Andrea Billi

Mantle dynamics in the Mediterranean

The Mediterranean offers a unique opportunity to study the driving forces of tectonic deformation within a complex mobile belt. Lithospheric dynamics are affected by slab rollback and collision of two large, slowly moving plates, forcing fragments of continental and oceanic lithosphere to interact. This paper reviews the rich and growing set of constraints from geological reconstructions, geodetic data, and crustal and upper mantle heterogeneity imaged by structural seismology. We proceed to discuss a conceptual and quantitative framework for the causes of surface deformation. Exploring existing and newly developed tectonic and numerical geodynamic models, we illustrate the role of mantle convection on surface geology. A coherent picture emerges which can be outlined by two, almost symmetric, upper mantle convection cells. The downwellings are found in the center of the Mediterranean and are associated with the descent of the Tyrrhenian and the Hellenic slabs. During plate convergence, these slabs migrated backward with respect to the Eurasian upper plate, inducing a return flow of the asthenosphere from the backarc regions towards the subduction zones. This flow can be found at large distance from the subduction zones, and is at present expressed in two upwellings beneath Anatolia and eastern Iberia. This convection system provides an explanation for the general pattern of seismic anisotropy in the Mediterranean, first-order Anatolia and Adria microplate kinematics, and may contribute to the high elevation of scarcely deformed areas such as Anatolia and Eastern Iberia. More generally, the Mediterranean is an illustration of how upper mantle, small-scale convection leads to intraplate deformation and complex plate boundary reconfiguration at the westernmost terminus of the Tethyan collision.

Coseismic recrystallization during shallow earthquake slip

Solidified frictional melts, or pseudotachylytes, remain the only unambiguous indicator of seismic slip in the geological record. However, pseudotachylytes form at >5 km depth, and there are many rock types in which they do not form at all. We performed low- to high-velocity rock friction experiments designed to impose realistic coseismic slip pulses on calcite fault gouges, and report that localized dynamic recrystallization may be an easy-to-recognize microstructural indicator of seismic slip in shallow, otherwise brittle fault zones. Calcite gouges with starting grain size −1 , and total displacements between 1 and 4 m. At coseismic slip velocities ≥0.1 m s −1 , the gouges were cut by reflective principal slip surfaces lined by polygonal grains 2 + CaO. The recrystallized calcite aggregates resemble those found along the principal slip surface of the Garam thrust, South Korea, exhumed from

Structural features of the July–August 2001 Mount Etna eruption: evidence for a complex magma supply system

We describe the evolution of the volcanic activity and deformation patterns observed at Mount Etna during the July–August 2001 eruption. Seismicity started at 3000 m below sea level on 13 July, accompanied by moderate ground swelling. Ground deformation culminated on 16 July with the development of a NE–SW graben c. 500 m wide and c. 1 m deep in the Cisternazza area at 2600–2500 m above sea level on the southern slope of the volcano. On 17 July, the eruption started at the summit of Mount Etna from the SE Crater (central–lateral eruptive system), from which two radial, c. 30 m wide, c. 3000 m long fracture zones, associated with eruptive fissures, propagated both southward (17 July) and northeastward (20 July). On 18 July, a new vent formed at 2100 m elevation, at the southern base of the Montagnola, followed on the next day by the opening of a vent further upslope, at 2550 m (eccentric eruptive system). The eruption lasted for 3 weeks. Approximately 80% of the total lava volume was erupted from the 2100 m and the 2550 m vents. The collected structural data suggest that the Cisternazza graben developed as a passive local response of the volcanic edifice to the ascent of a north–south eccentric dyke, which eventually reached the ground surface in the Montagnola area (18–19 July). In contrast, the two narrow fracture zones radiating from the summit are interpreted as the lateral propagation, from the conduit of the SE Crater, of north–south- and NE–SW-oriented shallow dykes, 2–3 m wide. The evolution of the fracture pattern together with other volcanological data (magma ascent and effusion rate, eruptive style, petrochemical characteristics of the erupted products, and petrology of xenoliths within magma) suggest that the eccentric and central–lateral eruptions were fed by two distinct magmatic systems. Examples of eccentric activity accompanied by central–lateral events have never been described before at Etna.

