Stratigraphic and sedimentologic analyses have been carried out on the upper Pliocene - lower Ple... more Stratigraphic and sedimentologic analyses have been carried out on the upper Pliocene - lower Pleistocene Calcarenite di Gravina Fm., a carbonate unit cropping out along the coastal sectors of the eastern Salento Peninsula (Southern Italy). The Calcarenite di Gravina Fm. usually shows shoreface to offshore transition facies associations being a trangressive unit deposited mainly on a low-angle ravinement surface. In the study area, the Calcarenite di Gravina Fm. crops out inside some indentations of the rocky slope (made up of tectonized pre-Pliocene units) showing very unusual sedimentological features. In fact, the Calcarenite di Gravina Fm. occurs in small isolated bodies with a variable thickness (up to several tens of metres), and is composed mainly of coarse-grained, bioclastic floatstones and packstones. The successions are characterized by long basinward-dipping well laminated and stratified clinobeds. The latter developed thanks to grain flows, moving either bioclasts due t...
In the eastern sector of the Salento peninsula (Southern Italy), a steep rocky slope, where Creta... more In the eastern sector of the Salento peninsula (Southern Italy), a steep rocky slope, where Cretaceous to Pleistocene limestones crop out, connects a wide flat area, about 100 m in elevation, to the coast of the Otranto Strait (Ionian Sea). Along the rocky slope, tectonized pre-Pliocene units played a morphostructural role for the depositional features of younger carbonates. Stratigraphic and sedimentologic analyses have been carried out on an upper Pliocene-lower Pleistocene carbonate unit (the Calcarenite di Gravina Fm.) cropping out along the coast inside some indentations of the rocky slope. Facies features and stratigraphic geometries of this carbonate unit indicate a deposition along a slope and at its toe. In fact, these deposits form small isolated bodies with a variable thickness (up to several tens of metres), and are composed mainly of floatstones and packstones with coarse-grained bioclasts. The successions are characterized by long basinward-dipping well laminated and s...
A steep rocky slope characterizes the eastern coasts of the Salento peninsula (Southern Italy), w... more A steep rocky slope characterizes the eastern coasts of the Salento peninsula (Southern Italy), where Cretaceous to Pleistocene limestones crop out. This rocky slope connects a wide flat area, about 100 m in elevation, to the cliffed coast of the Otranto Strait (Ionian Sea). Stratigraphic and sedimentologic analyses have been carried out on an upper Pliocene-lower Pleistocene carbonate unit (the Calcarenite di Gravina Fm.) cropping out along the coast inside some indentations of the rocky slope. This carbonate unit forms small isolated bodies with a variable thickness (up to several tens of metres), and is composed mainly of floatstones and packstones with coarse-grained bioclasts. Successions are characterized by long basinwarddipping well laminated and stratified clinobeds. These clinobeds are cut by irregular gullies (some meters in width), filled in their lower part by chaotic deposits (debris flow and slide deposits), and tens of meters in length slump scars. Backsets made up o...
During Plio-Pleistiocene, the Matera area was part of the foreland ramp of the southern Apennines... more During Plio-Pleistiocene, the Matera area was part of the foreland ramp of the southern Apennines (southern Italy) (Tropeano et al., 2002). The ramp was characterized by a complex horst and graben structure, that became an archipelago during subsidence (Tropeano and Sabato, 2000; Mateu-Vicens et al., 2008). Around islands, sediment supply was two fold: carbonate lithoclasts derived from exposed highlands and bioclasts produced in the newly flooded areas (Tropeano et al., 2009). Mixing of both types of carbonate particles (limeclasts and bioclasts) derived from coexistence of skeletal factories in “terrigenous” fed settings (rather than to mechanical mixing) (Tropeano et al., 2010). These sediments form backstepped bodies internally showing a progradation of clinobeds. After the original definition of clinoform (Rich, 1951), a number of examples coming from both outcrop and subsurface (seismic lines) was proposed in literature. Studied cases range from small sedimentary structures (i...
During the Plio-Pleistocene, the Matera area was part of the foreland ramp of the southern Apenni... more During the Plio-Pleistocene, the Matera area was part of the foreland ramp of the southern Apennines (southern Italy) (Tropeano et al., 2002). The ramp was characterized by a complex horst and graben structure, that became an archipelago during subsidence (Tropeano and Sabato, 2000; Mateu-Vicens et al., 2008). Around islands, sediment supply was twofold: carbonate lithoclasts derived from exposed highlands and bioclasts produced in the newly flooded areas (Tropeano et al., 2009). Mixing of both types of carbonate particles occurred by deposition in the same environment rather than by mechanical mixing (Tropeano et al., 2010). These sediments form backstepping bodies internally showing a progradation of clinoforms. After the original definition of clinoform (Rich, 1951), a number of examples from outcrop and subsurface (seismic lines) was described in the literature. Studied cases range from small sedimentary structures (ripples) to basin margins (carbonate-platforms edges). Since th...
