48 results on '"Brandano A"'
Search Results
2. Fault-Block Platform Evolution between Late Cretaceous and Early Miocene along the Margin of the Latium-Abruzzi Carbonate Platform (Southern Prenestini Mountains, Central Apennines, Italy).
- Author
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Brandano, Marco, Cornacchia, Irene, and Catanzariti, Rita
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FACIES ,MIOCENE Epoch ,ABSOLUTE sea level change ,CARBONATES ,WATER depth ,EROSION - Abstract
Since the origin of the carbonate platform concept, the reconstruction of the geometry and the evolution of the margin has been an intriguing topic. The Latium-Abruzzi platform is one of the largest shallow water domains of the Central Apennines, however, the reconstruction of the geometry and evolution of its margin has been classically problematic because the latter has been erased by the out-of-sequence Olevano-Antrodoco thrust system. The investigated area is placed in the Prenestini Mountains, the southernmost portion of the Sabina Domain, where a Cretaceous to Neogene carbonate succession, ascribed the Latium-Abruzzi platform margin, crops out. Stratigraphic and facies analyses showed a Late Cretaceous extensional stage that produced two main fault-block platforms, respectively, South Eastern Prenestini and South Western Prenestini platforms, developed westward of the large Latium-Abruzzi Platform domain. In these platforms, during the Paleocene–Eocene interval, pelagite deposition coincides with the main relative sea-level rise. Instead, during the following falling stage, the seafloor, consisting of the Cretaceous carbonate, was in the wave abrasion zone and the pelagic carbonate mud was swept away or trapped in local depressions or fractures (neptunian dykes), whereas the coarse sediment produced by the erosion of indented and fractured substrate formed polygenic conglomerate accumulation on the Cretaceuos carbonate platform substrate. Successively, an isolated homoclinal ramp, the Guadagnolo Fm, Aquitanian to Serravallian in age, developed on the drowned fault-block platforms, suggesting that during Neogene the articulation of the substrate of the two fault-block platforms had to be limited to host the bioclastic sedimentation of the Guadagnolo Fm and to allow the development of a carbonate ramp depositional profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
3. 3D modelling of the upper Tortonian-lower Messinian shallow ramp carbonates of the Hyblean domain (Central Mediterranean, Faro Santa Croce, Sicily)
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Marco Brandano, Laura Tomassetti, and Guillem Mateu-Vicens
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Mediterranean climate ,Facies mosaic ,Outcrop ,Stratigraphy ,Outcrop analogue ,3D digital modelling ,Late miocene ,Photogrammetry ,Seagrass ,Oceanography ,Paleontology ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Grainstone ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,biology ,Shoal ,Geology ,biology.organism_classification ,Waves and shallow water ,Geophysics ,chemistry ,Facies ,Carbonate ,Economic Geology - Abstract
This work illustrates a combined modelling approach using digital photogrammetry and geological modelling to create a high detailed 3D facies model of the inner environment of the Monte Carrubba carbonate ramp outcropping in the South Sicily. The Monte Carrubba Formation (Tortonian-lower Messinian) is the youngest marine Miocene carbonate deposit of the Hyblean region, prior to the Messinian crisis of the Mediterranean. In particular, Faro Santa Croce outcrop, which is in vertical thickness up to 8 m shows the most proximal sector of this ramp. The Faro Santa Croce outcrop offers the opportunity to investigate and reproduce a highly-detailed facies heterogeneity 3D model for a very narrow and limited area of few squared kilometers (0.1 Km2), developed in a tectonically stable area. Within this small areal, five facies have been recognized and modelled revealing a high level of facies heterogeneity. In this area marine ooidal shoals (ooidal grainstone to packstone) interfingered with shallow water seagrass environment (green-algal-floatstone facies and bioclastic grainstone-to-packstone facies) with abundant mollusc fauna. The distal part of this vegetated environment (fine-grained mollusc-packstone facies) passed basinward into coral mounds (coral boundstone). The combination of digital photogrammetry and 3D geological modelling software has allowed to obtain a very high-resolution model of facies heterogeneity, evidencing the complexity of facies associations and, in particular, the development of a facies mosaic that can be underestimated by a classical 1D or 2D field analysis, especially in limitedly exposed outcrops.
- Published
- 2022
4. Depositional model and paleodepth reconstruction of a coral-rich, mixed siliciclastic-carbonate system: the Burdigalian of Capo Testa (northern Sardinia, Italy)
- Author
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Brandano, Marco, Tomassetti, Laura, Bosellini, Francesca, and Mazzucchi, Andrea
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- 2010
- Full Text
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5. Lithological and structural control on fracture frequency distribution within a carbonate-hosted relay ramp
- Author
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Paolo Mazzanti, Eugenio Carminati, Marco Mercuri, Maria Chiara Tartarello, Alessandro Brunetti, Marco Brandano, Ken McCaffrey, and Cristiano Collettini
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geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Outcrop ,Geology ,Fault (geology) ,fractures ,010502 geochemistry & geophysics ,virtual outcrop ,01 natural sciences ,Structural complexity ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,FracPaQ ,carbonate facies ,relay ramp ,chemistry ,Facies ,Fracture (geology) ,Carbonate ,Fault mechanics ,Petrology ,Hydrocarbon exploration ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
Understanding the factors controlling fracture frequency distribution can greatly improve the assessment of fluid circulation in fault damage zones, with evident implications for fault mechanics, hydrogeology and hydrocarbon exploration. This is particularly important for relay zones that are usually characterized by strong damage and structural complexity. We investigated the fracture frequency within an outcrop adjacent to the front fault segment of a relay ramp, hosted within peritidal carbonates that forms part of the Tre Monti fault (Central Italy). We analysed the distribution of fracture frequency in the outcrop through (1) scanlines measured in the field, (2) oriented rock samples, and (3) scan-areas performed on a virtual outcrop model. Fracture frequency increases with distance from the front segment of the relay ramp. Moreover, supratidal and intertidal carbonate facies exhibit higher fracture frequency than subtidal limestones. This trend of increased fracture frequency has two main explanations. (1) The number of subsidiary faults and their associated damage zones increases moving away from the front segment. (2) The supratidal and intertidal carbonate facies content increases toward the centre of the relay ramp. Our results indicate that the fracture frequency pattern is very complex in relay ramps hosted in shallow-water limestones and that its prediction necessitates a good control on structures and sedimentary facies distribution.
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- 2020
6. Facies heterogeneities and 3D porosity modelling in an Oligocene (Upper Chattian) carbonate ramp, Salento Peninsula, Southern Italy
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Marco Brandano, Laura Tomassetti, Roberta Ruggieri, and Fabio Trippetta
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3D model ,geography ,heterozoan carbonates ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,porosity ,Geochemistry ,Energy Engineering and Power Technology ,Oligocene ,Geology ,3d model ,carbonate ramp ,carbonate reservoir ,Italy ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Fuel Technology ,chemistry ,Peninsula ,Facies ,Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous) ,Carbonate ,Porosity - Published
- 2020
7. Modeling lateral facies heterogeneity of an upper Oligocene carbonate ramp (Salento, southern Italy)
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Andrea Tomassi, Laura Tomassetti, Fabio Trippetta, Marco Brandano, and Lorenzo Petracchini
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Outcrop ,020209 energy ,Stratigraphy ,Context (language use) ,02 engineering and technology ,010502 geochemistry & geophysics ,Oceanography ,Homocline ,01 natural sciences ,Sedimentary depositional environment ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Paleontology ,Carbonate ramp ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,oceanography ,geophysics ,geology ,economic geology ,stratigraphy ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Geology ,facies modeling ,Calcarenite ,Geophysics ,chemistry ,Facies ,Lateral extension ,Carbonate ,Economic Geology - Abstract
The aim of this work is to reproduce a metre-scale facies heterogeneity 3D model of the Chattian Porto Badisco Calcarenite carbonate ramp outcropping in the Salento Peninsula (southern Italy). However, in shallow-water carbonate systems, capturing metre-scale facies heterogeneity in three-dimensional models remains controversial due to the possibility of facies coexistence and because their association can change through time and space. Within this context, the continuous and well-exposed Chattian Porto Badisco Calcarenite carbonate ramp allows detailed study of the distribution of lithofacies association and their architecture along the dip direction depositional profile. The lithofacies and the depositional model of the Porto Badisco Calcarenite are referred to those defined by Pomar et al. (2014). The Porto Badisco Calcarenite is a homoclinal carbonate ramp with a euphotic inner setting characterised by the extensive seagrass meadows, passing basinward into a large rotaliid packstone and coral mounds developed in mesophotic conditions. The deeper part of the oligophotic zone is characterised by rhodolithic floatstone to rudstone and large lepidocyclinid packstone. The distal part of the ramp is characterise by a fine calcarenite. The methodology used in this work combines classical field data collection (e.g., stratigraphic logs and field-facies mapping) and 3D stochastic modeling by using Petrel™. All the data (top and base of stratigraphic logs, cross-section, key surfaces, lithofacies lateral extension etc.) were georeferenced and inserted into the software to build the digital outcrop model. The 3D facies model has been performed after several simulations through specific stochastic algorithms (SISim, TGSim), comparing the models reproduce by the two algorithms, matching the depositional geometries and the lithofacies association observed in the outcrop. The 3D modeling represents a useful tool to better understand the facies architecture and their complex heterogeneity. Moreover, a detailed 3D facies model provides an essential tool to characterise semi-quantitatively sedimentological features for subsurface reservoir studies.
- Published
- 2018
8. Strontium stratigraphy of the upper Miocene Lithothamnion Limestone in the Majella Mountain, central Italy, and its palaeoenvironmental implications
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Samuele Agostini, Irene Cornacchia, Per Andersson, Letizia Di Bella, and Marco Brandano
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Apennines ,010506 paleontology ,Accretionary wedge ,late Miocene ,Mediterranean ,Late Miocene ,Structural basin ,carbonate ramp ,010502 geochemistry & geophysics ,Limestone Italy ,01 natural sciences ,Sr isotopes ,Paleontology ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics ,paleontology ,evolution ,Sr-stratipgraphy ,14. Life underwater ,limestone ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,biology ,Geology ,Miocene ,Strontium isotopes ,behavior and systematics ,biology.organism_classification ,Lithothamnion ,Paleoenvironment ,Diagenesis ,Stratigraphy ,chemistry ,Majella ,13. Climate action ,Facies ,Carbonate ,Geologi ,ecology - Abstract
The 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratio has been widely used as a physical tool to date and correlate carbonate successions due to the long Sr residence time in comparison with the ocean mixing time. If this method works on oceanic successions, marginal basins may show different Sr isotope records in comparison with the coeval ocean one due to sea-level variations, continental run-off and restricted water exchanges. In this work, we present the 87Sr/86Sr isotope record of the upper Miocene carbonate ramp of the Lithothamnion Limestone (Majella Mountain, central Apennines), as an example of the onset of restricted water exchanges between a marginal basin and the ocean water masses. The overall latemost Tortonian-early Messinian Sr isotope record of the Lithothamnion Limestone fits below the global reference line. This deviation has been interpreted as due to the strong control that freshwater input and enhanced continental run-off, linked to the migration of the Apennine accretionary wedge and foredeep system, have had on the central Adriatic water chemistry. These results imply that an accurate oceanographic and geodynamic framework along with diagenetic overprint investigation has to be taken into consideration prior to apply SIS on carbonate successions on marginal basins, even when facies analyses indicate fully marine conditions. This seems to be the case for the upper Miocene Central Mediterranean carbonate successions, but may have more general validity and be extended to other recent or past marginal basins.
