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.     

Sedimentary evolution of basins in mobile belts: examples from the Tertiary terrigenous sequences of the Peloritani Mountains (NE Sicily)

The Tertiary covers of the Peloritani Mountain Belt (NE Sicily) provide a complete stratigraphical record of tectonic events related to collision in the Central Mediterranean region. The tectonosedimentary evolution is inferred from interpretation of new field data and indicates various stages of polyphase deformation. The Peloritani Mountain Belt is composed mostly of crystalline units representing the active margin of the European Plate that was thrust over the descending African Plate during the Tertiary. Late Eocene-early Oligocene syn-orogenic deposition took place within a fore-arc basin located along the leading edge of the Peloritani Mountain Belt. From the late Oligocene to late Langhian, terrigenous deposition occurred throughout the mountain belt and extended into perched basins, located in southern areas. The basin was fed from the north, from source areas located in the hinterland of the orogenic belt. Deposition was controlled by a combination of active thrusting, regional subsidence and sea-level change. During the early Serravallian sudden tectonic inversion took place, associated with collapse of hinterland areas and uplift of former low-lying southern areas of the mountain belt. These processes were related to onset of opening of the Tyrrhenian Sea that was completed during the Serravallian-Tortonian, and resulted in the deposition of a northwestward prograding clastic fan, fed by source areas located in the southern area of the mountain belt. This setting characterized Messinian and Plio-Pleistocene deposition, and was controlled by both active tectonics and eustasy. The Recent evolution of the Peloritani Mountain Belt is characterized by major progressive uplift of the southern margins of the Tyrrhenian Basin, and local active subsidence related to downfaulting. Such processes resulted in the uplift of mid-Pleistocene fan-delta deposits and late Pleistocene marine terraces deposits to various altitudes above present sea-level.     

Structural setting and tectonic evolution of the Apennine Units of northern Calabria

A new structural–stratigraphic synthesis of the Apennine units of northern Calabria is presented. The Meso-Cenozoic successions are grouped into two tectonic units, named Pollino–Ciagola Unit (PCU) and Lungro–Verbicaro Unit (LVU), comprising terrains formerly attributed to five different tectonic units. FeMg carpholite and blue amphibole record HP–LT metamorphism in the LVU, followed by progressive decompression leading to final greenschist facies re-equilibration during dominantly extensional deformation. Final tectonic emplacement of the LVU over the PCU post-dated the metamorphism of the LVU and was accompanied by intense ductile deformation along zones of strain localisation in footwall rocks. All of the units were later affected by folding and minor thrusting during subsequent Apennine tectonics. To cite this article: A. Iannace et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Organochlorine compounds in tissues of swordfish (Xiphias gladius) from Mediterranean Sea and Azores islands

Polychlorobiphenyls (PCB) and organochlorine (OC) pesticides are endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). The Italian Ministry of Environment has undertaken a program (1999-2001) to measure levels of contaminants in top marine predators and to develop sensitive biomarkers for the evaluation of toxicological risk in these species. In 1999, 15 swordfishes (Xiphias gladius) taken from the Mediterranean Sea along the Sicilian coast (Strait of Messina, Italy) and in the Atlantic Ocean along the Azores Islands, and analysed for 34 congeners of PCBs and 27 organochlorine (OC) pesticides in gonad, muscle, liver and blubber tissues. In the tissues of Mediterranean swordfishes the sum of the determined PCBs congeners ranged from 4.61 to 4651.17 ng g(-1) on fresh tissue basis. Among organochlorine pesticides DDE, DDT and DDD (TDE) predominated with an overall range of 2.37-4734.56 ng(-1) w.w. In particular p,p'-DDE had concentrations appearing up to 3900 ng(-1), with the highest values found in fatty tissues, such as blubber. In the liver of Azores Island swordfishes lower levels of summation PCBs (8.43-294.17 ng/g w.w.) and summation DDTs (<0.01-217.44 ng/g w.w.) were determined.     

Eclogite-facies vein systems in the Marun-Keu complex (Polar Urals,Russia): textural,chemical and thermal constraints for patterns of fluid flow in the lower crust

Metasomatic amphibole-eclogite sequences grew in selvages of quartz veins from the Marun-Keu complex (Polar Urals, Russia) during high-pressure metamorphism. Relicts of a pre-metasomatic eclogite-facies assemblage are present in the wallrock layers as irregular patches. Wallrock interstitial quartz trails lying at a high angle to reaction fronts provide evidence for grain-scale pore channelisation which may be produced by intergranular-fluid compositional gradients parallel to the quartz trails. Disequilibrium at vein-wallrock scale is inferred from wallrock mineral heterogeneity and from variable initial Sr isotope ratios in mineral separates. Mass-balance calculations between relicts and wallrock assemblages reveal chemical imbalances caused by open system-behaviour with two way mass-transfer. The vein-wallrock system registers a prograde history from 408–434 °C (relicts) to 526–668 °C (vein precipitates). Vein and metasomatic assemblages formed during a single fluid-rock interaction process, implying high heating rates (100 °C/Ma), which could result from heat advection by large-scale fluid circulation.Editorial responsibility: W. Schreyer     

