Neogene tectonics during granite emplacement in Northern Apennines: the case of the Gavorrano monzogranite (southern Tuscany, Italy)

Author(s):  
Domenico Liotta ◽  
Alfredo Caggianelli ◽  
Andrea Brogi ◽  
Martina Zucchi ◽  
Amalia Spina ◽  
...  

<p>The tectonic setting of Neogene is under debate, being interpreted as a contractional, pulsing or extensional framework. On the key-areas to unravel this issue is the Gavorrano monzogranite, located  nearby the Tyrrhenian seacoast, in the inner zone of the Northern Apennines (southern Tuscany), where a Neogene monzogranite body (estimated in about 3 km long, 1.5 km wide, and 0.7 km thick) emplaced during early Pliocene. This magmatic intrusion is partially exposed in a ridge bounded by regional faults delimiting broad structural depressions. A widespread circulation of geothermal fluids accompanied the cooling of the magmatic body and gave rise to an extensive Fe-ore deposit (mainly pyrite) exploited during the past century. Data from a new fieldwork dataset, integrated with information from the mining activity, have been integrated to refine the geological setting of the whole crustal sector where the Gavorrano monzogranite was emplaced and exhumed. Our review, implemented by new palynological, petrological and structural data pointed out that: i) the age of the Palaeozoic phyllite (hosting rocks) is middle-late Permian, thus resulting younger than previously described (i.e. pre-Carboniferous); ii) the P-T conditions at which the metamorphic aureole developed are estimated at about 660 °C and at a maximum depth of c. 5 km; iii) the tectonic evolution which determined the emplacement and exhumation of the monzogranite is constrained in a transfer zone, in the frame of the extensional tectonics affecting the area continuously since Miocene.</p>

Author(s):  
Andrea Brogi ◽  
Alfredo Caggianelli ◽  
Domenico Liotta ◽  
Martina Zucchi ◽  
Amalia Spina ◽  
...  

We review and refine the geological setting of an area located nearby the Tyrrhenian seacoast, in the inner zone of the Northern Apennines (southern Tuscany), where a Neogene monzogranite body (estimated in about 3 km long, 1.5 km wide, and 0.7 km thick) emplaced during early Pliocene. This magmatic intrusion, known as the Gavorrano pluton, is partially exposed in a ridge bounded by regional faults delimiting broad structural depressions. A widespread circulation of geothermal fluids accompanied the cooling of the magmatic body and gave rise to an extensive Fe-ore deposit (mainly pyrite) exploited during the past century. The tectonic setting which favoured the emplacement and exhumation of the Gavorrano pluton is strongly debated with fallouts on the comprehension of the Neogene evolution of this sector of the inner Northern Apennines. Data from a new fieldwork dataset, integrated with information from the mining activity, have been integrated to refine the geological setting of the whole crustal sector where the Gavorrano monzogranite was emplaced and exhumed. Our review, implemented by new palynological, petrological and structural data pointed out that: i) the age of the Palaeozoic phyllite (hosting rocks) is middle-late Permian, thus resulting younger than previously described (i.e. pre-Carboniferous); ii) the P-T conditions at which the metamorphic aureole developed are estimated at about 660 °C and at a maximum depth of c. 5 km; iii) the tectonic evolution which determined the emplacement and exhumation of the monzogranite is constrained in a transfer zone, in the frame of the extensional tectonics affecting the area continuously since Miocene.


Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 124
Author(s):  
Andrea Brogi ◽  
Alfredo Caggianelli ◽  
Domenico Liotta ◽  
Martina Zucchi ◽  
Amalia Spina ◽  
...  

