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In this paper we show data from new detailed geological-structural field surveys, integrated with preliminary photogrammetric analysis, presented in a 1:10,000 scale geological map. The field-based investigations covered an area of about 60-km2, located at the southern termination of the Calabrian Forearc, in NE Sicily (Italy), at the intersection of two key regional-scale fault systems. These are represented by the Peloritani Sole-Thrust, along which the Kabilo-Calabride orogenic edifice overthrusted onto the Apenninic-Maghrebian Chain, and the Mt. Kumeta-Alcantara Line, which played a key role in the post-Oligocene evolution of the Nubia–Eurasia converging margin. The collected data permitted the recognition of a new terrigenous stratigraphic unit, the Malvagna Flysch, and the acquisition of updated structural information useful to better understand the kinematics of the easternmost portion of the Mt. Kumeta-Alcantara Line. The geological map provides new insights for the reconstruction of the geodynamic evolution of this sector of the Calabrian Forearc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a novel geoheritage map of the Portofino Natural Park. The park is an internationally well-known area, protected since 1935, located in the Ligurian Apennines, 25 km E of Genoa. It has 80 km of hiking trails which are used by visitors all year around. The map was produced by combining geological and geomorphological data, geoheritage elements and data from hiking and tourist maps. It is intended to be a base map from which can be derived applied maps. With appropriate integrations and simplifications, these can be useful tools for the management of highly frequented protected areas. The methodological approach involved aerial photo interpretation, bibliographical research, field work and the use of data from the Park archives. The original base map was produced by using a Digital Terrain Model raster (5 m) and vector layers for the different cartographical elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along the northern Ionian margin of Calabria, three Neogene basins comprise wedge-top depozones containing syntectonic deposits which cover the frontal part of the fold-thrust belt. One of the best exposed onshore allochthonous siliciclastic successions is represented by the Cariati Nappe, cropping out in the Cirò Basin. Field geological mapping and aerial interpretations were used to characterize the stratigraphy and tectonics of the area between the Arso Stream and Nicà River catchments (about 170 km2), including a Paleozoic metamorphic basement complex unconformably overlain by Upper Oligocene to Quaternary siliciclastic deposits and minor carbonates. This paper presents a 1:25,000 scale map of the Ionian study area, providing lithological and structural data towards reconstructing its tectono-sedimentary evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents the results of a geological mapping project across the northern portion of the Simbruini Mts. (Latium-Abruzzi Domain – Central Apennines), where a thick Cretaceous and Miocene carbonate succession, followed by a thick upper Miocene terrigenous foredeep succession, is exposed. The terrigenous succession also includes a peculiar lithoclastic unit (‘brecce della Renga fm.’), whose sedimentation is linked to pre-orogenic (Tortonian-Messinian) extensional tectonics. The study area experienced late Messinian-early Pliocene compression, which is the Apennine chain building phase, followed by Quaternary post-orogenic extension, related to the opening of the Tyrrhenian basin. A geological map, at 1:20,000 scale, illustrates the main stratigraphic and structural features of the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is companion to a 1:15,000 scale geological map of the southern sector of the Narni Range in Central Italy. This sector of the Apenninic Chain was affected by the western Tethyan rifting stage during the Early Jurassic, and the inherited architectural setting in turn influenced the Mesozoic stratigraphy and the Neogene-Quaternary tectonic evolution of the area. Based on stratigraphic and structural field evidence, a Jurassic structural high has been identified in the Mt. Cosce sector, flanked northward and westward by deeper basins. The basin that had to exist to the east, as well as the top of the horst-block, cannot be observed due to recent erosion and orogenic deformation. The western margin of the Mt. Cosce High was rejuvenated during an extensional tectonic phase which took place in the late Early Cretaceous. This syn-sedimentary faulting is reported in this area for the first time, and is documented by a sedimentary breccia (Mt. Cosce Breccia) resting unconformably on the Jurassic footwall-block. