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Objective: To evaluate the effect of combined antiretroviral therapy on serum immunoglobulin (Ig) levels in HIV-1 perinatally infected children.Methods: Data from 1250 children recorded by the Italian Register for HIV Infection in Children from 1985 to 2002 were analysed. Since Ig levels physiologically vary with age, differences at different age periods were evaluated as differences in z-scores calculated using means and standard deviations of normal population for each age period. Combined antiretroviral therapy has become widespread in Italy since 1996, thus differences in Ig z-scores between the periods 1985-1995 and 1996-2002 were analysed. Data according to type of therapeutic regimen were also analysed.Results: Between the two periods 1985-1995 and 1996-2002, significant (P < 0.0001) decreases in IgG (6.29 +/- 4.72 versus 4.44 +/- 4.33), IgM (9.25 +/- 13.32 versus 5.61 +/- 7.93), and IgA (10.25 +/- 15.68 versus 6.48 +/- 11.56) z-scores, together with a parallel significant (P < 0.0001) increase in CD4 T-lymphocyte percentages, were found. These decreases were confirmed regardless of whether the children were receiving intravenous Ig or not. Ig z-scores were significantly higher in children receiving mono-therapy than in those receiving double-combined therapy (IgG, P < 0.0001; IgM, P = 0.003; IgA, P = 0.031) and in the latter children than in those receiving three or more drugs (P < 0.0001 for all z-scores). Ig z-scores correlated inversely with CD4 T lymphocyte percentages and, directly, with viral loads.Conclusions: Our data show that in HIV-1 infected children combined antiretroviral therapy leads to reduction of hyperimmunoglobulinemia which parallels restoration of CD4 T-lymphocyte percentage and viral load decrease, which it turn probably reflects improved B-lymphocyte functions.(C) 2004 Lippincott Williams Wilkins.

The Cenozoic tectonic framework of the Terra Nova Bay region is dominated by NW–SE-trending dextral strike–slip faults that represent the onshore expression of dextral transform shear along the Tasman Fracture Zone and Balleny Fracture Zone in the Southern Ocean. These intraplate faults reactivated inherited, Paleozoic crustal discontinuities established during the Ross Orogeny. Cenozoic, N–S to NNE–SSW transtensional faults developed in the crustal blocks in between the strike–slip faults as a kinematic consequence of the transcurrent motion. These transtensional faults provided a suitable mechanism to accomplish for dextral horizontal throw along the NW–SE strike–slip faults. The complex, strike–slip-induced kinematics controlled the location and the emplacement mechanisms of Cenozoic basic magma in the coastal sector of the Terra Nova Bay region. Sequential restoration of the present-day fault pattern in the Terra Nova Bay region, allowed reconstruction of the geologic framework of the area prior to onset of the strike–slip activity (from 105 Ma to 32 Ma), and also before the opening of the Ross Sea (earlier than 105 Ma). The pre-extensional framework was dominated by a vast, flay-lying plateau, mainly made up by the Jurassic Ferrar Supergroup rocks. Crustal thinning occurred due to movement on NNE–SSW- to NE–SW-trending extensional faults, and the inherited, through-going Paleozoic NW–SE regional-scale discontinuities were reactivated as transfer faults. Main extensional faults in the western side of the Ross Sea dip to the NE, and segmented this region into a series of blocks with minor tilting. Strike–slip tectonics characterises Late Cenozoic time, and is responsible for N–S extensional, rather symmetrical faulting along transfer zones in between major NW–SE transcurrent faults. Intersections between these two trends eased deep magma rise and the development of long-lasting, central volcanoes. The morphological effects of the last tectonic event were the development of NW–SE and N–S depressions and the rapid growth of volcanic edifices, that influenced both location and orientation of the main glaciers in northern Victoria Land and are responsible for their characteristic zig-zagging.