We review and refine the geological setting of an area located nearby the Tyrrhenian seacoast, in the inner zone of the Northern Apennines (southern Tuscany), where a Neogene monzogranite body (estimated in about 3 km long, 1.5 km wide, and 0.7 km thick) emplaced during early Pliocene. This magmatic intrusion, known as the Gavorrano pluton, is partially exposed in a ridge bounded by regional faults delimiting broad structural depressions. A widespread circulation of geothermal fluids accompanied the cooling of the magmatic body and gave rise to an extensive Fe-ore deposit (mainly pyrite) exploited during the past century. The tectonic setting which favoured the emplacement and exhumation of the Gavorrano pluton is strongly debated with fallouts on the comprehension of the Neogene evolution of this sector of the inner Northern Apennines. Data from a new fieldwork dataset, integrated with information from the mining activity, have been integrated to refine the geological setting of the whole crustal sector where the Gavorrano monzogranite was emplaced and exhumed. Our review, implemented by new palynological, petrological and structural data pointed out that: (i) the age of the Palaeozoic phyllite (hosting rocks) is middle-late Permian, thus resulting younger than previously described (i.e., pre-Carboniferous); (ii) the conditions at which the metamorphic aureole developed are estimated at a temperature of c. 660 °C and at a depth lower than c. 6 km; (iii) the tectonic evolution which determined the emplacement and exhumation of the monzogranite is constrained in a transfer zone, in the frame of the extensional tectonics affecting the area continuously since Miocene.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierfranco Lattanzi ◽  
Andrea Dini ◽  
Giovanni Ruggieri ◽  
Eugenio Trumpy

<p>Italy has never been a lithium (Li) producer, and the potential for “hard rock” deposits is moderate at best. On the other hand, the increasing demand for Li-based rechargeable batteries fostered new interest in this metal, and prompted the quest for alternative resources. The extraction of Li from geothermal brines (“geothermal lithium”) is currently considered in several countries, including, in Europe, France, Germany, and UK (EGEC, 2020).</p><p>Italy has vast geothermal resources, and there is a potential for “geothermal lithium” as well. A preliminary survey of literature data pointed out several occurrences of fluids with Li contents up to hundreds of mg/L. Among high-enthalpy fluids, we point out those of Cesano, Mofete, and Latera. At Cesano, geothermal fluids contain about 350 mg/L lithium (Calamai et al., 1976). Early studies conducted in the past century (Pauwels et al., 1990) suggested the feasibility of lithium recovery from these fluids. Even higher contents (480 mg/L) occur in the deep reservoir at Mofete (Guglielminetti, 1986), whereas fluids in the shallow and intermediate reservoir in the same field contain 28 to 56 mg/L. Geothermal fluids at Latera have somewhat lower contents (max 13.5 mg/L; Gianelli and Scandiffio, 1989). Several low-enthalpy thermal waters in Emilia-Romagna, Sardinia, Sicily and Tuscany also show significant (> 1 mg/L) Li contents (max 96 mg/L at Salsomaggiore; Boschetti et al., 2011). There are no published Li data for high-enthalpy fluids at Larderello; however, evidence of Li-rich fluids was found in fluid inclusions in hydrothermal minerals (Cathelineau et al., 1994). Moreover, the shallow (ca. 3.5 km) granitoid body underlying the field contains a Li-rich (about 1,000 ppm) biotite (A. Dini, unpublished data); it has been estimated that such rock may contain as much as 500 g Li per cubic meter.</p><p> </p><p>References</p><p>Boschetti T., et al. - Aquat Geochem (2011) 17:71–108</p><p>Calamai A., et al. <strong>- </strong>Proc. U.N. Symp. Development Use Geotherm. Energy, S. Francisco, USA (1976), 305-313</p><p>Cathelineau M., et al. – Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta (1994) 58: 1083-1099</p><p>EGEC (European Geothermal Council). https://www.egec.org/time-to-invest-in-clean-geothermal-lithium-made-in-europe/. Accessed December 2, 2020.</p><p>Gianelli G., Scandiffio G. - Geothermics (1989) 18: 447-463</p><p>Guglielminetti M. - Geothermics (1986) 15: 781-790</p><p>Pauwels H., et al. - Proc. 12th New Zealand Geothermal Workshop (1990), 117-123</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eline Le Breton