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we combined regional geology and geostatistical analytical processing to model the top surface of the Variscan basement in Italy. This surface, which is overlain by the preAlpine sedimentary cycle (Upper Carboniferous – Permian) followed by the Alpine Mesozoic and Tertiary cycles, covers a significant portion of the Italian peninsula and the Adriatic Sea. We integrated crustal seismic profiles, deep well litho-stratigraphic information and small-scale geological maps of Italy. A regional scale map of the depth of the investigated surface was thus produced using geostatistical processing. The level of reliability of our map varies depending on the distribution of subsurface data from wells and seismic profiles. However, this method is easily replicable, providing quick updates when new data become available. The map can help to identify areas with high potential for natural deep georesources and guide the exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an original geological map of the north-eastern Serre Batholith (southern Italy), together with new field and petrographic data of its main five granitoid units. Our study provides an overall picture of a c. 13-thick floor-to-roof batholith exposure, focusing on the relationships between the magmatic units, which were sequentially emplaced at depth from c. 23 to c. 6 km, in a time interval from c. 297 Ma to c. 292 Ma. Indeed, this composite and zoned batholith, with its crustal scale exposure and large compositional and structural diversity, is a real natural laboratory where to test models of granitoid magma production and batholith construction. The new geological map and related field and petrographic data provide a valuable addition to the existing knowledge of the Serre Batholith and, at the same time, a new starting point for further in-depth multidisciplinary investigations aimed to better understand its architecture and build-up mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A volcanological map merging continental and marine areas of the Phlegrean Fields and Procida Island (Southern Italy) is presented at the 1:25,000 scale. The map is based on 1:5,000 field mapping, and marine geology survey carried out during the Italian CAR.G (Geological CARtography, Servizio Geologico d'Italia) project and on bathymetric and seismic data. Geological data are represented on a digital terrain model of the volcano. This allows better visualization of the main morphological, volcanic, and geological features. The legend is organized in seven activity phases identified based on updated absolute ages of eruptions defining periods of high volcanicity and stasis. The geological map highlights the evolutive history of the Phlegrean Fields volcanic field both in the marine and continental portions, and the reconstructed structural framework and evolution of the caldera formed 39.3 Ky ago in its continental and submerged portions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Rivoli-Avigliana end moraine system (Italian Western Alps) hosts an important stratigraphic archive of Pleistocene glaciations. A new geological map provides a 3D architecture of the system that reveals a complex architecture of glacial, alluvial and lacustrine units. Six glacial units were recognized. During the deposition of the four older glacial units (Early-Middle Pleistocene) the morphology of the valley outlet had a different drainage pattern from the present, with the presence of large lakes. From the penultimate glaciation to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) the piedmont lobe was confined within the valley, never extending towards the alluvial Po Plain. The LGM is characterized by two glacial advances and four distinct recessional phases during the Lateglacial. The presence of a bedrock inselberg affected the flow of the glacier front, which should have had weak erosive strength as shown by the preservation of lacustrine deposits below the glacial units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a 1:7500 scale geological map of part of the footwall of the south verging Belluno Thrust of the seismically active eastern Southern Alps of northern Italy. We report a previously unknown thrust zone, the "San Donato-Costa Thrust Zone", that cuts across the local Meso-Cenozoic stratigraphic succession. 