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Outcrops of the formations of the Celano-Collarmele Synthem. (a) clast-supported conglomerates with a sandy-silty matrix of the Alto di Cacchia Fm.; (b) clast-supported conglomerates, silty-sands and silts of the Casa Colombaia Fm. The insert shows a detail of the tabular geometry of the conglomerate bodies; (c) laminated grey clays and brownish silty clays, with thin layers of carbonate breccias, of the Colle Caprino Fm. The insert shows a detail of the laminated character of the clayey deposits of the Colle Caprino Fm.; (d) poorly-sorted and well-cemented carbonate breccias of the Aielli Fm. The insert shows a detail of the carbonate breccias of the Aielli Fm.; (e) channelized fluvial facies of the Stazione di Pescina Fm., characterized by overbank finegrained deposits and palaeosols; (f) well cemented sheet-like breccias, with interbedded lacustrine carbonates and silty sandy layers of the alluvial fans and fan delta deposits of the Ponte delle Valli Fm.
Source publication
We present the geological map of the north-eastern margin of the Fucino Basin, which is
mainly characterized by Plio-Quaternary continental deposits that show transition from
deeper-water lacustrine environment, marginal lacustrine system, and fluvial facies. These deposits unconformably overlie upper Messinian Lago-Mare sediments and pre-orogenic...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... Celano -Collarmele Synthem (CCS) includes all the continental deposits cropping out at the footwall of the Pescina -Celano Fault ( Cavinato et al., 2002), which unconformably overlie the MDG and the carbonate bedrock. This synthem contains six heteropic formations, which are mainly characterized by fluvial deposits and deltaic conglomerates that laterally pass to silty sands, and silts, referring mainly to marginal lacustrine environment ( Figure 5). Close to the northern border of the palaeolake, especially where dip slope cliff occurred, the lacustrine fine deposits are interbedded with carbonate breccias (i.e. ...
Context 2
... Casa Colombaia Fm. (CCF), which takes its name from the Casa Colombaia section, is at least 70 m-thick and consists of clast-supported conglomerates, silty-sands, and silts ( Figure 5b). The conglomerates are well organized in tabular bodies with thickness between 40 cm and 1 m, showing clinoform geometries (fan-delta). ...
Context 3
... is more than 220 m-thick and mainly consists of laminated grey clays and brownish silty clays. These fine-grained sediments are interbedded with thin layers of carbonate breccias, maximum 2 m-thick, which are characterized by poorly sorted sub-angular to angular clasts (Figure 5c). On the base of sedimentological and lithological features, together with the ostracod assemblage showing only Caspiocypris, the fine-grained deposits of COF refer to a deeper-water lacustrine environment, which was characterized by the arrival of debris flows sourced by the active tectonic margin of the sedimentary basin. ...
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... Aielli Fm. (AIF) is ca. 70 m-thick and consists mainly of clast-supported, poorly-sorted, well-cemented, and slope-derived carbonate breccias (Figure 5d granular flows (sturzstrom, sensu Hsü, 1975;Pierson & Costa, 1987), which can arrive also into the lacustrine environment. AIF correlates the Brecce antiche of Zarlenga (1987), is included in the Complesso di Aielli of Bosi et al. (1995), and is described inside the Colle Caprino Unit ( Cavinato et al., 2002). ...
Context 5
... palaeosols with thickness ranging from 50 cm to 1 m were observed. The internal architecture of these coarse-grained deposits is mainly characterized by channelized structures (Figure 5e), showing fining upward channel-fill conglomerates. The channel facies laterally pass to fine-grained sediments with sheet-like and lenticular forms, interpreted as overbank deposits due to overflow events. ...
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... m-thick and includes several proximal and distal alluvial fans and fan delta deposits. It consists of well cemented sheet-like breccias, with few interbedded lacustrine carbonates and silty sandy layers (Figure 5f). In the area of Collarmele, these alluvial fans and fan delta deposits lie on the Meso-Cenozoic bedrock through an angular unconformity. ...
Citations
... Prato), along the Val Roveto Valley (Canistro, Civitella Roveto) and in a small area in the northeastern and southeastern sector of the FB (Collarmele, Le Vicenne and Mt. Mezzana, Cipollari et al., 1999;Mondati et al., 2021;Fig. 2). ...