<p>The Western Mediterranean-Alpine belt is remarkable for its tectonic complexity, i.e. strong arcuation of plate boundaries, fast trench retreat, upper-plate extension and switch of subduction/collision polarity around the Adriatic plate (Adria). The kinematic evolution of the Western Mediterranean area is enigmatic due to the intermittently motion of small continental plates (Adria, Iberia and Sardinia-Corsica) that are caught between two major plates (Africa and Europe), converging since Cretaceous time. Reconstructing the past motion of these micro-plates is challenging due to the strong deformation of their boundaries but is key to understand the geodynamic evolution of the whole area.</p><p>The Neogene tectonic evolution is well constrained using magnetic anomalies and transform zones in the Atlantic Ocean for the motion of Europe, Iberia and Africa, and by reconstructing the amount of convergence along fold-and-thrust belts (Apennines, Alps, Dinarides, Provence) and coeval divergence along extensional basins (Liguro-Provencal and Tyrrhenian basins, Sicily Channel Rift Zone) for the motion of Adria and Sardinia-Corsica. Those reconstructions show that Adria had a slight independent motion from Africa and rotated counter-clockwise of about 5º relative to Europe since 20 Ma. However, uncertainties increase and debates arise as one goes back in time. The main debates concern the past motion of Iberia and where its motion relative to Europe is being accommodated in Mesozoic time. Different kinematic scenarios have been proposed depending on the interpretation of paleomagnetic dataset of Iberia, magnetic anomalies in the North Atlantic, and geological-geophysical record of deformation in the Pyrenees and between Iberia and Sardinia-Corsica. Those scenarios have different implications for the tectonic evolution of the Apennines, especially for the Permian-Triassic paleo-tectonic setting of Sardinia, Calabria and Adria, and for the extent and timing of closure of the Liguro-Piemont Ocean. It is important to discuss those implications to better understand subduction processes in the Apennines and their driving forces.</p>


Geological field work in Antarctica and the off-lying islands during the past two decades has contributed materially to the establishment of the stratigraphical succession in both East and West Antarctica. The tectonic evolution of Antarctica is discussed in relation to the known stratigraphical and structural data for the continent, and the rôle of Antarctica in several reconstructions of the former supercontinent of Gondwanaland critically examined. In this context, various aspects of the palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, geochronology and stratigraphy of Antarctica is reviewed.


Geosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 1358-1384
Author(s):  
Paul J. Umhoefer ◽  
Stuart N. Thomson ◽  
Côme Lefebvre ◽  
Michael A. Cosca ◽  
Christian Teyssier ◽  
...  

Abstract The effects of Arabia-Eurasia collision are recorded in faults, basins, and exhumed metamorphic massifs across eastern and central Anatolia. These faults and basins also preserve evidence of major changes in deformation and associated sedimentary processes along major suture zones including the Inner Tauride suture where it lies along the southern (Ecemiş) segment of the Central Anatolian fault zone. Stratigraphic and structural data from the Ecemiş fault zone, adjacent NE Ulukışla basin, and metamorphic dome (Niğde Massif) record two fundamentally different stages in the Cenozoic tectonic evolution of this part of central Anatolia. The Paleogene sedimentary and volcanic strata of the NE Ulukışla basin (Ecemiş corridor) were deposited in marginal marine to marine environments on the exhuming Niğde Massif and east of it. A late Eocene–Oligocene transpressional stage of deformation involved oblique northward thrusting of older Paleogene strata onto the eastern Niğde Massif and of the eastern massif onto the rest of the massif, reburying the entire massif to >10 km depth and accompanied by left-lateral motion on the Ecemiş fault zone. A profound change in the tectonic setting at the end of the Oligocene produced widespread transtensional deformation across the area west of the Ecemiş fault zone in the Miocene. In this stage, the Ecemiş fault zone had at least 25 km of left-lateral offset. Before and during this faulting episode, the central Tauride Mountains to the east became a source of sediments that were deposited in small Miocene transtensional basins formed on the Eocene–Oligocene thrust belt between the Ecemiş fault zone and the Niğde Massif. Normal faults compatible with SW-directed extension cut across the Niğde Massif and are associated with a second (Miocene) re-exhumation of the Massif. Geochronology and thermochronology indicate that the transtensional stage started at ca. 23–22 Ma, coeval with large and diverse geological and tectonic changes across Anatolia.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-381
Author(s):  
Ny Anjara Fifi Ravelomanantsoa ◽  
Sarah Guth ◽  
Angelo Andrianiaina ◽  
Santino Andry ◽  
Anecia Gentles ◽  
...  

