Search results for "TECTONICS"
showing 10 items of 385 documents
Hotspot distribution, gravity, mantle tomography: evidence for plumes
1999
Abstract Thermal convection is the motor of Earth dynamics and therefore is the link between plate motions, hotspots, seismic velocity variations in the mantle, and anomalies of the gravity field. Small scale mantle anomalies, such as plumes, do, however, generally escape detection by tomographic methods. It is attempted to approach the problem of detection in a somewhat statistical manner. Correlations are sought between spherical harmonic expansions of the fields under study: the hotspot distribution, mantle velocity variations, gravity, heat flow. Using spherical harmonic representations of global fields implies integration and averaging over the whole globe. Thus, although relationships…
Outgassing of Mantle Volatiles in Compressional Tectonic Regime Away From Volcanism: The Role of Continental Delamination
2019
In this study we discuss the occurrence of mantle-derived heat and volatiles (i.e., helium and CO 2 ) feeding hydrothermal systems in a seismically active margin between two convergent plates (African and European) without any signals of volcanism. The helium (He) isotopes clearly indicate a mantle-derived component in the outgassing volatiles. The estimated mantle-derived He fluxes are up to two to three orders of magnitude greater than those in a stable continental area. Such high He fluxes cannot be provided by a long-lasting diffusion, thereby implying a more efficient transport (i.e., advective transport through faults). He data coupled to heat-He relationship suggest the occurrence of…
Transfer of mantle derived fluids across the Calabrian-Peloritan arc: tectonic and geodynamic implications
2019
Mantle degassing occurs principally through active volcanic systems and young oceanic lithosphere. Tectonically active regions on the continental crust may additionally contribute a (poorly quantified) fraction of the deep CO2 budget. We studied volatiles in thermal manifestations along the seismically active Nebrodi-Peloritani chains (NE Sicily), to investigate the origin of thermalism and the sources of the outgassing fluids. The geological evolution of the area has been controlled by the interaction between the European and African plates and links the African Maghreb with the European Apennines. The collected samples exhibit 3He excess, supporting active outgassing of mantle-derived vol…
New Evidence of MIS 3 Relative Sea Level Changes from the Messina Strait, Calabria (Italy)
2021
Investigation of sea-level positions during the highly-dynamic Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3: 29–61 kyrs BP) proves difficult because: (i) in stable and subsiding areas, coeval coastal sediments are currently submerged at depths of few to several tens of meters below the present sea level
Preservation of modern and mis 5.5 erosional landforms and biological structures as sea level markers: A matter of luck?
2021
The Mediterranean Basin is characterized by a significant variability in tectonic behaviour, ranging from subsidence to uplifting. However, those coastal areas considered to be tectonically stable show coastal landforms at elevations consistent with eustatic and isostatic sea level change models. In particular, geomorphological indicators—such as tidal notches or shore platforms—are often used to define the tectonic stability of the Mediterranean coasts. We present the results of swim surveys in nine rocky coastal sectors in the central Mediterranean Sea using the Geoswim approach. The entire route was covered in 22 days for a total distance of 158.5 km. All surveyed sites are considered to…
The Valencian coast (Western Mediterranean): Neotectonics and geomorphology
1996
Abstract An analysis of terrestrial and marine data has shown the coastal fringe of the emerged continent to be naturally divided into five distinct morphosedimentary sectors, whereas three clearly different large domains are visible in the submarine shelf. This geographic coastal space corresponds to an area of wide tectonic activity where the internal and external units of Betic Ranges meet, showing a morphological expression of the substratum structure. On the contrary, the continental shelf located to the North, in the Gulf of Valencia, is subsiding and has important accumulations of sediments as a consequence of the influence of units linked to the Iberic orogeny. The detailed analysis…
Cerro del Hierro, Spain: the largest exposed early Cambrian palaeokarst
2020
AbstractWe study the largest exposed example of an early Cambrian palaeokarst, associated with laterites and developed during rifting of the Ossa–Morena Zone. The lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, facies and the genesis reflect episodes of sea-level fall (Cerro del Hierro Regression) related to tectonic events and palaeoclimate. This palaeokarst can be primarily considered as the result of early Cambrian polyphase karstification in an extensional tectonic regime, later modified by Neogene–Quaternary geomorphological processes. The event may correlate with other regressive events of a similar age in Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, South America and Australia. This episode also has local name…
Geomorphology of the Capo San Vito Peninsula (NW Sicily): An Example of Tectonically and Climatically Controlled Landscape
2017
The Capo San Vito peninsula is located along the north-westernmost sector of the Sicilian coastline. It is characterized by a complex geomorphological setting, where a large variety of coastal, gravity-induced and karst landforms allow the visitor to easily detect the interactions between Quaternary tectonics and climate changes as well as morphodynamic processes responsible for shaping the landscape. Thanks to natural reserves, the peninsula preserves a typical Mediterranean natural environment, marked by spectacular and suggestive landforms.
Deformation history during chain building deduced by outcrop structural analysis: The case of the Sicilian fold-and-thrust belt (Central Mediterranea…
2015
Abstract The Sicilian fold-and-thrust belt is located in the central Mediterranean area, and it represents the south-eastern arcuate segment of the Apennine-Maghrebide orogen. The tectonic evolution of the Sicilian belt is documented after outcrop analysis of small-scale structural features carried out throughout the region. Results are consistent with the following four main deformation stages having affected the study area, from the oldest to the youngest: (i) multilayer weakening; (ii) folding-and-thrusting, (iii) extension, and (iv) renewed thrusting. The first deformation stage included three different substages (layer-parallel shortening, bed-parallel simple shear and fold nucleation)…
The barren Messinian Tripoli in Sicily and its palaeoenvironmental evolution: suggestions on the exploration potential
2016
New observations on the Sicily Messinian Tripoli have yielded a variably thick diatomitic, calcareous and shaly rock interval marked by an upwards disappearance of calcareous and siliceous plankton (barren lithosome), coexisting with a variability in vegetal remains and significant amounts of amorphous organic matter (AOM). Facies analysis associated with biostratigraphy and palaeoecology of the several field and borehole sections has been framed in a well-accepted chronological scheme that points to this barren interval coinciding with the stratigraphic upper and younger part of some Tripoli sections (bituminous Tripoli) located in the northern part of the study area. Biostratigraphically,…