1:2500 and 1:5000 geological mapping, in combination with the revision and improvement of the local lithostratigraphy and detailed structural analysis, provided new insights into the thrust geometry and the setting of the greater area it deforms. We show that the recorded deformation style (e.g. folding vs. faulting) exhibits notable variations within the affected Meso-Cenozoic stratigraphic succession, with shortening accommodated by fold trains and several subparallel thrust splays with variable amounts of stratigraphic offset cumulated during repeated faulting. Our results contribute to a better definition of folding and faulting within the Mesozoic carbonate multilayer system of the eastern Southern Alps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Geological tourist map of the Mount Serrone fault Geosite (Gioia dei Marsi, Italy) has been realized for describing, in an educational perspective, the surface expression of one of the main active faults of the Central Apennines, connected with the 1915 Fucino earthquake (magnitude 7, historically, one of the strongest in Italy). The Central Apennines are a mountain range whose landscape is deeply connected to active tectonics and seismicity, as documented by recent earthquakes. In this framework, the map is a useful tool for the dissemination of the geological knowledge of the Fucino area and faults in general and for the promotion of a geological landscape through a modern, sustainable and environmentally aware tourism. The map is double-sided with simple texts and cartoons on the front outlining general info about the geosite, faults and earthquakes, how to behave in seismic areas and historical notes. The back shows the with its visual legend featuring the main geological and tectonic elements of the Mount Serrone fault Geosite and the long term history of the landscape. Through simple keywords and concepts, tectonics, faults and earthquakes are shown to be natural features that have contributed to shape the landscape of the Apennines over geological time, as well as something to be afraid and worried of, as they are connected to natural hazard and disasters. This approach is aimed at increasing people's awareness of geological processes and hazards (i.e. seismic), which with adequate knowledge and proper land management, can be lived with. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The map shows the result of a procedure for pluvial flood hazard (PFH) mapping in urban areas, developed by using easy to find data, usually available from local authorities. Data were processed using a sequence of tools in a GIS environment. Two parameters have been evaluated: (1) susceptibility, defined as the probability of a flood occurring in a certain area (‘flood-prone areas’) which depends on the ground morphology (i.e. presence of depressions, fill volume of depressions) and spatial density of previously observed floods and (2) potential impact, formed from all factors influencing the damage (e.g. value of exposed heritage or number of people potentially involved), as well as the induced hazard due to damage. Susceptibility and potential impact were each divided into five classes and a score matrix was constructed; the final PFH is then defined by the summation of the scores within the matrix. The methodology used is suitable for a comprehensive, mostly automatic, first-level analysis of PFH in urban areas, and it is easily replicable. The obtained flood hazard map could provide a useful tool for civil protection purposes, that is, for hazard evaluation and emergency planning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This geological map (1:10.000 scale) of the ‘Sassello Basin’ remnant covers an area of about 33.4 km2of Liguria (NW Italy); it highlights the occurrence of two main types of contacts between the sediments of the Tertiary Piedmont Basin and the metamorphic substratum (Voltri Unit): (i) stratigraphic and (ii) structural (thrust or steeply dipping faults). (i) Stratigraphic contacts are represented by the main transgressive surface and the nonconformity between the metamorphic rocks of the substratum and the subaerial deposits. They are locally folded and occur along the steeply dipping short limbs of asymmetric folds related to the late-alpine/apennine tectonics. (ii) Structural contacts are related to the late-alpine/apennine tectonics (thrust faults) or (mostly) to Plio-Quaternary extensional/transtensional faulting. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We present a 1:10,000 scale geological map for the south-eastern sector of the Volterra Basin (Northern Apennines, Italy), together with supporting stratigraphic-structural data. The Volterra Basin consists of a major structural depression within the Northern Apennines hinterland, NNW-SSE-oriented and filled with more than 2000 m of late Miocene-Quaternary deposits. Its south-eastern sector is classically considered as a type area for late Tortonian non-marine strata, here mapped and refined in terms of internal stratigraphy adopting a scheme of depositional and lithostratigraphic units. Stratigraphic assessments helped in redefining the character of the lower boundary of the non-marine succession, as well as in mapping a newly recognized angular unconformity. Deformation structures affecting the basin fill include blind normal faults rooted to a deep detachment, outcrop-scale transtensional faults and clusters of gentle folds. Faults and folds appear to be kinematically linked. Our structural observations largely agree with those present in the literature, supporting a model of post-orogenic crustal stretching. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]