Apulian Foreland Research Articles

Slab Driven Quaternary Rock‐Uplift and Topographic Evolution in the Northern‐Central Apennines From Linear Inversion of the Drainage System

AbstractInvestigating rock‐uplift variations in time and space provides insights into the processes driving mountain‐belt evolution. The Apennine Mountains of Italy underwent substantial Quaternary rock uplift that shaped the present‐day topography. Here, we present linear river‐profile inversions for 28 catchments draining the eastern flank of the Northern‐Central Apennines to reconstruct rock‐uplift histories. We calibrated these results by estimating an erodibility coefficient (K) from incision rates and catchment‐averaged erosion rates obtained from cosmogenic‐nuclide data, and we tested whether a uniform or variable K produces a rock‐uplift model that satisfactorily fits independent geochronological constraints. We employ a landscape‐evolution model to demonstrate that our inversion results are reliable despite substantial seaward lengthening of the catchments during uplift. Our findings suggest that a rock‐uplift pulse started around 3.0–2.5 Ma, coinciding with the onset of extension in the Apennines, and migrated southward at a rate of ∼90 km/Myr. The highest reconstructed rock‐uplift rates (>1 km/Myr) occur in the region encompassing the highest Apennine massifs. These results are consistent with numerical models and field evidence from other regions exhibiting rapid rock‐uplift pulses and uplift migration related to slab break‐off. Our results support the hypothesis of break‐off of the Adria slab under the central Apennines and its southward propagation during the Quaternary. Moreover, the results suggest a renewed increase in rock‐uplift rates after the Middle Pleistocene along the Adriatic coast, coeval with recent uplift acceleration along the eastern coast of southern Italy in the Apulian foreland.

Evidence of new diapiric structures in the southern Adria Plate (Eastern Margin of Tethyan Ocean): Implications for Triassic paleogeography and evaporites remobilization during subduction/collision (Northern Ionian Sea, Central Mediterranean)

It has long been recognized that the Adria Plate, as well as the Dinaric-Hellenic sector, contains a large volume of Triassic salt associated with diapirism, and it is well known that Triassic evaporites in the Mediterranean Sea region were deposited over epicratonic platforms surrounding the Mesozoic passive margin of Tethys Ocean. However, the real extent of these evaporites is still unknown; especially in the deep-water offshore area where publicly available seismic reflection profiles are scarce and petroleum exploration wells are missing. Several authors highlighted the presence of Triassic salt structures, mostly triggered by Meso-Cenozoic compressions and associated with fold-and-thrust belts. Both the lack of data and the later compressions contribute to hiding how a diapiric structure, formed in a passive margin and characterized by dome's geometry, is remoulded to assume a teardrop geometry typical of diapirs in fold-and-thrust belts. Two end members of diapiric structures are discussed: extensional structures formed in a passive margin, and compressional structures formed in a fold-thrust belt. The transformation of one end-member into the other is not well known. In the Northern Ionian Sea, the Apulian foreland, belonging to the southernmost termination of the Adria Plate and considered one of the largest preserved Mesozoic passive margin block of the Tethys Ocean, is a deep-water area associated with the opposing fronts of the nearby Calabrian Arc/Apennines and Dinaric-Hellenic Chains since the Cretaceous. Therefore, it represents an ideal area for investigating both the real extent of Triassic evaporites and the transformation of the diapiric structures under different regional geodynamic contexts.Based on seismic reflection profiles but no petroleum exploration wells, we present evidence of Triassic evaporites in the deep-water portion of the Apulian foreland, as indicated by the interpretation of two diapiric structures never described previously. These two new diapirs likely formed from inherited Mesozoic salt structures such as pillows and/or salt domes. The identification of halokinetic-related sequences affecting the Plio-Quaternary foreland sediments allows constraining the polyphaser evolution of the two diapirs. We suggest they are reactivated in response to the compressive stresses transmitted by the nearby Calabrian Arc/Southern Apennines and Hellenides. But, after the Middle Pleistocene, extensional tectonics, related to Adria Plate flexuring, acted again, and the diapirs were cross-cut by normal faults. These observations and findings are integrated into the geological context that controls the fundamental features of the diapirs, providing new insights on the fate of diapiric structures formed in a passive margin, later involved in a subducting and colliding plate, and before they become part of a fold-and-thrust belt. Furthermore, the study provides new constraints on the Triassic paleogeographic reconstruction of the Northern Ionian and Central Mediterranean Seas at the continental margin of the Tethys Ocean.