A steep rocky slope characterizes the eastern coasts of the Salento peninsula (Southern Italy), w... more A steep rocky slope characterizes the eastern coasts of the Salento peninsula (Southern Italy), where Cretaceous to Pleistocene limestones crop out. This rocky slope connects a wide flat area, about 100 m in elevation, to the cliffed coast of the Otranto Strait (Ionian Sea). Stratigraphic and sedimentologic analyses have been carried out on an upper Pliocene-lower Pleistocene carbonate unit (the Calcarenite di Gravina Fm.) cropping out along the coast inside some indentations of the rocky slope. This carbonate unit forms small isolated bodies with a variable thickness (up to several tens of metres), and is composed mainly of floatstones and packstones with coarse-grained bioclasts. Successions are characterized by long basinwarddipping well laminated and stratified clinobeds. These clinobeds are cut by irregular gullies (some meters in width), filled in their lower part by chaotic deposits (debris flow and slide deposits), and tens of meters in length slump scars. Backsets made up o...
In the eastern sector of the Salento peninsula (Southern Italy), a steep rocky slope, where Creta... more In the eastern sector of the Salento peninsula (Southern Italy), a steep rocky slope, where Cretaceous to Pleistocene limestones crop out, connects a wide flat area, about 100 m in elevation, to the coast of the Otranto Strait (Ionian Sea). Along the rocky slope, tectonized pre-Pliocene units played a morphostructural role for the depositional features of younger carbonates. Stratigraphic and sedimentologic analyses have been carried out on an upper Pliocene-lower Pleistocene carbonate unit (the Calcarenite di Gravina Fm.) cropping out along the coast inside some indentations of the rocky slope. Facies features and stratigraphic geometries of this carbonate unit indicate a deposition along a slope and at its toe. In fact, these deposits form small isolated bodies with a variable thickness (up to several tens of metres), and are composed mainly of floatstones and packstones with coarse-grained bioclasts. The successions are characterized by long basinward-dipping well laminated and s...
Stratigraphic and sedimentologic analyses have been carried out on the upper Pliocene - lower Ple... more Stratigraphic and sedimentologic analyses have been carried out on the upper Pliocene - lower Pleistocene Calcarenite di Gravina Fm., a carbonate unit cropping out along the coastal sectors of the eastern Salento Peninsula (Southern Italy). The Calcarenite di Gravina Fm. usually shows shoreface to offshore transition facies associations being a trangressive unit deposited mainly on a low-angle ravinement surface. In the study area, the Calcarenite di Gravina Fm. crops out inside some indentations of the rocky slope (made up of tectonized pre-Pliocene units) showing very unusual sedimentological features. In fact, the Calcarenite di Gravina Fm. occurs in small isolated bodies with a variable thickness (up to several tens of metres), and is composed mainly of coarse-grained, bioclastic floatstones and packstones. The successions are characterized by long basinward-dipping well laminated and stratified clinobeds. The latter developed thanks to grain flows, moving either bioclasts due t...