Neogene-Quaternary intraforeland transpression along a Mesozoic platform-basin margin: The Gargano fault system, Adria, Italy

We analyzed field structural data and an offshore seismic-reflection profile and compared them with previously published geological and geophysical data to constrain the tectonic evolution of the Gargano fault system, the kinematics of which have been the subject of contradictory interpretations. Field analyses show that the Gargano fault system consists of NW- to W-striking folds, thrusts, and left-lateral transpressional and strike-slip faults. A set of NW-striking solution cleavage supports the inference of an overall left-lateral kinematic regime for the Gargano fault system. Some synsedimentary structures indicate Miocene-Pliocene contractional and transpressional activity along the Gargano fault system, whereas strike-slip faults affecting Pleistocene conglomerates support a recent, left-lateral, strike-slip activity. The seismic-reflection data show that the offshore prolongation of the Gargano fault system consists of an anticline cut by high-angle faults arranged in a positive flower-like structure, which has mostly grown since middle-late Miocene times along a Mesozoic platform-basin margin. We have schematically reconstructed the tectonic evolution of the Gargano fault system between the middle-late Miocene and the present day. During this period, the Gargano fault system has mostly accommodated contractional to left-lateral transpressional and strike-slip displacements. These displacements are consistent with the regional, Neogene-Quaternary, contractional tectonics across Adria and the Apennines and Dinarides-Albanides fold-and-thrust belts. Some evidence suggests that the Gargano fault system is presently accommodating extensional or left-lateral transtensional displacements. We interpret the Neogene-Quaternary, strike-slip displacements on the Gargano fault system to be connected with the segmentation of the subducted Adriatic slab beneath the Apennines fold-and-thrust belt and with the noncylindrical evolution of this slab (i.e., differential retreating motions), which has undergone differential flexural movements in the adjacent, northern and southern Adriatic compartments.

Growth of fissure ridge travertines from geothermal springs of Denizli Basin, western Turkey

Fissure ridge travertines grown from geothermal springs of Denizli Basin, southwestern Turkey, are investigated through stratigraphic, structural, geochemical, and geochronological methods, with the aim of understanding the growth of these elongate mound-shaped structures. Two main types of travertine deposits are recognized: (1) bedded travertines, which grew as flowstone on sloping surfaces and form the bulk of fissure ridges, and (2) banded travertines, which grew as veins within the bedded travertine chiefly along its central feeding conduit. Stratigraphic and structural observations shed light on the bedded-banded travertine relationships, where the banded features grew through successive accretion phases, crosscutting the bedded travertine or forming sill-like structures. The bedded and banded travertines alternated their growth, as demonstrated by complicated crosscutting relationships and by the upward suture, in places, of banded travertine by bedded travertine that was, in turn, crosscut by younger banded travertine. The bedded travertine is often tilted away from the central axis of the fissure ridge, thus leaving more room for the central banded travertine to form. U-series ages confirm the bedded-banded travertine temporal relationships and show that the growth of the studied fissure ridges lasted up to several tens of thousands of years during Quaternary time. The banded travertine was deposited mainly during cold events, possibly in coincidence with seismic events that might have triggered the outflow of deep geothermal fluids. C and O stable isotope and rare earth element data indicate a shallow feeding circuit for the studied structures with a fluid component deriving from a deeper geothermal circuit. A crack-and-seal mechanism of fissure ridge growth is proposed, modulated by the interplay of local and regional influencing factors and mechanisms such as geothermal fluid discharge, paleoclimate, tectonics, and the progressive tilting of bedded travertine limbs over a soft substratum creating the necessary space for the central veins to grow.

