The Crotone Basin is the exposed part of a larger Neogene forearc basin developed in the Ionian Sea in the frame of the SE-ward migration of the Calabrian Arc, which led to the subduction of the Ionian lithosphere and the spreading of the Tyrrhenian back-arc Basin (central Mediterranean) (MALINVERNO & RYAN, 1986; SARTORI, 2003). Taking into account the geologic context that accompanied its accumulation, the Plio-Pleistocene part of the Crotone Basin succession is exceptionally well preserved, and consists of a suite of continental, paralic, shallow-marine and deep-marine deposits organized to form unconformity bounded stratal units that, in turn, compose two main tectono-stratigraphic cycles (RODA, 1964; VAN DIJK, 1990; ZECCHIN et alii, 2004a, 2006; MASSARI et alii, 2010). The unconformities separating these units are well recognizable along the basin margin and tend to vanish basinwards. Additionally, they record phases of basin reorganization linked to large-scale tectonics. In particular, the basin evolution was characterized by a cyclic pattern consisting of an alternation between longer subsidence phases, that favoured the accumulation of stratal units, and uplift phases that led to base-level falls and the generation of unconformities. These phases were strictly related to an alternation between active subduction of the Ionian lithosphere below the Calabrian Arc, accompanied by the spreading of the Tyrrhenian back-arc Basin and by extension and subsidence in the forearc basin, and regionalscale compressional and transpressional events, during which the Arc migration temporarily stopped. The younger uplift of the basin, started during middle Pleistocene and still active (ZECCHIN et alii, 2011), was characterized by extensional tectonics, and its interplay with glacio-eustasy controlled the formation of marine terraces (COSENTINO et alii, 1989; ZECCHIN et alii, 2004b). The tectonic episodes, affecting the Calabrian Arc since Plio-Pleistocene times during its SE-ward migration, are precisely recorded in the Crotone Basin. The tectonic control on the basin fill and its time constrain are critical helping to draw a clearer picture on the complex evolution of the central Mediterranean.
The Plio-Pleistocene evolution of the Crotone Basin (southern Italy)
CRITELLI, Salvatore;MUTO, Francesco;
2012-01-01
Abstract
The Crotone Basin is the exposed part of a larger Neogene forearc basin developed in the Ionian Sea in the frame of the SE-ward migration of the Calabrian Arc, which led to the subduction of the Ionian lithosphere and the spreading of the Tyrrhenian back-arc Basin (central Mediterranean) (MALINVERNO & RYAN, 1986; SARTORI, 2003). Taking into account the geologic context that accompanied its accumulation, the Plio-Pleistocene part of the Crotone Basin succession is exceptionally well preserved, and consists of a suite of continental, paralic, shallow-marine and deep-marine deposits organized to form unconformity bounded stratal units that, in turn, compose two main tectono-stratigraphic cycles (RODA, 1964; VAN DIJK, 1990; ZECCHIN et alii, 2004a, 2006; MASSARI et alii, 2010). The unconformities separating these units are well recognizable along the basin margin and tend to vanish basinwards. Additionally, they record phases of basin reorganization linked to large-scale tectonics. In particular, the basin evolution was characterized by a cyclic pattern consisting of an alternation between longer subsidence phases, that favoured the accumulation of stratal units, and uplift phases that led to base-level falls and the generation of unconformities. These phases were strictly related to an alternation between active subduction of the Ionian lithosphere below the Calabrian Arc, accompanied by the spreading of the Tyrrhenian back-arc Basin and by extension and subsidence in the forearc basin, and regionalscale compressional and transpressional events, during which the Arc migration temporarily stopped. The younger uplift of the basin, started during middle Pleistocene and still active (ZECCHIN et alii, 2011), was characterized by extensional tectonics, and its interplay with glacio-eustasy controlled the formation of marine terraces (COSENTINO et alii, 1989; ZECCHIN et alii, 2004b). The tectonic episodes, affecting the Calabrian Arc since Plio-Pleistocene times during its SE-ward migration, are precisely recorded in the Crotone Basin. The tectonic control on the basin fill and its time constrain are critical helping to draw a clearer picture on the complex evolution of the central Mediterranean.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
