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The origin of the intracratonic basins (ICBs) is still highly debated and several hypotheses have put forward to explain their long-lasting subsidence, characterized by prolonged intervals of low rate subsidence alternating with episodic accelerations in subsidence rate (e.g., Hartley &amp; Allen, 1994). The Congo basin (CB) is a natural laboratory for investigating the processes that govern the long–term evolution of the ICBs, due to its long tectonic history, during which a large thickness of sediments deposited (up to about 9 km). Its subsidence initiated very probably as a failed rift in late Mesoproterozoic and evolved during the Neoproterozoic and Phanerozoic under the influence of far-field compressional tectonic events, global climate fluctuation between icehouse and greenhouse conditions and drifting of Central Africa through the South Pole then towards its present-day equatorial position (Delvaux et al., 2021). We reconstructed the depth of the basement and of main sedimentary layers of the CB, by integrating the interpretations of almost 3000 km of seismic reflection profiles with the analysis of the gravity field. The obtained results show a very heterogeneous basement depth, characterized by a series of topographic highs and lows NW-SE oriented (Delvaux et al., 2021; Maddaloni et al., 2021). We further observed the migration of the sedimentary depocenters from the Proterozoic to Jurassic times and lateral thickness variations of the sedimentary layers. Both types of observations reflect a different behavior of the CB during the stages of its evolution, with a progressive decrease in the influence of the initial rift structure. The rift phase that gave origin to the CB has been simulated applying multidirectional slow divergent velocities to a cratonic block having a central weak zone, representing the suture area between the cratonic pieces composing the Congo craton. The numerical models, after a time lapse of 200 Myr, show the formation of a central circular subsided area, as effect of the radial extension, induced by the asthenosphere upwelling. The main structures, formed within the depressed topographic area, resemble the present-day basement depth of the CB, supporting the hypothesis that the origin of some ICBs can be due to the effect of multi-extensional stress applied on a cratonic area.

SGI 2021

What does it link the surface to the deep Earth’s processes? The tectonic evolution of the Congo basin: an example of intracratonic basin

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L'Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e Geofisica Sperimentale - OGS e il Dipartimento di Matematica e Geoscienze dell'Università di Trieste sono orgogliosi di ospitare il 90° Congresso della Società Geologica Italiana a Trieste dal 14 al 16 settembre 2021. La modalità del congresso è interamente online.

Con il motto "Geologia senza frontiere" questo evento mira a promuovere le Scienze della Terra come disciplina scientifica proiettata nel futuro, oltre i confini geografici, politici e disciplinari, per comprendere meglio l'interno del Pianeta Terra e la struttura del sottosuolo, difendere la società da pericolosi eventi geologici, comprendere meglio la variabilità climatica, pianificare l'utilizzo delle georisorse in modo etico e nel rispetto dell'ambiente.


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The National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics - OGS and the Department of Mathematics and Geosciences of the University of Trieste are proud to host the 90th Congress of the Italian Geological Society in Trieste on 14-16 September 2021.  The Congress will be held entirely online.

With the motto "Geology Without Borders" this event aims to promote Earth Sciences as a scientific discipline projected into the future, beyond geographical, political and disciplinary boundaries, to better understand the interior of Planet Earth and the structure of the subsurface, defend society from dangerous geological events, better understand climatic variability, plan the use of geo-resources in an ethical way and respecting the environment.


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Earth Sciences should be understood not only as necessary for a better understanding of the interior of the planet Earth, but also as a defense of society from dangerous geological events, for the understanding of climatic variations, for the planning and use of georesources in a ethical and respecting and protecting the environment.