... These fault systems controlled the deposition of more than 1000 m of Plio-Quaternary continental clastic deposits that fill the basin (Cavinato et al., 2002;Patacca et al., 2008). Along the basin margins, the Plio-Quaternary sequence is in unconformity contact on the Meso-Cenozoic sequence (platform to marginal carbonate) and on the late Messinian thrust-top deposits in the Aielli and Collarmele areas (Mondati et al., 2021) previously mapped as Messinian flysch in the CARG project (ISPRA, 2006b;Fig. 2). ...
... In 2021, Patruno and Scisciani, through the interpretation of a grid of seismic profiles, constrained the geometry and the depositional age of the seismic units identified by Patacca et al. (2008) (units green, blue, orange, and yellow in Fig. 3). The authors calculated a pre-compaction cumulative thicknesses of the identified four seismic units of about 1750 m in two distinct fault-driven depocenters, situated Vezzani and Ghisetti, 1998;Cavinato et al., 2002;ISPRA, 2005ISPRA, , 2006aISPRA, , 2006bMondati et al., 2021;Patruno and Scisciani, 2021). 1, historical lake (Holocene); 2, talus and alluvial deposits (Holocene-Upper Pleistocene); 3, fluvial and fluvio-lacustrine deposits ( . ...
The refraction reprocessing of the CROP11-1999 seismic reflection data, which were acquired for deep seismic exploration using a split-spread long offset geometry, provides valuable new insights into the main geological structures of the central Apennines. In this study, we present the geophysical interpretation of a sub-transect of the CROP11 seismic profile, crossing the Piani Palentini and Fucino basins carried out using an integrated approach based on the refraction tomography, the stacked refraction convolution section, and the seismic reflection. The reprocessing allowed us to obtain, for the first time, a high resolution (about 15 m in distance and depth) P-waves seismic velocity 2D model and the imaging of the refractor interface of the basin up to the depth of the Meso-Cenozoic carbonate substratum. The outcomes, combined with the interpretation of a CROP11 seismic reflection sub-transect and a subparallel commercial seismic reflection profile, allowed us to highlight a complex basin-fill architecture and stratigraphy. Four seismo facies, characterized by different Vp velocity values, were recognized above the Meso-Cenozoic carbonate substratum. In particular, a low-velocity zone (LVZ)
was evidenced in both basins. The geophysical interpretation and the comparison with the outcropping sequences allowed us to associate it with an upper Messinian thrust-top deposit. The obtained model constitutes an essential geophysical-geological informative base for future investigations on seismic wave propagation and site response studies at the large scale of the Fucino Basin, one of the areas of the Italian territory with a high seismic hazard.
... The Fucino basin is geographically surrounded by Messinian flysch deposits outcropping in the Roveto valley to the west, in the Giovenco valley to the east, and NE of the Tremonti mounts to the north (Cipollari et al., 1999;Cavinato et al., 2002;Cara et al., 2011;Patacca et al., 2008;Carminati et al., 2014;Mondati et al., 2021;Patruno and Scisciani, 2021), with outcropping thicknesses of at least 200 m. In particular, in the north-eastern margin of the Fucino basin, extensive exposures of Messinian flysch are located in the hangingwall block of the Pescina-Celano Fault (near Celano and Aielli villages). ...
... In remarkable contrast to what the authors of the comment state when they say that "The presence of carbonate basement at the base of the Fucino basin is supported by several authors (e.g., Cavinato et al., 2002;Cella et al., 2021;Cara et al., 2011;Boncio et al., 2016)", Cavinato et al. (2002 clearly describe at least 200 m of flysch deposits found inside the basin by borehole S5, located ~1 km south of Paterno ( Fig. 5 and section A-A' in Fig. 7 of Cavinato et al., 2002). Cavinato et al. (2002), in agreement with a vast body of published literature and geological maps (e.g., ISPRA, 2007;Mondati et al., 2021) also report outcropping Miocene flysch units around the Fucino Basin (e.g., Collarmele and Paterno areas), lying just below the Plio-Quaternary Fucino units (Fig. 5 of Cavinato et al., 2002). Both in their stratigraphic framework images and in their text, Cavinato et al. (2002) clearly show a Miocene "Lazio-Abruzzi Flysch" unit, about 700 m in thickness, between the Plio-Quaternary Fucino units and the deeper carbonate sequences (see Figs. 6 and 10 of Cavinato et al., 2002). ...