The northern fault of the onshore-offshore Monte Giove relief in the southern Adriatic Sea, Italy: implications for tectonic reactivation in the Apulian Foreland

We provide improved constraints on the timing, geometry and kinematics of the fault that may control the northern submerged morpho-structural relief termed Monte Giove, offshore from the town of Polignano a Mare. We have integrated onshore and offshore data, and interpreted seismic profiles from the ViDEPI project pertaining to the offshore Adriatic Sea of the Murge area, and made field observations north of Polignano a Mare. The fault has been surveyed onshore and mainly offshore along a distance of ~25 km. Generally striking E–W, it dips at high angle to the NNE in the west and to the N in the east. Active since at least the Cretaceous, this was reactivated after the Early Pleistocene with dextral oblique-slip kinematics. It borders the Monte Giove submerged relief/structural high, and continues eastwards in the Adriatic Sea into the Northern Deformation Zone/”Murge basse” graben, that in turn affected the onshore Murge area. Fault reactivation may have been related to a strain field in the outer part of the gentle buckle fold that involved the continental lithosphere of the Apulian Foreland (i.e., the areas of the Murge onshore and the Adriatic Sea offshore) since the Middle Pleistocene, as roll-back of the subducting lithosphere halted. Besides its tectonic reactivation, this fault has important implications as regards local seismic hazard, as well as the morphology influencing the present-day bioherm.

Quaternary Lowstand Prograding Wedges of the Salento Continental Shelf (Southern Adriatic Sea, Italy): Architectural Stacking Patterns and the Control of Glacio-Eustatic Sea Level Fluctuations and Foreland Tectonic Uplift

The performance of both the tectonic uplift and of the 4th-order glacial eustatic sea level fluctuations in controlling the stratigraphic architecture of Quaternary lowstand prograding wedges of the Salento continental shelf (Southern Adriatic sea, Italy) during a time interval spanning from the Middle Pleistocene to the Holocene has been pointed out through the interpretation of high-resolution seismic reflection profiles and their correlation to the curves of the isotopic stratigraphy. Three main transgressive surfaces of erosion (RS1, RS2 and RS3) punctuate the stratigraphic architecture of the Salento continental shelf, separating Quaternary lowstand prograding wedges between them. All along the Middle Pleistocene, increasing the tectonic uplift of the Puglia offshore, combining with 4th-order glacio-eustatic variations, have dealt with the pattern of a broad forced regression prograding wedge, favoring a platform progradation of approximately 15 km. The architectural stacking patterns of the overlying Late Pleistocene and Holocene prograding wedges are controlled by 4th-order glacio-eustatic sea level changes, allowing for the formation of incomplete depositional sequences. In this period, the eustatic signature overcomes the tectonic mark, implying a decline in the uplift of the Apulian foreland in the course of the final 250 ky.

Middle-late Pleistocene chronology of palaeoshorelines and uplift history in the low-rising to stable Apulian foreland: Overprinting and reoccupation