GNSS networks in Antarctica are a fundamental tool to define actual crustal displacements due to geological and geophysical processes and to constrain the glacial isostatic models (GIA). A large network devoted to the detection and monitoring of crustal deformations in the Northern Victoria Land (Victoria Land Network for DEFormation control – VLNDEF), was monumented during the 1999–2000 and 2000–2001 field campaigns, as part of Italian National Program for Antarctic Research and surveyed periodically during the Southern summer seasons. In this paper, GPS observations of VLNDEF collected over a more than 15-year span, together with various selected POLENET sites and more than 70 IGS stations, were processed with Bernese Software, using a classical double difference approach. A solution was obtained combining NEQs by means of ADDNEQ2/FODITS tools embedded in Bernese Software. All the Antarctic sites were kept free and a subset of 50 IGS stations were used to frame VLNDEF into ITRF2008. New evidence provided by analysis of GPS time series for the VLNDEF network is presented; also displacements along the vertical component are compared with the recently published GIA models. The absolute velocities indicate an overall displacement of the northern Victoria Land region along the south-east direction (Ve = 10.6 mm/yr, Vn = −11.5 mm/yr) and an average uplift rate of Vu = 0.5 mm/yr. Two GIA models have been analyzed: ICE-6G_C-VM5a proposed by Argus et al. (2014), Peltier et al. (2015) and W12A_v1 by Whitehouse et al. (2012a,b). Up rates, predicted over the VLNDEF sites by the mentioned GIA models, have been extracted and compared with those observed. A preliminary comparison with GPS-derived vertical rates shows that the Victoria Land ICE-6G_C-VM5 and W12A_v1 GIA models predict overestimated uplift rates of 0.7 and 0.9 mm/yr weighted mean residuals respectively. The mean horizontal relative motions within the Victoria Land (VL) area are in most cases negligible, while only a few points exhibit horizontal velocities greater than the confidence level. Such a residual horizontal velocity field could represent some of the tectonic characteristics affecting VL, characterized by block faulting, tilting along NE striking and SE dipping extensional faults. Uplift rates, highlighted in the present paper depict a well defined spatial pattern in the investigated areas. Northward, all sites show a general positive trend up to 2.3 mm/yr. In the central and southern areas small negative trends (up to −1.3 mm/yr) were detected in the vertical displacements. Only the site VL06, located atop the Mt. Melbourne volcano, does not concord with such a general reading, as it is representative of the volcanic complex’s evolution. Observed and predicted uplift rates increase westward (inland) where the ice-load increases. The same behavior is predicted southward by the GIA models; whereas GPS values decrease toward the south pole, due to the movements of a few sites reflecting the neotectonic phenomena acting in the Victoria Land region.

In this work we present the analysis of the footwall morphology of the Concordia subglacial extensional fault in the East Antarctic Craton. The Concordia Fault is a regional fault zone that extends for almost 200 km. The displacement, up to 1800 m, and the listric geometry were recognized by numerical modeling of the resulting hangingwall bedrock morphology and is responsible for the marked asymmetry that characterizes the corresponding scarp in the Concordia Subglacial Trench. The portion of the footwall in the proximity of the master fault exhibits an excavated morphology, about 500 m deep and up to 5 km wide, showing strong correlation with the master fault displacement. We excluded a predominant glacial and fluvial origin of this morphology considering: (i) the sharp topography of the Concordia Fault, suggesting that the fault activity started after the onset of the ice sheet; (ii) the ice-sheet/bedrock contact is characterized by a general negligible erosion/deposition rates still allowing clast removal; (iii) the lack of significant deposits in the Concordia Trench. We hence explored the possibility that this morphology may result from the combined action of fault-induced fracturing and passive clast removal and scattering by flow and plastic deformation within the ice sheet. We introduced the term tectonic carving for this process. Our modeling shows that tectonic carving relates to the relative fracture intensity in the Concordia fracture zone, that corresponds to the envelope of master and secondary fault damage zones. Fracture intensity depends on the frequency and the displacement of secondary faulting and can be approximated by a normal distribution. Using a Monte Carlo modeling approach we selected the set of parameters that best fits the data set with the carving theoretical curve. The final results of the Monte Carlo analysis show a root mean square of about 50 meters, comparable with the data resolution. This analysis demonstrates a method to unravel the presence of fracture zones in similar, weak erosional environments.

The surface of Ganymede is characterized by intense tectonic deformation. The two terrains, light and dark, show morphotectonic features, namely, grooves and furrows. These represent kilometric systems at the regional scale, interpreted as extensional structures (e.g., horst and graben systems). Currently, evidence of significant compression has not yet been recognized, leaving open the opportunity to clarify the tectonic balance of Ganymede's surface. Debate still exists on the geodynamics responsible for surface deformation, and the investigation of these features contributes to understanding the internal processes. To understand the deformation that shapes the surface of the satellite, we explore the tectonic setting of the light terrain region of Uruk Sulcus. Using structural geology methodologies by remote sensing and systematic analysis of grooves, we recognize three groove systems within the sulcus and one furrow system in the neighboring dark terrain. Uruk Sulcus is also characterized by the presence of two domains of lineaments, subtle linear texture anisotropies related to the influence of tectonic processes on morphology. Comparison of the combined results from the analyses of the recognized groove systems with the lineament domains allowed us to infer the stress field responsible for their development in the studied area. According to these results, an evolutionary tectonic scenario for Uruk Sulcus is proposed: a tectonic corridor characterized by dextral transpression, with 58% of the internal compressional component approximately N-S oriented and responsible for localized, E-W extensional features among crustal blocks of the shear zone.