... The western intermontane basins, north of Rome (VII and IX: Tiberino and Rieti basins; Figs. 1 and 2), were filled with uppermost Piacenzian-Gelasian, lacustrine continental fluvial sediments, laid with an angular unconformity over the Mesozoic-Cenozoic bedrock (Mancini et al., 2007;Fubelli et al., 2014;Cosentino et al., 2008Cosentino et al., , 2017. Upper Piacenzian-Gelasian to Gelasian sediments are also the basal lacustrine and fluvial infill of the central intermontane basins (X: Fucino; Cavinato et al., 2002;Centamore et al., 2006b;Giaccio et al., 2019;Mondati et al., 2021; XI and XII: L'Aquila; Cosentino et al., 2017). In the other eastern intermontane basins (XI, Leonessa Basin; XII: Sulmona Basin; Amatrice Basin in the Laga Mountains), the stratigraphic record does not go back in time beyond the Calabrian (Cavinato et al., 1994;Fubelli et al., 2008;Giaccio et al., 2013;Mancini et al., 2020). ...
... This unconformity has been correlated to: a large angular unconformity and hiatus at two sites near Rome (IV and V: Monte Mario and Vallericca; Figs. 1 and 2) below Calabrian marine littoral sediments and above marine bathyal sediments that are Zanclean and lower Gelasian in age, respectively (Cosentino et al., 2009); an angular erosional unconformity overlain by Calabrian-to-Holocene fluvial-lacustrine successions in the Tiberino Basin (VII); an abandonment surface in the Rieti Basin (IX) and two erosional and abandonment surfaces within the L'Aquila Basin (XIII: Cosentino et al., 2017). An erosional unconformity in a central intermontane basin (X: Fucino) separates the Gelasian lacustrine lower unit from the Calabrian to Holocene upper unit (Cavinato et al., 2002;Centamore et al., 2006b;Giaccio et al., 2019;Mondati et al., 2021). A late Gelasian polygenic erosional surface, described in section 2.2.1, is also traceable along the Adriatic Piedmont. ...
Stratigraphic and thermochronologic data are used to study the processes that shaped the topography of the central Apennines of Italy. These are part of a major, active mountain belt in the center of the Mediterranean area, where several subduction zones control a complex topography. The Apennines were shaped by contraction at the front of the accretionary wedge overlying the subducting Adria microplate followed by extension at the wedge rear in response to eastward slab roll-back. In the central Apennines, intermontane extensional basins on the western flank rise eastward toward the summit. We contribute with new data consisting of 28 (U-Th-Sm)/He and 10 fission track ages on apatites to resolve a complex pattern of thermal histories in time and space, which we interpret as reflecting the transitional state of the orogen, undergoing a two-phase evolution related to initial slab retreat, followed by slab detachment. Along the Tyrrhenian coast, we document cooling from depths ≥3−4 km occurring between 8 and 5 Ma and related to the opening of marine extensional basins. Post−5 Ma, a broader region of the central Apennines exhibits cooling from variable depths, between <2 km in most areas and ≥3−4 km in the northeast, and with different onset times: at ca. 4 Ma in the west, at ca. 2.5 Ma in the center and northeast, and at ca. 1 Ma in the southeast. Between 5 and 2.5 Ma, exhumation is associated with modest topographic growth during the late stages of thrusting. Since 2.5 Ma, exhumation has concurred with the opening of intermontane basins in the west and in the east, with regional topographic growth and erosion, that we interpret to be associated with the locally detaching slab.
... Previous works suggested that this local minimum is related to the combined deepening of the Moho and the crystalline basement (Tiberti and Orlando, 2006). However, it seems extremely unlikely that such a small and local anomaly can be related to a deep source like depth variations of the Moho discontinuity that in the area is estimated to be in 30-35 km depth and is imaged regionally continuous underneath the (Ghisetti and Vezzani, 1998) and more recent works (Cipollari et al., 1999;Mondati et al., 2021;Patruno and Scisciani, 2021). Red lines locate the modeled sections. ...