To refine knowledge about terrace phases and uplift history for a tectonically poor deformed region, we apply the synchronous correlation method to reconstruct the chronology of a poorly constrained sequence of raised palaeoshorelines on the Apulian foreland, southern Italy. This work uses new chronological constraints obtained by amino acid racemisation (AAR) and isoleucine/alloisoleucine epimerisation (IE) on Patella spp., Thetystrombus latus (Gmelin), Glycymeris sp., and ostracods and U-series dating on corals Hoplangia durotrix Gosse and Cladocora caespitosa Linneo. This procedure provides a quantitative estimate of the vertical movements and associated rates within a region of the Apulian foreland. The synchronous correlation method uses sea-level highstands and uplift rate(s) as inputs; in particular, for sea-level highstands, the inputs are the age of the highstands and the sea-level elevation of the highstands relative to the present-day sea level. The output is a set of currently expected elevations of each sea-level highstand (the present elevations of palaeoshorelines). We then used regression analysis to assess the robustness between our observed palaeoshorelines and expected elevations of sea-level highstands. Our results show that the best fitting scenario is obtained using the sea-level curves of (i) Waelbroeck et al. (2002) from present to 410 ky BP and (ii) Rohling et al. (2014) from 410 to 590 ky BP as inputs for our synchronous correlation method, with uplift rates ranging from 0.09 mm/y to 0.07 mm/y with a mean value of 0.08 mm/y from 590 ky BP onwards.We recognised palaeoshorelines in the field belonging to the following highstands: 120 ky BP (MIS 5.5, second peak), 127 ky BP (MIS 5.5, first peak), 212 ky BP (MIS 7.3), 330 ky BP (MIS 9.3), 410 (MIS 11), 525 ky BP (MIS 13.3), and 590 ky BP (MIS 15). Our results show field observations of the reoccupation effect of younger palaeoshorelines over older ones due to the relatively slow uplift rates measured in the investigated area as predicted by our synchronous correlation method. In particular, we show a well-mapped and described reoccupation of the MIS 5.5 palaeoshoreline over the MIS 7.3 palaeoshoreline, constrained by new absolute dating.In addition, the data from the Apulian foreland suggest an MIS 7.3 highstand close to the present sea level.

Refining the middle-late Pleistocene chronology of marine terraces and uplift history in a sector of the Apulian foreland (southern Italy) by applying a synchronous correlation technique and amino acid racemization to Patella spp. and Thetystrombus latus

For the first time, the synchronous correlation technique and amino acid racemization (AAR) analyses of Patella spp. and Thetystrombus latus shells are applied to an understudied sequence of raised palaeoshorelines to refine the knowledge about terrace phases and uplift history in the middle-late Pleistocene in a sector of the Apulian foreland (western coast of the Salento Peninsula, southern Italy). These combined methodologies provide the first chronological attribution for middle-late Pleistocene palaeoshorelines and quantitative assessment of vertical crustal movements in this sector of the Apulian foreland, which, to date, has been characterised by a scarcity of reliable chronological data.By applying a synchronous correlation technique driven by new AAR analyses, we iterate different uplift rate scenarios to find the best match between digital terrain model and field-based observed palaeoshorelines and “expected” sea level highstand elevations.Our results show that two uplift rate scenarios could explain the mapped geomorphology: (i) scenario 1 suggests fluctuating uplift rates over time with an uplift rate of 0.15 mm/y until 130 ky BP (middle Pleistocene, interval MIS 15 - MIS 6; that is, 590 - 130 ky BP) and of 0.07 mm/y from 130 ky BP to the present; on the other hand, (ii) scenario 2 suggests a constant uplift rate of 0.12 mm/y over time in the middle-late Pleistocene.The palaeoshorelines recognised in this study are related to the following highstands: 119 ky BP (MIS 5.5 second peak), 125 ky BP (MIS 5.5), 240 ky BP (MIS 7.5), 340 ky BP (MIS 9.3), and 478 ky BP (MIS 13.1) for both scenarios 1 and 2. The two scenarios only differ in the oldest palaeoshoreline: 560 ky BP (MIS 15.3) in scenario 1 and 550 ky BP (MIS 15.1) in scenario 2.Our results highlight how the number of preserved palaeoshorelines is controlled by uplift rates; indeed, in this area, we show that fewer palaeoshorelines are preserved than in regions where higher uplift rates have beeninferred, suggesting a more prominent effect of the “overprinting” or re-occupation of younger sea level highstands over the older sea level highstands. Finally, we discuss geomorphological and geological implications of using a synchronous correlation approach, driven by new age controls, to model raised palaeoshorelines where relatively low uplift rates have been mapped within well-known geodynamically stable regions, such as the Apulian foreland, southern Italy.