- Published
- 2017
9. MECO and Alpine orogenesis: Constraints for facies evolution of the Bartonian nummulitic and Solenomeris limestone in the Argentina Valley (Ligurian Alps).
- Author
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Brandano, Marco, Tomassetti, Laura, and Mateu‐Vicens, Guillem
- Subjects
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INTERNAL waves , *FACIES , *OROGENY , *ENVIRONMENTAL degradation , *LIMESTONE , *EOCENE Epoch - Abstract
The Eocene represents the last greenhouse interval before Present. The maximum warming during the early Eocene was followed by a long‐term cooling trend culminating in the Antarctica glaciation at the base of the Oligocene. Superimposed on this long‐term cooling trend there is a prominent transient warming event known as the middle Eocene climatic optimum (MECO) occurring during the early Bartonian. The carbonate ramp succession cropping out in the Argentina Valley (Maritime Alps) offers new insights on the evolution of shallow water realms during this time interval. This ramp displays two main facies belts, middle and outer ramp. The middle ramp is recorded by larger benthic foraminifer floatstone to rudstone, passing to Solenomeris branches and nodule floatstone to rudstone evolving to branching coralline algal floatstone. The outer ramp is dominated by bioturbated marly wackestone to packstone alternating with larger benthic foraminifer floatstone with a silty matrix. The investigated ramp was affected by continuous dispersion and reworking of the skeletal components as other Tethyan Eocene ramps. During the Eocene, the Alpine foreland was influenced by fine terrigenous input controlling the trophic conditions and promoting seawater stratification and the development of a strong pycnocline, for which many perturbations could propagate as internal waves. The reworking of skeletal components of the ramp has been ascribed to the action of internal waves. The switch of carbonate production from a carbonate factory dominated by larger benthic foraminifera to a factory in which the encrusting foraminifer Solenomeris was the main carbonate producer biota, is indicative of a radical change in palaeoenvironmental conditions affecting the early Bartonian. The acme of Solenomeris often coincided with the crisis of carbonate producers during intervals of an evident deterioration of environmental conditions. In this case the acme is probably related to the adverse conditions linked to the (MECO) warming event. Finally, the drowning of the nummulitic ramp has been caused by light reduction for the photo‐dependent biota due to progressively increasing depth linked to flexural subsidence of the foreland plate, and minor efficiency of the aphotic carbonate factory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
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10. Early Miocene carbonate ramp development in a warm ocean, North West Shelf, Australia.
- Author
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Riera, Rosine, Bourget, Julien, Allan, Tony, Håkansson, Eckart, Wilson, Moyra E. J., and Brandano, Marco
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MIOCENE Epoch ,CORALLINE algae ,CORAL reefs & islands ,CARBONATES ,OCEAN ,WATER temperature ,CORAL reef conservation - Abstract
Although carbonate ramps are widely described from the geological record, there is still a debate on the relative influence of water temperature, trophic conditions and type of carbonate factories on their development. The ca 2400 km long Australian North West Shelf is among the largest Cenozoic carbonate provinces worldwide, and records a transition from an early Miocene ramp to a middle Miocene rimmed platform. This change is observable on publicly available seismic data, giving the opportunity to investigate environmental influences on platform evolution. This study combines macroscopic and petrographic descriptions of early Miocene strata cropping out in the Cape Range Anticline (North West Cape, southern end of the North West Shelf) and of time‐equivalent well cuttings from the adjacent, offshore Exmouth Sub‐basin. Particular emphasis is placed on the identification of larger benthic foraminifera at a broad generic level, because differing taxa have a limited range of habitable conditions that serve as environmental proxies. The results show that early Miocene strata are dominantly composed of larger benthic foraminifera with minor coralline algae in the proximal platform, grading to micropackstones in the more distal platform. A ramp margin is inferred from the lithological data on the basis of the lack of framework builders and the presence of open oceanic indicators. Facies shallow upward through individual outcrops, with a proximal to distal trend towards the north‐west. These trends along outcrops are consistent with the seismic interpretations. Identification of taxa with warm, oligotrophic water affinity suggests that the ramp was formed in an oligotrophic and warm ocean, despite the absence of coral reefs. Changes of carbonate facies with depth do not seem to be associated with changes in ramp morphology, and the latter may have been controlled by physical oceanic parameters, such as offshore currents and waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2022
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11. The Monterey Event in the Mediterranean platform to basin transition: The Guadagnolo Formation (Miocene, Prenestini Mountains, Central Apennines)
- Author
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Laura Tomassetti, Rita Catanzariti, Marco Brandano, and Irene Cornacchia
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010506 paleontology ,Biostratigraphy ,Carbon isotope stratigraphy ,Latium-Abruzzi platform ,Siliceous sediments ,010502 geochemistry & geophysics ,Oceanography ,01 natural sciences ,Sedimentary depositional environment ,Paleontology ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Sponge spicule ,Photic zone ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Earth-Surface Processes ,Isotope analysis ,carbon isotope stratigraphy ,biostratigraphy ,siliceous sediments ,chemistry ,Isotopes of carbon ,Facies ,Carbonate ,Geology - Abstract
The stratigraphic evolution of the Guadagnolo Fm, developed on the transition between the Latium-Abruzzi Platform and the Umbria Sabina Basin (central Apennines), was studied through facies and stable isotope analysis. Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy allows to identify the Burdigalian-Langhian boundary, constraining the sections to the lower to middle Miocene. This interval consists of marly deposits forming the intermediate member of the formation dominated by sponge spicules, molluscs, bryozoans, benthic and planktonic foraminifers. This member is deposited in a distal outer ramp where the abundance of siliceous sponges has been attributed to the high seawater fertility coinciding with the Monterey event, enhanced by regional nutrient flux due to continental runoff and volcanism. The upper member is Serravallian and consists of bryozoan-dominated cross-bedded calcarenites deposited in a shallower environment of the outer ramp. A positive carbon isotope excursion was correlated with the Monterey event recorded in the Central Apennines carbonate ramps and from ODP sites. Five carbon maxima belonging to the Monterey Carbon Isotope Excursion have been identified. Four carbon isotope peaks fall in the spongolitic member, one in the upper member. The Carbon Maxima recorded within the spongolitic member show an attenuate isotope excursion compared with the pelagic and the carbonate platforms record. The weaker signal is due to the fractionation effect of primary producers of the photic zone and to the sponge release of 12C-enriched CO2 deriving from the oxidation of organic matter. Conversely, the largest positive carbon isotope excursion is recorded in the upper member, representative of a shallower environment, and it is due to the absence of sponges and the increased contribution of photosynthetic biota. The shoaling of the depositional environment is related to the global cooling recorded after 14 Ma, as evident also from the δ18O positive shift at the base of the upper member of the Guadagnolo Fm.
- Published
- 2021
12. Middle Eocene seagrass facies from Apennine carbonate platforms (Italy)
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Andrea Benedetti, Marco Brandano, and Laura Tomassetti
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Apennines ,010506 paleontology ,biology ,hooked gypsinids ,Carbonate platform ,Stratigraphy ,Geology ,010502 geochemistry & geophysics ,biology.organism_classification ,01 natural sciences ,Foraminifera ,Sedimentary depositional environment ,Paleontology ,seagrass facies ,Grainstone ,Middle Eocene ,Facies ,Quinqueloculina ,Alveolina ,larger foraminifera ,geology ,stratigraphy ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Halimeda - Abstract
Two stratigraphic sections located in the Latium-Abruzzi (Monte Porchio, Central Apennines, Central Italy) and in the Apulian carbonate platform (S. Cesarea-Torre Tiggiano, Salento, Southern Italy) were measured and sampled to document the sedimentological characteristic and the faunistic assemblages of Middle Eocene seagrass deposits. The faunistic assemblages are dominated by porcellaneous foraminifera Orbitolites , Alveolina, Idalina , Spiroloculina , Quinqueloculina , Triloculina and abundant hooked-shaped gypsinids, associated with hooked red algae and green algae Halimeda . Fabiania , rotaliids and textulariids as well as nummulitids are subordinated. The samples were assigned to Lutetian (SBZ13–16) according to the occurrence of Nummulites cf. lehneri , Alveolina ex. gr. elliptica , Idalina berthelini , Orbitolites complanatus , Slovenites decastroi and Medocia blayensis . At Santa Cesarea reticulate nummulites occur in association with Alveolina spp. and Halkyardia minima marking the lower Bartonian (SBZ17). Three main facies associations have been recognised: I) larger porcellaneous foraminiferal grainstones with orbitolitids and alveolinids deposited into high-energy shallow-water settings influenced by wave processes that reworked the sediments associated with a seagrass; II) grainstone to packstone with small porcellaneous foraminifera and abundant permanently-attached gypsinids deposited in a more protected (e.g., small embayment) in situ vegetated environment; III) bioclastic packstone with parautochthonous material reworked from the seagrass by rip currents and accumulated into rip channels in a slightly deeper environment. The biotic assemblages suggest that the depositional environment is consistent with tropical to subtropical vegetated environments within oligotrophic conditions.
- Published
- 2016
13. PROGRESSIVE DETERIORATION OF TROPHIC CONDITIONS IN A CARBONATE RAMP ENVIRONMENT: THELITHOTHAMNIONLIMESTONE, MAJELLA MOUNTAIN (TORTONIAN–EARLY MESSINIAN, CENTRAL APENNINES, ITALY)
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Marco Brandano, Raffaele Sardella, Laura Tomassetti, and Chiara Tinelli
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010506 paleontology ,ecology ,evolution ,behavior and systematics ,paleontology ,biology ,Carbonate platform ,Paleontology ,010502 geochemistry & geophysics ,biology.organism_classification ,01 natural sciences ,Lithothamnion ,Foraminifera ,Sedimentary depositional environment ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,chemistry ,Marl ,Facies ,Carbonate ,Maerl ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Geology ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
The Lithothamnion Limestone constitutes the uppermost carbonate unit of the Bolognano Formation outcropping in the Majella structure (Central Apennines, Italy). It represents the northern extension of the large Apulia Carbonate Platform and preserves an excellent record of the progressive decay of trophic conditions due to the approach of foredeep systems characterized by turbiditic siliciclastic sedimentation during the early Messinian. Sedimentological and compositional analyses were used to reconstruct the depositional model and evolution of platform environmental conditions. The profile is consistent with a homoclinal carbonate ramp, with a wide middle-ramp environment in which coralline algae, mainly forming the maerl facies, dominated carbonate production. This facies was associated with seagrass meadows colonizing the inner ramp. The outer ramp was characterized by bioturbated hemipelagic marl with planktonic foraminifera and pectinids in the aphotic zone. Three main stages of ramp evolution have been identified. During the first stage, the ramp was subjected to high-energy wave-dominated conditions, which favored the development of deep rip channels in which accumulations of vertebrate bones have been identified. In the second stage, maerl facies and seagrass meadows developed, initially in an oligotrophic setting, later followed by a slight reduction in light penetration. The third stage involved a general increase in fine terrigenous sediments, together with a further decrease in light and also by the spread of coralline algal bindstone facies. This elevated terrigenous input was associated with increased trophic conditions, as also shown by the occurrence of abundant plankton and low-oxygenated foraminiferal assemblages.
- Published
- 2016
14. Stratigraphical and sedimentological relationships of the Bolognano Formation (Oligocene--Miocene, Majella Mountain, Central Apennines, Italy) revealed by geological mapping and 3D visualizations.
