Sedimentary evolution of basins in mobile belts: examples from the Tertiary terrigenous sequences of the Peloritani Mountains (NE Sicily)

Abstract

The Tertiary covers of the Peloritani Mountain Belt (NE Sicily) provide a complete stratigraphical record of tectonic events related to collision in the Central Mediterranean region. The tectonosedimentary evolution is inferred from interpretation of new field data and indicates various stages of polyphase deformation. The Peloritani Mountain Belt is composed mostly of crystalline units representing the active margin of the European Plate that was thrust over the descending African Plate during the Tertiary. Late Eocene‐early Oligocene syn‐orogenic deposition took place within a fore‐arc basin located along the leading edge of the Peloritani Mountain Belt. From the late Oligocene to late Langhian, terrigenous deposition occurred throughout the mountain belt and extended into perched basins, located in southern areas. The basin was fed from the north, from source areas located in the hinterland of the orogenic belt. Deposition was controlled by a combination of active thrusting, regional subsidence and sea‐level change. During the early Serravallian sudden tectonic inversion took place, associated with collapse of hinterland areas and uplift of former low‐lying southern areas of the mountain belt. These processes were related to onset of opening of the Tyrrhenian Sea that was completed during the Serravallian‐Tortonian, and resulted in the deposition of a northwestward prograding clastic fan, fed by source areas located in the southern area of the mountain belt. This setting characterized Messinian and Plio‐Pleistocene deposition, and was controlled by both active tectonics and eustasy. The Recent evolution of the Peloritani Mountain Belt is characterized by major progressive uplift of the southern margins of the Tyrrhenian Basin, and local active subsidence related to downfaulting. Such processes resulted in the uplift of mid‐Pleistocene fan‐delta deposits and late Pleistocene marine terraces deposits to various altitudes above present sea‐level.

Tectonics and sedimentation of the Lower and Middle Pleistocene mixed siliciclastic/bioclastic sedimentary successions of the Ionian Peloritani Mts (NE Sicily, Southern Italy): the onset of opening of the Messina Strait

“…The Neogene deposits cropping out in this part of Sicily (Peloritani Mts in Figure 1), record the tectonic and sedimentary evolution of this complex area during the opening of the southern Tyrrhenian basin and of the eastern Ionian basin. From the Late Oligocene onward, the terrigenous sedimentary successions of the Peloritani Mts ( Figure 2A) formed distinct depositional cycles bounded by regional unconformities, each of them indicating a stage in the complex polyphase evolution of the area ( [44][45][46] and references therein). Late Oligocene to Early Miocene sediments are associated with a compressional regime, during which a series of perched forearc basins formed, separated by intervening highs of crystalline basement [45].…”

Tectonics and seismicity of the Tindari Fault System, southern Italy: Crustal deformations at the transition between ongoing contractional and extensional domains located above the edge of a subducting slab

“…Since late Miocene, the extensional tectonics propagated toward the south and southeast and progressively involved the present-day coastal areas of the northern Sicily. In particular, in the northeastern Sicily and near offshore areas, extensional basins developed since late Miocene Pepe et al, 2000] mostly along north to NE striking extensional faults [Ghisetti, 1992;Di Stefano and Lentini, 1995;Lentini et al, 1995Lentini et al, , 1996, in response to WNW-ESE and NW-SE oriented stretching processes [Cifelli et al, 2004]. Generalized stretching continued during the middle (?)…”

Pleistocene volcaniclastic units from North-Eastern Sicily (Italy): new evidence for calc-alkaline explosive volcanism in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea

“…These sedimentary deposits are preserved within a structural depression in areas adjacent to the present coastline. The substrate shows a siliciclastic (conglomeratic-arenaceous-clay) sequence (Gargano 1994;Lentini et al 1995Lentini et al , 1997, Serravallian-Lower Messinian in age (Lentini et al 2000), which was covered during Messinian times by discontinuous evaporitic carbonates (Gargano 1994;Lentini et al 2000). Lower Pliocene marls and marly limestones (Trubi Formation) follow in the sequence.…”