Crustal structure in the Campanian region (Southern Apennines, Italy) from potential field modelling

We present a 3D model of the main crustal boundaries beneath the Campanian region and the onshore and offshore surrounding areas, based on high-resolution potential field data. Our main objective is the definition of the main structural interfaces in the whole Campanian region from gravity and magnetic data, thanks to their ability to define them on a regional and continuous way. The complex morphology of the Mesozoic carbonate platform, which is fundamental to constrain the top of geothermal reservoir, was reconstructed by inverting the vertical gradient of gravity. We assumed local information from seismic models and boreholes to improve the model. We modeled the deep crustal structures by spectral analysis of Bouguer gravity and magnetic data. The inferred depth estimates indicate a shallow crystalline basement below the Tyrrhenian crust and the Apulian foreland and a significant depression beneath the Bradanic foredeep. The map of the Moho boundary shows a NE-SE verging trough below the Southern Apennine chain and two pronounced uplifts beneath the foreland and the Tyrrhenian crust. We also estimated the depth to the magnetic bottom, showing a thick magnetic crust below the mountain chain and shallow depths where the crustal heat flow is high. The models were compared with seismic sections along selected profiles; a good agreement was observed, despite of some inherent lower resolution for the gravity modelling from spectral methods. The regional covering and the continuity of our estimated crustal interfaces make it a new and valid reference for further geological, geophysical and geothermal studies, especially in areas such as northern and eastern Campania, where there is an incomplete geophysical and geological information.

Pleistocene terracing phases in the metropolitan area of Bari - AAR dating and deduced uplift rates of the Apulian Foreland

We performed detailed geological and geomorphological analyses on a series of marine terraces located around the city of Bari (southern Italy). Absolute dating was obtained by applying amino acid racemisation (AAR) to ostracod valves taken from deposits lying on marine terraces. The combination of literature data, field geological surveys, digital terrain model analysis, and absolute dating allowed us to recognise and map: i) four terrace surfaces bordered by four inner edges which date to MIS 7.5, 7.3, 7.1, and 5.5; and ii) three terraced deposits, which date to MIS 7.5, 7.1, and 5.5. These new data represent the first dated terraced deposits (older than MIS 5) of the coastal stretch of the Apulian foreland between Trani and Taranto. Using inner edges of the terraces as palaeo sea level markers, we calculate the mean uplift rates that characterised this portion of the Apulian foreland from MIS 7.5, 7.3, 7.1, 5.5 to the present day; these rates are 0.28, 0.255, 0.15 and 0.01 mm/y, respectively. These new dated Pleistocene terraced deposits allow to refine the knowledge on the chronology, the spatial extension and rate of the uplift and, in general, on the Pleistocene geodynamics of the Apulian foreland.

Matera’s Old Quarries: Geological and Historical Archives That Need Protection and Valorization

The Sassi of Matera, UNESCO site since 1993, represents a human settlement completely integrated in the natural landscape. There, the development of the community is closely connected to the geology since prehistoric times. The Calcarenite di Gravina, a Pleistocene poorly lithified limestone onlapping a large area of the Apulian foreland in southern Italy, is the building stone that people used to carve their houses inside, and build the town outside. The use of calcarenite for housing began in the prehistory with the first human settlement, deepening natural caves which served as dwellings, while the mining activity began in the third century B.C., increasing until the nineteenth century in connection with the urban development of Matera. The calcarenite was carved out on site and used to build houses. In the eighteenth century, the great urban development of the city gave way to large mining activities in the northern area of Matera. Geomorphological analysis through aerial photographs and a geological survey in this area have been carried out to investigate the historical quarrying activities. In the present study, six quarry areas along the Appia Antica road are valuated: the Madonna delle Vergini topographic high; Cava della Palomba; Parco Scultura–Cava Paradiso; Cava del Sole, the Monumental Quarry Remains; Via Ridola inside the Piano, the highest area of Sassi. They represent peculiar and important examples to be safeguarded and valued. Their geomorphological, geostratigraphical and palaeontological elements provide useful information for understanding the territory evolution in the last two millennia.