- Author
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TOMASSETTI, LAURA, PETRACCHINI, LORENZO, BRANDANO, MARCO, MASCARO, GAIA, and SCROCCA, DAVIDE
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GEOLOGICAL mapping ,GEOLOGICAL maps ,MIOCENE Epoch ,OLIGOCENE Epoch ,FACIES ,CARBONATES ,RED algae - Abstract
The characterization and comprehension of buried reservoirs receive remarkable benefits from detailed studies of outcropping analogues which help to define the architecture of the buried sedimentary units and their petrophysical features. In particular, modern 3D techniques of geological data analysis can better constrain the geological mapping process and reveal the geometry of the sedimentary units with complex lateral and vertical relationships. By means of the 3D Move software, we define the sedimentological and stratigraphical relationships between lithostratigraphic units of the Bolognano Formation, outcropping in the northernmost sector of the Majella Mountain (Central Apennines, Italy). The study area belongs to the Apulian carbonate platform and the Majella Mountain represents the northward outcropping portion of its margin. The sedimentary succession of the Majella Mountain consists of Upper Jurassic to upper Miocene limestone and dolostone deposits. In the investigated area, outcropping deposits mainly belong to the Oligo--Miocene Bolognano Formation characterized by five lithofacies associations and representing a carbonate ramp developed in a warm subtropical depositional environment within the oligophotic to aphotic zone. The Bolognano Fm. represents, due to its specific hydraulic properties (e.g. porosity and permeability), an outcropping analogue of worldwide common reservoirs (i.e. porous calcarenite deposits of a carbonate ramp formed by benthic foraminifera such as lepidocyclinids, nummulitids, red algae, corals). In the study area, several geological units of the Bolognano Fm. are characterized by abundant hydrocarbon (bitumen) occurrences infilled within the high-porosity of the cross-bedded calcarenites ascribed to the Chattian and Burdigalian interval. The geological field mapping of the area and the visualization of the geological data in a 3D environment show that the unit formed by mid-ramp calcarenites (Lepidocyclina calcarenites 2 unit, Chattian--Burdigalian) increases in thickness towards the NE (basinward) direction as a consequence of sediment shedding from inner ramp. Our study illustrates how the geological mapping and the visualization and analysis of geological data in a 3D environment of the northernmost sector of the Majella Mountain confirms depositional models of the Bolognano Formation and represents a valid tool for the characterization of the lateral stratigraphic relationships within this formation, and hence of its potential hydrocarbon occurrences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
15. Global and regional factors responsible for the drowning of the Central Apennine Chattian carbonate platforms
- Author
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Michele Lustrino, Mario Sprovieri, Irene Cornacchia, and Marco Brandano
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Mediterranean climate ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Geology ,Last Glacial Maximum ,Weathering ,Mediterranean Basin ,Sedimentary depositional environment ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Oceanography ,Volcano ,chemistry ,Facies ,Carbonate - Abstract
This work discusses and interprets the factors responsible for the Oligocene–Miocene drowning of the Central Apennine platform deposits, based on facies and stable-isotope analyses of two representative stratigraphic sections. The Mediterranean carbonate platforms were affected during the Oligocene–Miocene boundary by a carbonate production crisis that was induced by global factors and amplified by regional events, such as volcanic activity. The positive δ13C shift observed in the studied sections corresponds to vertical facies changes reflecting the evolution from middle carbonate ramp to outer ramp-hemipelagic depositional environments. This drowning event is recorded not only in the Apennine platforms, but also in other Mediterranean platforms such as in southern Apulia, Sicily and Malta, and outside the Mediterranean Basin. The ~24–23.5 Ma Mi-1 glacial maximum may have had a significant influence on this drowning event because it was associated with high rates of accumulation of continent-derived sediments. The increased continental weathering and runoff sustained high trophic conditions. These probably were a consequence of the Aquitanian–Burdigalian volcanic activity in the Central-Western Mediterranean, that may have led to an increase in nutrient content in seawater and an increase in atmospheric and marine CO2 concentrations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
- Published
- 2014
16. Sedimentology and depositional architecture of tidal compound dunes on a carbonate ramp: The lower Miocene deposits of the central Apennine (Latium, Italy)
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Sergio Madonna, Salvatore Milli, Laura Corda, and Marco Brandano
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Bedform ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Carbonate platform ,Stratigraphy ,sequence stratigraphy ,central Apennines ,010502 geochemistry & geophysics ,Oceanography ,carbonate ramp ,01 natural sciences ,Sedimentary depositional environment ,Paleontology ,Marl ,Sequence stratigraphy ,Sedimentology ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Tidal dunes Carbonate ramp Sequence stratigraphy Lower Miocene Central Apennines ,tidal dunes ,lower Miocene ,Geology ,Geophysics ,Facies ,Economic Geology ,Sedimentary rock - Abstract
This is the final paper of:Sedimentology and depositional architecture of tidal compound dunes on a carbonate ramp: The lower Miocene deposits of the central Apennine (Latium, Italy). - Author:Salvatore Milli,Sergio Madonna,Marco Brandano,Laura Corda - Publication:Marine and Petroleum Geology -Publisher:Elsevier Date:December 2016 -© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2016.10.020 Abstract The sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of the central Apennine lower Miocene carbonate deposits (Guadagnolo Formation) are the goal of this paper. The Guadagnolo carbonate ramp deposits consist of a thick succession of three main lithofacies: marls, marly limestones and cross-bedded limestones. The lateral and vertical facies distribution, as well as the biota assemblages, suggests a deposition of these sediments along the middle-outer ramp sector of the Latium-Abruzzi carbonate platform. All the data suggest sedimentation under the influence of tidal currents that were responsible of bedforms generation as simple and compound dunes. These bodies are developed on metric and decametric scale, and are stacked one to other to form complex sedimentary bodies extending both in strike and dip section for several tens to hundred meters. The dune system developed in a semiclosed basin (the Paleoadriatic sea), open in the southern and closed in the northern sector respectively. Within this basin a probably amphidromic system developed. The flow sediment transport was dominantly westward, and was conditioned by the ramp paleotopography. From a sequence stratigraphic point of view several high and low rank depositional sequences that were differentiated basing on their relative physical scale (thickness of each unit) and on the lateral extension of the unconformities and the correlative conformities bounding them were recognized. The hierarchy of recognized sequence-stratigraphic units include, from the smallest to the largest: simple depositional sequences, low-rank composite depositional sequences and high-rank composite depositional sequences. In the Guadagnolo succession four high-rank composite depositional sequences having a duration variable from 0.9 to 1.6 Ma, and named Guadagnolo 1, 2, 3, and 4, were recognized. These high-rank composite sequences are internally constituted by a stacking of simple and low-rank composite depositional sequences, having a duration ranging from 40 ka to 200 ka. All these units constitute part of a higher-rank composite sequence developing between 21 and 14.80 Ma that we name “The Guadagnolo Depositional Sequence”. The wedge-shaped geometry, the thickness variation and the stacking pattern of the Guadagnolo succession are the response to eustasy and tectonic subsidence. The glacial eustasy mostly controlled the formation of the high-frequency depositional sequences, tectonic subsidence, related to the roll-back of the hinge west-directed subduction in turn connected to the advancement of the Apennine thrust modulated the accommodation space.
- Published
- 2016
17. FACIES HETEROGENEITIES AND 3D POROSITY MODELLING IN AN OLIGOCENE (UPPER CHATTIAN) CARBONATE RAMP, SALENTO PENINSULA, SOUTHERN ITALY.
- Author
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Brandano, M., Tomassetti, L., Trippetta, F., and Ruggieri, R.
- Subjects
- *
CARBONATES , *CALCITE , *POROSITY , *FACIES , *CARBONATE reservoirs , *SEAGRASSES , *OLIGOCENE Epoch , *PENINSULAS - Abstract
Appraisal of the volumes of fluid in a carbonate reservoir will typically require a reliable predictive model. This can be achieved by combining studies of well‐exposed carbonate successions with 3D models in order to obtain reliable quantitative data. In this paper, we present a detailed outcrop study and a 3D porosity model of a well‐exposed Oligocene carbonate ramp (Salento Peninsula, southern Italy) to investigate the nature of small‐scale facies and porosity heterogeneities. Porosity and permeability in the ramp carbonates appear to be controlled by the original mineralogy of skeletal components and by depositional textures. The aims of the study were therefore to identify the factors controlling porosity development in an undeformed carbonate ramp; to model the scale‐dependent heterogeneities characteristic of the facies associations; and finally to produce a 3D model of the porosity distribution. The upper Chattian Porto Badisco Calcarenite which crops out along the coast of the Salento Peninsula consists of six lithofacies ranging from inner ramp deposits to fine‐grained outer ramp calcarenites. The lithofacies are: inner ramp small benthic foraminiferal wackestone‐packstones associated with (i) sea grass meadows (SG) and (ii) coral mounds (CM) consisting of coral bioconstructions with a floatstone/packstone matrix; middle ramp (iii) large rotaliid packstones to wackestone‐packstones (LR), (iv) rhodolith floatstone‐rudstones (RF), and (v) large lepidocyclinid packstones (LL); and (vi) outer ramp fine‐grained bioclastic calcarenites (FC). A total of 38 samples collected from six stratigraphic sections (A, B, D, J, E, LO), measured in the Porto Badisco ravine, were investigated to discriminate the types of porosity. Effective and total porosity was measured using a helium pycnometer. The 3D porosity modelling was performed using PETREL™ 2016 software (Schlumberger). Four main types of porosity were recognized in the carbonates: interparticle, intraparticle, vuggy and mouldic. Primary porosity (inter‐ and intraparticle) is limited to middle ramp lithofacies (LL and LR) and outer ramp lithofacies (FC), whereas secondary porosity (vuggy and mouldic) was present in both inner ramp lithofacies (CM and SG) and middle ramp red algal lithofacies (RF). In the Porto Badisco carbonates, stratigraphic complexity and the distribution of primary porosity are controlled by lateral and vertical variations in depositional facies. Significant secondary porosity was produced by the dissolution of aragonitic and high‐magnesium calcite components, which are dominant in the sea‐grass and coral mound facies of the inner ramp and in the rhodolith floatstone‐rudstones of the middle ramp. 3D models were developed for both effective and total porosity distribution. The porosity models show a clear correlation with facies heterogeneities. However of the two models, the effective porosity model shows the best correlation with the 3D facies model, and shows a general increase in effective porosity basinwards in the middle ramp facies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
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18. Frequency analysis across the drowning of a Lower Jurassic carbonate platform. The Calcare Massiccio Formation (Apennines, Italy)
- Author
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Laura Tomassetti, Laura Corda, M. Tagliavento, and Marco Brandano
- Subjects
drowning platform ,010506 paleontology ,geology ,Carbonate platform ,economic geology ,010502 geochemistry & geophysics ,01 natural sciences ,Sedimentary depositional environment ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Paleontology ,Lower Jurassic ,Photic zone ,oceanography ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,carbonate factory ,Central Apennines ,quantitative analysis ,geophysics ,stratigraphy ,Sedimentation ,Extensional definition ,Tectonics ,chemistry ,Facies ,Carbonate ,Geology - Abstract
This work illustrates the evolution the Lower Jurassic shallow-water carbonates known as the Calcare Massiccio Formation in the Central Apennines (Italy). The Calcare Massiccio is characterized by lateral and vertical variability in the facies associations, related to an articulated physiography of the Triassic to Lower Jurassic carbonate platform and to its tectonic evolution. This work documents the depositional environment changes during the platform evolution. Quantitative analysis on samples collected from three stratigraphic sections were performed through the Calcare Massiccio succession allowed up to the overlying Pliensbachian pelagites. Two type of carbonate sedimentation have been recognized: in the peritidal and shallow subtidal environments (Calcare Massiccio A) the carbonate production is dominated by microbial activity, while the carbonate sedimentation in a deeper environment of middle to outer ramp (Calcare Massiccio B), is dominated by a bioclastic sedimentation. The evolution from the Calcare Massiccio A to the B can be interpreted as the product of increase of accommodation that in turn produced a backstepping of carbonate facies belt, the photic microbial dominated peritidal facies developed on the persistent Latium-Abruzzi Platform while the bioclastic carbonate production factory settled on the structural highs resulting from the dismembering of the platform by syn-sedimentary tectonic. The bioclastic carbonate factory was not efficient in filling the available accommodation space produced by Sinemurian extensional tectonic. This inefficiency was amplified by the restricted area available for this factory in the small structural highs. These conditions were sufficient to predispose the platform to the drowning without invoke change in the trophic resource or change in the palaeoceanography.
