s.l.), while minimum depths occur in correspondence with the ramp anticlines culminations, at ∼0.5 s TWT (i.e. at about 500 m b.s.l.). Moreover, data suggest that the underlying Paleozoic basement is possibly involved in thrusting.In a regional perspective, extensional seismogenic structures along the axis of the Southern Apennines seem to share some common characteristics. Indeed, they develop (i) in correspondence with an uplifted Paleozoic basement; (ii) at the rear of a set of thrusts that account for the shallow Apulia units; (iii) at the surface, in proximity to the leading edge of a surficial tectonic unit formed by the Apennine carbonate platform succession. The 1688 seismogenic fault system fits in with these common traits. In the light of this, we finally speculate that these common characteristics in the architecture of the chain could provide a key to the location of the major seismicity along the axis of the Southern Apennines and an interpretative model for the identification of possible areas of seismic gap in this part of the Italian peninsula.     

Resistivity imaging of Pleistocene alluvial aquifers in a contractional tectonic setting: A case history from the Po plain (Northern Italy)

In this work we present the hydrogeophysical imaging of a key sector of the Quaternary Po foreland basin (northern Italy), focussing on the reconstruction of clastic aquifers and aquitards in a complex tectono-sedimentary subsurface architecture. The study area includes the relic reliefs of Casalpusterlengo and Zorlesco, two smooth morphological features involving uplifted and gently folded Pleistocene marine to alluvial sediments, plausibly linked to the buried Northern Apennines thrust and fold belt. The geophysical data include 35 Direct Current Vertical Electrical Soundings collected over a 37 km² wide area, acquired with Schlumberger array and maximum half-spacing of 500 m. 1-D resistivity-depth profiles were computed for each VES. An integrated hydrostratigraphic approach was applied, to constrain the interpretation of the geophysical data along several cross-sections, including the comparison of resistivity soundings to stratigraphic logs, borehole electric logs and the pore-water properties.The resistivity interfaces, traceable with the same laterally continuous vertical polarity, were used to develop an electrostratigraphic model in order to portray the stacking of electrostratigraphic units down to 200 m below ground surface. Their vertical associations show a general upward increase of electrical resistivity. This assemblage mimics the regional coarsening upwards depositional trend, from the conductive units of the Plio-Pleistocene marine-to-transitional depositional systems to the resistive units of the Middle–Late Pleistocene fluvial and alluvial plain depositional systems. Middle Pleistocene depositional systems host an alternation of North-dipping, high-to-intermediate permeability aquifer systems (70–180 Ωm, thickness of 5–70 m) separated by low permeability aquitards (20–50 Ωm, thickness up to 40 m). These units pinch out against the Casalpusterlengo and Zorlesco relic reliefs, where they cover the uplifted and folded regional aquitard (20–50 Ωm) formed by Pliocene-Lower Pleistocene clays to sandy silts with gravel lenses in agreement with borehole data. In the deepest part of the local stratigraphy, a broad low-resistivity anomaly (< 10 Ωm) was clearly mapped through the study area. By comparison with electrical borehole logs in deep oil-wells, it could be interpreted as the fresh–saltwater interface due to the presence of connate waters and brines hosted by the marine-to-transitional shales.     

Geological,tomographic, kinematic and geodynamic constraints on the dynamics of sinking slabs