Enigmatic diamonds in Archean calc-alkaline lamprophyres of Wawa, southern Ontario, Canada

A suite of 80 macrodiamonds recovered from volcaniclastic breccia of Wawa (southern Ontario) was characterized on the basis of morphology, nitrogen content and aggregation, cathodoluminescence (CL), and mineral inclusions. The host calc-alkaline lamprophyric breccias were emplaced at 2.68–2.74 Ga, contemporaneously with voluminous bimodal volcanism of the Michipicoten greenstone belt. The studied suite of diamonds differs from the vast majority of diamond suites found worldwide. First, the suite is hosted by calc-alkaline lamprophyric volcanics rather than by kimberlite or lamproite. Second, the host volcanic rock is amongst the oldest known diamondiferous rocks on Earth, and has experienced regional metamorphism and deformation. Finally, most diamonds show yellow-orange-red CL and contain mineral inclusions not in equilibrium with each other or their host diamond. The majority of the diamonds in the Wawa suite are colorless, weakly resorbed, octahedral single crystals and aggregates. The diamonds contain 0–740 ppm N and show two modes of N aggregation at 0–30 and 60–95% B-centers suggesting mantle storage at 1,100–1,170°C. Cathodoluminescence and FTIR spectroscopy shows that emission peaks present in orange CL stones do not likely result from irradiation or single substitutional N, in contrast to other diamonds with red CL. The diamonds contain primary inclusions of olivine (Fo₉₂ and Fo₈₉), omphacite, orthopyroxene (En₉₃), pentlandite, albite, and An-rich plagioclase. These peridotitic and eclogitic minerals are commonly found within single diamonds in a mixed paragenesis which also combines shallow and deep phases. This apparent disequilibrium can be explained by effective small-scale mixing of subducted oceanic crust and mantle rocks in fast “cold” plumes ascending from the top of the slabs in convergent margins. Alternatively, the diamonds could have formed in the pre-2.7–2.9 Ga cratonic mantle and experienced subsequent alteration of syngenetic inclusions related to host magmatism and ensuing metamorphism. Neither orogenic nor cratonic model of the diamond origin fully explains all of the observed characteristics of the diamonds and their host rocks. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at and is accessible for authorized users.     

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.     

A physical analogue model to analyse interactions between tensile stresses and dissolution in carbonate slopes

A physical analogue model was developed to analyse the relationship between tensional states in rock masses, seepage and karst processes. Use was made of an experimental apparatus consisting of two hydraulic circuits realized by drilling two holes into each of two blocks of sampled limestone from the central Apennines (Italy). A static load (208.85 kg) was applied to one of the blocks in order to elicit tensile stresses within it. Physical and chemical monitoring data showed that the main process involved was temperature-dependent CaCO₃ dissolution. This process was more marked in the loaded block circuit, as Ca⁺⁺ concentration in circulated water reached 54 mg/L, whereas only 28 mg/L was reached in the unloaded one. The interaction between load and dissolution caused the observed opening of microcracks, as confirmed by further increase of water loss and by dilution in the loaded block circuit, resulting in a decrease of Ca⁺⁺ concentration. These findings were confirmed by recording additional water losses after increasing the load up to 445.05 kg. A finite difference numerical model showed that tensile stresses (max 20 kPa) within the loaded block were clustered at the intersection of the main joints with the flowpaths, thus representing points of preferential and accelerated dissolution.This study is part of a research project on analogical and numerical modelling for geological risk mitigation being conducted at CERI, Research Centre for Geological Risks of the University of Rome “La Sapienza” (Valmontone, Roma, Italy; http://www.ceri@uniroma1.it).     

Lava flow in tubes with elliptical cross sections

We develop a model of lava flow in a cylindrical tube with elliptical cross section. The lava is considered an isothermal, incompressible Newtonian fluid. We solve analytically the steady-state Navier–Stokes equation under a constant driving force, given by the component of gravity along the axis of the tube and obtain the velocity and stress field components in the fluid. The ratio between the flow rate of the elliptical tube and that of a circular tube, having the same cross sectional area, is found to be always less than 1 and to depend only on the value of eccentricity. The ratio decreases rapidly when the eccentricity becomes lower than about 0.5. The average flow velocity in a partially filled tube is calculated under the assumption of constant flow rate. In an elliptical tube, the shear traction is not uniform on the wall of the tube, but changes periodically with the position. It is maximum at the intersections with the minor axis and minimum at the intersections with the major axis, the ratio between the maximum and the minimum value being equal to the ratio between the lengths of the two axes. Assuming that the erosion rate of the wall of the tube is proportional to shear traction, we calculate the erosion of the wall as a function of time and find that its effect is such as to make the tube cross section closer to the circular shape.