Melanges represent a significant component of collisional and accretionary orogenic belts and occur widely around the world. Since its first introduction and use, the term has evolved to cover both processes (tectonic, sedimentary, and diapiric) and tectonic settings of melange formation. The meaning and significance of various terms referring to the origin of ‘block-in-matrix chaotic rocks’ are still subject to debate. This study presents a historical overview of the evolving melange concept and investigates the relationships between melange types and their tectonic settings of formation. We investigate the contribution of mass-transport versus contractional deformation processes at the onset of melange formation and throughout the evolution of different melange types, and the nature of the continuum and transition from broken formations to true tectonic melanges. A melange is a mappable chaotic body of mixed rocks with a block-in-matrix fabric whose internal structure and evolution are intimately linked...

Mélanges and mélange-forming processes: a historical overview and new concepts

[1] We present an interpretation of the eastern half portion of the CROP 11 line, a deep reflection seismic profile 265 km long that cuts across the central Apennines from the Tyrrhenian coast to the Adriatic coast In the study area the line cuts across a pile of thrust sheets that underwent tectonic transport between the Messinian and the Pleistocene In its easternmost part, the line runs through the Plio-Pleistocene deposits of the Adriatic foredeep In the foreland region the CROP 11 line integrates previous information on the crustal structure derived from petroleum exploration and from deep seismic sounding refraction experiments In particular, the CROP 11 line confirms the existence of a very thick sedimentary sequence underlying the Mesozoic-Tertiary carbonates of the Apulia Platform interpreted as the Paleozoic-Triassic sedimentary cover of a pre-Cambrian crystalline basement In the mountain chain, where the base thrust of the orogenic wedge reaches a depth of about 25 km, this sedimentary sequence appears to be the deepest geological unit incorporated in the thrust system This interpretation of the CROP 11 profile suggests an unusual thin-skin tectonic style implying the detachment from the original basement and the incorporation in the post-Tortonian tectonic wedge of a very thick Paleozoic-Triassic sedimentary sequence possibly affected by low-grade metamorphism in the lower part Other new suggestions from the CROP 11 seismic data concern the origin of the Fucino basin, one of the most remarkable Plio-Pleistocene intramontane basins The normal faults bordering this structural depression, as other important normal faults present in the central Apennines (eg, the Caramanico fault system in the Majella region), seem to have been controlled by gravitational-collapse processes driven by uplift during crustal shortening rather than by a generalized extension subsequent to the Apennine compression, as usually reported in the geological literature If this interpretation is correct, the strong seismic activity in correspondence to the Apennine watershed may be related to the very recent increase in the structural relief caused by an out-of-sequence propagation of the active thrusts

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/2005TC001917

Structural architecture of the central Apennines: Interpretation of the CROP 11 seismic profile from the Adriatic coast to the orographic divide

Structural inheritance in mountain belts: an Alpine-Apennine perspective

[1] We describe how thin-skinned/thick-skinned deformation in the Zagros Folded Belt interacted in time and space. Homogeneous fold wavelengths (15.8 ± 5.3 km), tectono-sedimentary evidence for simultaneous fold growth in the past 5.5 ± 2.5 Ma, drainage network organization, and homogeneous peak differential stresses (40 ± 15 MPa) together point to buckling as the dominant process responsible for cover folding. Basin analysis reveals that basement inversion occurred ∼20 Ma ago as the Arabia/Eurasian plate convergence reduced and accumulation of Neogene siliciclastics in foreland basin started. By 10 Ma, ongoing contraction occurred by underplating of Arabian crustal units beneath the Iranian plate. This process represents 75% of the total shortening. It is not before 5 Ma that the Zagros foreland was incorporated into the southward propagating basement thrust wedge. Folds rejuvenated by 3–2 Ma because of uplift driven by basement shortening and erosion. Since then, folds grew at 0.3—0.6 mm/yr and forced the rivers to flow axially. A total shortening of 65–78 km (16–19%) is estimated across the Zagros. This corresponds to shortening rates of 6.5–8 km/Ma consistent with current geodetic surveys. We point out that although thin-skinned deformation in the sedimentary cover may be important, basement-involved shortening should not be neglected as it requires far less shortening. Moreover, for such foreland folded belts involving basement shortening, underplating may be an efficient process accommodating a significant part of the plate convergence.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/2007TC002098