We use geodynamic models with imposed plate velocities to test the forward-modeled history of subduction based on a particular plate motion model against alternative seismic tomography models. We utilize three alternative published reference frames: a hybrid moving hotspot-palaeomagnetic, a hybrid moving hotspot-true polar wander corrected-palaeomagnetic, and a Subduction Reference Frame, a plate model including longitudinal shifts of subduction zones by matching subduction volumes imaged by P-wave tomography, to assess which model best predicts present day mantle structure compared with seismic tomography and volumetrically derived subduction history. Geodynamic modeling suggests paleo-longitudinal corrections applied to the Subduction Reference Frame result in lower mantle slab material beneath North America and East Asia accumulating up to 10–15° westward of that imaged by tomography, whereas the hybrid models develop material offset by 2–9°. However, the Subduction Reference Frame geodynamic model produces slab material beneath the Tethyan Domain coinciding with slab volumes imaged by tomography, whereas the hybrid reference frame models do not, suggesting regional paleo-longitudinal corrections are required to constrain slab locations. We use our models to test inferred slab sinking rates in the mantle focusing on well-constrained regions. We derive a globally averaged slab-sinking rate of 13 ± 3 mm/yr by combining the ages of onset and cessation of subduction from geological data and kinematic reconstructions with images of subducted slabs in the mantle. Our global average slab-sinking rate overlaps with the 15–20 mm/yr rate implied by mantle convection models using a lower mantle viscosity 100 times higher than the upper mantle.     

Grain size limit for SD hematite

Grain sizes in the range (10⁻⁴ to 10⁻¹ mm) are common in some rocks. Because thermal and/or chemical remanent magnetization of hematite in this range approaches intensities of single domain (SD) magnetite, careful exploration of this transition, may serve to develop new applications in rock magnetism that relate to magnetic anomaly source identification, and various paleomagnetic and grain size-dependent investigations.Grain size-dependent magnetic behavior of hematite reveals a SD–multidomain (MD) transition at 0.1 mm. This transition is recognized by variation in magnetic coercivity and susceptibility and is related to an anomaly in remanence recovery when cycling through the Morin transition. The coercivity decrease with increasing grain size occurs much more gradually above 0.1 mm than below this value. Magnetic susceptibility of the grains smaller than 0.1 mm has negligible dependence on the amplitude of the applied alternating magnetic field. For the larger grains a new amplitude-dependent susceptibility component is observed. The grain size of 0.1 mm is also associated with loss of most of the remanence when cycling through the Morin transition. This behavior is ascribed to a transition from the metastable SD to the MD magnetic state. The increase in magnetized volume causes the demagnetizing energy to destabilize the SD state, resulting in a transition where the demagnetizing energy is reduced by nucleation of the domain wall for grains larger than 0.1 mm. The 0.1 mm transition has no significant effect on shape of the temperature-dependent coercivity and saturation magnetization.     

New constraints on the evolution of the Gibraltar Arc from palaeomagnetic data of the Ceuta and Beni Bousera peridotites (Rif,northern Africa)

The Betic Cordillera and the Moroccan Rif together form one of the smallest and tightest orogenic arcs on Earth and almost completely close the Mediterranean to the west. For the explanation of the geodynamic evolution of the mountain belt, palaeomagnetic data that generally found clockwise block rotations in the Iberian and anticlockwise rotations in the Moroccan part of the mountain belt, have played a key role in recent works. This palaeomagnetic study has found new constraints on the rotations and timing of the peridotitic bodies outcropping in the key position at the westernmost margin of the mountain belt, in Ceuta and Beni Bousera (Rif, northern Africa).Detailed thermal demagnetization of 115 individually oriented samples from 14 sites was combined with rock magnetic and scanning electron microscopic experiments to analyze the magnetic mineralogy responsible for the remanences and the mechanisms and relative times of their acquisition. In Ceuta, up to three magnetic components, and in Beni Bousera, up to two magnetic components have been found, that are all to be interpreted as chemical remanent magnetizations (CRM). The data suggests the following succession of geodynamic events affecting the peridotites until recent times: (1) after their exhumation and subsequent cooling about 20 Ma ago, they recorded a characteristic remanent magnetization of both normal and reversed polarities, carried by (pseudo-)single-domain magnetite grains; (2) after their dismembering, the Ceuta peridotites were tilted southward by 22–34° about a horizontal or tilted axis (up to plunge 50°) with an azimuth of 72–145° and the Beni Bousera peridotites were rotated anticlockwise by 72.3 ± 12.1° about a vertical axis and (3) both recorded another magnetic signal of normal polarity only, carried by multi-domain magnetite grains; and finally (4) the Ceuta peridotites rotated anticlockwise by 19.7 ± 5.9° about a vertical axis.This study provides the first palaeomagnetic data for the Ceuta peridotites that, with their tilt and recent small net rotation, had a distinct geodynamic evolution from the large net rotations about vertical axes in Beni Bousera and Ronda (Betic Cordillera). Moreover, earlier palaemagnetic data for Beni Bousera is improved, as mixed polarities have been found in the older of the remanences for the first time, and its interpretation as a CRM changes the rotation timing that was proposed previously. The sequence of events exposed in this work are important constraints that need to be incorporated in any geodynamic model of the evolution of the Betic–Rifean mountain belt.     