Evaluation of soft limestone degradation in the Sassi UNESCO site (Matera, Southern Italy): Loss of material measurement and classification

Abstract Soft limestone degradation is the main problem in the old district of Matera (Sassi), a rupestrian settlement excavated and built in the Pleistocene Gravina Calcarenite, which has been recognized as a UNESCO heritage site since 1993. The Gravina Calcarenite outcrops in a large area in the Apulian foreland, onlapping the Cretaceous Altamura limestone. It can be divided in two main typologies, the first one characterized by the predominance of bioclastic components and the second one mainly consisting of lithoclastic grains. All Sassi are built and excavated in this soft stone that gives a unique aspect to the town. Unfortunately, the decay of calcarenite materials is very fast and the calcarenite constructions are now in a bad state of conservation. In this work, we present a new method for the classification and the quantitative estimation of material loss in degraded natural stones by using Structure from Motion (SfM) and image analysis techniques. In detail, degradation patterns were described on 250 facades of Matera Sassi by using the International Council on Monument and Site – International Scientific Committee for Stone – ICOMOS-ISCS atlas. The peculiar decay morphologies have been related to the extent of material loss, especially with alveolization patterns that develops on the 76% of the facades. The relationships between the identified decay patterns and the lithological features were discussed, highlighting the higher susceptibility of bioclastic calcarenite respect to the lithoclastic type. Following this analysis, five stages of decay related to loss of material were determined and quantified. The proposed approach represents a new and easy method for evaluating the degradation stage of ancient buildings and for better assessing the long-term survey and the maintenance of stone monuments.

In search of the seismogenic fault of the March 23rd 2018 earthquake (Mw 3.7) near Brindisi (Puglia, Southern Italy)

The portion of the southern Adriatic Sea, adjacent to the Murge area (Apulian Foreland, Southern Italy), is considered mainly aseismic. The recent March 23rd 2018 earthquake (Mw 3.7), occurred near Brindisi (Puglia Region), giving us occasion to reconsider data coming from different sources (instrumentally-recorded, historically-documented and palaeoseismologically-interpreted earthquakes), that suggest some moderate seismic shocks in this portion of the Adriatic Sea. The present study, based on the re-interpretation of public domain seismic profiles and exploration well logs available in the ViDEPI Project, has been focused on the recognition of faults with Quaternary activity in the epicentral area. A S-dipping fault, with a main dip-slip component of movement, is suggested to be the seismogenic source. Its geometry is consistent with the fault plane solution and the depth of the hypocenter calculated by the INGV (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia).

Mass Transport Deposits and geo-hazard assessment in the Bradano Foredeep (Southern Apennines, Ionian Sea)

Seafloor bathymetry, combined with multi-scale seismic reflection profiles, were used to describe the morphostructural setting of the Bradano Foredeep (Gulf of Taranto, northern Ionian Sea), where a submerged portion of the Southern Apennines is facing the Apulia Platform in the Calabrian Arc convergent margin. In this complex area, marine geophysical data highlight the presence of two mega-slide deposits at the shelf-slope transition, which are most likely the largest ever described in the region. These slid masses, named the Bradano Basento MegaSlide (BBMS) and Bradano Basento MegaSlide 1 (BBMS1), form a Mass Transport Deposit Complex (MTDC) affecting and eroding the topmost portion of the outer Apennines deformation front and the Apulian Foreland Ramp. It was emplaced in late Pleistocene times inside the narrow (about 10 km wide) Bradano Foredeep basin, a Plio-Pleistocene submarine trough developing at the chain front. The youngest of these deposits (BBMS1) likely predates the Last Glacial Maximum. Location of the MTDC within the subduction complex suggests that active tectonics and seismic shaking might represent the main triggering mechanisms for gravitative instability in this area, although gravitational tectonics and sediment creeping mechanisms cannot be excluded. On the other hand, size and distribution of the MTDC in the sedimentary record of the Bradano Foredeep suggest the need of re-evaluating the potential for large earthquakes/tsunamis, and more in general geological hazard related to submarine sliding masses, along the coast of this highly populated area.

