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Maffione, Marco
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Maffione, Marco
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- PublicationRestrictedNew bio-magnetostratigraphic data on the Miocene Moria section (Northern Apennines, Italy): connections between the Mediterranean region and the North Atlantic Ocean(2015)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; New bio-magnetostratigraphic data have been acquired from the Burdigalian part of the Moria section in the Umbria–Marche Apennine (Central Italy). The investigated sedimentary sequence is 55 meters thick and comprises the transition between the Bisciaro and the Schlier formations (Auctorum), composed of five meters of indurated marly limestones, followed by about 40 meters of blue marly clays capped by 10m of alternating clays and calcareous layers. According to existing literature, the sequence contains the so-called “Piero della Francesca Level” (Auctorum), a few-centimeters-thick biotite-rich level. The sequence has been sampled for paleomagnetic and calcareous plankton analyses. Four magnetic polarity zones have been documented in the middle and upper part of the section. The calcareous plankton content shows different degrees of preservation, from poor to good for calcareous nannofossils and poor to medium for planktonic foramini- fers. Several useful biohorizons have been observed and chronologically constrained through calibration to the magnetostratigraphic data. The studied section ranges from the top of Chron C5Dr.1n to Chron C5Cn.2r, covering the time interval from 17.7 to 16.4Ma (according to the ATNTS04) almost continuously, with a small hiatus of at least 34ka at the C5Dn/C5Cr transition. The integration of our results with those from previous studies of the same section and comparisons with data from other Mediterranean and North Atlantic sequences allows to evaluate the synchrony of the observed biohorizons with other parts of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean during a still relatively poorly known time interval.243 5 - PublicationRestrictedBIO-MAGNETO-STRATIGRAPHY OF THE LOWER MIOCENE “LA MORIA” SECTION (UMBRO-MARCHE APENNINE, CENTRAL ITALY)(2012-05-24)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;Di Stefano, A.; Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Sezione di Scienze della Terra – Univ. di Catania, Corso Italia 55, 95129, Catania ;Maniscalco, R.; Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Sezione di Scienze della Terra – Univ. di Catania, Corso Italia 55, 95129, Catania ;Speranza, F.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Maffione, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Cascella, A.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Foresi, L. M.; Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Univ. di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100 Siena ;Lirer, F.; CNR-IAMC Istituto per l’Ambiente Marino Costiero, Calata Porta di Massa, 80133, Napoli ;Verducci, M.; Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Univ. di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100 Siena; ; ; ; ; ; ; We present the results of a stratigraphic study carried out on the Lower Miocene “La Moria” section (43°30’13.9’’N, 12°35’39.1’’E), outcropping in the neighborhoods of the Cantiano village (Marche Region, Central Italy). The succession, about 55 m thick, shows in its lower part, the transition between the Bisciaro and the Schlier Formations (Auctorum). The first is represented by few meters of indurated marly limestones and the second by about 50 meters of blue marly clays, interbedded by thin calcareous horizons in the uppermost portion. According to the existing literature the succession yields the so-called “Piero della Francesca” horizon, a biotite rich level few centimeters thick, radiometrically dated at 17.1 Ma (Deino et al., 1997), occurring at about 24 meters from the base of the section. The succession has been sampled for both magnetostratigraphic and calcareous plankton analyses. In spite of the absence of magnetic signal in the first 12 meters of the section, satisfactory results have been obtained for most of the examined succession. The calcareous plankton content shows different degree of preservation, being better for the calcareous nannofossil and worse for the planktonic foraminifers. Nevertheless, a set of useful biohorizons have been detected, which have been dated through the integration with the magnetostratigraphic data. The present study provides interesting results whose value is amplified considering the scarsity of Miocene Mediterranean successions characterized by reliable magnetostratigraphic and biostratigraphic data. In addition, the correlation of the present results with those obtained in the DSDP Hole 608 succession (North Atlantic) gives the opportunity to evaluate the sinchroneity of the detected biohorizons and to establish correspondence between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic in the considered time interval.243 18 - PublicationRestrictedMagnetic fabric of Pleistocene continental clays from the hanging-wall of an active low-angle normal fault (Altotiberina Fault, Italy)(2012-04)