Tectono-metamorphic evolution of the Briançonnais zone (Modane-Aussois and Southern Vanoise units,Lyon Turin transect,Western Alps)

In the central Western Alps, a combined structural, petrological and ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar geochronological study of the Modane-Aussois and Southern Vanoise units yields important constraints on the timing of deformation and exhumation of the Briançonnais zone. These data help to decipher the respective roles of oceanic subduction, continental subduction and collision in the burial and exhumation of the main units through time. In the Modane-Aussois unit top to the NW thrusting (D1) was followed by top to the east shearing (D2) interpreted by some as normal faulting and by others as backthrusting. Pseudosection calculations imply that D1 deformation occurred at 1.0 ± 0.1 GPa and 350 ± 30 °C. Analysis of chlorite–phengite pairs yield P–T estimates between 0.15 and 0.65 GPa and between 220 and 350 °C for the D2 event. Phengites along the D1 schistosity (sample M80) yields an ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar age of 37.12 ± 0.39 Ma, while D2 phengites yield ages of 35.42 ± 0.38 (sample M173) and 31.60 ± 0.33 Ma (sample M196). It was not possible to test whether these ages are altered by excess argon or not. Our interpretation is that the D1/D2 transition occurred at ∼37 Ma at the beginning of decompression, and that D2 lasted until at least ∼32 Ma. Pseudosection calculation suggests that the Southern Vanoise unit was buried at 1.6 ± 0.2 GPa and 500–540 °C. D1 deformation occurred during exhumation until 0.7–10.5 GPa and 370 ± 30 °C. Published ages suggest that D1 deformation possibly started at ∼50 Ma and lasted until ∼37 Ma. D2 deformations started at P–T conditions close to that recorded in Modane-Aussois unit and lasted until 0.2 ± 0.1 GPa and 280 ± 30 °C at ∼28 Ma. The gap of 0.6 ± 0.3 GPa and 150 ± 130 °C between peak metamorphic conditions in the two units was concealed by thrusting of the South Vanoise unit on top of the Modane-Aussois unit during D1 Deformation. Top to the east deformation (D2) affects both units and is interpreted as backthrusting.Based on these data, we propose a geodynamic reconstruction where the oceanic subduction of the Piedmont unit until ∼50 Ma, is followed by its exhumation at the time of continental subduction of the continental Southern Vanoise unit until ∼45 Ma. The Southern Vanoise is in turn underthrusted by the Modane-Aussois unit until ∼37 Ma (D1). Between 37 and 31 Ma the Modane-Aussois and Southern Vanoise units exhume together during backthrusting to the east (D2). This corresponds to the collision stage and to the activation of the Penninic Thrust. In the ∼50 Ma to ∼31 Ma time period the main thrusts propagated westward as the tectonic context switched from oceanic to continental subduction and finally to collision. During each stage, external units are buried while internal ones are exhumed.     