The origin of the intracratonic basins (ICBs) is still highly debated and several hypotheses have put forward to explain their long-lasting subsidence, characterized by prolonged intervals of low rate subsidence alternating with episodic accelerations in subsidence rate (e.g., Hartley & Allen, 1994). The Congo basin (CB) is a natural laboratory for investigating the processes that govern the long–term evolution of the ICBs, due to its long tectonic history, during which a large thickness of sediments deposited (up to about 9 km). Its subsidence initiated very probably as a failed rift in late Mesoproterozoic and evolved during the Neoproterozoic and Phanerozoic under the influence of far-field compressional tectonic events, global climate fluctuation between icehouse and greenhouse conditions and drifting of Central Africa through the South Pole then towards its present-day equatorial position (Delvaux et al., 2021). We reconstructed the depth of the basement and of main sedimentary layers of the CB, by integrating the interpretations of almost 3000 km of seismic reflection profiles with the analysis of the gravity field. The obtained results show a very heterogeneous basement depth, characterized by a series of topographic highs and lows NW-SE oriented (Delvaux et al., 2021; Maddaloni et al., 2021). We further observed the migration of the sedimentary depocenters from the Proterozoic to Jurassic times and lateral thickness variations of the sedimentary layers. Both types of observations reflect a different behavior of the CB during the stages of its evolution, with a progressive decrease in the influence of the initial rift structure. The rift phase that gave origin to the CB has been simulated applying multidirectional slow divergent velocities to a cratonic block having a central weak zone, representing the suture area between the cratonic pieces composing the Congo craton. The numerical models, after a time lapse of 200 Myr, show the formation of a central circular subsided area, as effect of the radial extension, induced by the asthenosphere upwelling. The main structures, formed within the depressed topographic area, resemble the present-day basement depth of the CB, supporting the hypothesis that the origin of some ICBs can be due to the effect of multi-extensional stress applied on a cratonic area.

technical paper

The Adamello batholith is the largest Tertiary magmatic complex of the Alps, and it is mainly composed of tonalites, trondhjemites and granodiorites with minor mafic bodies. Adamello was emplaced at the end of the subduction of the Tethys ocean below the Adria continental margin, when the high pressure metamorphism was at the peak in the Lepontine Alps (Brouwer et al., 2005). The Adamello earlier felsic and mafic plutons are the Corno Alto (including Malga Campo and Monte Ospedale diorites) and the southern Re di Castello (with M. Mattoni, M. Frerone and Blumone mafic apophyses; Bianchi et al., 1970; Tiepolo et al., 2011; Schaltegger et al., 2019). All these magmatic bodies were emplaced along a NE-SW paleo-lineament characterized by extensional/transtensional conditions (Laubscher, 1985). This is supported, in proximity of the present Giudicarie lineament, by an extensional paleo - lineament bordering tectonic depressions holding late Cretaceous to Eocene flysch deposits between Upper Val di Non and Bergamo area (Bernoulli and Winkler, 1990). Extensional to transtensional conditions were typical of the upper Alpine crust including the Austroalpine and Southalpine domains between Late Cretaceous and Early Eocene (Schmid et al., 2004). In this extensional scenario the first magmatic unfoliated bodies of Adamello were passively intruded in the Southalpine sector. Contrariwise, tonalite plutons, characterized by a pervasive magmatic foliation, were emplaced since the Late Eocene – Early Oligocene when the alpine compressive – to – transpressive deformation was active in the Adria middle crust. This new tectonic phase is responsible for the onset of the Insubric/periadriatic dextral lineament, due to the westward-directed push of the Adria plate and the dominant southward/southeastward directed movement of the Alpine thrust pile including the Southalpine and Austroalpine units

Cenozoic subduction in the Central Alps and the intrusion of the Adamello batholith

Topography and drainage systems are powerful recorders of tectonic activity especially in regions with limited geological data. The Atlas-Meseta system of Morocco experienced a late Cenozoic topographic rejuvenation related to mantle dynamics. This recent, large-scale, mantle-driven uplift is documented by a few geological evidence such as uplifted, late Miocene, shallow-water marine deposits in the Middle Atlas Mountains. Conversely, the Anti-Atlas doesn’t have any stratigraphic records that may allow deciphering this uplift history. The presence of a high standing, relict landscape and the transient state of river networks, however, can be used to reconstruct the recent surface evolution of this less understood orogen. Furthermore, the Anti-Atlas belt experienced limited Cenozoic crustal shortening and this offers the possibility to investigate the magnitude, timing and rates of the dynamic contribution. In this study, we combine geomorphic analysis of topography, stream profiles, celerity of knickpoints and linear inverse landscape modelling with available geological evidence, to decipher the spatio-temporal pattern of surface uplift in the Anti-Atlas. Our results highlight the presence of a landscape and a river network in a transient state of adjustment, and document ~ 1000 m and ~ 900 m of surface uplift and topographic paleo-relief since at least the Miocene. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that this late Cenozoic, regional topographic resurgence occurred during the late Miocene and is also influenced by climate oscillation, which play a key role in shaping the new topography. This approach allows to quantitatively constrain the transient state of landscape and hence to unravel the contribution of regional, mantle-driven, surface uplift on mountain building processes.