; ; ; ; ;Maffione, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Pucci, S.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia ;Sagnotti, L.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Speranza, F.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia; ; ; Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) represents a valuable proxy able to detect subtle strain effects in very weakly deformed sediments. In compressive tectonic settings, the magnetic lineation is commonly parallel to fold axes, thrust faults, and local bedding strike, while in extensional regimes, it is perpendicular to normal faults and parallel to bedding dip directions. The Altotiberina Fault (ATF) in the northern Apennines (Italy) is a Plio-Quaternary NNW–SSE low-angle normal fault; the sedimentary basin (Tiber basin) at its hanging-wall is infilled with a syn-tectonic, sandy-clayey continental succession. We measured the AMS of apparently undeformed sandy clays sampled at 12 sites within the Tiber basin. The anisotropy parameters suggest that a primary sedimentary fabric has been overprinted by an incipient tectonic fabric. The magnetic lineation is well developed at all sites, and at the sites from the western sector of the basin it is oriented sub-perpendicular to the trend of the ATF, suggesting that it may be related to extensional strain. Conversely, the magnetic lineation of the sites from the eastern sector has a prevailing N–S direction. The occurrence of triaxial to prolate AMS ellipsoids and sub-horizontal magnetic lineations suggests that a maximum horizontal shortening along an E–W direction occurred at these sites. The presence of compressive AMS features at the hanging-wall of the ATF can be explained by the presence of gently N–Strending local folds (hardly visible in the field) formed by either passive accommodation above an undulated fault plane, or rollover mechanism along antithetic faults. The long-lasting debate on the extensional versus compressive Plio-Quaternary tectonics of the Apennines orogenic belt should now be revised taking into account the importance of compressive structures related to local effects.199 19 - PublicationRestrictedPaleomagnetic evidence for a pre-early Eocene (∼50 Ma) bending of the Patagonian orocline (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina): Paleogeographic and tectonic implications(2010-01)
; ; ; ; ;Maffione, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Speranza, F.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Faccenna, C.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Roma Tre, Rome, Italy ;Rossello, E.; CONICET, Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas, FCEN, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina; ; ; The southernmost segment of the Andes of southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego forms a ∼700 km long orogenic re-entrant with an interlimb angle of ∼90° known as Patagonian orocline. No reliable paleomagnetic evidence has been gathered so far to assess whether this great orogenic bend is a primary arc formed over an articulated paleomargin, or is due to bending of a previously less curved (or rectilinear) chain. Here we report on an extensive paleomagnetic and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) study carried out on 22 sites (298 oriented cores), predominantly sampled in Eocene marine clays from the external Magallanes belt of Tierra del Fuego. Five sites (out of six giving reliable paleomagnetic results) containing magnetite and subordinate iron sulphides yield a positive fold test at the 99% significance level, and document no significant rotation since ∼50 Ma. Thus, the Patagonian orocline is either a primary bend, or an orocline formed after Cretaceous–earliest Tertiary rotations. Our data imply that the opening of the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica (probably causing the onset of Antarctica glaciation and global climate cooling), was definitely not related to the formation of the Patagonian orocline, but was likely the sole consequence of the 32±2 Ma Scotia plate spreading. Well-defined magnetic lineations gathered at 18 sites from the Magallanes belt are sub-parallel to (mostly E–W) local fold axes, while they trend randomly at two sites from the Magallanes foreland. Our and previous AMS data consistently show that the Fuegian Andes were characterized by a N–S compression and northward displacing fold–thrust sheets during Eocene–early Miocene times (50–20 Ma), an unexpected kinematics considering coeval South America–Antarctica relative motion. Both paleomagnetic and AMS data suggest no significant influence from the E–W left-lateral Magallanes–Fagnano strike–slip fault system (MFFS), running a few kilometres south of our sampling sites. We thus speculate that strike–slip fault offset in the Fuegian Andes may range in the lower bound values (∼20 km) among those proposed so far. In any case our data exclude any influence of strike–slip tectonics on the genesis of the great orogenic bend called Patagonian orocline.214 28 - PublicationRestrictedBending of the Bolivian orocline and growth of the central Andean plateau: Paleomagnetic and structural constraints from the Eastern Cordillera (22–24°S, NW Argentina)(2009-07-16)
; ; ; ;Maffione, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Speranza, F.