Active tectonics of the outer northern Apennines: Adriatic vs. Po Plain seismicity and stress fields

The recent earthquake sequences of 2012 (northern Italy) and 2013 (Marche offshore) provided new, fundamental constraints to the active tectonic setting of the outer northern Apennines. In contrast to the Po Plain area, where the 2012 northern Italy earthquakes confirmed active frontal thrusting, the new focal mechanisms obtained in this study for the 2013 Marche offshore earthquakes indicate that only minor thrust fault reactivation occurs in the Adriatic domain, even for a theoretically favourably oriented maximum horizontal compression. Recent seismicity in this domain appears to be mainly controlled by transcurrent crustal faults dissecting the Apennine thrust belt. The along-strike stress field variation from the Po Plain to the Adriatic area has been quantitatively investigated by applying the multiple inverse method (MIM) to the analysis of the entire seismicity recorded from January 1976 to August 2014, from the top 12 km of the crust (fault plane solutions from 127 earthquakes with M_W ≥ 4), allowing us to obtain a comprehensive picture of the state of stress over the outer zone of the fold and thrust belt. The present-day stress field has been defined for 39 cells of 1.5° × 1.5° surface area and 12 km depth. The obtained stress field maps point out that, although the entire outer northern Apennines belt is characterized by a sub-horizontal maximum compressive axis (σ₁), the minimum compression (σ₃) is sub-vertical only in the Po Plain area, becoming sub-horizontal in the Adriatic sector, thus confirming that the latter region is dominated by an active tectonic regime of strike-slip type.     

Competition behaviour of metal uptake in cementitious systems: An XRD and EXAFS investigation of Nd- and Zn-loaded 11 Å tobermorite

Cement-based materials play an important role in multi-barrier concepts developed worldwide for the safe disposal of hazardous and radioactive wastes. Cement is used to condition and stabilize the waste materials and to construct the engineered barrier systems (container, backfill and liner materials) of repositories for radioactive waste. In this study, bulk-X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) was used to investigate the uptake mechanism of Nd on the crystalline C–S–H phase 11 Å tobermorite in the presence of Zn (co-absorbing metal), and vice versa, as potential competitor under strongly alkaline conditions (pH = 12.5–13.3). The Zn and Nd concentration in all samples was 50,000 ppm, whereas the reaction times varied from 1 to 6 months.Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) data of the Nd L_III-edge indicate that the local structural environment of Nd consists of ∼7–8 O atoms at 2.42 Å, ∼7–8 Si at ∼3.67 Å and ∼5–6 Ca at ∼3.8 Å, and that this environment remains unchanged in the presence and absence of Zn. In contrary, Zn K-edge EXAFS data exhibit distinct differences in the presence and absence of Nd as co-absorbing element. Data analysis indicates that Zn is tetrahedrally coordinated (∼4 O at ∼1.96 Å) and the obtained structural data in the simultaneous presence of Nd and Zn are consistent with the formation of mixed Zn surface complexes and Zn bound in the interlayer remaining in these positions also with prolonged reaction times (up to 6 months). However, without the co-absorbing element Nd, strong structural changes in the uptake mechanisms of Zn are observable, e.g., after 3 month reaction time Zn–Zn backscattering pairs can be observed. These findings suggest that Nd has an influence on the incorporation of Zn in the tobermorite structure. In addition, the results of this study indicate that competitive uptake of metal cations with similar sorption behaviour by C–S–H phases can take place, deserving further attention in future assessments of the safe disposal of radioactive wastes in cement-based repositories.     

Composite mesoscopic and magnetic fabrics of the Paleo-Proterozoic Wangtu Gneissic Complex,Himachal Himalaya,India: Implications for ductile deformation and superposed folding of the Himalayan basement rocks