Quaternary tectonostratigraphic evolution of the Vlora Basin, south‐western Albania

The Vlora Bay is a roughly north‐west–south‐east‐oriented tectonic depression located at the collision zone between the Apulian Foreland and the Albano‐Hellenic Chain in south‐western Albania. The bay exhibits a triangular‐shaped geometry, which is the result of different tectonic phases that occurred mostly between the end of the Neogene and the Quaternary. The bay consists of two distinct physiographic sections: a shallow water marine offshore area and a recently emerged onshore sector. Along the onshore sector, Pleistocene clastic sediments filling the Pleistocene Vlora Basin crop out due to the recent uplift phases. The sedimentological and stratigraphic organization of the Vlora Basin deposits and the role played by Quaternary tectonic structures in their deposition are the main topics of this paper. A detailed field survey, supported by a geoelectrical survey, reveals a series of unconformity‐bounded stratigraphic units deposited in two north‐west–south‐east‐oriented subbasins. The two subbasins are separated by an intrabasinal, fault‐bounded, pre‐Quaternary morpho‐structural high and are mainly filled by shallow marine to continental deposits. A detailed structural analysis shows different tectonic phases affecting the area during the Pleistocene. Additionally, the geophysical survey facilitates the reconstruction of the deep structure of the basin and provides a better definition of the basin margins. Based on both geological and geophysical data, a tectonostratigraphic evolutionary model is proposed for the Vlora Basin Pleistocene sedimentary infill. This model consists of three phases of sedimentation that were essentially controlled by fault activity and by the progressive uplift of the area.

Neogene tectono-sedimentary interaction between the Calabrian Accretionary Wedge and the Apulian Foreland in the northern Ionian Sea

The structural setting of the northern Ionian Sea is the result of the collision between the Calabrian Accretionary Wedge (CAW) and the adjacent foreland, i.e. the Apulian Carbonate Platform. The CAW represents a sector of the Apennine accretionary system extending in the Ionian Sea, bounded to the west by the Malta Escarpment and to the east by the Apulia Escarpment. This work presents the results of the interpretation of new seismic and bathymetric data acquired on the north-eastern edge of the CAW, in the N-Ionian Sea. The data interpretation has identified four main structural domains from NE to SW: 1. The Apulian carbonate Platform consisting of foreland shelf and transitional Mesozoic-Cenozoic carbonate deposits; 2. A narrow foredeep basin, filled by a very thick Plio-Quaternary succession; 3. A deformed domain, at the front of the CAW, incorporating thrusted foredeep sequences and a carbonate block of the Apulian Platform (Transpressed Apulian Block, TAB); 4. A highly deformed pre-Pliocene accretionary wedge. A mid-Pliocene unconformity interpreted on both the CAW and Apulian Foreland suggests that a regional tectonic event occurred at that time, related to the evolution of Calabrian Arc, moving on the subducting oceanic Ionian slab before the collision. This event would correspond to a main tilting and faulting phase of the Apulian Foreland during the diachronous oblique collision with the CAW. The collision and the presence of a remnant of Ionian foreland at the southern front of the accretionary prism, caused a gradual transition to a transpressional tectonics which produced the uplift of the TAB. The TAB would be the south-east continuation of the Amendolara ridge transpressed structure, which forms the offshore extension of the Pollino range. This transpressed shear zone involving the Apulian Foreland developed above the transition between the Adriatic continental crust and the subducting Ionian oceanic crust.

Geology of the middle and upper Pleistocene marine and continental terraces of the northern Tavoliere di Puglia plain (Apulia, southern Italy)

The Tavoliere di Puglia is a large alluvial plain located in southern Italy (Foggia Province, Apulia Region). From a geological perspective view, it represents the northern part of the Bradanic trough located between the southern Apennine Chain and the Apulian Foreland. A detailed geological survey of the middle-late Pleistocene terraces has been performed in this area and a new geologic map, at 1:150,000 scale, is here described. Criteria to distinguish these units are based on the recognition of basal unconformity surfaces: seven different synthems (UBSU, Unconformity-bounded Stratigraphic Units) have been discriminated. The data are presented in a synthesis map in which the geometrical relationships between the different sedimentary units are shown. New results for this sector of the Bradanic trough are significantly different from previous literature data. Furthermore, the map allows a reliable reconstruction of the Tavoliere di Puglia paleogeography during the Late Quaternary. Moreover, a detailed ma...