... TCAF denotes the Tremonti-Celano-Aielli Fault zone, PCF denotes the Pescina-Celano Fault zone and LF denotes the Luco Fault. The white dashed box locates the post-evaporitic Messinian deposits between Collarmele and Cerchio (Mondati et al., 2021). The black dashed box locates the Le Vicenne post-evaporitic Messinian deposits (Cipollari et al., 1999). ...
... Ma). These members are defined on their relation with the evaporitic event and the main distinction between the pre-and post-evaporitic members is based on fossil ostracods content, while the evaporitic member is characterized by gypsum (e.g., Castorina et al., 1996;Cipollari et al., 1999;Cavinato et al., 2002;Mondati et al., 2021). To the north of the Fucino Basin, where Messinian units are widely exposed (e.g., Cavinato et al., 2002), they are composed of turbiditic sandstones and marls, conformably overlaying Tortonian-Early Messinian marls (ISPRA, 2007). ...
Residual gravity anomalies over Central Italy clearly indicate a prominent regional minimum over the Fucino Basin. Here, we forward model this anomaly along seven cross-sections. The modeling results validate the geometries and petrophysical properties of the Plio-Quaternary units previously proposed by reflection seismic data interpretation. Moreover, we suggest that a thick wedge-shaped sequence is present beneath the Plio-Quaternary post-orogenic units. Based on the inferred density and velocity properties, as well as outcrop evidence from around the Fucino Basin, this sequence would likely represent thick (~1700 m) siliciclastic syn-orogenic Messinian foredeep deposits. The proposed model implies a long-lasting tectonic inheritance history for the Fucino area, which originally hosted primary paleogeographic Mesozoic-Miocene boundaries. In the Messinian-Recent time, the Fucino has continuously represented a first-order tectonic depocenter for siliciclastic sediments, despite differences in tectonic regime (syn-orogenic Messinian, post-orogenic Plio-Quaternary) and palaeoenvironments (Messinian marine flysch, Plio-Quaternary alluvial-lacustrine facies). The compaction-corrected sedimentation rate (~0.89 mm yr⁻¹), suggests a foredeep activity possibly spanning the entire pre-evaporitic, evaporitic and post-evaporitic Messinian time and is comparable to the sedimentation rate observed in the larger Pliocene Apennine foredeep, ~100 km northeast of the study area, suggesting a self-similarity of the belt-foreland system across time and space.
... Sandy-pelitic turbidites and clayey-sandy deposits, belonging to the Apennine foredeep units, are mainly widespread in the central sectors of the area (Figure 1b). Plio-Pleistocene deposits broadly characterize the Turano River basin and surrounding areas, as reported by several studies concerning the stratigraphy of the main intermontane basins of Central Apennines [9,28,[41][42][43][44][45]. These deposits are widely present along the valley bottoms, the main slopes, and in correspondence of the main basins (i.e., Carsoli and Rieti plains) [46][47][48][49][50][51]. ...
Quaternary continental deposits record spatio-temporal changes of the landscape and offer insights for drainage network analysis and paleoenvironmental reconstructions. This paper focuses on the Turano River, a left tributary of the Velino River, which flows in the southwestern Abruzzo area at the boundary with Lazio Region. Its basin preserves lithological and morphological field evidence particularly suitable for reconstructing the long-term geomorphological evolution of the Central Apennines and the drainage network development. In detail, the Turano River was investigated through a drainage basin-scale analysis incorporating morphometric analysis, field mapping, continental deposits analysis, and integrated drainage network analysis. This approach allowed us to define a drainage network reversal process, clearly highlighted by the spatial arrangement of continental deposits, spanning from Upper Pliocene to Holocene. The results also indicated tectonic activity as the main factor driving incision and river inversion processes. The work contributes to identifying and describing the main steps of the Quaternary landscape evolution of this mountainous catchment and its morphoneotectonic framework. Therefore, it could represent a methodological tool for multidisciplinary studies in similar mountainous catchments to support any territorial planning activity, from large infrastructure localization (i.e., artificial dams) to sustainable land management.