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Faccenna, C.; Università Roma Tre; ; We report new paleomagnetic and structural data from late Cretaceous to Mio-Pliocene continental sandy/silty sedimentary rocks from the Eastern Cordillera (central Andes). Here, N–S to NNE–SSW ridges hosting Paleozoic basement and upper Cretaceous continental red beds overthrust thick adjacent Cenozoic basins. Pretilting (and likely primary) reliable directions gathered at 15 sites document 45.9° ± 9.4, 30.1° ± 23.9°, and 15.4° ± 19.3° clockwise (CW) rotations with respect to South America occurring after the late Cretaceous (~80 Ma), Oligo-Miocene (20–30 Ma), and late Miocene-Pliocene (5–10 Ma), respectively. Conversely, four upper Cretaceous sites from the walls of a N–S left-lateral strike-slip fault (Yavi–Abra Pampa fault) yield a null rotation. About 20 km to the west, flower structures and subvertical syntectonic strata dated at 14.26 ± 0.19 Ma are exposed along the subparallel Abra Moreta left-lateral strike-slip fault. Relying on data from the literature on the period when deformation began, we suggest that since Eo-Oligocene times (30–40 Ma) the Eastern Cordillera has undergone a regional CW rotation of 40°–50°, synchronous with crustal shortening and large-scale bending of the Andean salient. The CW rotation is possibly still active today, as documented by regional GPS data from the Andes. Since ~15 Ma ago, the activity of N–S left-lateral strike-slip faults induced counterclockwise rotations along the fault zone, locally annulling the regional CW rotation. In agreement with a previous model, we speculate that mid-Miocene strike-slip activity accommodated the progressive southward spreading of the Altiplano-Puna high-altitude plateau, laterally migrating from the overthickened crustal region of the salient apex.253 34 - PublicationRestrictedA ~125° post-early Serravallian counterclockwise rotation of the Gorgoglione Formation (Southern Apennines, Italy): New constraints for the formation of the Calabrian Arc(2013-04-01)
; ; ; ; ; ;Maffione, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Speranza, F.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Cascella, A.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Longhitano, S. G.; Department of Geological Sciences, Università della Basilicata, Potenza, Italy ;Chiarella, D.; Department of Geological Sciences, Università della Basilicata, Potenza, Italy; ; ; ; The Southern Apennines, Calabro-Peloritane block, and Sicilian Maghrebides form a ~700 km long orogenic bend, known as Calabrian Arc (Cifelli et al., 2007). The bending of this orogenic system was realized progressively through opposite-sense rotation of the two limbs, counterclockwise (CCW) in the Southern Apennines and clockwise (CW) in the Sicilian Maghrebides, synchronous to the Miocene-to-Present opening of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Despite the wealth of paleomagnetic data from the Southern Apennines, the main Miocene rotational phase still remains poorly constrained in time and, more importantly, data from the most internal paleogeographic domains of the belt are completely lacking. The Gorgoglione Formation, a middle Miocene piggy-back deposit of the Southern Apennines, unconformably resting over the internal Sicilide Unit, offers the unique opportunity to document the deformation pattern of the most internal units, and reconstruct the incipient tectonic phases leading to the formation of the Calabrian Arc. New paleomagnetic and biostratigraphic data from the Gorgoglione Fm. reveal a post-early Serravallian ~125° CCW rotation with respect to stable Africa. Such a large rotation, affecting the Gorgoglione Fm. (and consequently the underneath allochthonous Sicilide nappe) exceeds by ~45° the maximum mean CCW rotation previously reported for the Southern Apennines. We propose that the additional ~45° CCW rotation measured in the Sicilide Unit is the result of an earlier, late Miocene phase of deformation related to the onset of the Tyrrhenian Sea opening and affecting the most internal paleogeographic domains of the Southern Apennines. Our reconstructed tectonic scenario confirms and emphasizes the central role of the Ionian slab in the geodynamic evolution of the central Mediterranean.579 27 - PublicationRestrictedA synchronous Alpine and Corsica-Sardinia rotation(2008-03)
; ; ; ; ; ; ;Maffione, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Speranza, F.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Faccenna, C.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Rome, Italy ;Cascella, A.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Vignaroli, G.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Rome, Italy ;Sagnotti, L.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia; ; ; ; ; We report on the paleomagnetism of 34 sites from lower Oligocene–middle Miocene sediments exposed in the Tertiary Piedmont Basin (TPB, northern Italy). The TPB is formed by a thick (4000 m) and virtually undeformed sedimentary succession unconformably lying upon Alpine nappes decapitated by extensional exhumation, which in turn are tectonically stacked over the Adriatic foreland. Paleomagnetic directions from 23 (mostly Oligocene) sites were chronologically framed using new biostratigraphic evidence from calcareous nannoplankton. Our data, along with published paleomagnetic results, show that the TPB rotated 50 counterclockwise with respect to Africa in Aquitanian-Serravallian times. The rotation was likely driven by underneath nappe stacking and was synchronous with (further) bending of the Alpine chain. Both the rotation magnitude and its timing are similar to those documented for the Corsica-Sardinia microplate. Therefore the formation of the western Alpine arc (or at least part of its present-day curvature) occurred during the rollback of the Apenninic slab and related back-arc spreading of the Liguro-Provenc¸al Basin and drift of the Corsica-Sardinia block. This suggests a common dynamics driving both the Alpine and the Apennine slab motions. Paleomagnetic data also document that the Adriatic plate has undergone no paleomagnetic rotation since mid-late Miocene times. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility data suggests that the TPB, an enigmatic basin arising from a controversial tectonic setting, formed in an extensional regime characterized by a stretching direction approximately orthogonal to the main trend of the underlying chain.537 37