The present study demonstrates how the Paleo-Proterozoic Wangtu Gneissic Complex (WGC) of the Lesser Himalayan Crystalline sequence experienced superposed folding and doming prior to its exhumation, with the help of integrated field, microstructural, magnetic fabric anisotropy and geochronological studies. The WGC forms the basement of the Lesser Himalaya and is bounded by Vaikrita Thrust (VT) to the northeast and Munsiari Thrust (MT) to the southwest. The regional structure consists of upright large scale early folds (D1) trending NW–SE. The mesoscopic fabric is related to axial plane foliation of the D1 folds and, to a lesser extent, late D2 folds. The axis of maximum compression for D1 and D2 folds are mutually orthogonal. The D1 folds have formed simultaneously with the major Himalayan thrusts whereas the D2 folds have developed during a later deformation event. The magnetic lineation at the hangingwall of the VT is sub-horizontal indicating stretching along the strike of the thrust. In the interior parts of the WGC, the magnetic fabric is of two types: (i) magnetic lineation demarks the intersection of mesoscopic and magnetic foliation indicating superposed deformation and (ii) scattered distribution of magnetic lineations due to D2 folding on initially curved and non-cylindrical D1 surface. ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar dating of biotite from one site from the core of WGC gives an age of 9.3 ± 0.3 (2σ) Ma. It is inferred that the doming of the WGC took place at ∼9 Ma and, instead of large scale thrusting, it is characterized by superposed folding and strike-parallel stretching along the VT zone. It is suggested that the effect of superposed folding and ductile deformation of the Himalayan basement rocks has to be taken into account before cross-section balancing or any estimation of crustal shortening is attempted.     

Constraining exhumation pathway in an accretionary wedge by (U-Th)/He thermochronology—Case study on Meliatic nappes in the Western Carpathians

This study reconstructs the late stages in the exhumation history of a nappe derived from the Meliatic accretionary wedge in the Western Carpathians by means of zircon and apatite (U-Th)/He dating. The Meliatic accretionary wedge formed due to the closure of the Neotethyan Triassic–Jurassic Meliata–Hallstatt Ocean in the Late Jurassic. The studied fragments of the blueschist-bearing Meliatic Bôrka Nappe were metamorphosed at low-temperature and high- to medium-pressure conditions at ca. 160–150 Ma and included into the accretionary wedge. The time of the accretionary wedge formation constrains the beginning of the Bôrka Nappe northward thrusting over the Gemeric Unit of the evolving Central Western Carpathians (CWC) orogenic wedge. The zircon (U-Th)/He data on four samples recorded three evolutionary stages: (i) cooling through the ∼180 °C isotherm at 130–120 Ma related to starting collapse of the accretionary wedge, following exhumation of the high-pressure slices in the Meliatic accretionary wedge; (ii) postponed exhumation and cooling of some fragments through the ∼180 °C isotherm from 115 to 95 Ma due to ongoing collapse of this wedge; and (iii) cooling from 80 to 65 Ma, postdating the thrusting (∼100–80 Ma) of the Bôrka Nappe slices during the Late Cretaceous compression related to formation of the CWC orogenic wedge. The third stage already documents cooling of the Meliatic Bôrka Nappe slices in the CWC orogenic wedge. The apatite (U-Th)/He data may indicate cooling of a Bôrka Nappe slice to near-surface temperatures at ∼65 Ma. The younger AHe age clusters indicate that at least one, or possibly two, reheating events could have occurred in the longer interval from ∼40 to ∼10 Ma during the Oligocene–Miocene. These were related to sedimentary burial and/or the magmatism as documented in other parts of the CWC.     

Raised Holocene paleo-shorelines along the Capo Vaticano coast (western Calabria,Italy): Evidence of co-seismic and steady-state deformation