Dynamical scenarios from a two-patch predator–prey system with human control – Implications for the conservation of the wolf in the Alta Murgia National Park

We evaluate a mathematical model of the predator–prey population dynamics in a fragmented habitat where both migration processes between habitat patches and prey control policies are taken into account. The considered system is examined by applying the aggregation method and different dynamical scenarios are generated. The resulting implications are then discussed, their primary aim being the conservation of the wolf population in the Alta Murgia National Park, a protected area situated in the Apulian Foreland and also part of the Natura 2000 network. The Italian wolf is an endangered species and the challenge for the regional authorities is how to formulate conservation policies which enable the maintenance of the said wolf population while at the same time curbing that of the local wild boars and its negative impact on agriculture. We show that our model provides constructive suggestions in how to combine wild boar abatement programs awhile maintaining suitable ecological corridors which ensure wolf migration, thus preserving wolves from extinction.

Structural properties of fractured and faulted Cretaceous platform carbonates, Murge Plateau (southern Italy)

The Upper Cretaceous carbonates cropping out in the Murge Plateau are good analogues of the fractured and faulted carbonate oil reservoirs of southern Italy. For this reason, a detailed field analysis focused on structural architecture of fault and fracture networks has been carried out in the Murge Plateau. The well-bedded carbonates exposed there are crosscut by a set of bed-parallel stylolites and two sets of bed-perpendicular cross-orthogonal joints/veins. These structural elements were likely formed under vertical loading during burial diagenesis and flexure of the Apulian foreland of the Southern Apennines fold-and-thrust belt. Bed-parallel stylolites and bed-perpendicular cross-orthogonal joints/veins represent the background deformation that was overprinted by the fault-related localized deformation. The fault sets documented in the study area are arranged in two kinematically-compatible fault networks. The first one is made up of WNW-ESE and NNW-SSE oriented strike-slip faults, right- and left-lateral, respectively, and NW–SE oriented normal faults. The second fault network consists of WNW-ESE oriented left-lateral strike-slip faults, and NE–SW oriented normal faults.First, both architecture and dimensional parameters of the fault and fracture networks have been characterized and computed by means of statistical analysis. Then, the permeability structures associated to the aforementioned networks have been assessed in order to determine the role exerted by fault architecture and dissolution/cementation processes on the fluid storage and migration pathways within the studied platform carbonates. Network 1 faults show a quite variable fluid behavior, in which the fluid flow is strongly affected by inherited structural elements and karst dissolution, whereas network 2 faults show a more uniform, fluid conduit behavior.

Geology of the middle and upper Pleistocene marine and continental terraces of the northern Tavoliere di Puglia plain (Apulia, southern Italy)

The Tavoliere di Puglia is a large alluvial plain located in southern Italy (Foggia Province, Apulia Region). From a geological perspective view, it represents the northern part of the Bradanic trough located between the southern Apennine Chain and the Apulian Foreland. A detailed geological survey of the middle-late Pleistocene terraces has been performed in this area and a new geologic map, at 1:150,000 scale, is here described. Criteria to distinguish these units are based on the recognition of basal unconformity surfaces: seven different synthems (UBSU, Unconformity-bounded Stratigraphic Units) have been discriminated. The data are presented in a synthesis map in which the geometrical relationships between the different sedimentary units are shown. New results for this sector of the Bradanic trough are significantly different from previous literature data. Furthermore, the map allows a reliable reconstruction of the Tavoliere di Puglia paleogeography during the Late Quaternary. Moreover, a detailed map of the Pleistocene terraces is fundamental to analyze and solve environmental problems associated with soil loss and desertification processes and river flood events.

