Magnetic fabric of clay sediments from the external northern Apennines (Italy)

Abstract

We report on the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) analyses of fine-grained sediments deposited during the Messinian in foredeep basins at the front of the northern Apenninic chain. The data refer to 32 sampling sites, mostly distributed in the fine-grained intervals of the Laga and Colombacci formations, extending along the belt for a total length of about 300 km. Rock magnetism analyses indicate that the magnetic susceptibility and its anisotropy are in most cases dominated by the paramagnetic minerals of the clay matrix. In order to delineate the contribution of the ferrimagnetic fraction to the overall susceptibility fabric, the anisotropy of the anhysteretic remanent magnetisation was investigated at some representative sites. The magnetic fabric of the studied sediments mostly reflects the effects of compaction, showing a predominant magnetic foliation parallel to the bedding piane. At all the sites a well distinct magnetic lineation was also found, which is parallel to the fold axes and thrust fronts, both at local and regional scales. This feature is maintained in sequences that differ for sedimentological character and age, implying that the magnetic lineation was produced by a mild tectonic overprint of the primary sedimentary-compactional fabric. The relationship between the magnetic lineation trends and the vertical axis rotations detected by Speranza et al. [Speranza, F., Sagnotti, L.. Mattei, M., 1997. J. Geophys. Res. 102, 3153-3166] indicates that the magnetic lineation formed during the compressive phases of the Messinian-early Pliocene, when the Apenninic front was almost rectilinear and oriented N32O°.