Detailed mapping of geomorphological and biological sea-level markers around the Capo Vaticano promontory (western Calabria, Italy), has documented the occurrence of four Holocene paleo-shorelines raised at different altitudes. The uppermost shoreline (PS1) is represented by a deeply eroded fossiliferous beach deposit, reaching an elevation of ∼2.2 m above the present sea-level, and by a notch whose roof is at ∼2.3 m. The subjacent shoreline PS2 is found at an elevation of ∼1.8 m and is represented by a Dendropoma rim, a barnacle band and by a wave-cut platform. Shoreline PS3 includes remnants of vermetid concretions, a barnacle band, a notch and a marine deposit, and reaches an elevation of ∼1.4 m. The lowermost paleo-shoreline (PS4) includes a wave-cut platform and a notch and reaches an elevation of ∼0.8 m. Radiocarbon dating of material from individual paleo-shorelines points to an average uplift rate of 1.2–1.4 mm/yr in the last ∼6 ka at Capo Vaticano. Our data suggest that Holocene uplift was asymmetric, with a greater magnitude in the south-west sector of the promontory, in a manner similar to the long-term deformation attested by Pleistocene terraces. The larger uplift in the south-western sector is possibly related to the additional contribution, onto a large-wavelength regional signal, of co-seismic deformation events, which are not registered to the north-east. We have recognized four co-seismic uplift events at 5.7–5.4 ka, 3.9–3.5 ka, ∼1.9 ka and <1.8 ka ago, superposed on a regional uplift that in the area, is occurring at a rate of ∼1 mm/yr. Our findings places new constrains on the recent activity of border faults south of the peninsula and on the location of the seismogenic source the 1905 destructive earthquake.     

Low-temperature magnetic properties of rhodochrosite (MnCO3)

We have measured magnetic hysteresis loops, zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and field-cooled (FC) remanence, and low-field AC susceptibility as a function of temperature between 2 and 40 K for a single crystal several mm in size and for two powders of manganese carbonate (mineral rhodochrosite, MnCO₃), one ground from a natural precipitate (grainsize ∼100 μm) and another synthesized in the laboratory (grainsize ∼10 μm). For the single crystal, measurements carried out both in the basal (easy magnetization) plane and along the trigonal (hard magnetization) axis yielded, expectedly, grossly different magnetic properties. In the basal plane, hysteresis appears to be mostly controlled by domain wall movement at the two lowest temperatures studied, 5 and 15 K, as indicated by a fairly broad switching field distribution. At 25 K and above, however, magnetization reversal occurs at a single, well defined magnetic field, which we interpret as a characteristic field of the in-plane magnetic anisotropy. Hysteresis in the basal plane is observed up to 36 K which is above the nominal Néel temperature of rhodochrosite (34.3 K). In addition, a sharp coercivity peak occurs at 34.5 K. Rather unexpectedly, hysteresis is also observed for the magnetic field applied along the trigonal axis. It is very small at 5 K but develops gradually with increasing temperature, coercivity reaching maximum of 100 mT at 28 K and remanence peaking at slightly higher temperature (30–31 K). Hysteresis along the trigonal axis is observed up to 37 K. Hysteresis temperature dependence conforms with the AC susceptibility versus temperature curve which shows a maximum at 36.5 K. ZFC/FC remanence curves also closely match the temperature dependence of remanence extracted from hysteresis loops. We suggest that this behavior could be due to the presence of a minor, about 1 at.% amount of Fe²⁺ substituting for Mn in the crystalline lattice of rhodochrosite. Hysteresis measurements on powders have revealed a significant enhance in coercivity, up to 50 mT for the 100-μm powder and up to 150 mT for the 10-μm one. FC/ZFC ratio amounts to about 2 for the natural powder, while for the synthetic one, which is essentially pure material, it barely exceeds unity. FC/ZFC ratio can thus be viewed as a sensitive indicator of iron incorporation into rhodochrosite.     

On the flux of water and sediment into the Northern Adriatic Sea

This paper focuses on the delivery of water and sediment to the northern Adriatic to better understand the short-term evolution of continental margin sedimentation under natural and human impact. For that reason, the Po and six Apennine rivers (Metauro, Musone, Potenza, Tronto, Chienti and Pescara) are investigated. The climate-driven hydrological model HydroTrend is used to simulate discharge and sediment loads where observational data are limited. The northern Apennine hinterland has a significant impact on the sediment flux leaving the Po River, contributing 56% of the sediment it delivers to the Adriatic Sea. The Po River experienced a strong decrease in its sediment load (17.2–6.4 Mt/yr) across 1933–1987, in contrast to a small increase in its water discharge. The rivers draining the southern Apennine hinterland contribute more than 50% of the sediment load entering the Adriatic Sea, and this is in spite of human modification of their discharge through numerous small reservoirs that invariably reduce a river's sediment load. As a result, hyperpycnal flows, which historically carried 20–40% of the sediment flux from these Apennine rivers, become rare. Sediment load reduction is also reflected by retreat of the Apennine coastline. Based on the ART model (used in HydroTrend), the total sediment load to the northern Adriatic is 43 MT/yr where the northern Alpine rivers contribute 8 MT/yr, the Po River 13 MT/yr and the Apennine rivers contribute 22 MT/yr.     