In the lacustrine succession F4‐F5 of the Fucino Basin, central Italy, 20 visible tephra layers were identified in the time interval 250–315 ka (Marine Isotope Stages 8–9). Fifteen of them contained suitable material to explore their volcanic sources. Among these tephra some well‐known eruptions and eruptive sequences of the Roman and Roccamonfina volcanoes were identified, such as the Tufo Giallo di Sacrofano and the Lower White Trachytic Tuff, respectively. Furthermore, the sediment succession documents a more complex eruptive history of the Sabatini, Vulsini, Colli Albani and Roccamonfina volcanic complexes during the investigated period, as inferred from previously undescribed tephra deposits. Single‐crystal‐fusion ⁴⁰ Ar/ ³⁹ Ar dating of two of the inspected tephra layers combined with two already published tephra ages provided the basis for a Bayesian age‐depth model. The modelled tephra ages allow chronological constraining of so‐far undefined eruptions of the Sabatini (272.5±4.7, 281.8±4.7, 308.5±2.8, 312.8±2.1 ka), the Vulsini (311.7±2.3, 311.9±2.3 ka) and the Colli Albani (301.0±3.6 ka) volcanic districts. Two tephra layers of an undefined volcanic source from the Roman volcanoes have modelled ages of 309.5±2.7 and 310.5±2.6 ka. The new ⁴⁰ Ar/ ³⁹ Ar and modelled ages were further used for a reassessment of the timing of already known and dated eruptive units, such as the Tufo Giallo di Sacrofano ( ⁴⁰ Ar/ ³⁹ Ar: 289.3±4.8 ka). Tephra tentatively correlated with the Valle Santa Maria, Case Pisello and the White Trachytic Tuff Unit E3 or Unit F offer modelled ages for these eruptions of 296.6±3.9, 301.8±3.5 and 303.6±3.4 ka, respectively. The results complete the tephrostratigraphical investigations of the c. 425 ka old F4‐F5 record, extend the Mediterranean tephrostratigraphical framework and provide a significant contribution for improving knowledge on Italian volcanic explosive activity.
Thirty‐two tephra layers were identified in the time‐interval 313–366 ka (Marine Isotope Stages 9–10) of the Quaternary lacustrine succession of the Fucino Basin, central Italy. Twenty‐seven of these tephra layers yielded suitable geochemical material to explore their volcanic origins. Investigations also included the acquisition of geochemical data of some relevant, chronologically compatible proximal units from Italian volcanoes. The record contains tephra from some well‐known eruptions and eruptive sequences of Roman and Roccamonfina volcanoes, such as the Magliano Romano Plinian Fall, the Orvieto–Bagnoregio Ignimbrite, the Lower White Trachytic Tuff and the Brown Leucitic Tuff. In addition, the record documents eruptions currently undescribed in proximal (i.e. near‐vent) sections, suggesting a more complex history of the major eruptions of the Colli Albani, Sabatini, Vulsini and Roccamonfina volcanoes between 313 and 366 ka. Six of the investigated tephra layers were directly dated by single‐crystal‐fusion 40Ar/39Ar dating, providing the basis for a Bayesian age–depth model and a reassessment of the chronologies for both already known and dated eruptive units and for so far undated eruptions. The results provide a significant contribution for improving knowledge on the peri‐Tyrrhenian explosive activity as well as for extending the Mediterranean tephrostratigraphical framework, which was previously based on limited proximal and distal archives for that time interval.
The interaction between sedimentation/erosion and faulting represents one of the most intriguing topics in landscape and tectonics evolution. Only few studies have been able to document the feedback between faulting and sedimentary loading from field observations. Here, we focus on how sediment loading/unloading influences the dynamics of fault systems in the Fucino basin, in the Central Apennines (Italy). The Fucino basin represents a remarkable case study with respect to the other main extensional basins in the Apennines because of its large dimension, square shape, significant sediment thickness, and its endorheic nature throughout its evolution.
We present a detailed structural and geomorphologic analysis of the Fucino basin and its surroundings, investigating the kinematic and geometry of each main fault strand. The slickenlines analysis reveals multiple families of slip‐vectors and timing of activity, suggesting a change in extension slip‐direction from N240° to N200° during middle Pleistocene. Using a local isostatic model, we estimate that up to the 30% of the vertical geological displacement of the faults, which overall ranges from 0.5 to 2.5 km, is related to the sediment loading/unloading. We demonstrate a positive feedback between sedimentation and faulting which may also lead to a reorganization in fault kinematics related to a significant increase in vertical stress. We propose a conceptual model for the permanent endorheic configuration of the Fucino basin, which includes the effect of sediment loading.