A recent focus of major international exploration in East Antarctica has been aimed at revealing its bedrock topography and imaging its tectonic architecture and evolution. Here we present the tectonic interpretation of regional-scale lineaments revealed by the Radarsat mosaic of Antarctica on the ice sheet surface in the Vostok–Dome C– Adventure Basin region. These lineaments appear in the radar backscatter textures as alignments of marked tonal variations with lengths of tens to hundreds of kilometers and were identifi ed using an automated methodology. We explore the origin scenarios for the ice sheet surface lineaments by comparing their azimuthal trends and spatial distribution with the main morphotectonic features of the bedrock. Azimuthal analysis reveals that lineaments cluster around two preferential directions interpreted as structural or tectonic domains. These show strong correlations with azimuths of tectonic fabrics in the bedrock. The main lineament domain parallels the morphotectonic features of the study area, namely the Adventure Basin and the Concordia and Aurora Trenches. The second lineament set corresponds to the mean orientation of the Lake Vostok depression. The spatial analyses of the two lineament domains strengthen our fi ndings and interpretations. Comparisons with wind and ice fl ow directions exclude their infl uence on the identifi ed lineament pattern. Results reveal the tectonic origin of the lineament domains, and demonstrate the method’s usefulness as a tool for tectonic studies of regions characterized by thick covers. These regions include other areas of the East Antarctic craton such as the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains, as well as deserts or surfaces of other planets.

This study presents the results of forward numerical models of a series of sections of the Aurora Trench (East Antarctica) derived from radio echo-sounding data that allowed to reconstruct the 3D shape of the Aurora Fault, a crustal listric normal fault characterized by a length exceeding 100 km. A similar extensional fault setting allows to replicate the asymmetric buried morphology of the magnetic basement at the Lake Vostok depression derived by the available gravity and magnetic profiles. Both the Aurora and Vostok listric fault reach their basal decollment at 34 km depth, possibly the base of the crust in this intracratonic environment. Integration of these results with the existing geologic interpretations of the tectonic origin of the Concordia Trench by normal faulting allowed to frame the Concordia, Aurora and Vostok normal faults within an intraplate transtensional corridor with a left-lateral movement component. The westward projection of the proposed strike-slip deformation belt may develop in correspondence of an older tectonic lineament stretching from the Eastern flanks of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mts to the Lambert rift and characterized by a poly-phased complex tectonic history. The possible Cenozoic reactivation of these structures is discussed in the paper.

SUMMARY This study presents the interpretation of radio echo-sounding (RES) data collected during the 2003 geophysical campaign of PNRA (Italian National Research Project in Antarctica), which focused on the exploration of the Concordia Trench-Lake system in East Antarctica. The data allow us to identify a new lake (ITL-28) at the southern edge of the Concordia Trench and a series of N–S trending subglacial troughs cutting through the Belgica Highlands. We have mapped the bedrock morphology at 3 km resolution, which led to an improved geographical and geomorphological characterization of the Concordia Trench, Concordia Ridge, Concordia Lake and South Hills. Improved knowledge of the Concordia Trench allowed us to model the 3-D geometry of the Concordia fault, suggesting that it played a role in governing the morpho-tectonic evolution of the bedrock in the Dome C region, and to propose a Cenozoic age for its activity. We recognize the importance of catchment basin morphology in hosting subglacial lakes, and discuss the role played by tectonics, glacial scouring and volcanism in the origin of the trench lakes, basin lakes and relief lakes, respectively.

The evolution of deformation patterns during thrust-related folding is of importance for both industrial and academic purposes because of the control that it exerts on the migration and accumulation of fluids in reservoirs. The link between structural position and deformation pattern has been described in both theoretical and field works. On the other hand, the well-documented dependence of deformation structures on the mechanical rock properties and on the environmental conditions indicates that, during folding, structural, stratigraphic, and environmental variables interact to control the deformation pattern within folds. In this work we describe the deformation pattern of the Mt. Catria anticline (Northern Apennines, Italy) and we investigate its variability with (1) the across-strike structural position, and (2) the rock type in the same structural position. Point (1) allowed us to identify and use the syn-folding deformation structures to constrain the fold kinematics. The result of point (2) analyses allowed us to divide the exposed Umbro-Marchean multilayer into three major mechanical units characterised by specific deformation mechanisms and patterns.