Mantle-derived fluids discharged at the Bradanic foredeep/Apulian foreland boundary: The Maschito geothermal gas emissions (southern Italy)

The mephitis of Maschito, known since historical times as Lago Fetente (Smelly Lake) -although the lake is now dry-, is located 20 km from the Mt. Vulture volcanic edifice (Southern Italy). It is placed along the same regional tectonic discontinuity where some maars are located, close to the boundary between the foredeep and the Apulian foreland. About 300 m2 of surface is lacking in flora, while dead animals are frequently found all around it. The smelly exhalations are mainly composed of CO2 (∼98%), and, in lesser amounts, of H2S, N2, CH4 and other hydrocarbons. He, Ne and Ar occur in trace amounts. The CO2 isotopic composition is in the range of that of the main active Italian volcanic gases. The helium isotopic ratio (4.7 Ra) fits with the values measured in Mt. Vulture volcano and particularly with the olivine and pyroxene fluid inclusions of mantle xenoliths ejected during its last volcanic activity (140,000 years). The 40Ar/36Ar isotopic ratio of ∼320 supports some minor non-atmospheric contributions. The C/3He ratio (2.9 × 109) is in the typical range of magma released fluids, while δC(CH4)13 and δD(CH4) values fall in the field of thermogenic methane.The amount of CO2 released is about 3200 tons/year. The flux of mantle-derived helium (>7 × 1010 atoms m−2 s−1) is at least three orders of magnitude higher than that of a stable continental crust. This study strongly supports the possibility that Maschito manifestations are fed by a geothermal system, which is powered by a degassing melt, bearing in mind that the Maschito gas emissions fall along the same fault system of the Monticchio maars, which formed during Mt. Vulture volcano's last activity.

New data on the Pleistocene of Trani (Adriatic Coast, Southern Italy)

Along the Apulian Adriatic coast, in a cliff south of Trani, a succession of three units (superimposed on one another) of marine and/or paralic environments has been recognised. The lowest unit I is characterised by calcareous/siliciclastic sands ( css ), micritic limestones ( ml ), stromatolitic and characean boundstones ( scb ), characean calcarenites ( cc ). The sedimentary environment merges from shallow marine, with low energy and temporary episodes of subaerial exposure, to lagoonal with a few exchanges with the sea. The lagoonal stromatolites ( scb subunit) grew during a long period of relative stability of a high sea level in tropical climate. The unit I is truncated at the top by an erosion surface on which the unit II overlies; this consists of a basal pebble lag ( bpl ), siliciclastic sands ( ss ), calcareous sands ( cs ), characean boundstones ( cb ), brown paleosol ( bp ). The sedimentary environment varies from beach to lagoon with salinity variations. Although there are indications of seismic events within the subunits cs , unit II deposition took place in a context of relative stability. The unit II is referable to a sea level highstand. Unit III, trangressive on the preceding, consists of white calcareous sands ( wcs ), calcareous sands and calcarenites ( csc ), phytoclastic calcirudite and phytohermal travertine ( pcpt ), mixed deposits ( csl, m, k, c ), sands ( s ) and red/brown paleosols ( rbp ). The sedimentation of this unit was affected by synsedimentary tectonic, attested by seismites found at several heights. Also the unit III is referable to a sea level highstand. The scientific literature has so far generally attributed to the Tyrrhenian (auct.) the deposits of Trani cliff. As part of this work some datings were performed on 10 samples, using the amino acid racemization method (AAR) applied to ostracod carapaces. Four of these samples have been rejected because they have shown in laboratory recent contamination. The numerical ages indicate that the deposits of the Trani cliff are older than MIS 5. The upper part of the unit I has been dated to 355±85 ka BP, thus allowing to assign the lowest stromatolitic subunit ( scb ) at the MIS 11 peak and the top of the unit I at the MIS 11-MIS 10 interval. The base of the unit II has been dated to 333±118 ka BP, thus attributing the erosion surface that bounds the units I and II to the MIS 10 lowstand and the lower part of the unit II to MIS 9.3. The upper part of the unit II has been dated to 234±35 ka BP, while three other numerical ages come from unit III: 303±35, 267±51, 247±61 ka BP. At present, the numerical ages cannot distinguish the sedimentation ages of units II and III, which are both related to the MIS 9.3-MIS 7.1 time range. However, the position of the units, superimposed one another, and their respective age, allows us to recognise a subsidence phase between MIS 11 and MIS 7, followed by an uplift phase between the MIS 7 and the present day, which led the deposits in their current position. This tectonic pattern is not in full agreement with what is described in the literature for the Apulian foreland.