Rejuvenation of a tectonically inactive mountain belt: insights from the Anti-Atlas (Morocco)

Orogens of continental collisional zone may include high-standing plateaus, both internally and externally drained. These morphotectonic features contain deposits and landforms essential to reconstruct their topographic evolution. In particular, when endorheic basins are integrated into external drainage networks, the rivers could retain first order information on the modes of capture as well as on the interplay between climate and tectonic processes. The Eastern Anatolian Plateau (EAP) of the Arabia-Eurasia collision zone, is one of the most representative examples of collisional plateau. It has a mean elevation of ~2000 m, presents three main endorheic basins (Van, Sevan and Urmia lakes), and is mostly drained by two river networks: the Kura-Arax drainage system to the NE and the Euphrates-Tigris to the SW. Seismic data indicate the presence of a thinned or totally removed lithospheric mantle beneath the plateau explaining the high heat flow and the late Cenozoic volcanic activity in the area. Despite the great number of studies on the EAP, its uplift history is still debated. In this study we quantitatively investigated the drainage systems (river longitudinal profiles and chi-plots) and the general topographic features (swath profiles, slope, local relief, filtered topography) of the EAP. The results speak to a topographic configuration characterized by a high-standing, low-relief plateau centered in the area of Lake Van, but strongly disrupted by tectonic structures with the formation of local topographic highs and lows that include endorheic basins. The hydrographic pattern is strongly disorganized and controlled by active tectonic structures. The irregular river longitudinal profiles indicate that they are in a transient state of disequilibrium as a consequence of regional uplift, capture events, or more localized tectonic activity. The presence of an uppermost segment characterized by low channel steepness suggests that the plateau interior has not been reached by the erosive wave produced by the uplift. In the chi-plots of the rivers draining the northern portion of the plateau two distinct segments record an increase in uplift rate. Conversely, the chi-plots of the rivers draining the southern sector and the Van and Urmia lakes show a single pattern that could be associated with a constant uplift. This difference in uplift pattern is partially confirmed by the stratigraphic record documenting the passage from a marine to a continental depositional environment. Indeed, according to the age of the most recent marine sediments exposed on the plateau, the northern portion emerged from the sea level around 40 Ma while the central and southern ones around 18 Ma. Among these latter, their elevation decreases to the south. In conclusion, the EAP is a high-standing plateau where the integration of hydrography is ruled by regional differential uplift and active tectonic structures.

The uplift of a collisional plateau unraveled by river network analysis: the case of the Eastern Anatolian Plateau

The morphology of back-arc basins is tightly linked to the dynamics of their associated subduction zone. Back-arc basins often present multiple spreading centres that form one after the other (e.g. Mariana subduction zone), propagate and rotate (e.g., Lau Basin) following trench retreat. In some cases, rift jumps can create continental fragments or microcontinents (e.g., Coral Sea, Central Mediterranean, Scotia Sea). The Tyrrhenian back-arc basin, in particular, is characterized by the presence of multiple sub-basins and a discontinuous production of new oceanic crust. Moreover, geophysical data show that the basin seafloor is partly made of exhumed serpentinized mantle and local intrusion of magma bodies. All these features reveal a picture of a back-arc basin that is much more complex than that of seafloor spreading at mid-ocean ridges. Importantly, the processes controlling rift jumps and mantle exhumation are still not fully understood, but they are certainly related to the dynamics of subduction and mantle flow. In this work, we show how episodic trench retreat shapes the morphology of back-arc basins and can produce rift jumps. We use the finite element code ASPECT to model the rifting of continental lithosphere in 2D with boundary conditions that simulate the asymmetric type of extension caused by the trench retreat. We perform a parametric study in which we systematically vary the duration of different extensional phases, simulating episodes of trench retreat. Our results show that when extension is continuous, continental break-up occurs and a spreading centre similar to a mid-ocean ridge develops. On the other hand, in models with multiple extensional phases, ridge jumps consistently occur and are often associated with mantle exhumation between the old and the new spreading ridge. This is in good agreement with what observed in Tyrrhenian basin. Timing and length of ridge jumps may depend on rheological properties of the lithosphere, but, importantly, we show that the resulting back-arc basin morphology is controlled by the duration of the different stages of extension.