A fundamental yet still unresolved puzzle provided by cataclasis is whether particle size reduction mostly progresses through time by the same fragmentation mechanism or not. Available field, laboratory and numerical modelling results on the evolution of cataclastic rocks are still controversial. The evidence that cataclastic rocks exert a primary control on the frictional strength, stability, seismic velocity and permeability properties of fault zones encourages further research on cataclasis. Here, we report data on particle shape from natural cataclastic rocks in poorly layered carbonates in the Apulian foreland of the Southern Apennines of Italy. Particle shape analyses show that particle angularity decreases with increasing size and, for a given size class, it decreases with increasing fractal dimension of the particle size distribution. These results offer support to the temporally and spatially variable nature of rock comminution.

SUMMARY We present the interpretation of 11 radio echo-sounding (RES) missions carried out over the Vostok‐Dome Concordia region during the Italian Antarctic expeditions in the period 1995‐ 2001. The extension and the density of the radar data in the surveyed area allowed to reconstruct a reliable subglacial morphology and to identify four relevant morphological structures namely: the Aurora trench, the Concordia trench, the Concordia ridge and the South Hills. These structures show evidence compatible with the presence of tectonic features. Morphological considerations indicate their development in Cenozoic time. Hybrid cellular automata (HCA)based numerical modelling allowed to justify a possible role played by the tectonics of the Aurora and Concordia trench evolution. This was accomplished by matching the bed profiles along opportunely projected sections with the modelled surfaces as derived by the activity of normal faults with variable surfaces within the continental crust. The Vostok‐Dome C region is characterized by a large number of subglacial lakes. From the analysis of basal reflected power echo, we identified 14 new lakes and obtained information about their physiography as well as their possible relations with tectonics. We propose a grouping of subglacial lakes on the base of their physiography and geological setting, namely relief lakes, basin lakes and trench lakes. Relief lakes located in the Belgica subglacial highlands and are characterized by sharp and steep symmetric edges, suggesting a maximum water depth of the order of 100 m. Their origin may well relate to localized, positive geothermal flux anomalies. Basin lakes located in the Vincennes subglacial basin and are characterized by wider dimension that allow the development of well-defined, flat ice surface anomalies. Trench lakes characterize the Aurora and Concordia trenches as the possible effect of normal fault activity.

Cumulative, polymodal normal (Gaussian distribution) statistics was applied to subsidiary fault data collected from damage zones associated with the Cenozoic Lanterman and Priestley intraplate right-lateral strike-slip fault systems in North Victoria Land, Antarctica. Results show that five Gaussian peaks out of seven in the Lanterman Fault and five out of nine in the Priestley Fault have almost coincident azimuthal values. We named these Gaussian peak pairs as consistent fault sets , arranged in a consistent kinematic architecture that is compatible with the Cenozoic regional strike-slip environment. Angular and kinematic relationships among subsidiary fault sets within the consistent kinematic architecture provide constraints for the inference of the state of stress along the Lanterman and Priestley fault systems. We interpret the fault pattern of the consistent kinematic architecture to be produced by early localisation of the principal displacement zone along pre-existing mechanical discontinuities inherited from the Early Paleozoic Ross Orogeny. Shear localisation was followed by subsidiary faulting at an angle to the principal displacement zone according to the Mohr–Coulomb–Byerlee failure criterion.

Fault-bend folding is a common folding mechanism in thrust and fold belts worldwide. The widely used kink-band geometric model of fault-bend folding necessitates complex ramp segmentations to reproduce the rounded shape of many natural thrust related anticlines. Curvilinear hinge sectors provide a geometric and kinematic alternative solution to kink bands for modelling curved-hinge folds. We developed an analytical solution for modelling fault-bend folding using circular hinge sectors. The velocity field of this kinematic solution is different from that associated with the classical, kink-style model. Our solution predicts the development of curvilinear anticlines above staircase fault geometries, the occurrence of limb rotation and, consequently, the development of rotational syngrowth wedges on both the forelimb and the crest. Conversely to the kink-style kinematics, curvilinear hinge sectors imply a dependence of deformation intensity from the fold shape and stratigraphic position of the folded layer. Application to natural thrust-related anticlines validates the effectiveness of curvilinear fault-bend folding.