Excellent continuous exposures of Oligo-Miocene
carbonate ramp deposits along the Majella NNW fla... more Excellent continuous exposures of Oligo-Miocene carbonate ramp deposits along the Majella NNW flank (e.g. Orfento and S. Bartolomeo valleys), allow to investigate facies changes both along and across the ramp environment. Relationships among sedimentary structures and depositional processes, among stratigraphic architecture and syn/post-depositional tectonics are investigated and discussed. Moreover, extensive well known bitumen shows, found both along fractured zones and in the rock matrix, are analysed and possible controlling factors are discussed. The main aim of this field trip is to show the geometrical and spatial relationship of the lithostratigraphic units of the Bolognano Fm and its structural setting and, secondly, how these elements controlled the migration and trapping of hydrocarbons in this formation. The Bolognano Fm (from fundum Belonianum) is dominated by a heterozoan skeletal carbonates, that were deposited into a wide middle to outer carbonate ramp depositional environment within the oligophotic to aphotic zone, with reworked inner ramp material swept from the shallowest zone and re-deposited into the middle ramp environment. The sedimentological characters of these heterozoan carbonates (dominated by grain supported textures, low percentage of mud and silt fraction, low percentage of aragonite grains) resulted in a combination of petrophysical properties that make them a good potential carbonate reservoir. The outcrops and stops selected for this Field Trip are: • Decontra - Orfento Valley; • Panoramic view of Piano delle Cappelle and Costa dell’Avignone; • Dune fields of Piano delle Cappelle; • Panoramic view of Fosso S. Angelo and Acquafredda mines; • Piano delle Cappelle fault; • Acquafredda mines; • Valle Romana Quarry
Stratigraphic and sedimentologic analyses have been carried out on the upper Pliocene - lower Ple... more Stratigraphic and sedimentologic analyses have been carried out on the upper Pliocene - lower Pleistocene Calcarenite di Gravina Fm., a carbonate unit cropping out along the coastal sectors of the eastern Salento Peninsula (Southern Italy). The Calcarenite di Gravina Fm. usually shows shoreface to offshore transition facies associations being a trangressive unit deposited mainly on a low-angle ravinement surface. In the study area, the Calcarenite di Gravina Fm. crops out inside some indentations of the rocky slope (made up of tectonized pre-Pliocene units) showing very unusual sedimentological features. In fact, the Calcarenite di Gravina Fm. occurs in small isolated bodies with a variable thickness (up to several tens of metres), and is composed mainly of coarse-grained, bioclastic floatstones and packstones. The successions are characterized by long basinward-dipping well laminated and stratified clinobeds. The latter developed thanks to grain flows, moving either bioclasts due t...
In the eastern sector of the Salento peninsula (Southern Italy), a steep rocky slope, where Creta... more In the eastern sector of the Salento peninsula (Southern Italy), a steep rocky slope, where Cretaceous to Pleistocene limestones crop out, connects a wide flat area, about 100 m in elevation, to the coast of the Otranto Strait (Ionian Sea). Along the rocky slope, tectonized pre-Pliocene units played a morphostructural role for the depositional features of younger carbonates. Stratigraphic and sedimentologic analyses have been carried out on an upper Pliocene-lower Pleistocene carbonate unit (the Calcarenite di Gravina Fm.) cropping out along the coast inside some indentations of the rocky slope. Facies features and stratigraphic geometries of this carbonate unit indicate a deposition along a slope and at its toe. In fact, these deposits form small isolated bodies with a variable thickness (up to several tens of metres), and are composed mainly of floatstones and packstones with coarse-grained bioclasts. The successions are characterized by long basinward-dipping well laminated and s...
A steep rocky slope characterizes the eastern coasts of the Salento peninsula (Southern Italy), w... more A steep rocky slope characterizes the eastern coasts of the Salento peninsula (Southern Italy), where Cretaceous to Pleistocene limestones crop out. This rocky slope connects a wide flat area, about 100 m in elevation, to the cliffed coast of the Otranto Strait (Ionian Sea). Stratigraphic and sedimentologic analyses have been carried out on an upper Pliocene-lower Pleistocene carbonate unit (the Calcarenite di Gravina Fm.) cropping out along the coast inside some indentations of the rocky slope. This carbonate unit forms small isolated bodies with a variable thickness (up to several tens of metres), and is composed mainly of floatstones and packstones with coarse-grained bioclasts. Successions are characterized by long basinwarddipping well laminated and stratified clinobeds. These clinobeds are cut by irregular gullies (some meters in width), filled in their lower part by chaotic deposits (debris flow and slide deposits), and tens of meters in length slump scars. Backsets made up o...
During Plio-Pleistiocene, the Matera area was part of the foreland ramp of the southern Apennines... more During Plio-Pleistiocene, the Matera area was part of the foreland ramp of the southern Apennines (southern Italy) (Tropeano et al., 2002). The ramp was characterized by a complex horst and graben structure, that became an archipelago during subsidence (Tropeano and Sabato, 2000; Mateu-Vicens et al., 2008). Around islands, sediment supply was two fold: carbonate lithoclasts derived from exposed highlands and bioclasts produced in the newly flooded areas (Tropeano et al., 2009). Mixing of both types of carbonate particles (limeclasts and bioclasts) derived from coexistence of skeletal factories in “terrigenous” fed settings (rather than to mechanical mixing) (Tropeano et al., 2010). These sediments form backstepped bodies internally showing a progradation of clinobeds. After the original definition of clinoform (Rich, 1951), a number of examples coming from both outcrop and subsurface (seismic lines) was proposed in literature. Studied cases range from small sedimentary structures (i...