Ridge jumps and mantle exhumation in the Tyrrhenian back-arc basin

Understanding the evolution and dynamics of the circum-Mediterranean orogens pass through the definition of the deep structure of the crust and upper mantle. Seismological data are the most often used to define the thermal and compositional heterogeneities of the earth. For the broad Alpine belt, there are still many open questions on active processes and on the interaction between adjacent segments of orogens that necessitate high resolution images. In this study, we emphasize some controversial aspects and unknown points from existing tomographic and receiver function models that revealed peculiar processes of delamination/subduction in the Alps and Apennines. We will also focus on data coming from the AlpArray initiative, a huge temporary seismological experiment done in past years, which results are decisive for the definition of the Alps deep structure. In our approach, we investigate Vp and Vp/Vs 3D models that more directly yield to discriminate the origin of mantle anomalies. A very comprehensive dataset of earthquakes recorded by more than 1300 stations during the experiment have been analyzed furnishing precious information. We derive some new aspects of the mantle structure in the central Mediterranean area and discuss some new idea base on the reconnaissance of low velocity and high attenuation portion of the upper mantle.

A look at the deep structure and dynamic of the circum-Mediterranean orogens

Back-arc regions are usually punctuated by pulses of tectonic deformation, lasting for few tens of millions of years. Yet, the origin of those short-lived deformation episodes is disputed. Based on an extensive dataset which compiling structural, stratigraphic, geochemical, and geochronological data from Iran, we propose a kinematic reconstruction of the Central Neotethys since 100Ma. We show that the back-arc region of the central Neotethys subduction zone was affected by alternating pulses of extension and compression, which are linked to episodes of trench retreat and advance, respectively. To back up these observations and investigate the causes of such a trench behavior, we run 2D numerical models exploring (i) the dynamics of subduction into a viscously stratified mantle, and (ii) the deep slab deformation induced by mineral phase changes at the mantle transition zone. Our results indicate that episodes of trench retreat and trench advance emerge spontaneously by slab folding and penetration into the mantle transition zone. Eventually, the results of our physical model guide our interpretation of the Central Neotethys subduction history. We propose a coupled mantle–surface tectonic evolution model of the Central Neotethys slab that reconciles back-arc deformation and short-lived pulses of upper-plate vertical motion in a unique, dynamically self-consistent model of deep mantle subduction.

Slab folding and surface deformation in the Iran mobile beltSlab folding and surface deformation in the Iran mobile belt

The subduction of Neotethys oceanic crust beneath Iranian plate along the southern margin of Eurasia during Mesozoic to Cenozoic resulted in the formation of diffused and prolonged arc magmatism, associated with numerous porphyry/epithermal system (PES) deposits. The PES deposits began during Eocene and show a climax during Miocene times, diachronoulsy distributed from northwest to southwest along the convergent margin during progress of the collisional tectonics. Their space distribution is heterogeneous and show concentrations in zones characterized by occurrence of long-lived and stationary magmatic activity, which are located along major, inherited structural weak zones. There, amphibole-dominated fractionation within the lower crustal magma chambers provided metal- and water-enriched residues, which are the source of the productive magmas. Productive magmas correlates with young TDMNd ages (younger than 0.7 Ga) and 87Sr/86Sr(i) isotopic ratios ranging from 0.704 to 0.706. We propose that the formation of PES deposits is essentially related to a sequence of several processes, among which the most important are: 1) crustal thickening, due both to magma underplating and collisional shortening; 2) continental lithosphere delamination; 3) partial melting of the enriched arc root; 4) magma upwelling facilitated by the presence of crustal weak zones and 4) emplacement of long-lived magma chambers.

A petrotectonic model for the Cenozoic porphyry/epithermal mineralizations along the Iranian tectono-magmatic belt

Orogenic plateaus represent the most spectacular consequence of continental collisions in orogenic belts. The mechanisms related to the growth of an orogenic plateau are still debated and can be the result of multiple tectonic phases and changes in collisional dynamics between the involved plates. In the last decades, the study of landscapes and landforms experienced a significative growth providing new advanced numerical models to relate surface deformation, topographic evolution and plate dynamics. In the Mediterranean area, the Central Anatolian Plateau represents a good example of how different mantle and crustal processes can be involved in building a plateau. The study of the topographic features alongside the plateau margins, such as drainage systems and marine terraces, revealed significantly different uplift histories and mechanisms characterizing the northern and the southern margins. While the northern margin of the plateau experienced vertical uplift from 11Ma ca to the present that can be associated with the transpression along the Northern Anatolian Fault, the southern margin records a fast uplift phase during Pleistocene, causing 1500 km of vertical uplift in about 600.000 years, which has been related to the break-off of the subducting African plate. In our work, we present a summary of how the numerical modeling of the evolution of drainage systems and marine terraces provided significant insights on the uplift history and the topographic evolution of the Central Anatolian Plateau margins, and how these results are linked to the geodynamical processes involving the Anatolian plate boundaries.