- Published
- 2016
19. Downslope-migrating large dunes in the Chattian carbonate ramp of the Majella Mountains (Central Apennines, Italy)
- Author
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Laura Tomassetti, Marco Brandano, V. Campagnoni, and Lorenzo Lipparini
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Carbonateramp ,Stratigraphy ,Oligocene ,Geology ,Storm ,carbonate ramp ,Geologic map ,Wackestone ,Submarine dune ,Sedimentary depositional environment ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Paleontology ,chemistry ,Grainstone ,Facies ,Carbonate ,Lithofacies ,Tropical cyclone ,submarine dune ,lithofacies ,storm ,oligocene ,Geomorphology - Abstract
This work is the result of detailed geological mapping and stratigraphic analysis of the Lepidocyclina Limestone in the northern sector of the Majella Mountains (Central Apennines). The Lepidocyclina Limestone represents an informal member of the Bolognano Formation (Chattian to Messinian in age). Four main lithofacies have been recognized: planar cross-bedded grainstone (FA); moderate-angle, cross-bedded grainstone to packstone (FB); sigmoidal cross-bedded grainstone (FC); and bioturbated marly packstone to wackestone (FD). A detailed description of the recognized lithofacies and facies association of the Lepidocyclina Limestone is given in this work, together with an interpretation of the corresponding depositional setting and a discussion of the related larger-scale processes. In summary, the depositional profile of the Lepidocyclina Limestone is consistent with a carbonate ramp, where most of the sediments appear to be parautochthonous in the middle ramp environment and autochthonous-dominated in the outer ramp environment. Palaeocurrent patterns indicate a strong, generally north–west basin-ward direction that affected the middle ramp environment and developed a wide, down-slope migrating dune field. Considering that the warm Oligocene climate of the Mediterranean area was favorable to tropical cyclone development, both in terms of frequency and intensity, it is suggested that return currents generated by strong winds or storms were common on the “Lepidocyclina” carbonate ramp, thus favoring the development of the observed dune field.
- Published
- 2012
20. The Sensitivity of a Tropical Foramol‐Rhodalgal Carbonate Ramp to Relative Sea‐Level Change: Miocene of the Central Apennines, Italy
- Author
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Guillem Mateu-Vicens, Marco Brandano, and Hildegard Westphal
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Sea level change ,Paleontology ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,chemistry ,Aphotic zone ,Facies ,Sediment ,Carbonate ,Photic zone ,Sequence stratigraphy ,Eutrophication ,Geology - Abstract
Overthepast15yearsithasbeendemonstratedthatcarbonaterampsreactinadistinctly different way to sea-level fluctuations than flat-topped carbonate platforms. Until now, mostsequencestratigraphicstudiesofcarbonaterampshaveconcentratedontemperate to cool-water carbonates and on tropical systems after a phase of forced regression. This study aims at characterizing a tropical, eutrophic carbonate ramp, the Miocene LatiumAbruzzi platform in the central Apennines. The stratigraphic architecture of the carbonaterampdepositedduringa5Myrperiodreflectstwo2 nd -orderrelativesea-levelcycles. In contrast, the architectural and facies patterns only reflect 3 rd -order sea-level fluctuationsintheinnerramp.Sea-levelfluctuationsthatcausechangesinlight-penetrationmay produce shifts from euphotic to oligophotic or even aphotic conditions that may be recorded as facies changes. The insensitivity of middle- to outer-ramp facies belts is the result of the carbonate-producing organisms in these parts of the ramp, and of the low productionofcarbonatesedimentsontheinnerramp,limitingtheexporttomiddle-and outer-ramp settings. On this type of carbonate ramp, most voluminous carbonate sediment production takes place in the oligophotic zone by rhodalgal associations, or in the aphotic zone by bryomol or molechfor associations. Thus, carbonate sediment accumulatesbelowthehydrodynamicbaselevelinawater-depthintervalthatmaybewiderthan the amplitude of the high-frequency sea-level fluctuation. Such ramps therefore appear not to record high-frequency sea-level fluctuations.
- Published
- 2012
21. Facies and Sequence Architecture of a Tropical Foramol‐Rhodalgal Carbonate Ramp: Miocene of the Central Apennines (Italy)
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Laura Corda, Francesca Castorina, and Marco Brandano
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Mediterranean climate ,sequence stratigraphy ,mediterranean ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Paleontology ,Sequence (geology) ,miocene ,tropical carbonate ramp ,chemistry ,Facies ,Carbonate ,Sequence stratigraphy ,Geology - Published
- 2012
22. Non-seagrass meadow sedimentary facies of the Pontinian Islands, Tyrrhenian Sea: A modern example of mixed carbonate–siliciclastic sedimentation
- Author
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Giacomo Civitelli and Marco Brandano
- Subjects
geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Terrigenous sediment ,Continental shelf ,Stratigraphy ,Geology ,Authigenic ,facies ,heterozoan ,mediterranean ,mixed carbonate-siliciclastic ,tyrrhenian ,Sedimentary depositional environment ,Paleontology ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,chemistry ,Facies ,Littoral zone ,Carbonate ,Siliciclastic - Abstract
The soft bottom of the Mediterranean continental shelf is characterized by a heterozoan skeletal assemblage (sensu [James, N.P., 1997. The cool-water carbonate depositional realm. In: James, N.P., Clarke, J. (Eds), Cool-water Carbonates. Spec. Publ. Soc. Sediment. Geol., vol. 56, pp.1–20.]). Although the contemporary presence of terrigenous and skeletal carbonate sediments has been well established [Tortora, P., 1996. Depositional and erosional coastal processes during the last postglacial sea-level rise: an example from the Central Tyrrhenian continental shelf (Italy). J. Sed. Res. 66, 391–405.; Fornos, J.J., Ahr, W.M., 1997. Temperate carbonates on a modern, low-energy, isolated ramp: the Balearic Platform, Spain. Journal of Sedimentary Research , 67, 364–373.; Fornos, J.J., Ahr, W.M., 2006. Present-day temperate carbonate sedimentation on the Balearic Platform, western Mediterranean: compositional and textural variation along a low-energy isolated ramp. In: Pedley, H.M., Carannante, G. (Eds.) 2006, Cool-water Carbonates: Depositional Systems and Palaeoenvironmental Controls. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 255, pp. 121–135], the interactions between carbonate and terrigenous–siliciclastic sedimentation has not been documented well enough. A total of 33 surface sediment samples from the Pontinian shelf (Tyrrhenian Sea, central Mediterranean) have been analysed. Sampling stations range from 15 to 250 mwd (meter water depth) and are located along five transects (PonzaW, PonzaNW, Ponza NE, Ponza E, Zannone), plus four samples collected around Palmarola Island. Sectors colonized by seagrass meadows have not been sampled. A total of 6 sedimentary facies (F) and 10 microfacies (mf) have been recognized by using component analyses, grain size percentage, sorting, carbonate content and authigenic mineralization rate. These facies and microfacies represent the Pontian Islands shelf sedimentation, in the interval between the upper infralittoral and the epibathyal zones that represent shelf-break and upper slope sedimentation. The Maerl facies (F4a,b; mf4a,b) and the skeletal sands (F2a,b; mf2a1, mf2a2, mf2b) fall within the circalittoral zone. The circalittoral zone in the water depth interval between 82 m and 112 m display relict facies (F6, mf6). Finally facies F5 (Siliciclastic sands) includes subfacies F5b (mf5b), located in the circalittoral zone at depths of 49 to 101 mwd and restricted to the western and eastern sectors of Ponza, and subfacies F5a in the upper infralittoral zone (15 mwd/25 mwd) where erosional processes prevail. Carbonate content analyses indicate that maximum carbonate production on the Pontinian shelf took place in the 60–80 mwd interval. Facies F4 (Maerl) represents the environment characterized by the highest carbonate production rates. In the Pontian area siliciclastic–carbonate mixing took place in the infralittoral zone and in the lower circalittoral zone. In the infralittoral zone erosional processes on the rocky shoreline produced lithoclasts and vulcanoclastic deposits that were reworked by wave-induced near-shore currents. In the lower circalittoral zone the prolific production by photic biota (red algae) ends, while skeletal remains of the aphotic environment mixes with planktonic sediments characterized by low carbonate values. Sand (63 μm–2 mm) is the dominant grain size class, however gravel-dominated facies (F4 Maerl) are present in water depths (50 to 112 mwd) which are significantly below the storm wave base. Glauconite mineralization appears on the Pontinian shelf from 50 mwd and increases in abundance along the deeper bathymetries. The compositional characteristics of relict facies F6 shows the concurrence of biota assemblages of the infralittoral and circalittoral zones, likely representing the record of the last Holocene transgressive event (18 ky) and expressed by the overlapping of components of different environments.
- Published
- 2007
23. Sedimentary facies and foraminiferal assemblages from Posidonia oceanica meadows of western Mediterranean Sea
- Author
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Frezza Virgilio, Marco Brandano, and Gaglianone Giovanni
- Subjects
Paleontology ,Oceanography ,Mediterranean sea ,biology ,Terrigenous sediment ,Posidonia oceanica ,Clastic rock ,Facies ,Sorting (sediment) ,Sedimentary rock ,biology.organism_classification ,Geology ,Scuba diving - Abstract
Sedimentary facies and foraminiferal assemblages of sediments sampled into seven Posidonia oceanica meadows from Western Mediterranean Sea were investigated. Six sampling sites are localised in Italy (Maratea, Ponza Island, Santa Marinella, Giglio Island, Osalla and Alghero), and one in France (Argentella, Crovani Bay, Corsica). The role of P. oceanica meadows in the sedimentary processes was investigated in different contexts: sampled meadows are set up both on soft and hard substrates, often forming “mattes”, in geographical areas subject to different wind and sea conditions (waves and longshore currents) and characterised by various coastal landforms and terrigenous inputs derived from costal erosional processes and/or fluvial contributions. A sedimentological, compositional, micropaleontological and geochemical characterisation of 111 bottom sediment samples, collected by SCUBA diving between 0 and 35 mwd, was carried out and finally tested with a Q-mode cluster analysis. Five sedimentary facies have been recognised, from terrigenous to mixed siliciclastic-carbonate and carbonate. Facies (and subfacies) are distinguishable by sorting, gravel content, abundance and maturity of clastic sediments, and weighted average of carbonate content. In all facies, foraminifers and red algae dominate the bioclastic fraction, whereas other bioclastic components are very subordinate and show a variable distribution. In all the investigated sites, benthic foraminiferal assemblages are generally dominated by typical epiphytic species, such as Asterigerinata mamilla, Lobatula lobatula, Peneroplis pertusus, Planorbulina mediterranensis, Rosalina spp. and miliolids. Nevertheless, these assemblages show some differences in the different sites according to the presence or absence of terrigenous contributions and, consequently, to the water turbidity. This parameter influences symbiont-bearing foraminifer as P. pertusus. Moreover, the samples from Argentella (Crovany Bay) are characterised by a peculiar assemblage, in which Miniacina miniacea dominates with very high frequencies.