New insights in the geodynamics of the Lipari–Vulcano area (Aeolian Archipelago,southern Italy) from geological,geodetic and seismological data

Geological, geodetic and seismological data have been analyzed in order to frame the Lipari–Vulcano complex (Aeolian archipelago, southern Italy) into the geodynamic context of the southeastern Tyrrhenian Sea. It is located at the northern end of a major NNW–SSE trending right-lateral strike-slip fault system named “Aeolian–Tindari–Letojanni” which has been interpreted as a lithospheric discontinuity extending from the Aeolian Islands to the Ionian coast of Sicily and separating two different tectonic domains: a contractional one to the west and an extensional one to the north-east. Structural field data consist of structural measurements performed on well-exposed fault planes and fractures. The mesostructures are mostly represented by NW–SE striking normal faults with a dextral-oblique component of motion. Minor structures are represented by N–S oriented joints and tension gashes widespread over the whole analyzed area and particularly along fumarolized sectors. The analyzed seismological dataset (from 1994 to 2013) is based on earthquakes with magnitude ranging between 1.0 and 4.8. The hypocenter distribution depicts two major alignments corresponding to the NNW–SSE trending Aeolian–Tindari–Letojanni fault system and to the WNW–ESE oriented Sisifo–Alicudi fault system. GPS data analysis displays ∼3.0 mm/yr of active shortening between the two islands, with a maximum shortening rate of about 1.0 × 10⁻¹³ s⁻¹, between La Fossa Caldera and south of Vulcanello. This region is bounded to the north by an area where the maximum values of shear strain rates, of about 0.7 × 10⁻¹³ s⁻¹ are observed. This major change occurs in the area south of Vulcanello that is also characterized by a transition in the way of the vertical axis rotation. Moreover, both the islands show a clear subsidence process, as suggested by negative vertical velocities of all GPS stations which exhibit a decrease from about −15 to −7 mm/yr from north to south. New data suggest that the current kinematics of the Lipari–Vulcano complex can be framed in the tectonic context of the eastward migrating Sisifo–Alicudi fault system. This is dominated by transpressive tectonics in which contractional and minor extensional structures can coexist with strike-slip motion.     

The impact of floods and storms on the acoustic reflectivity of the inner continental shelf: A modeling assessment

Flood deposition and storm reworking of sediments on the inner shelf can change the mixture of grain sizes on the seabed and thus its porosity, bulk density, bulk compressional velocity and reflectivity. Whether these changes are significant enough to be detectable by repeat sub-bottom sonar surveys, however, is uncertain. Here the question is addressed through numerical modeling. Episodic flooding of a large versus small river over the course of a century are modeled with HYDROTREND using the drainage basin characteristics of the Po and Pescara Rivers (respectively). A similarly long stochastic record of storms offshore of both rivers is simulated from the statistics of a long-term mooring recording of waves in the western Adriatic Sea. These time series are then input to the stratigraphic model SEDFLUX2D, which simulates flood deposition and storm reworking on the inner shelf beyond the river mouths. Finally, annual changes in seabed reflectivity across these shelf regions are computed from bulk densities output by SEDFLUX2D and compressional sound speeds computed from mean seafloor grain size using the analytical model of Buckingham [1997. Theory of acoustic attenuation, dispersion, and pulse propagation in unconsolidated granular materials including marine sediments. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 102, 2579–2596; 1998. Theory of compressional and shear waves in fluidlike marine sediments. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 103, 288–299; 2000. Wave propagation, stress relaxation, and grain-tograin shearing in saturated, unconsolidated marine sediments. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 108, 2796–2815]. The modeling predicts reflectivities that change from <12 dB for sands on the innermost shelf to >9 dB for muds farther offshore, values that agree with reflectivity measurements for these sediment types. On local scales of ∼100 m, however, maximum changes in reflectivity are <0.5 dB. So are most annual changes in reflectivity over all water depths modeled (i.e., 0–35 m). Given that signal differences need to be ⩾2–3 dB to be resolved, the results suggest that grain-size induced changes in reflectivity caused by floods and storms will rarely be detectable by most current sub-bottom sonars.     