During the Plio-Pleistocene, the Matera area was part of the foreland ramp of the southern Apenni... more During the Plio-Pleistocene, the Matera area was part of the foreland ramp of the southern Apennines (southern Italy) (Tropeano et al., 2002). The ramp was characterized by a complex horst and graben structure, that became an archipelago during subsidence (Tropeano and Sabato, 2000; Mateu-Vicens et al., 2008). Around islands, sediment supply was twofold: carbonate lithoclasts derived from exposed highlands and bioclasts produced in the newly flooded areas (Tropeano et al., 2009). Mixing of both types of carbonate particles occurred by deposition in the same environment rather than by mechanical mixing (Tropeano et al., 2010). These sediments form backstepping bodies internally showing a progradation of clinoforms. After the original definition of clinoform (Rich, 1951), a number of examples from outcrop and subsurface (seismic lines) was described in the literature. Studied cases range from small sedimentary structures (ripples) to basin margins (carbonate-platforms edges). Since th...
A steep rocky slope characterizes the eastern coasts of the Salento peninsula (Southern Italy), w... more A steep rocky slope characterizes the eastern coasts of the Salento peninsula (Southern Italy), where Cretaceous to Pleistocene limestones crop out. This rocky slope connects a wide flat area, about 100 m in elevation, to the cliffed coast of the Otranto Strait (Ionian Sea). Stratigraphic and sedimentologic analyses have been carried out on an upper Pliocene-lower Pleistocene carbonate unit (the Calcarenite di Gravina Fm.) cropping out along the coast inside some indentations of the rocky slope. This carbonate unit forms small isolated bodies with a variable thickness (up to several tens of metres), and is composed mainly of floatstones and packstones with coarse-grained bioclasts. Successions are characterized by long basinwarddipping well laminated and stratified clinobeds. These clinobeds are cut by irregular gullies (some meters in width), filled in their lower part by chaotic deposits (debris flow and slide deposits), and tens of meters in length slump scars. Backsets made up o...
In the eastern sector of the Salento peninsula (Southern Italy), a steep rocky slope, where Creta... more In the eastern sector of the Salento peninsula (Southern Italy), a steep rocky slope, where Cretaceous to Pleistocene limestones crop out, connects a wide flat area, about 100 m in elevation, to the coast of the Otranto Strait (Ionian Sea). Along the rocky slope, tectonized pre-Pliocene units played a morphostructural role for the depositional features of younger carbonates. Stratigraphic and sedimentologic analyses have been carried out on an upper Pliocene-lower Pleistocene carbonate unit (the Calcarenite di Gravina Fm.) cropping out along the coast inside some indentations of the rocky slope. Facies features and stratigraphic geometries of this carbonate unit indicate a deposition along a slope and at its toe. In fact, these deposits form small isolated bodies with a variable thickness (up to several tens of metres), and are composed mainly of floatstones and packstones with coarse-grained bioclasts. The successions are characterized by long basinward-dipping well laminated and s...
Stratigraphic and sedimentologic analyses have been carried out on the upper Pliocene - lower Ple... more Stratigraphic and sedimentologic analyses have been carried out on the upper Pliocene - lower Pleistocene Calcarenite di Gravina Fm., a carbonate unit cropping out along the coastal sectors of the eastern Salento Peninsula (Southern Italy). The Calcarenite di Gravina Fm. usually shows shoreface to offshore transition facies associations being a trangressive unit deposited mainly on a low-angle ravinement surface. In the study area, the Calcarenite di Gravina Fm. crops out inside some indentations of the rocky slope (made up of tectonized pre-Pliocene units) showing very unusual sedimentological features. In fact, the Calcarenite di Gravina Fm. occurs in small isolated bodies with a variable thickness (up to several tens of metres), and is composed mainly of coarse-grained, bioclastic floatstones and packstones. The successions are characterized by long basinward-dipping well laminated and stratified clinobeds. The latter developed thanks to grain flows, moving either bioclasts due t...