- Published
- 2015
24. Rhodolith assemblages from the lower Tortonian carbonate ramp of Menorca (Spain): Environmental and paleoclimatic implications
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Marco Brandano, Antonio Obrador, Luis Pomar, and Grazia Vannucci
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biology ,Paleontology ,Rhodolith ,Oceanography ,biology.organism_classification ,Tropical waters ,Water depth ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,chemistry ,Facies ,Dominance (ecology) ,Carbonate ,Bathymetry ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Geology ,Earth-Surface Processes - Abstract
Lower Tortonian distally steepened carbonate ramp of Menorca mostly consists of foramol and rhodalgal facies deposited in inner-middle ramp, ramp slope and outer ramp settings. Red algae are abundant from the middle ramp to the lower part of the slope and their taxonomic assemblages are clearly related to the bathymetric position. Melobesioids percentage increases basinward, passing from 55.8% in the middle ramp to 97% in the toe of slope. Mastophoroids are more abundant in the middle ramp (43.1%) and decrease toward deeper paleoenvironments (1.2%). Lithophylloids and sporolithaceans appear as accessory components from the middle ramp to slope settings. The percentage of melobesioids and mastophoroids observed in the middle ramp suggest that growth of the rhodoliths started in a water depth below 10–20 m. The deepest occurrence of the rhodoliths is in the ramp slope environment, where the dominance of melobesioids and the low percentage of shallower-water subfamily suggests a water depth range of 70 to 100 m. Shape and structure of rhodoliths are indicative of high-energy conditions in all ramp settings and they do not reflect a decrease in hydrodynamic energy related to water depth increase. These conditions are related to the presence of unidirectional currents that produced cross-bedded grainstones existing in the middle ramp, ramp slope and at the toe of the ramp slope settings. The high percentage of mastophoroids in the shallowest environments and the presence of Lithoporella and Sporolithon in the coralline assemblages suggests that carbonate production took place in tropical waters.
- Published
- 2005
25. Orbital forcing recorded in subtidal cycles from a Lower Miocene siliciclastic-carbonate ramp system (Central Italy)
- Author
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Goffredo Mariotti, Marco Brandano, and Laura Corda
- Subjects
Sedimentary depositional environment ,Paleontology ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Milankovitch cycles ,chemistry ,Orbital forcing ,Terrigenous sediment ,Facies ,Climate change ,Carbonate ,Geology ,Siliciclastic - Abstract
Metre-scale siliciclastic–carbonate cycles are the basic depositional motif of the lower Miocene Guadagnolo Formation outcropping in the central Apennines. The mechanisms which formed the mixed-lithology cycles are still a matter of debate. The mixed siliciclastic–carbonate system discussed in this paper provides a new case study to illustrate the role of orbital forcing in controlling the facies evolution and cyclic stacking of small-scale sequences deposited on the outer sector of a ramp. Two sections are discussed that display mixed siliciclastics and carbonates arranged in upward-shallowing cycles. Each cycle shows an upward decrease in the terrigenous input and a parallel increase in benthic fauna. Time-series analyses indicate the cyclic carbonate-terrigenous pattern to be largely controlled by orbital forcing in the Milankovitch frequency band. Coupling of climate change and sea-level fluctuations in tune with orbital cycles are proposed as driving mechanisms.
- Published
- 2005
26. Aphotic zone carbonate production on a Miocene ramp, Central Apennines, Italy
- Author
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Marco Brandano and Laura Corda
- Subjects
biology ,bryomol and rhodalgal assemblages ,depositional profile ,early-middle miocene ,italy ,tropical carbonate ramp ,Stratigraphy ,Geology ,biology.organism_classification ,Wackestone ,Sedimentary depositional environment ,Foraminifera ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Paleontology ,chemistry ,Aphotic zone ,Grainstone ,Facies ,Carbonate ,Photic zone - Abstract
The lower Miocene Latium–Abruzzi platform was a low-angle ramp that developed under tropical-to-subtropical conditions, but was dominated by bryomol and rhodalgal sediment associations. The Aquitanian to Serravallian sequence described here paraconformably overlies the Cretaceous limestones. It consists of a lowstand systems tract, a transgressive systems tract and a highstand systems tract. Based on facies analysis and on the light dependence of biotic associations, the ramp is divided into three parts: an inner ramp, a middle ramp and an outer ramp. The inner ramp facies are represented by a few metres of coral framestone, rhodolith floatstone–rudstone and balanid macroids floatstone without wave-related structures. The middle ramp consists of structureless bioclastic grainstone to packstone, floatstone and rudstone with rhodoliths and larger foraminifera. The outer ramp facies—proximal sector—are composed of crudely stratified bryozoan-dominated packstone to floatstone which extend over the whole platform. The outer ramp facies—intermediate sector—are represented by wackestone, packstone and rarely grainstone with foraminifera and echinoid fragments. The final depositional profile of the ramp was strongly influenced by the main organisms producing sediment. During the lowstand, the resulting profile is a ramp type. During the transgressive phase, the rapid spreading of the outer ramp facies belt, as a consequence of the enhanced productivity of the light-independent biota, is believed to be promoted by a change from oligotrophic to eutrophic conditions. Climate and/or tectonics are presumed to have played an important role in continental runoff and then in the nutrients delivery. During the highstand phase, the system returns to rates of production uniform throughout the platform. The high rates of carbonate production occurring in the aphotic zone are quite unusual in tropical settings and represent a provocative trend in apparent contrast with the common idea about the locus of the most significant carbonate production, as derived from the “tropical model”. The example described here shows that carbonate production and accumulation below the photic zone might be higher than in the shallow euphotic zone even in tropical conditions.
- Published
- 2003
27. Rhodolith-rich lithofacies of the Porto Badisco Calcarenites (upper Chattian, Salento, southern Italy)
- Author
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Guillem Mateu-Vicens, Michele Morsilli, Mariano Parente, Marco Brandano, Grazia Vannucci, Francesca Bosellini, Brandano, M., Morsilli, M., Vannucci, G., Parente, Mariano, Bosellini, F., and Mateu Vicens, G.
- Subjects
geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,biology ,Carbonate platform ,Apulia Platform ,rhodoliths ,coralline algae ,larger benthic foraminifera ,Oligocene ,southern Italy ,Coralline algae ,Geology ,Rhodolith ,Rhodoliths ,Subtropics ,biology.organism_classification ,Substrate (marine biology) ,Deposition (geology) ,Paleontology ,Peninsula ,Facies ,Southern Italy ,apulia platform ,oligocene ,southern italy - Abstract
This study describes the rhodolith-rich lithofacies of the Porto Badisco Calcarenites, an upper Chattian rhodalgal/larger foraminiferaldominated unit exposed in the southern part of the Apulia Carbonate Platform (Salento Peninsula, Italy). The lensoid rhodolith-rich lithosome at the base of the studied section is made of rhodolith rudstone and floatstone which infill a channel-like depression inherited from the substrate. Changes in the texture of the rhodolith facies and in the inner structure of the rhodoliths reflect variations in submarine current velocity across the section of the channel. Inherited topography controlled both the locus and the mode of rhodolith accumulation. The rhodolith lithosome is bounded by a flat surface above which rhodoliths are notably absent and beds are tabular. This implies that rhodolith accumulation ended as soon as substrate topography was completely levelled off. The taxonomic composition of the red algal and larger foraminiferal assemblages suggests that the rhodolith-rich unit deposited in the oligophotic zone. The abundance of tropical genera among the coralline algae (Lithoporella and Sporolithon) and the high diversity of larger foraminiferal assemblages indicate that the deposition of the Porto Badisco Calcarenites took place in the warm waters of the tropical to subtropical zone
- Published
- 2010
28. Nutrients, sea level and tectonics: constrains for the facies architecture of a Miocene carbonate ramp in central Italy
- Author
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Laura Corda and Marco Brandano
- Subjects
Nutrients ,carbonate ramp ,Miocene ,Italy ,Tectonic subsidence ,Accretionary wedge ,Geology ,Cretaceous ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Paleontology ,Tectonics ,chemistry ,Facies ,Carbonate ,Transgressive ,Sea level - Abstract
In the western part of the central Apennines, Lower–Middle Miocene carbonates were deposited on a tropical–subtropical carbonate ramp. They record two long-term cycles, the first of which is illustrated in this paper. Between 21 and 17.5 Ma, Miocene carbonates, paraconformably overlying the Cretaceous limestones, record a transgressive event during a time of global (2nd order) sea-level lowstand. It is postulated that this deviation is related to an increase in tectonic subsidence. Between 17.5 Ma and 16–15 Ma, with a progressive relative sea-level rise, the inner–middle ramp facies belt stepped back, whereas the bryozoan-dominated outer ramp facies belt stepped back but simultaneously prograded. This bloom of suspension-feeding organisms is interpreted to reflect an increased nutrient availability, hence a change from oligotrophic to eutrophic conditions. Strontium-isotope dates constrain correlation of the second phase with a eutrophic event possibly linked to the influence of the neighbouring Apenninic accretionary wedge and foredeep system.
