scholarly journals Volcanism and Volcanogenic Submarine Sedimentation in the Paleogene Foreland Basins of the Alps: Reassessing the Source-to-Sink Systems with an Actualist View

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Andrea Di Capua ◽  
Federica Barilaro ◽  
Gianluca Groppelli

This work critically reviews the Eocene–Oligocene source-to-sink systems accumulating volcanogenic sequences in the basins around the Alps. Through the years, these volcanogenic sequences have been correlated to the plutonic bodies along the Periadriatic Fault System, the main tectonic lineament running from West to East within the axis of the belt. Starting from the large amounts of data present in literature, for the first time we present an integrated 4D model on the evolution of the sediment pathways that once connected the magmatic sources to the basins. The magmatic systems started to develop during the Eocene in the Alps, supplying detritus to the Adriatic Foredeep. The progradation of volcanogenic sequences in the Northern Alpine Foreland Basin is subsequent and probably was favoured by the migration of the magmatic systems to the North and to the West. At around 30 Ma, the Northern Apennine Foredeep also was fed by large volcanogenic inputs, but the palinspastic reconstruction of the Adriatic Foredeep, together with stratigraphic and petrographic data, allows us to safely exclude the Alps as volcanogenic sources. Beyond the regional case, this review underlines the importance of a solid stratigraphic approach in the reconstruction of the source-to-sink system evolution of any basin.

2006 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Sissingh

AbstractA review of the sequence stratigraphic development of the Tertiary basins of the North and West Alpine Foreland domains shows that their structural and depositional history was episodically affected by brief tectonic phases. These were associated with intermittent deformation events induced by the collisional convergence and compressional coupling of the Apulian and Iberian microplates with the European Plate. The plate kinematics-related episodicity was essentially isochronously recorded in the basin fills of the Alpine Foreland region. These are generally correlative with changes in eustatic sea level. The ensuing correlative successions of so-called Cenozoic Rift and Foredeep (CRF) sequences and phases can be traced throughout the European Cenozoic Rift System and Alpine Foreland Basin. Their temporal correlation indicates that, apparently, the changes in the plate collision-related stress regime of the Alpine Foreland were repeatedly accompanied by coeval changes in eustatic sea level. To test and substantiate the validity of this inferred causal relationship between intraplate deposition, plate kinematics and eustacy, the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the basins of the Mediterranean plate-boundary zone has been analysed in conjunction with a review of the plate-boundary events in the North Atlantic. Within the uncertainty range of available datings, synchroneity could thus be demonstrated for the punctuated tectonostratigraphic development of basins of the western Mediterranean (comprising the Liguro-Provençal Basin, Valencia Trough, Sardinia Rift and Tyrrhenian Basin), the Apenninic-Calabrian Arc, the Betic domain (including the Alboran Basin) and the North and West Alpine Foreland regions. Similar temporal correlations of plate tectonicsrelated events near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the North Atlantic and tectonostratigraphic sequences and phases of the Alpino-Pyrenean Foreland basins are further evidence of a common causal mechanism. The driving mechanisms appear to have been the northward drift of Africa and the resulting mechanical coupling of Apulia and Iberia with the southern passive margin of Europe, as well as the stepwise opening of the North Atlantic and accompanying episodic plate re-organisations of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.


2020 ◽  
Vol 297 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-100
Author(s):  
Oleg Mandic ◽  
Simon Schneider ◽  
Mathias Harzhauser ◽  
Wolfgang Danninger

During the Ottnangian (Burdigalian, early Miocene), the North Alpine Foreland Basin operated as a sea-way connecting the Central Paratethys Sea with the Rhône Basin in the Western Mediterranean. Within this short time window, an intensive faunal exchange between the two paleo-biogeographic units occurred, which is reflected in macrofossil assemblages. The extraordinarily rich fossil record of the study site, Allerding, located in the westernmost Central Paratethys, provides valuable insights into the composition and origins of the bivalve fauna colonizing the marine gateway. The site documents the early Ottnangian marine transgression over deeply weathered crystalline basement, grading from fossil bearing shallow water clay and sand into the open marine "Schlier" facies of the Ottnang Formation. Despite considerable taphonomic overprint including aragonite leaching and mechanical abrasion of bivalve shells under turbulent shallow-water conditions, a total of 46 species are recorded, including two new species (Lima allerdingensis n. sp. and Astarte danningeri n. sp.). The dominance of suspension feeders, and the presence of several deposit feeders and chemosymbiotic taxa point to well diversified inshore settings, including low intertidal mudflats, as well as seagrass meadows. An abundance of primary and secondary hardgrounds is reflected in the high number of cementing and byssate species, as well as in the occurrence of species drilling actively into hard substrate. Finally, the dominance of active burrowers suggests a patchwork of habitats, where sandy and muddy soft bottoms occur interspersed. Biostratigraphic analysis constrains the deposits to the early to middle Ottnangian, based on the presence of the index species Flexopecten davidi and the concurrence of several taxa, which have their last or first occurrences within this interval. These are predominantly taxa persisting into the Badenian, therefore allowing for a straightforward differentiation between late Eggenburgian and early Ottnangian assemblages. While a few Central Paratethys endemics reflect a continued semi-isolated position of the area, the majority of the newly arriving species are shared with the Mediterranean and NE Atlantic, documenting the establishment of a faunal migration route via the North Alpine Foreland Basin. In the present study the lectotypes of Nucula mayeri Hörnes, 1865, Saccella subfragilis (Hörnes, 1875) and Lucinoma wolfi (Hoernes, 1875) are designated.


2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1123-1137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doris Gross ◽  
Marie-Louise Grundtner ◽  
David Misch ◽  
Martin Riedl ◽  
Reinhard F. Sachsenhofer ◽  
...  

AbstractSiliciclastic reservoir rocks of the North Alpine Foreland Basin were studied focusing on investigations of pore fillings. Conventional oil and gas production requires certain thresholds of porosity and permeability. These parameters are controlled by the size and shape of grains and diagenetic processes like compaction, dissolution, and precipitation of mineral phases. In an attempt to estimate the impact of these factors, conventional microscopy, high resolution scanning electron microscopy, and wavelength dispersive element mapping were applied. Rock types were established accordingly, considering Poro/Perm data. Reservoir properties in shallow marine Cenomanian sandstones are mainly controlled by the degree of diagenetic calcite precipitation, Turonian rocks are characterized by reduced permeability, even for weakly cemented layers, due to higher matrix content as a result of lower depositional energy. Eocene subarkoses tend to be coarse-grained with minor matrix content as a result of their fluvio-deltaic and coastal deposition. Reservoir quality is therefore controlled by diagenetic clay and minor calcite cementation.Although Eocene rocks are often matrix free, occasionally a clay mineral matrix may be present and influence cementation of pores during early diagenesis. Oligo-/Miocene deep marine rocks exhibit excellent quality in cases when early cement is dissolved and not replaced by secondary calcite, mainly bound to the gas–water contact within hydrocarbon reservoirs.


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