Laboratory experiments on rock faulting show that processes of particle comminution in fault rocks are influenced by several parameters, including fault strike and normal stress across faults. In nature, normal stress across faults increases with increasing transpressional strike of faults. Accordingly, different structural fabrics and particle size distributions are expected for cataclastic rocks that have developed along faults with different transpressional orientations and comparable displacements within regional-scale strike-slip fault zones. Adjacent bands of cataclastic gouge and breccia were analysed from four small-scale fault zones. All have comparable displacements and very similar protolith (i.e. shallow-water limestone), structure, kinematics, size, and tectonic environment, but different transpressional strikes within the regional-scale left-lateral Mattinata strike-slip fault, Italy. An inverse linear relationship is found between fault transpressional angles and fractal dimensions of particle size distributions from cataclastic rock samples.

http://sfx.cilea.it:9003/sfxcab3/sf(opens in a new window)|View at Publisher| Export | Download | Save to list | More... Earth and Planetary Science Letters Volume 206, Issue 1-2, 30 January 2003, Pages 173-186 Particle size distributions in natural carbonate fault rocks: Insights for non-self-similar cataclasis (Article) Storti, F. , Billi, A., Salvini, F. Dipartimento Scienze Geol., Univ. degli Studi 'Roma Tre', Rome I-00146, Italy View references (53) Abstract Particle size distributions of cataclastic rocks influence the mechanical and fluid flow behaviour of fault zones. Available data from natural cataclastic rocks are still controversial and do not fully support a self-similar evolution for the cataclastic process, a concept derived from laboratory experiments and micromechanical modelling. Our analyses of particle size in carbonate fault rocks show power law distributions with fractal dimensions spanning a broad range. This confirms that the idea of a persistent fragmentation mechanism for describing the entire evolution of natural cataclastic fault cores in carbonate rocks is inadequate. Conversely, we propose that the fragmentation mechanism progressively changes with the intensity of comminution. Slip localisation within narrow shear bands is favoured when a favourable cataclastic fabric with fractal dimensions D ∼ 2.6-2.7 is achieved in the fault zone. Intense comminution in the narrow shear zones produces the preferential formation of small diameter particles resulting in particle size distributions characterised by D values approaching or exceeding 3. The non-self-similar evolution of natural cataclastic rocks has an important impact on the frictional and permeability properties of fault zones.

The evolution of surficial structures at the toes of orogens arises from the complex interplay between tectonic and surface processes. The internal architecture of syntectonic sediments has been shown to provide useful insights on the kinematic mechanism of folding. Two-dimensional templates of growth strata patterns associated to thrust-related anticlines are available in the literature. In this paper, we show the results of three-dimensional numerical modelling of growth fault-bend folds, fault-propagation folds, fixed limb length decollement folds and fixed limb dip decollement folds. We point out that total thickness contour maps, single syntectonic layer contour maps, and above all, the computation of their directional first-derivative maps, provide useful templates for inferring the kinematic mechanism of folding when compared with similar maps from natural examples. Application of these three-dimensional numerical models includes the comparison and supervised best fit with three-dimensional seismic reflection data sets. Numerical results are contrasted with the growth strata map patterns of the Mediano, Oliana and Pico del Aguila anticlines, in the Spanish Pyrenees.

The deformation associated with a number of kilometre-scale strike-slip fault zones which cut through outcropping carbonate rocks in the Southern Apennines was investigated at regional and outcrop scales. These faults trend roughly east-west and were studied at the Gargano Promontory on the Adriatic Coast tin the Apulian foreland and in the Matese Mountains, about 120 km to the west (within the Apenninic fold-and-thrust belt). The fault zones are 200-300 m wide and typically comprise a core surrounded by a damage zone. Within fault cores, fault rocks (gouges and cataclasites) typically occur along master slip planes; in damage zones, secondary slip planes and solution cleavage are the most important planar discontinuities. The protolith carbonates surrounding the fault zone at Gargano show little deformation, but they are fractured in the Matese Mountains as a result of an earlier thrust phase. Cleavage surfaces in the damage zone of the studied faults are interpreted to be fault propagation structures. Our field data indicate that cleavage-fault intersection fines are parallel to the normals of fault slip-vectors. The angle between a fault plane and the associated cleavage was found to be fairly constant (c. 40 degrees) at different scales of observation. Finally, the spacing of the solution cleavage surfaces appeared in general to be regular (with a mean of about 22 mm), although it was found to decrease slightly near a fault plane. These results are intended to provide a basis for predicting the architecture of fault zones in buried carbonate reservoirs using seismic reflection and borehole data.