- Published
- 2002
29. The Coniacian-Campanian Latium-Abruzzi carbonate platform, an example of a facies mosaic
- Author
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Marco Loche and Marco Brandano
- Subjects
geography ,Apennines ,Facies mosaic ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Carbonate platform ,Stratigraphy ,Coniacian-Campanian ,Open shelf ,Paleontology ,Shoal ,Geology ,Biozone ,Wackestone ,Cretaceous ,rudist ,coniacian-campanian ,open shelf ,apennines ,facies mosaic ,Grainstone ,Facies ,Rudist ,Sedimentology - Abstract
This paper presents the results of a high-resolution analysis of Upper Cretaceous shallow-water limestones in the northeast sector of the Lepini Mountains (Central Apennines, Italy) that belong to the Latium-Abruzzi platform domain. The studied succession is entirely referred to as the "Accordiella conica & Rotorbinella scarsellai Biozone". The analyzed Coniacian-Campanian succession is primarily characterized by three lithofacies associations (LF-A, LF-B, LF-C) deposited on an open shelf. The intertidal and shallow-subtidal environments are characterized by mudstone to wackestone and laminated bindstone (LF-C), whereas in the low to moderate energy environments of the inner shelf there developed rudist biostrome (rudist pillarstone) and rudist rudstone to floatstone (LF-A). A lithofacies association dominated by cross-bedded grainstone (LF-B) represents the reworking of bioclastic grains (rudist fragments) derived from the areas of the shelf colonized by rudist biostrome; lime-sand shoals related to storm channels passed into submarine dunes in an open-shelf setting. Correlation of the five investigated stratigraphic sections shows how the recognized LF are laterally associated to form a facies mosaic over a few hundred meters. The stratigraphic architecture shows five intervals (I-V) each of which is dominated by one or two LF. Interval I is intensely dolomitized. The following intervals (II and III) record a gradual increase in hydrodynamic energy as evidenced by the presence of rudist biostromes passing upward into cross-bedded grainstone. An increase in mud-supported textures in the interval IV suggests more restricted conditions, which were terminated by a period of emergence. More open-marine conditions in the final interval (V) are shown by the dominance of LF-A and LF-B. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
- Published
- 2014
30. Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows facies from western Mediterranean Sea
- Author
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Gaglianone, Giovanni, Frezza, Virgilio, Mateu Vicens, G., and Brandano, Marco
- Subjects
facies ,facies, mixing carbonate-siliciclastic, Posidonia oceanica ,Posidonia oceanica ,mixing carbonate-siliciclastic - Published
- 2014
31. Surface sediments of seagrass meadows along the Tyrrhenian continental shelf (Italy)
- Author
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G. GAGLIANONE (a), V. FREZZA (a), G. MATEU-VICENS (b), M. BRANDANO (a), and (c)
- Subjects
facies ,Tyrrhenian Sea ,benthic foraminifera ,Posidonia oceanica ,mixing carbonate-siliciclastic - Abstract
Mediterranean marine phanerogam Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile forms extensive meadows, colonizing soft and hard substrates. The presence of seagrass meadows represent an important factor for the stability of coastal marine systems in subtidal range (in the Mediterranean up to ~40 mwd), influencing the sedimentary processes (KOMATSU, 1996) and representing a factory of organic matter and oxygen (JAMES, 1997). Moreover, seagrass meadows host a high variety of carbonate-producing organisms, many of which epiphytic. Their presence allows a prolific bioclastic factory (PARDI et alii, 2006). Three different meadows are investigated in the following locations, from north to south: Cala Cupa (Giglio Island, Tuscany, Northern Tyrrhenian Sea), Punta Madonna-Scoglio Rosso (Ponza Island, Latium, Central Tyrrhenian Sea, East Sector), Acquafredda di Maratea (Maratea, Basilicata, Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, East Sector). In these sampling sites, seagrass meadows are present both on soft and hard substrates, often forming "mattes". In the Giglio and Ponza islands terrigenous clasts origin only for coastal erosion on outcroppings rocks represented by volcanic rock, while in Maratea meadow terrigenous clasts origin for coastal erosion on outcroppings rocks constituted by carbonate rocks. Fluvial run-off components of Noce River, located 15 km to the south of Maratea meadow are always negligible.
- Published
- 2012
32. Surface sediments of seagrass meadows along the Tyrrhenian continental shelf (Italy)
- Author
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Gaglianone, G., Frezza, V., Guillem Mateu-Vicens, and Brandano, M.
- Subjects
facies ,benthic foraminifera ,tyrrhenian sea ,mixing carbonate-siliciclastic ,posidonia oceanica - Published
- 2012
33. Seagrass-Meadow Sedimentary Facies In A Mixed Siliciclastic-Carbonate Temperate System In the Tyrrhenian Sea (Pontinian Islands, Western Mediterranean)
- Author
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Giovanni Gaglianone, Alessio Baldassarre, Guillem Mateu-Vicens, and Marco Brandano
- Subjects
Mediterranean climate ,Posidonia ,biology ,Geology ,biology.organism_classification ,Geologic record ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Paleontology ,Seagrass ,Oceanography ,chemistry ,Facies ,Carbonate ,Sedimentary rock ,Siliciclastic - Abstract
The paper presents the characteristics of surface sediments in a seagrass-dominated environment of the inner shelf of the Pontinian Islands (Tyrrhenian Shelf, Central Mediterranean). The aims of this work are to characterize the carbonate production and sedimentary processes of a representative high-latitude, temperate Posidonia oceanica–dominated area, to discuss the role of seagrass in the siliciclastic–carbonate mixing processes, which provide analogs for interpreting the occurrence and importance of these types of deposits in the rock record. The majority of sediments are poorly sorted siliciclastic skeletal sand. Based on grain type and abundance and carbonate content, these deposits include six subfacies. The different subfacies reflect environmental changes within the seagrass environment associated with variations in light penetration and hydrodynamic conditions. Additionally, the seagrass facies range from purely carbonate to mixed carbonate–siliciclastic, depending on the amount of siliciclastic input and on the capacity of seagrasses to trap allochthonous sediments while hosting carbonate-producing biota. The type of substrate and the erosion and transport processes control the siliciclastic input. In these Pontinian seagrass meadows, sedimentary facies contain abundant siliciclastic grains produced by erosion of the volcanic substrate and trapped by seagrass blades and rhizomes. This Pontinian example illustrates that in heterozoan-dominated seagrass settings, mud-producing green algae are not present or are not calcifying, and consequently, seagrass deposits are much more grainy than photozoan counterparts. Ancient heterozoan tropical seagrass deposits likely will be discriminated from their temperate or subtropical counterparts only by careful taxonomic analysis of skeletal grains.
- Published
- 2012
34. Depositional model and paleodepth reconstruction of a coral-rich, mixed siliciclastic-carbonate system: the Burdigalian of Capo Testa (northern Sardinia, Italy)
- Author
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Marco Brandano, Laura Tomassetti, Francesca Bosellini, and Andrea Mazzucchi
- Subjects
Burdigalian ,Corals ,Paleodepth ,Mediterranean ,Facies ,burdigalian ,biology ,Terrigenous sediment ,Outcrop ,Stratigraphy ,corals ,mediterranean ,paleodepth ,facies ,Porites ,Paleontology ,Geology ,biology.organism_classification ,Conglomerate ,Sedimentary depositional environment ,Siliciclastic ,Sedimentology - Abstract
This study presents a detailed facies analysis and paleodepth reconstruction of a coral-rich mixed siliciclastic-carbonate system Burdigalian in age, outcropping in the northern sector of Sardinia (Capo Testa). Excellent exposures of continuous sea-cliff outcrops around the southwestern and northeastern area of Capo Testa promontory allowed us to: (1) trace stratigraphic surfaces; (2) document stratal geometries; (3) discern details of the lithofacies and, (4) reconstruct the paleodepths of the different depositional environments. A total of seven sedimentary facies has been recognized and interpreted: siliciclastic conglomerate and coarse bioclastic sandstone (F1), fine- to medium-grained hybrid sandstone (F2, scleractinian coral domestone (F3), bioclastic packstone to floatstone with platy Porites (F4), red algae floatstone to rudstone (F5), larger benthic foraminifers (LBF) bioclastic rudstone floatstone in a packstone matrix (F6), molluscan floatstone in a bioclastic packstone matrix (F7). The investigated system is characterized by nearshore to shoreface deposits with a conspicuous terrigenous content that grades seaward into deeper zones where coral patch-reefs developed in association with adjacent areas colonized by seagrass meadows. The more distal facies are constituted by scattered encrusting tabular colonies of Porites in growth position occurring in a deeper and lower-energy environment. The paleodepth interval that is observed in the Capo Testa outcrop ranges from 0 to 50 m.
- Published
- 2010
35. Reply to the Discussion by Peter A. Gatt on 'Facies analysis and palaeoenvironmental interpretation of the Late Oligocene Attard Member (Lower Coralline Limestone Formation), Malta' by Brandano et al. (2009), Sedimentology, 56, 1138-1158
- Author
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Martyn Pedley, Marco Brandano, Laura Tomassetti, and Virgilio Frezza
- Subjects
Paleontology ,Stratigraphy ,Interpretation (philosophy) ,Facies ,Geology ,Sedimentology - Published
- 2010
36. Facies analysis and paleoenvironmental interpretation of the Late Oligocene Attard Member (Lower Coralline Limestone Formation), Malta
- Author
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Ruggero Matteucci, Virgilio Frezza, Marco Brandano, Laura Tomassetti, and Martyn Pedley
- Subjects
geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,biology ,Outcrop ,Stratigraphy ,Coralline algae ,Geology ,Coral reef ,biology.organism_classification ,Foraminifera ,Sedimentary depositional environment ,Paleontology ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,chemistry ,Facies ,Carbonate ,Reef - Abstract
The Oligocene represents a key interval during which coralline algae became dominant on carbonate ramps and luxuriant coral reefs emerged on a global scale. So far, few studies have considered the impact that these early reefs had on ramp development. Consequently, this study aimed at presenting a high-resolution analysis of the Attard Member of the Lower Coralline Limestone Formation (Late Oligocene, Malta) in order to decipher the internal and external factors controlling the architecture of a typical Late Oligocene platform. Excellent exposures of the Lower Coralline Limestone Formation occurring along continuous outcrops adjacent to the Victoria Lines Fault reveal in detail the three-dimensional distribution of the reef-associated facies. A total of four sedimentary facies have been recognized and are grouped into two depositional environments that correspond to the inner and middle carbonate ramp. The inner ramp was characterized by a very high-energy, shallow-water setting, influenced by tide and wave processes. This setting passed downslope into an inner-ramp depositional environment which was colonized by seagrass and interfingered with adjacent areas containing scattered corals. The middle ramp lithofacies were deposited in the oligophotic zone, the sediments being generated from combined in situ production and sediments swept from the shallower inner ramp by currents. Compositional characteristics and facies distributions of the Attard ramp are more similar to the Miocene ramps than to those of the Eocene. An important factor controlling this similarity may be the expansion of the seagrass colonization within the euphotic zone. This expansion may have commenced in the Late Oligocene and was associated with a concomitant reduction in the aerial extent of the larger benthonic foraminifera facies. Stacking-pattern analysis shows that the depositional units (parasequences) at the study section are arranged into transgressive–regressive facies cycles. This cyclicity is superimposed on the overall regressive phase recorded by the Attard succession. Furthermore, a minor highstand (correlated with the Ru4/Ch1 sequence) and subsequent minor lowstand (Ch2 sequence) have been recognized. The biota assemblages of the Attard Member suggest that carbonate sedimentation took place in subtropical waters and oligotrophic to slightly mesotrophic conditions. The apparent low capacity of corals to form wave-resistant reef structures is considered to have been a significant factor affecting substrate stability at this time. The resulting lack of resistant mid-ramp reef frameworks left this zone exposed to wave and storm activity, thereby encouraging the widespread development of coralline algal associations dominated by rhodoliths.
- Published
- 2009
37. Depositional model and paleoecological reconstruction of the Lower Tortonian distally steepened ramp of Menorca (Balearic Islands, Spain)
- Author
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Pamela Hallock, Mateu-Vicens Guillem, and Marco Brandano
- Subjects
Paleozoic ,Outcrop ,Carbonate platform ,Paleontology ,Sedimentary depositional environment ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,chemistry ,Benthic zone ,Facies ,Carbonate ,Paleogene ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Geology - Abstract
In carbonate depositional environments, sediment is mostly produced by different groups of organisms. Ecological parameters, thus, play a major role controlling carbonate production. In the present work, carbonate-producing biota, especially foraminifers, are studied to construct a depositional model and paleoecological interpretation of the lower Tortonian distally steepened ramp of Menorca (Balearic Islands, Spain). This carbonate platform corresponds to a highstand systems track prograding and aggrading over a Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and, locally, lower Tertiary basement. Outcrops are excellently exposed in the southern part of the island. Five facies associations are observed, which, in downdip direction, correspond to inner ramp, middle ramp, ramp slope, toe of the slope, and outer ramp. Samples have been studied using point counting of 102 thin sections. Six foraminiferal assemblages have been distinguished. Eight microfacies are identified (IR.1, IR.2, MR, URS, LRS, TS.1, TS.2, and OR), based on the abundance and ecological significance of the foraminifers (large benthic foraminifers, epiphytics, low-oxygen indicators, and planktonics) and other carbonate-producing organisms (echinoids, mollusks, barnacles, bryozoans, serpulids, coral genus Porites, and green and red algae). Seagrass meadows in the inner ramp correspond to the euphotic carbonate factory, whereas red algae and large benthic foraminifers dominate the oligophotic carbonate factory in the middle ramp and upper ramp slope. Microfacies composition verified intense sediment-transport processes from inner and middle ramp down to lower ramp slope, toe of the slope, and outer ramp. Finally, microfacies analysis also indicates that carbonate-production took place in warm-water conditions, in oligotrophic-to-mesotrophic waters.