Structure and development of the Andean system between 36° and 39°S

One of the main morphological changes along the Southern Central Andes occurs from 36° to 39°S. The northern portion is characterized by prominent basement structures and a thick-skinned orogenic front with relief of over 2000 m with a deep level of exhumation where more than 4 km of section has been eroded. Contrastingly, the southern part is formed by mildly inverted basement structures restricted mainly to the hinterland zone, which reaches only 1500–1700 m relief. We quantify the variable contributions of two main contractional stages through the construction of three regionally balanced sections across the Andes, constrained by field and geophysical data. Extensional re-activation described for this segment in late Oligocene-early Miocene and Pliocene to Quaternary times, after the two main contractional episodes, suggests only 3 km of stretching that represents 30–10% of the original longitude. We, therefore, conclude that while initial Late Cretaceous to Eocene compression was similar along strike (∼10–7 km), it is the contrasting degrees of Neogene shortening (∼16–6 km) that have played the largest role in the along strike differences in structure and morphology along this portion of the southern Andes. Variable Neogene arc expansion could be responsible for the contrasting contractional deformation: In the north, late Miocene arc-related rocks cover most of the retroarc zone (>200 km with respect to the late Miocene arc front in the south), presumably driven by a shallow subduction episode in the area, whereas to the south they remain restricted to the continental drainage divide. Other factors involving architecture of previous rift structures, are proposed as additional mechanisms that accommodated variable shortening magnitudes through inversion.     

Formation of elongated granite–migmatite domes as isostatic accommodation structures in collisional orogens

The mid-Carboniferous Pelhřimov core complex, Bohemian Massif, is a crustal-scale elongated granite–migmatite dome interpreted to have formed by gravity-driven diapiric upwelling of the metapelitic middle crust. The vertical diapiric flow is evidenced by outward-dipping foliation and lineation patterns, deformation coeval with the widespread presence of melt, rapid exhumation of the dome center from depths corresponding to pressure of about 0.6 GPa to shallow levels (pressure less than 0.2 GPa) within 2 M.y., and kinematic indicators of downward return flow of the mantling rocks. As compared to common diapirs, however, the Pelhřimov complex exhibits a more complicated inferred strain pattern with two perpendicular, irregularly alternating directions of horizontal extension in what is interpreted as the diapir head. Comparison of structural data from migmatites with anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) data in granites also reveals that only final increments of strain are recorded in the granites. The map dimensions and gravity image of the complex suggest that the diapiric upwelling affected a large portion of the orogen's interior between two microplates brought together during continental collision. The northwesterly microplate (the upper-crustal Teplá–Barrandian unit) collapsed vertically as an ‘elevator’ at around 346–337 Ma whereas the easterly microplate (Brunia) was underthrust beneath the Moldanubian rocks during ∼346–330 Ma (the indentor). It is suggested that these microplates then acted as cold and rigid margins localizing mid-crustal diapirism and associated voluminous S-type granite plutons inbetween, parallel to the edge of the Brunia indentor.We conclude that bringing together soft metapelitic middle crust with two rigid lithospheric blocks during collision resulted in significant lateral temperature and strength variations across the orogen's interior. A general conclusion from these inferences is that granite–migmatite domes delineating margins of collided microplates may form as crustal-scale structures accommodating late-orogenic isostatic reequilibration.