In fault-related folds that form by axial surface migration, rocks undergo deformation as they pass through axial surfaces. The distribution and intensity of deformation in these structures has been impacted by the history of axial surface migration. Upon fold initiation, unique dip panels develop, each with a characteristic deformation intensity, depending on their history. During fold growth, rocks that pass through axial surfaces are transported between dip panels and accumulate additional deformation. By tracking the pattern of axial surface migration in model folds, we predict the distribution of relative deformation intensity in simple-step, parallel fault-bend and fault-propagation anticlines. In both cases the deformation is partitioned into unique domains we call deformation panels. For a given rheology of the folded multilayer, deformation intensity will be homogeneously distributed in each deformation panel. Fold limbs are always deformed. The flat crests of fault-propagation anticlines are always undeformed. Two asymmetric deformation panels develop in fault-propagation folds above ramp angles exceeding 29°. For lower ramp angles, an additional, more intensely-deformed panel develops at the transition between the crest and the forelimb. Deformation in the flat crests of fault-bend anticlines occurs when fault displacement exceeds the length of the footwall ramp, but is never found immediately hinterland of the crest to forelimb transition. In environments dominated by brittle deformation, our models may serve as a first-order approximation of the distribution of fractures in fault-related folds.

The nucleation and growth of thrust fault-related folds has been simulated using high-resolution sandbox Coulomb wedge-type analogue models. Thrust-related anticlines grew progressively from initial layerparallel shortening, to decollement folding, thrust-tip folding and eventually thrust-ramp folding. Thrust ramps nucleated in the central sector of the overturned forelimb of decollement folds, as a consequence of limb thinning. Thrust-tip folding occurred during outward migration of the ramp tips. The fault-propagation rate was greater at the lower ramp tip, which quickly joined the basal thrust flat, while folding continued beyond the upper tip. The development of the analogue model thrust fault-related folds by progressive changes in kinematics, from decollement folding to thrust-tip folding and finally thrust-ramp folding, compares well with analyses of naturally occurring thrust fault-related folds.

A model is presented that performs spectral deicing of mixed pixels in satellite images of glaciated areas. The model was tested in Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica. For this region we assumed that pixels could be grouped in two broad categories representing pure ice and pure rock. Naturally mixed ice and rock pixels are present in satellite images; these were recomputed to separate the spectral component related to the rock fraction. We used Landsat TM images as input data and aerial photographs, maps and field surveys as reference data. By making use of sample populations of pixels corresponding to pure ice and to pure rock groundels (i.e. ground elements, the ground portions corresponding to each pixel), we detected the linear correlation between pairs of bands and selected the two most suitable bands. For every pixel falling between the correlation lines of the two categories, the rock fraction in the corresponding groundel was computed. This fractional value was then used to perform the automatic deicing process with which the DNs of the selected mixed pixels were recomputed. In the utilised Antarctic image, this process increases about 2.7 times the number of pixels in the pure rock category, allowing the production of enhanced images and, as a side product, a thematic map of rock percentage in the groundels.

We describe the structural and petrophysical evolution of extensional fault zones developed in low porosity, poorly lithified, quartz-dominated sandstones from the Mio-Pliocene continental Barreiras Formation, NE Brazil. We studied eight fault zones developed as sands were lithified. Fault displacement ranges from a few centimetres to ∼50 m. A diagnostic feature of the studied fault zones is the lack of deformation bands, which typically develop in high porosity sand(stone)s. Structural and microstructural analyses, grain size and shape analyses, porosity and pore size analyses, and laboratory and in situ permeability measurements show relationships between deformation processes and hydrologic properties. Undeformed rocks are very poorly sorted, medium- to fine-grained, clay-rich sandstones with an average intergranular porosity of about 3%. Sandstones in damage zones record non-destructive dilatant granular flow and formation of opening-mode intergranular extensional fractures, which increase porosity, pore connectivity and permeability. Deformation in fault cores evolved from particulate flow to compactional cataclastic flow, with progressive grain size reduction increasing the amount of silt- and clay-size fractions. Porosity was dramatically reduced to an average value of 0.2% and permeability is generally lower than the related protoliths. All this evidence highlights a conduit/barrier behaviour of the studied fault zones, which significantly differs from the sealing behaviour of deformation band fault zones commonly observed in high-porosity sandstones.