- Published
- 2008
38. The Lower Miocene spongolitic sequence of the Central Apennines: a record of the Burdigalian siliceous event in the central Mediterranean
- Author
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Laura Corda and Marco Brandano
- Subjects
Mediterranean climate ,Horizon (geology) ,biology ,miocene ,mediterranean ,spongolitic facies ,Terrigenous sediment ,sedimentology ,early miocene ,Geology ,biology.organism_classification ,Foraminifera ,Paleontology ,Benthic zone ,italy ,Facies ,Marl ,Siliciclastic - Abstract
A stratigraphic and sedimentological analysis of the Miocene spongolitic unit from Central Apennines is presented. The spongolitic succession of the Latium-Abruzzi Platform (informally named Guadagnolo Formation) represents the sedimentation along the platform margin domain. In all sectors of the platform, at least two informal members are distinguishable. The lower member, Chattian to Early Burdigalian in age is characterized by deposits dominated by larger benthic foraminifera. This member is divided in two intervals by a first spongolitic horizon of few meters thick. The more siliceous intermediate member (“spongolitic”), spanning the Burdigalian to Langhian, mostly consists of spongolitic marls and marly limestones. The upper member is only present in the north-western and northern margin and it is characterized by cross-bedded calcarenites. The Burdigalian time interval in Central Apennines is characterized by: a) spread of terrigenous spongolitic facies on the platform-to-basin zone and cherty-rich facies in the pelagic realm, b) spread of bryozoan-dominated facies on the platform domain, and c) positive C-isotope excursion related to high primary production The Oligo-Miocene volcanic activity in the western Mediterranean and its related increase in atmospheric CO 2 might have induced decreases in pH and carbonate ion concentrations in surface waters, favoring siliceous production in acidic seawaters. An increase in terrigenous material from the neighboring Apennine foredeep system, promoted a CaCO 3 reduction induced by terrigenous dilution. The combined effect of volcanism, changes in oceanic circulation and the Apennine foredeeprelated siliciclastic input, favoured the spreading for marly-spongolitic facies in the Central Apennines, as well as throughout the Mediterranean area.
- Published
- 2011
39. 3D modelling of the upper Tortonian-lower Messinian shallow ramp carbonates of the Hyblean domain (Central Mediterranean, Faro Santa Croce, Sicily).
- Author
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Tomassetti, Laura, Brandano, Marco, and Mateu-Vicens, Guillem
- Subjects
- *
GEOLOGICAL modeling , *DIGITAL photogrammetry , *WATER depth , *MIOCENE Epoch , *FACIES , *CARBONATES , *GEOLOGICAL mapping - Abstract
This work illustrates a combined modelling approach using digital photogrammetry and geological modelling to create a high detailed 3D facies model of the inner environment of the Monte Carrubba carbonate ramp outcropping in the South Sicily. The Monte Carrubba Formation (Tortonian-lower Messinian) is the youngest marine Miocene carbonate deposit of the Hyblean region, prior to the Messinian crisis of the Mediterranean. In particular, Faro Santa Croce outcrop, which is in vertical thickness up to 8 m, shows the most proximal sector of this ramp. The Faro Santa Croce outcrop offers the opportunity to investigate and reproduce a highly-detailed facies heterogeneity 3D model for a very narrow and limited area of few squared kilometers (0.1 Km2), developed in a tectonically stable area. Within this small areal, five facies have been recognized and modelled revealing a high level of facies heterogeneity. In this area marine ooidal shoals (ooidal grainstone to packstone) interfingered with shallow water seagrass environment (green-algal-floatstone facies and bioclastic grainstone-to-packstone facies) with abundant mollusc fauna. The distal part of this vegetated environment (fine-grained mollusc-packstone facies) passed basinward into coral mounds (coral boundstone). The combination of digital photogrammetry and 3D geological modelling software has allowed to obtain a very high-resolution model of facies heterogeneity, evidencing the complexity of facies associations and, in particular, the development of a facies mosaic that can be underestimated by a classical 1D or 2D field analysis, especially in limitedly exposed outcrops. • Outcrop, digital outcrop model through photogrammetry and 3D geological modelling interpretation. • Realization of high detailed 3D facies model of an inner environment of an Upper Miocene carbonate ramp. • Combination of digital photogrammetry and 3D geological modelling as means to obtain a high-resolution model of facies heterogeneity within a facies mosaic arrangement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
40. Reply to the Discussion by Peter A. Gatt on “Facies analysis and palaeoenvironmental interpretation of the Late Oligocene Attard Member (Lower Coralline Limestone Formation), Malta” by.
- Author
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BRANDANO, MARCO, FREZZA, VIRGILIO, PEDLEY, MARTYN, and TOMASSETTI, LAURA
- Subjects
- *
FACIES , *CORALS , *LIMESTONE , *OUTCROPS (Geology) , *GEOLOGY - Abstract
A response from Marco Brandano and colleagues to a discussion by Peter A. Gatt of the article "Facies analysis and palaeoenvironmental interpretation of the Late Oligocene Attard Member (Lower Coralline Limestone Formation), Malta" is presented. Gatt says that the Attard Member includes coral biostomes dominated by micrite deposited in shallow marine where rhodoliths are absent. In response, the authors say that no coral biostromes were observed within the measured section outcrops.
- Published
- 2010
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
41. Facies analysis and palaeoenvironmental interpretation of the Late Oligocene Attard Member (Lower Coralline Limestone Formation), Malta.
- Author
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BRANDANO, MARCO, FREZZA, VIRGILIO, TOMASSETTI, LAURA, PEDLEY, MARTYN, and MATTEUCCI, RUGGERO
- Subjects
- *
FACIES , *LIMESTONE , *SEDIMENTATION analysis , *CORALLINE algae , *BENTHIC plants ,ENVIRONMENTAL aspects - Abstract
The Oligocene represents a key interval during which coralline algae became dominant on carbonate ramps and luxuriant coral reefs emerged on a global scale. So far, few studies have considered the impact that these early reefs had on ramp development. Consequently, this study aimed at presenting a high-resolution analysis of the Attard Member of the Lower Coralline Limestone Formation (Late Oligocene, Malta) in order to decipher the internal and external factors controlling the architecture of a typical Late Oligocene platform. Excellent exposures of the Lower Coralline Limestone Formation occurring along continuous outcrops adjacent to the Victoria Lines Fault reveal in detail the three-dimensional distribution of the reef-associated facies. A total of four sedimentary facies have been recognized and are grouped into two depositional environments that correspond to the inner and middle carbonate ramp. The inner ramp was characterized by a very high-energy, shallow-water setting, influenced by tide and wave processes. This setting passed downslope into an inner-ramp depositional environment which was colonized by seagrass and interfingered with adjacent areas containing scattered corals. The middle ramp lithofacies were deposited in the oligophotic zone, the sediments being generated from combined in situ production and sediments swept from the shallower inner ramp by currents. Compositional characteristics and facies distributions of the Attard ramp are more similar to the Miocene ramps than to those of the Eocene. An important factor controlling this similarity may be the expansion of the seagrass colonization within the euphotic zone. This expansion may have commenced in the Late Oligocene and was associated with a concomitant reduction in the aerial extent of the larger benthonic foraminifera facies. Stacking-pattern analysis shows that the depositional units (parasequences) at the study section are arranged into transgressive–regressive facies cycles. This cyclicity is superimposed on the overall regressive phase recorded by the Attard succession. Furthermore, a minor highstand (correlated with the Ru4/Ch1 sequence) and subsequent minor lowstand (Ch2 sequence) have been recognized. The biota assemblages of the Attard Member suggest that carbonate sedimentation took place in subtropical waters and oligotrophic to slightly mesotrophic conditions. The apparent low capacity of corals to form wave-resistant reef structures is considered to have been a significant factor affecting substrate stability at this time. The resulting lack of resistant mid-ramp reef frameworks left this zone exposed to wave and storm activity, thereby encouraging the widespread development of coralline algal associations dominated by rhodoliths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
42. Non-seagrass meadow sedimentary facies of the Pontinian Islands, Tyrrhenian Sea: A modern example of mixed carbonate–siliciclastic sedimentation
- Author
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Brandano, Marco and Civitelli, Giacomo
- Subjects
- *
SEDIMENTATION & deposition , *PHYSICAL geology , *SEDIMENTARY rocks , *SEDIMENTOLOGY - Abstract
Abstract: The soft bottom of the Mediterranean continental shelf is characterized by a heterozoan skeletal assemblage (sensu [James, N.P., 1997. The cool-water carbonate depositional realm. In: James, N.P., Clarke, J. (Eds), Cool-water Carbonates. Spec. Publ. Soc. Sediment. Geol., vol. 56, pp.1–20.]). Although the contemporary presence of terrigenous and skeletal carbonate sediments has been well established [Tortora, P., 1996. Depositional and erosional coastal processes during the last postglacial sea-level rise: an example from the Central Tyrrhenian continental shelf (Italy). J. Sed. Res. 66, 391–405.; Fornós, J.J., Ahr, W.M., 1997. Temperate carbonates on a modern, low-energy, isolated ramp: the Balearic Platform, Spain. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 67, 364–373.; Fornós, J.J., Ahr, W.M., 2006. Present-day temperate carbonate sedimentation on the Balearic Platform, western Mediterranean: compositional and textural variation along a low-energy isolated ramp. In: Pedley, H.M., Carannante, G. (Eds.) 2006, Cool-water Carbonates: Depositional Systems and Palaeoenvironmental Controls. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 255, pp. 121–135], the interactions between carbonate and terrigenous–siliciclastic sedimentation has not been documented well enough. A total of 33 surface sediment samples from the Pontinian shelf (Tyrrhenian Sea, central Mediterranean) have been analysed. Sampling stations range from 15 to 250 mwd (meter water depth) and are located along five transects (PonzaW, PonzaNW, Ponza NE, Ponza E, Zannone), plus four samples collected around Palmarola Island. Sectors colonized by seagrass meadows have not been sampled. A total of 6 sedimentary facies (F) and 10 microfacies (mf) have been recognized by using component analyses, grain size percentage, sorting, carbonate content and authigenic mineralization rate. These facies and microfacies represent the Pontian Islands shelf sedimentation, in the interval between the upper infralittoral and the epibathyal zones that represent shelf-break and upper slope sedimentation. The Maerl facies (F4a,b; mf4a,b) and the skeletal sands (F2a,b; mf2a1, mf2a2, mf2b) fall within the circalittoral zone. The circalittoral zone in the water depth interval between 82 m and 112 m display relict facies (F6, mf6). Finally facies F5 (Siliciclastic sands) includes subfacies F5b (mf5b), located in the circalittoral zone at depths of 49 to 101 mwd and restricted to the western and eastern sectors of Ponza, and subfacies F5a in the upper infralittoral zone (15 mwd/25 mwd) where erosional processes prevail. Carbonate content analyses indicate that maximum carbonate production on the Pontinian shelf took place in the 60–80 mwd interval. Facies F4 (Maerl) represents the environment characterized by the highest carbonate production rates. In the Pontian area siliciclastic–carbonate mixing took place in the infralittoral zone and in the lower circalittoral zone. In the infralittoral zone erosional processes on the rocky shoreline produced lithoclasts and vulcanoclastic deposits that were reworked by wave-induced near-shore currents. In the lower circalittoral zone the prolific production by photic biota (red algae) ends, while skeletal remains of the aphotic environment mixes with planktonic sediments characterized by low carbonate values. Sand (63 μm–2 mm) is the dominant grain size class, however gravel-dominated facies (F4 Maerl) are present in water depths (50 to 112 mwd) which are significantly below the storm wave base. Glauconite mineralization appears on the Pontinian shelf from 50 mwd and increases in abundance along the deeper bathymetries. The compositional characteristics of relict facies F6 shows the concurrence of biota assemblages of the infralittoral and circalittoral zones, likely representing the record of the last Holocene transgressive event (18 ky) and expressed by the overlapping of components of different environments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
- Published
- 2007
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43. Nutrients, sea level and tectonics: constrains for the facies architecture of a Miocene carbonate ramp in central Italy.