Landscape evolution and plate boundary processes: the study case of the Central Anatolian Plateau margins

We present a high-resolution investigation of the Ivrea Geophysical Body (IGB) at intra-crustal scales in the Western Alps. The IGB is a sliver of Adriatic lower lithosphere, located at anomalously shallow depths, and presenting positive gravity and fast seismic anomalies. Despite comprehensive information from previous studies, structural questions persist on the IGB and on its structural relation with the Ivrea-Verbano zone (IVZ), which exposes lower-to-middle crustal composition outcrops at the surface. Therefore, we measured 207 new gravity data points, obtaining a coverage of ca.1 point every 4-to-9 km2 across the IVZ, and we installed 10 broadband seismic stations (IvreaArray) along the linear West-East profile of Val Sesia, operated for 27 months. We compiled a surface rock-density map and used it to define the density-dependent terrain-corrected “Niggli” gravity anomaly to properly model the IGB density structure at depth. We modelled the IGB as a 3D, single density-contrast interface, obtaining 400 kg∙m-3 as optimal density contrast and a 20-km wide protruding structure, as shallow as 1 ±1 km below sea level. The seismic data was then used to constrain the IGB shape along the 2D Val Sesia cross-section by means of a joint inversion of seismic receiver functions and gravity anomaly data. This has confirmed the marked density contrast and shallow segments reaching 1 to 3 km depth below sea level, and provide agreement with the rock’s physical properties (ρ, vS) and the geological structures observed at the surface. These results are now published (doi:10.1093/gji/ggaa263 and doi:10.3389/feart.2021.671412).

New constraints on the Ivrea Geophysical Body at intra-crustal scales: a combination of gravimetry with passive seismology and rock’s physical properties

The Cenozoic deformation of SE Asia has been commonly related to the India-Eurasia collision and to the Tibetan Plateau growth. The huge amount of geological data acquired in Tibet highlighted that the central Plateau is undergoing a NW-SE extension, accommodated by a quasi-continuous SE-ward crust drifting toward Indochina, between the Sichuan and the EHS rigid buttresses (Clark and Royden, 2000). Conversely, some authors described the collision as accommodated by the extrusion of several hundreds of km rigid mega-blocks, bounded by strike-slip faults with hundreds of km of lateral offsets (Tapponnier et al., 1982). Paleomagnetism has proven to be a reliable method to evaluate the displacement of the major strike-slip faults and to describe the crust behaviour. Several authors proposed that the Oligo-Miocene E-SE-ward crust extrusion has been accommodated by the rotation of few major semi-rigid crustal blocks (Li et al., 2017), otherwise, others related the scattered paleomagnetic rotation pattern to the presence of 2-5 km wide blocks, which underwent to independent rotation (e.g., Todrani et al., 2020). We synthesized and re-evaluated all paleomagnetic data collected in Tibet-Indochina assessing with modern and homogenous criteria, estimating the magnitude of the vertical-axis rotation with the coeval Eurasia paleopoles. We focused mainly on SE Tibet and northern Indochina, comparing the paleomagnetic rotation pattern with the present-day geodetic observations. The GPS velocity field shows a large-scale CW rotation of ~4°/Ma around the EHS, whereas the scattered paleomagnetic rotations display a non-consistent pattern. The Jurassic-to-Oligocene paleomagnetic sites W of the EHS display a prevailing of CCW rotations, while on SE the scattered CW rotations agree with the current kinematics. Moreover, it was suggested that the widespread CW paleomagnetic rotations from northern Indochina have been acquired since Oligocene, while the Pliocene-to-Holocene sites display slight-to-null rotations. Accordingly, we concluded that the revised paleomagnetic rotation pattern agrees with a diffused deformation, mainly active between ~25-13 Ma, is at odds with the present-day geodetic large-scale CW rotation and drifting of the Tibetan crust around the EHS.

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