High strain rate damage of Carrara marble

Several cases of rock pulverization have been observed along major active faults in granite and other crystalline rocks. They have been interpreted as due to coseismic pervasive microfracturing. In contrast, little is known about pulverization in carbonates. With the aim of understanding carbonate pulverization, we investigate the high strain rate (c. 100 s−1) behavior of unconfined Carrara marble through a set of experiments with a Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar. Three final states were observed: (1) at low strain, the sample is kept intact, without apparent macrofractures; (2) failure is localized along a few fractures once stress is larger than 100 MPa, corresponding to a strain of 0.65%; (3) above 1.3% strain, the sample is pulverized. Contrary to granite, the transition to pulverization is controlled by strain rather than strain rate. Yet, at low strain rate, a sample from the same marble displayed only a few fractures. This suggests that the experiments were done above the strain rate transition to pulverization. Marble seems easier to pulverize than granite. This creates a paradox: finely pulverized rocks should be prevalent along any high strain zone near faults through carbonates, but this is not what is observed. A few alternatives are proposed to solve this paradox.

Solution slip and separations on strike-slip fault zones: theory and application to the Mattinata Fault, Italy

We present a set of relationships to determine the component of slip and separations generated by the cleavage-controlled volume contraction in strike-slip fault zones. The fault walls can translate toward each other along the (cleavage-normal) axis of maximum shortening as rock is dissolved by pressure solution along patterned cleavage surfaces within strike-slip fault zones. The fault zone shortening produces an ‘apparent slip’ and possible separations of reference stratigraphic surfaces across the fault zone. Solution related slip and separations can differ in magnitude and have either the same or the opposite sense. These discrepancies depend upon the amount of fault zone shortening and upon the angles between the fault and the shortening axis, and between the fault and the reference stratigraphic surface. Separations can be considerable at any scales even for very low amounts of fault zone thinning. Apparent slip can be appreciable for large amounts of fault zone thinning and/or high fault-to-cleavage incidence angles. With the proper geometrical conversions, the relationships here presented can apply to any fault type. The application of this technique to the left-lateral Mattinata Fault, Italy, demonstrated that both left- and right-lateral strike separations can occur along the fault even for low amounts of fault zone contraction by rock dissolution. q 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Possible causes of arc development in the Apennines, central Italy

In central Italy, the geometry, kine matics, and tectonic evolution of the late Neogene Umbrian Arc, which is one of the main thrusts of the northern Apennines, have long been studied. Documented evidence for orogenic curvature includes verticalaxis rotations along both limbs of the arc and a posi tive orocline test along the entire arc. The cause of the curvature is, however, still unexplained. In this work, we focus our attention on the southern portion of the Umbrian Arc, the so-called OlevanoAntrodoco thrust. We analyze, in particular, gravity and seismic-refl ection data and consider available paleomagnetic, stratigraphic, structural, and topographic evidence from the central Apennines to infer spatial extent, attitude, and surface effects of a midcrustal anticlinorium imaged in the CROP-11 deep seismic profi le. The anticlinorium has horizontal dimensions of ~50 by 30 km, and it is located right beneath the OlevanoAntrodoco thrust. Stratigraphic, structural, and topographic evidence suggests that the anticlinorium produced a surface uplift during its growth in early Pliocene times. We propose an evolutionary model in which, during late Neogene time, the OlevanoAntrodoco thrust developed in an out-ofsequence fashion and underwent ~16° of clockwise rotation when the thrust ran into and was then raised and folded by the growing anti clinorium (late Messinian‐early Pliocene time). This new model suggests a causal link between midcrustal folding and surfi cial orogenic curvature that is consistent with several available data sets from the northern and central Apennines; more evidence is, however, needed to fully test our hypothesis. Additionally, due to the occurrence of midcrustal basement-involved thrusts in other orogens, this model may be a viable mechanism for arc formation elsewhere.