Excellent continuous exposures of Oligo-Miocene
carbonate ramp deposits along the Majella NNW fla... more Excellent continuous exposures of Oligo-Miocene carbonate ramp deposits along the Majella NNW flank (e.g. Orfento and S. Bartolomeo valleys), allow to investigate facies changes both along and across the ramp environment. Relationships among sedimentary structures and depositional processes, among stratigraphic architecture and syn/post-depositional tectonics are investigated and discussed. Moreover, extensive well known bitumen shows, found both along fractured zones and in the rock matrix, are analysed and possible controlling factors are discussed. The main aim of this field trip is to show the geometrical and spatial relationship of the lithostratigraphic units of the Bolognano Fm and its structural setting and, secondly, how these elements controlled the migration and trapping of hydrocarbons in this formation. The Bolognano Fm (from fundum Belonianum) is dominated by a heterozoan skeletal carbonates, that were deposited into a wide middle to outer carbonate ramp depositional environment within the oligophotic to aphotic zone, with reworked inner ramp material swept from the shallowest zone and re-deposited into the middle ramp environment. The sedimentological characters of these heterozoan carbonates (dominated by grain supported textures, low percentage of mud and silt fraction, low percentage of aragonite grains) resulted in a combination of petrophysical properties that make them a good potential carbonate reservoir. The outcrops and stops selected for this Field Trip are: • Decontra - Orfento Valley; • Panoramic view of Piano delle Cappelle and Costa dell’Avignone; • Dune fields of Piano delle Cappelle; • Panoramic view of Fosso S. Angelo and Acquafredda mines; • Piano delle Cappelle fault; • Acquafredda mines; • Valle Romana Quarry
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carbonate ramp deposits along the Majella NNW flank
(e.g. Orfento and S. Bartolomeo valleys), allow to
investigate facies changes both along and across the ramp
environment. Relationships among sedimentary structures
and depositional processes, among stratigraphic
architecture and syn/post-depositional tectonics are
investigated and discussed. Moreover, extensive well
known bitumen shows, found both along fractured zones
and in the rock matrix, are analysed and possible
controlling factors are discussed.
The main aim of this field trip is to show the geometrical
and spatial relationship of the lithostratigraphic units of
the Bolognano Fm and its structural setting and, secondly,
how these elements controlled the migration and trapping
of hydrocarbons in this formation.
The Bolognano Fm (from fundum Belonianum) is
dominated by a heterozoan skeletal carbonates, that were
deposited into a wide middle to outer carbonate ramp
depositional environment within the oligophotic to
aphotic zone, with reworked inner ramp material swept
from the shallowest zone and re-deposited into the middle
ramp environment. The sedimentological characters of
these heterozoan carbonates (dominated by grain
supported textures, low percentage of mud and silt
fraction, low percentage of aragonite grains) resulted in a
combination of petrophysical properties that make them
a good potential carbonate reservoir.
The outcrops and stops selected for this Field Trip are:
• Decontra - Orfento Valley;
• Panoramic view of Piano delle Cappelle and Costa
dell’Avignone;
• Dune fields of Piano delle Cappelle;
• Panoramic view of Fosso S. Angelo and Acquafredda
mines;
• Piano delle Cappelle fault;
• Acquafredda mines;
• Valle Romana Quarry
carbonate ramp deposits along the Majella NNW flank
(e.g. Orfento and S. Bartolomeo valleys), allow to
investigate facies changes both along and across the ramp
environment. Relationships among sedimentary structures
and depositional processes, among stratigraphic
architecture and syn/post-depositional tectonics are
investigated and discussed. Moreover, extensive well
known bitumen shows, found both along fractured zones
and in the rock matrix, are analysed and possible
controlling factors are discussed.
The main aim of this field trip is to show the geometrical
and spatial relationship of the lithostratigraphic units of
the Bolognano Fm and its structural setting and, secondly,
how these elements controlled the migration and trapping
of hydrocarbons in this formation.
The Bolognano Fm (from fundum Belonianum) is
dominated by a heterozoan skeletal carbonates, that were
deposited into a wide middle to outer carbonate ramp
depositional environment within the oligophotic to
aphotic zone, with reworked inner ramp material swept
from the shallowest zone and re-deposited into the middle
ramp environment. The sedimentological characters of
these heterozoan carbonates (dominated by grain
supported textures, low percentage of mud and silt
fraction, low percentage of aragonite grains) resulted in a
combination of petrophysical properties that make them
a good potential carbonate reservoir.
The outcrops and stops selected for this Field Trip are:
• Decontra - Orfento Valley;
• Panoramic view of Piano delle Cappelle and Costa
dell’Avignone;
• Dune fields of Piano delle Cappelle;
• Panoramic view of Fosso S. Angelo and Acquafredda
mines;
• Piano delle Cappelle fault;
• Acquafredda mines;
• Valle Romana Quarry