- Author
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Brandano, Marco and Corda, Laura
- Subjects
- *
STRATIGRAPHIC geology , *FACIES - Abstract
ABSTRACT In the western part of the central Apennines, Lower–Middle Miocene carbonates were deposited on a tropical–subtropical carbonate ramp. They record two long-term cycles, the first of which is illustrated in this paper. Between 21 and 17.5 Ma, Miocene carbonates, paraconformably overlying the Cretaceous limestones, record a transgressive event during a time of global (2nd order) sea-level lowstand. It is postulated that this deviation is related to an increase in tectonic subsidence. Between 17.5 Ma and 16–15 Ma, with a progressive relative sea-level rise, the inner–middle ramp facies belt stepped back, whereas the bryozoan-dominated outer ramp facies belt stepped back but simultaneously prograded. This bloom of suspension-feeding organisms is interpreted to reflect an increased nutrient availability, hence a change from oligotrophic to eutrophic conditions. Strontium-isotope dates constrain correlation of the second phase with a eutrophic event possibly linked to the influence of the neighbouring Apenninic accretionary wedge and foredeep system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2002
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
44. Recent benthic foraminiferal assemblages and sedimentary facies from two atolls of Maldivian Archipelago (Indian Ocean): Reef and seagrass indicators.
- Author
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Benedetti, Andrea, Gaglianone, Giovanni, Brandano, Marco, and Mateu-Vicens, Guillem
- Subjects
- *
FACIES , *SEAGRASSES , *CORAL reefs & islands , *OCEAN , *WATER depth , *ARCHIPELAGOES , *REEFS , *SEDIMENTARY facies (Geology) - Abstract
The Maldives Archipelago is an isolated tropical carbonate platform in the Indian Ocean that includes diverse reef and perireef modern environments. We provide a study of benthic foraminiferal assemblages from seagrass and macroalgae dominated habitat and from unvegetated environments. A total of 252 species of benthic foraminifera were identified from 35 samples and biotic indexes were calculated. The assemblages are dominated by genus Amphistegina , and its spatial distribution appears related to depth and seagrass cover, but it is also influenced by hydrodynamic energy. Multivariate analysis distinguished six principal assemblages, being A. lobifera-A. radiata assemblage associated with unvegetated seabed from 15 to 76 m water depth (mwd). The study of recent tropical vegetated and unvegetated benthic associations is also useful for paleoecological and paleoenvironmental interpretations. The foraminiferal indexes (FI and I LS) are calculated to assess the health of reefal communities and compared with those given by previous works in the investigated areas. • 252 species of benthic foraminifera identified from 35 samples of Maldives archipelago. • Sediments granulometry and components counted to discriminate the facies from vegetated and unvegetated seabottoms. • Foraminiferal assemblages reflect water depth and reef or perireef environments. • No direct correlation between foraminfieral assemblages and short-lived meadows. • Comparison with fossil counterparts Green Algae-foralgal assemblages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
45. Sedimentology and depositional architecture of tidal compound dunes on a carbonate ramp: The lower Miocene deposits of the central Apennine (Latium, Italy).
- Author
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Milli, Salvatore, Madonna, Sergio, Brandano, Marco, and Corda, Laura
- Subjects
- *
SEDIMENTOLOGY , *FACIES , *CARBONATE reservoirs , *GEOLOGICAL formations , *TIDAL currents - Abstract
The sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of the central Apennine lower Miocene carbonate deposits (Guadagnolo Formation) are the goal of this paper. The Guadagnolo carbonate ramp deposits consist of a thick succession of three main lithofacies: marls, marly limestones and cross-bedded limestones. The lateral and vertical facies distribution, as well as the biota assemblages, suggests a deposition of these sediments along the middle-outer ramp sector of the Latium-Abruzzi carbonate platform. All the data suggest sedimentation under the influence of tidal currents that were responsible of bedforms generation as simple and compound dunes. These bodies are developed on metric and decametric scale, and are stacked one to other to form complex sedimentary bodies extending both in strike and dip section for several tens to hundred meters. The dune system developed in a semiclosed basin (the Paleoadriatic sea), open in the southern and closed in the northern sector respectively. Within this basin a probably amphidromic system developed. The flow sediment transport was dominantly westward, and was conditioned by the ramp paleotopography. From a sequence stratigraphic point of view several high and low rank depositional sequences that were differentiated basing on their relative physical scale (thickness of each unit) and on the lateral extension of the unconformities and the correlative conformities bounding them were recognized. The hierarchy of recognized sequence-stratigraphic units include, from the smallest to the largest: simple depositional sequences , low-rank composite depositional sequences and high-rank composite depositional sequences . In the Guadagnolo succession four high-rank composite depositional sequences having a duration variable from 0.9 to 1.6 Ma, and named Guadagnolo 1 , 2 , 3 , and 4 , were recognized. These high-rank composite sequences are internally constituted by a stacking of simple and low-rank composite depositional sequences, having a duration ranging from 40 ka to 200 ka. All these units constitute part of a higher-rank composite sequence developing between 21 and 14.80 Ma that we name “ The Guadagnolo Depositional Sequence ”. The wedge-shaped geometry, the thickness variation and the stacking pattern of the Guadagnolo succession are the response to eustasy and tectonic subsidence. The glacial eustasy mostly controlled the formation of the high-frequency depositional sequences, tectonic subsidence, related to the roll-back of the hinge west-directed subduction in turn connected to the advancement of the Apennine thrust modulated the accommodation space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
46. Modeling lateral facies heterogeneity of an upper Oligocene carbonate ramp (Salento, southern Italy).
- Author
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Tomassetti, Laura, Trippetta, Fabio, Tomassi, Andrea, Brandano, Marco, and Petracchini, Lorenzo
- Subjects
- *
OLIGOCENE Epoch , *FACIES , *CARBONATES , *SEAGRASSES , *LITHOFACIES - Abstract
The aim of this work is to reproduce a metre-scale facies heterogeneity 3D model of the Chattian Porto Badisco Calcarenite carbonate ramp outcropping in the Salento Peninsula (southern Italy). However, in shallow-water carbonate systems, capturing metre-scale facies heterogeneity in three-dimensional models remains controversial due to the possibility of facies coexistence and because their association can change through time and space. Within this context, the continuous and well-exposed Chattian Porto Badisco Calcarenite carbonate ramp allows detailed study of the distribution of lithofacies association and their architecture along the dip direction depositional profile. The lithofacies and the depositional model of the Porto Badisco Calcarenite are referred to those defined by Pomar et al. (2014). The Porto Badisco Calcarenite is a homoclinal carbonate ramp with a euphotic inner setting characterised by the extensive seagrass meadows, passing basinward into a large rotaliid packstone and coral mounds developed in mesophotic conditions. The deeper part of the oligophotic zone is characterised by rhodolithic floatstone to rudstone and large lepidocyclinid packstone. The distal part of the ramp is characterise by a fine calcarenite. The methodology used in this work combines classical field data collection (e.g., stratigraphic logs and field-facies mapping) and 3D stochastic modeling by using Petrel™. All the data (top and base of stratigraphic logs, cross-section, key surfaces, lithofacies lateral extension etc.) were georeferenced and inserted into the software to build the digital outcrop model. The 3D facies model has been performed after several simulations through specific stochastic algorithms (SISim, TGSim), comparing the models reproduce by the two algorithms, matching the depositional geometries and the lithofacies association observed in the outcrop. The 3D modeling represents a useful tool to better understand the facies architecture and their complex heterogeneity. Moreover, a detailed 3D facies model provides an essential tool to characterise semi-quantitatively sedimentological features for subsurface reservoir studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2018
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
47. Lithological and structural control on fracture frequency distribution within a carbonate-hosted relay ramp.
- Author
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Mercuri, Marco, Carminati, Eugenio, Tartarello, Maria Chiara, Brandano, Marco, Mazzanti, Paolo, Brunetti, Alessandro, McCaffrey, Ken J.W., and Collettini, Cristiano
- Subjects
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DISTRIBUTION (Probability theory) , *SEDIMENTARY structures , *LIMESTONE , *CARBONATE minerals , *FAULT zones , *FACIES , *FORECASTING , *HYDROGEOLOGY - Abstract
Understanding the factors controlling fracture frequency distribution can greatly improve the assessment of fluid circulation in fault damage zones, with evident implications for fault mechanics, hydrogeology and hydrocarbon exploration. This is particularly important for relay zones that are usually characterized by strong damage and structural complexity. We investigated the fracture frequency within an outcrop adjacent to the front fault segment of a relay ramp, hosted within peritidal carbonates that forms part of the Tre Monti fault (Central Italy). We analysed the distribution of fracture frequency in the outcrop through (1) scanlines measured in the field, (2) oriented rock samples, and (3) scan-areas performed on a virtual outcrop model. Fracture frequency increases with distance from the front segment of the relay ramp. Moreover, supratidal and intertidal carbonate facies exhibit higher fracture frequency than subtidal limestones. This trend of increased fracture frequency has two main explanations. (1) The number of subsidiary faults and their associated damage zones increases moving away from the front segment. (2) The supratidal and intertidal carbonate facies content increases toward the centre of the relay ramp. Our results indicate that the fracture frequency pattern is very complex in relay ramps hosted in shallow-water limestones and that its prediction necessitates a good control on structures and sedimentary facies distribution. • Analysis of fracture distribution within a carbonate-hosted relay ramp. • Integration of scanlines, oriented rock samples and a virtual outcrop model. • Fracture frequency increases with distance from the front segment of the relay ramp. • Subsidiary faults and carbonate peritidal facies control fracture distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
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48. Caratterizzazione sedimentologica, produzione carbonatica e fattori di controllo dei substrati colonizzati da praterie a fanerogame marine nel Mediterraneo Occidentale
- Author
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GAGLIANONE, GIOVANNI and Brandano, Marco
- Subjects
grain size ,skeletal carbonate production ,facies ,Posidonia oceanica ,heterozoan, mixing carbonate-siliciclastic ,Scienze della terra::GEOLOGIA STRATIGRAFICA E SEDIMENTOLOGICA [Settori Disciplinari MIUR] ,heterozoan ,Settore GEO/02 - Geologia Stratigrafica e Sedimentologica ,mixing carbonate-siliciclastic - Published
- 2013
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