This research initiative aims at improving our fundamental multiscalar understanding of the dynamic evolution of orogenic belts from rifting to shortening and late orogenic extension. By studying carefully selected key areas of the Apennines, northern Calabria and Oman Mountains, this project will address the: 1) definition of burial and exhumation paths in space and time; 2) deformation style (continuum vs. episodic, and possibly seismic deformation); 3) analysis of the time relationships among thrust-sheet emplacement, internal deformation by folding and extensional tectonics and the study of the rates of the controlling processes.
The project will implement a completely novel scientific approach based on the combination of multiscalar stratigraphic and structural analysis with the study of thermal and thermochronological evolution of sedimentary units and dating of low-temperature deformation episodes. We aim at measuring the timing and rates of the processes that have steered the nucleation and growth of the belts, by K-Ar dating of fine-grained synkinematic clay minerals formed in brittle and brittle-ductile fault rocks and by X-ray diffraction of mixed layered minerals formed during burial. We further aim at investigating the processes that triggered orogenic extension by U-Pb analysis of synkinematic calcite and U-Th/He and fission track analysis of apatite crystals dispersed in sediments. We expect to improve significantly the existing and only loosely time-constrained models of nucleation and development of the Apennines and Oman Mountains by adding tight constraints on the exact temporal dimension involved in buildup and subsequent tearing down of the orogens. Numerical modeling will aid the final synthesis of the project, where results will be collated to constrain the long-term tectonic evolution of the orogens in space and time. A fine understanding of orogen dynamics will help us to better assess hydrogeological and seismic risk in the Italian region.
The research initiative aims at improving our understanding of the Apennines, northern Calabria and Oman Mountains by studying these fascinating and still poorly time-constrained orogenic belts by means of a novel and modern scientific approach which couple inorganic and organic thermal indicators and low-temperature thermochronometers (apatite fission tracks, U-Th/He dating) of sedimentary units with K-Ar and U-Pb datings of fault rocks. K-Ar analysis from clay-rich gouges and U-Pb dating of synkinematic calcite veins will be performed by adding valuable constraints to the timing and duration of compressional and extensional tectonics along key sectors of the belts. Available constraints are primarily based upon the age of synorogenic and continental post-orogenic deposits. The foreseeable innovation and impact is both in methodology development for further studies of tectonically interesting or hazardous regions and in advancing of knowledge of orogen dynamics. Indeed, improving multiscalar models for orogenic systems in time and space will lead to tectonic models that will generate a benchmark for comparative studies around the globe of both active and fossil orogens. This project aims at describing the dynamic state of orogenic system (e.g, extent of shortening due to tectonic convergence, obduction, crustal thickening and post-orogenic thinning) by tracing its changes through time and space (subsidence, accretion, exhumation, post-orogenic collapse) and forecasting its future evolution. In this perspective, this project will generate new quantitative constraints to define tectonic and geodynamic evolutionary models of the belts. The expected results will allow us to quantify vertical movements of opposite polarity (burial vs. exhumation) and their rates and will have important implications for the dating of fault zones. An important aspect to stress is the societal impact that this project will have by leading to better management and environmental planning. Geosciences are becoming increasingly critical in the management of modern societies and planning of their future, dealing with aspects such as water resources and ore deposits, waste disposal, land use, environmental planning, engineering, tunneling, and alternative energy and climate research. Additionally, they are key in assessing the risk factors from natural hazards such as landslides, sea level rise, floodings and earthquakes. The project will contribute significantly in this sense by generating the detailed knowledge that is necessary to more effectively manage seismic territories in all their components. In addition, the multiscalar structural and petrophysical analysis of fault rocks integrated with isotope analysis will improve our understanding of the role of fluids and cataclasis in the generation of permeability barriers in both compressional and extensional environments with the development of models which account for the evolution of the fault zone structure from orogen down to microscopic scale. Important implications for fluid migration and deformation mechanisms are therefore envisaged, generating a benchmark for studies applied to hydrocarbon and geothermal exploration and CO2 storage. Users belonging to the academic world (e.g. geochronologists, tectonicists, seismologists, stratigraphers), policy makers and the industry (e.g. oil and ore explorationists, geothermal scientists) will have a refined conceptual tool at their disposal.
The proposed scientific collaborations with national and international research institutions and universities will contribute to directly address these aspects in a context of European scientific excellence and to face those societal challenges that the European Research Council identifies as priorities. For example, our results could contribute to tackle the societal challenge of mitigating hydrogeological and seismic risks. In fact, understanding the timing and duration of compressional and extensional tectonics and the time laps between these two tectonic activities could contribute to the definition of seismic risk associated with faults whose activity is uncertain or debated in the literature. Quantitatively modelling long-term tectonic processes and the present-day deformation pattern will provide a process-based model that integrates seismic hazard evaluations. In addition to publications in scientific journals and presentations at national and international scientific conferences, the project will engage also with outreach activities to narrow the gap between science and society. In particular, the results of our research will be presented during seminars in schools and at open days in natural science museums. Raw and processed data from this project will be stored in the Cloud system that the Earth Science Department of Sapienza University has been developing and will be made available to the scientific community.