Fluid flow within the damage zone of the Boccheggiano extensional fault (Larderello–Travale geothermal field, central Italy): structures, alteration and implications for hydrothermal mineralization in extensional settings

The Neogene extensional province of southern Tuscany in central Italy provides an outstanding example of fossil and active structurally controlled fluid flow and epithermal ore mineralization associated with post-orogenic silicic magmatism. Characterization of the hydrodynamic regime leading to the genesis of the polysulphide deposit (known as Filone di Boccheggiano) hosted within the damage zone of the Boccheggiano Fault is a key target to assess modes of fossil hydrothermal fluid circulation in the region and, more generally, to provide inferences on fault-controlled hydrothermal fluid flow in extensional settings. We provide a detailed description of the fault zone architecture and alteration/mineralization associated with the Boccheggiano ore deposit and report the results of fluid inclusion and stable oxygen isotope studies. This investigation shows that the Boccheggiano ore consists of an adularia/illite-type epithermal deposit and that sulphide ore deposition was controlled by channelling of hydrothermal fluids of dominantly meteoric origin within the highly anisotropic permeability structure of the Boccheggiano Fault. The low permeability structure of the fault core compartmentalized the fluid outflow preventing substantial cross-fault flow, with focused fluid flow occurring at the hangingwall of the fault controlled by fracture permeability. Fluid inclusion characteristics indicate that ore minerals were deposited between 280° and 350°C in the upper levels of the brittle extending crust (lithostatic pressure in the order of 0.1 GPa). Abundant vapour-rich inclusions in ore-stage quartz are consistent with fluid immiscibility and boiling, and quartz ore vein textures suggest that mineralization in the Boccheggiano ore deposit occurred during cyclic fluid flow in a deformation regime regulated by transient and fluctuating fluid pressure conditions. Results from this study (i) predict a strongly anisotropic permeability structure of the fault damage zone during crustal extension, and (ii) indicate the rate of secondary (structural) permeability creation and maintenance by active deformation in the hangingwall of extensional faults as the major factor leading to effective hydraulic transmissivity in extensional terranes. These features intimately link ore-grade mineralization in extensional settings to telescoping of hydrothermal flow along the hangingwall block(s) of major extensional fault zones.

A way to hydrothermal paroxysm, Colli Albani volcano, Italy

The main issue addressed in this work is the process leading to fluid subsurface entrapment and pressure increase up to hydrofracturing and, possibly, to paroxysm in a hydrothermal setting, in order to envisage such processes and mitigate their effects in the volcanically active study area and elsewhere. A field and laboratory multidisciplinary approach is used in the fossil (late Pleistocene) portion of an active hydrothermal system (Colli Albani volcano, Rome, Italy). In this area, sulfate and sulfide mineralizations and strongly altered ignimbrites are exposed. The alteration acme occurs on top of a buried normal fault, where abundant degassing is still active, and fades away in 2–3 km. Based on pervasive versus discrete alteration styles, mineral assemblages, and further evidence, proximal and distal alteration domains are recognized. Both domains underwent steam-heated advanced argillic alteration with likely temperatures up to ~400 °C in the proximal domain and less than 150 °C in the distal domain. The process of hydrothermal alteration progressively and severely depleted many elements from the most permeable rock units, whereas the lowest-permeable unit (Tufo Lionato) underwent fracture and porosity healing accompanied by both mass and volume gain. In the proximal domain, the advanced argillic hydrothermal alteration eventually formed a substantial barrier to fluids. The hydrothermal fluids accumulated in and below this barrier, which was then suddenly hydrofractured when heat-driven hydraulic pressure overcame the effective stress, thus possibly leading to hydrothermal paroxysm. The decompression associated with hydrofracturing enhanced gas exsolution and mineral precipitation from the entrapped overpressured fluids. Mineral precipitation contributed, in turn, to fracture healing and to reinitiation of a new cycle of hydrothermal fluid entrapment. The key preconditions for the occurrence of the inferred processes are the contrasting compositions of K-alkaline host rocks and acidic alteration fluids, as also previously documented in other similar settings elsewhere.