SUMMARY Permeability in carbonates is strongly influenced by the presence of fracture patterns. Carbonate rocks achieve fracturing both during diagenesis and tectonic processes. Spatial distribution of brittle deformation rules the secondary permeability of carbonatic rocks and therefore the accumulation and the pathway of deep fluids (ground-water, hydrocarbon). This is particularly true in the development of faults where damage zone and fault core show different hydraulic properties. In this work we studied the brittle deformation in carbonates related to fault kinematics to better understand the hydraulic properties of fault rocks. Quantitative analyses of brittle deformation from field measurements were compared to numerical models performed by FRAPtre software. This numerical tool allows to study the 4D evolution of stress/ brittle deformation in fault related rocks.

[1] The Pliocene-Holocene Newer Volcanic Province in Victoria, southeast Australia, is a wide volcanic field site of the most recent volcanic activity of Australia. The intraplate signature and the localization on the northern side of the Southern Ocean have been used in the past to ascribe the volcanic activity either to the presence of a mantle hot spot or to thermal anomalies inherited from the seafloor spreading that separated Australia from Antarctica during the Gondwana breakup. The spacing and distribution of groups of eruption points suggests the presence of a 32 km deep mantle thermal anomaly. Alignments of eruption points indicate a strong tectonic control on magma emplacement mainly along NW-SE Mesozoic-Cenozoic structures and along N-S Palaeozoic and E-W Late Cretaceous structures. This volcano tectonic setting relates to the interference of the left-lateral kinematics of the major N-S trending faults associated with the Tasman Fracture Zone and the extensional structures of the Otway basin. This interpretation is also coherent with stress in situ data and focal mechanisms of earthquakes (SHmax oriented N150°). This interpretation enhances the role of the Tasman Fracture Zone, a major sinistral transform, on the reactivation of transtensional structures, and on triggering the magmatism of the Newer Volcanic Province.

A sandbox analog modeling research program was used to study the detailed evolution of doubly-vergent thrust wedges. High-resolution multilayers of thin alternating sand and mica layers were used in contractional Coulomb wedge experiments to simulate deformation of anisotropic, brittle upper crustal strata in doubly-vergent orogens. Experiments incorporating syntectonic sedimentation in foreland basins and in piggyback basins were also carried out. Our laboratory models evolved in two main stages: (1) initial high-velocity thrusting in the retrowedge and high-frequency together with low displacement folding and thrusting in the prowedge; and (2) low-frequency, high-displacement synchronous thrusting in the prowedge and low-velocity thrusting in the retrowedge. Transition from stage I to stage II occurred when the growing wedges reached the critical height at which they behaved as a backstop for further prowedge accretion. Addition of syntectonic sediments increased the persistence of stage I and triggered out-of-sequence thrusting in the axial zone of the experimental orogens. Thrust motion was stick-slip. Retrovergent thrusting occurred along a long-lived ramp whose lower tip was located at the subduction slot. Provergent kink bands nucleated at the subduction slot in stage I. In contrast, during the second stage of wedge evolution, kink bands nucleated in a piggyback fashion in the foreland far from the subduction slot and then evolved into high-displacement faults that remained active up until the end of the experiments, at progressively decreasing rates of thrusting. The axial zones of the model wedges were characterized by fast uplift rates during stage I due to backward translation of the belt along the retrovergent, long-lived ramp and due to the localization of deformation close to the subduction slot. Outward migration of the deformation front in the prowedge region during stage II caused the progressive decrease in the rate of the wedge uplift, until it eventually stopped. Analytical models to quantify the Coulomb behavior in the wedges validated the reversal of thrust polarity with increasing shortening, triggered by the buildup of the topographic load during deformation. This thrust polarity reversal highlights problems with the classic concept of back thrusting as a reflection of a significant change in the deformation regime. Our results compare well with the kinematic evolution of natural accretionary prisms and of thrust-and-fold belts such as the Lesser Antilles Arc System, the Mediterranean Ridge, and the Pyrenees.

A lithologic investigation has been performed on the Tarn Flat area, Antarctica, based on Landsat-TM and SPOT-XS processed images and on radiometric field data acquired by an EXOTECH radiometer. Results from the field survey, performed during the austral summer 1994-95 expedition, were used to verify the ability of satellite images to discriminate between the main rock. Principal Component transformation allowed to enhance the spectral information of rocks, despite the high band correlation of TM data, while high-pass filtering and TM-SPOT merging allowed a fairly accurate detection of morphologic features. A supervised classification has been carried out on the processed satellite images as a further demonstration of the utility of remote observation to investigate extreme environments.