Tertiary sequence of deformation in a thin‐skinned/thick‐skinned collision belt: The Zagros Folded Belt (Fars, Iran)

Defining the structural style of fold–thrust belts and understanding the controlling factors are necessary steps towards prediction of their long-term and short-term dynamics, including seismic hazard, and to assess their potential in terms of hydrocarbon exploration. While the thin-skinned structural style has long been a fashionable view for outer parts of orogens worldwide, a wealth of new geological and geophysical studies has pointed out that a description in terms of thick-skinned deformation is, in many cases, more appropriate. This paper aims at providing a review of what we know about basement-involved shortening in foreland fold–thrust belts on the basis of the examination of selected Cenozoic orogens. After describing how structural interpretations of fold–thrust belts have evolved through time, this paper addresses how and the extent to which basement tectonics influence their geometry and their kinematics, and emphasizes the key control exerted by lithosphere rheology, including structural and thermal inheritance, and local/regional boundary conditions on the occurrence of thick-skinned tectonics in the outer parts of orogens.

/pdf/thick-skinned-tectonics-and-basement-involved-fold-thrust-1ugaj22z2g.pdf

Thick-skinned tectonics and basement-involved fold–thrust belts: insights from selected Cenozoic orogens

Fold-thrust belts are commonly interpreted as thin-skinned structures, developed above a detachment, with the underlying basement remaining undeformed. However, in many areas, particularly where compressional tectonism was preceded by rifting, models of basement fault reactivation may be more appropriate. The contrasts between thin-skinned and deep-rooting, inversion-dominated deformation in building fold-thrust complexes are investigated using a case history from the Italian Apennines. Three sectors were chosen to represent the marked lateral variations in structural style e vident in the thrust belt. The outer portion of the Marche (in the north) is contrasted with a section through the Lucanian Apennines in the south and with the Molise district of the Central Apennines. The Marche structures are readily explained in terms of inversion, a model that is consistent with new deep seismic data onshore and conventional seismic from the nearby Adriatic Sea. The displacements implicit for the inversion model are a factor of five less than for existing thin-skinned interpretations. However, these styles are not applicable throughout the Apennines. Well data in the Southern Apennines of Lucania demonstrate large-scale thin-skinned thrusting, with 57 km of horizontal displacement since earliest Pliocene time. This includes 14 km of shortening that ramps up through the buried Apulian Platform carbonates. These deeper structures may be restored using ramp-dominated thrust geometries. The Molise sector shows broadly the same structural style as for Lucania: allochthonous shallow-water carbonates and pelagic basin units overlie the carbonates of the Apulian Platform, with the major difference being that here, the pelagic basin units are detached at the level of the Oligocene–lower Miocene Argille Varicolori. In this setting, the Apulian carbonates may be restored using only 5 km of displacement. The overlying allochthon probably has accommodated about 45 km of displacement since the earliest Pliocene. Therefore, the Apennines show differing structural styles with differing displacements along their length. Thick-skinned thrusting models may be applied to the Marche and to structures in the buried Apulian units.

Applying Thick-skinned Tectonic Models to the Apennine Thrust Belt of Italy—Limitations and Implications

Active deformation in the frontal part of the Northern Apennines: insights from the lower Metauro River basin area (northern Marche, Italy) and adjacent Adriatic off-shore

CROP 03: Structure of the Montecalvo in Foglia - Adriatic Sea Segment

Analisi della tettonica quaternaria nel basso bacino del fiume metauro (marche settentrionali) e nell'adiacente offshore adriatico attraverso l'integrazione di dati sismici, geomorfologici, stratigrafici e strutturali

In the last few years, the field classes for Earth and Environmental Sciences degree courses at Urbino University are carried out using Tablet PC and ad-hoc developed mobile-GIS software: MapIT. Even though students have been dealing also with GPS and other digital devices, they can work with the same classical field mapping technique using paper-map and pencil substitute by the screen of a rugged tablet PC and its stylus. The power of a PC can be used to store a large amount of data, run specialized software, interact with a larger screen that allows student to sketch and write his/her interpretations and sharing them with the other people (students and teachers). The "interpretation path" can be more easily reconstructed and the uncertainties of the final synthetic map can be better estimated. The last generations of students demonstrate a more natural approach to those techniques then "old- rugged" geologists and field surveyors. This point allows an easy prediction that in a few years time, the "digital" will become "traditional".

Earth and Environmental Sciences: field classes with GIS/GPS and tablet PC

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