New seismological and structural data from the central Adriatic—Gargano promontory area demonstrate that the current models of an aseismic and slightly deformed Adriatic block have to be revised. A seismically active deformational belt is mapped along two main fault systems, the Tremiti Islands and Mattinata faults. Moreover, geologic and geophysical evidence suggests that a more extensive lithospheric boundary may cut across the central Italian peninsula to the Tyrrhenian basin.

An integrated study of onshore and offshore geology of the Ross Sea region (namely, Victoria Land, north of Ross Island, and the Ross Sea, Antarctica) has revealed a complex, post-Eocene tectonic framework. Regional NW-SE right-lateral, strike-slip faults are the outstanding feature of this framework and overprint an older Mesozoic extensional event, responsible for formation of N-S basins in the Ross Sea. The Cenozoic framework includes kinematic deformation and reactivation along the NW-SE faults, including formation of pull-apart basins, both positive and negative flower structures, and push-up ridges. N-S extensional faults are well developed between NW-SE faults and indicate E-W extension during the Cenozoic, produced by the NW-SE right-lateral strike-slip motion together with regional crustal extension. NNW-SSE compression, induced by the right-lateral, strike-slip kinematics, is indicated by locally inverted NE-SW faults and basins. The evolution, geometry, and location of the Rennick Graben and the Lanterman Range fit well into this model. Variations in the deformational style across the region can be linked to corresponding variations in the bulk crustal rheology, from brittle behavior in the west, to ductile deformation (at subseismic-scale resolution) near the Eastern Basin. A semibrittle region that favors N-S clustering of Cenozoic magmatic activity lies in between. In this region, Cenozoic volcanoes develop at the intersections of the NW-SE and the major N-S faults. The NW-SE faults cut almost continually from the Ross Sea to East Antarctica through lithospheric sectors with different rheology and thickness. At least two of the NW-SE faults correspond to older Paleozoic terrane boundaries in northern Victoria Land. The NW-SE faults link in the Southern Ocean with major transform faults related to the plate motions of Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica.

""\\"Regional geodynamics is responsible of a series of effects. that notably include tectonics and seismicity. They in turn control. the morphology of the surface of the planet. The regional. dimension of the peri-Tyrrhenian orogen reveals that its. evolution is deeply involved in a lithospheric scale dynamics. As. a result, we expect different observable and\\\\\\\/or measurable effects. at the various scales from the outcrop evidences to the subcontinental. deformation corridors. Effects at the various scales. not necessarily are directly related, and their relations should be. carefully understood taking into account both their geometry and. spatial distribution. A classical example is represented by an en. echelon system. Each single fracture is the effect of a local. extension, yet their spatial distribution shows that these local. stresses are the effect of a larger scale shear zone with a different. orientation.. Remotely sensed images proved the existence on the Earth. surface of linear features with dimensions spanning over three. order of magnitude: from hundreds of meters to thousand of. kilometers. Such features are referred to image lineaments and. are generally related to alignment of morphological features in. continental environment such as onshore crests, ridges, valleys. and troughs. In the oceans lineaments relate to the scars. associated to the seafloor spreading and fracture zones. Synthetic. scale images of tectonically active regions revealed the existence. of groups of regional scale lineaments on the earth surface. appearing as image textural anisotropies. They clusters around. preferential orientations to form lineament domains. These. domains occupies well defined areas to form lineament swarms.. Lineament domain analysis on regional scale images of the. Earth surface proved a useful tool to investigate regions. characterized by active tectonics (Wise et al., 1985; Funiciello et. al., 1977; Cianfarra & Salvini, 2008).. Both the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Apennines are geodynamic. blocks within the collisional puzzle between Africa and Europe. in the Central Mediterranean area.. In this work we explore the possible relations between these. two blocks by lineaments analysis. The found lineament domains. were interpreted as reflecting the structural grain of these two. geodynamic regions. Lineament detection was done by using. original automatic methods. Domains were identified by. statistical analysis. This work analyses lineaments detectable by. simulating different directions of lighting condition on the. DEMs. This allowed to properly evaluate the influence of the. light condition changes in the lineaments produced by. morphological features. The comparison among the analyses. showed that the different lighting conditions induce rotations of. few degrees of the mean azimuth of each lineament domain. This. rotation relate to the result of two contrasting effects: tectonics,. that tends to enhance linear morphologies, and erosion that. progressively smoothes them. Lineament domains characterised. by small rotations relate to morphologies where the tectonic. processes prevail on the erosional ones. Lineament domains. therefore have rotations inversely proportional to their tectonic. activity.\\"""