Seven zoonoses — human infections of animal origin — have emerged from the Coronaviridae family in the past century, including three viruses responsible for significant human mortality (SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2) in the past twenty years alone. These three viruses, in addition to two older CoV zoonoses (HCoV-229E and HCoV-NL63) are believed to be originally derived from wild bat reservoir species. We review the molecular biology of the bat-derived Alpha- and Betacoronavirus genera, highlighting features that contribute to their potential for cross-species emergence, including the use of well-conserved mammalian host cell machinery for cell entry and a unique capacity for adaptation to novel host environments after host switching. The adaptive capacity of coronaviruses largely results from their large genomes, which reduce the risk of deleterious mutational errors and facilitate range-expanding recombination events by offering heightened redundancy in essential genetic material. Large CoV genomes are made possible by the unique proofreading capacity encoded for their RNA-dependent polymerase. We find that bat-borne SARS-related coronaviruses in the subgenus Sarbecovirus, the source clade for SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, present a particularly poignant pandemic threat, due to the extraordinary viral genetic diversity represented among several sympatric species of their horseshoe bat hosts. To date, Sarbecovirus surveillance has been almost entirely restricted to China. More vigorous field research efforts tracking the circulation of Sarbecoviruses specifically and Betacoronaviruses more generally is needed across a broader global range if we are to avoid future repeats of the COVID-19 pandemic.


VASA ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 165-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Gebauer ◽  
Holger Reinecke

Abstract. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) has been proven to be a causal factor of atherosclerosis and, along with other triggers like inflammation, the most frequent reason for peripheral arterial disease. Moreover, a linear correlation between LDL-C concentration and cardiovascular outcome in high-risk patients could be established during the past century. After the development of statins, numerous randomized trials have shown the superiority for LDL-C reduction and hence the decrease in cardiovascular outcomes including mortality. Over the past decades it became evident that more intense LDL-C lowering, by either the use of highly potent statin supplements or by additional cholesterol absorption inhibitor application, accounted for an even more profound cardiovascular risk reduction. Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), a serin protease with effect on the LDL receptor cycle leading to its degradation and therefore preventing continuing LDL-C clearance from the blood, is the target of a newly developed monoclonal antibody facilitating astounding LDL-C reduction far below to what has been set as target level by recent ESC/EAS guidelines in management of dyslipidaemias. Large randomized outcome trials including subjects with PAD so far have been able to prove significant and even more intense cardiovascular risk reduction via further LDL-C debasement on top of high-intensity statin medication. Another approach for LDL-C reduction is a silencing interfering RNA muting the translation of PCSK9 intracellularly. Moreover, PCSK9 concentrations are elevated in cells involved in plaque composition, so the potency of intracellular PCSK9 inhibition and therefore prevention or reversal of plaques may provide this mechanism of action on PCSK9 with additional beneficial effects on cells involved in plaque formation. Thus, simultaneous application of statins and PCSK9 inhibitors promise to reduce cardiovascular event burden by both LDL-C reduction and pleiotropic effects of both agents.


1901 ◽  
Vol 51 (1309supp) ◽  
pp. 20976-20977
Author(s):  
W. M. Flinders Petrje
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
Matthew Bagot

One of the central questions in international relations today is how we should conceive of state sovereignty. The notion of sovereignty—’supreme authority within a territory’, as Daniel Philpott defines it—emerged after the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 as a result of which the late medieval crisis of pluralism was settled. But recent changes in the international order, such as technological advances that have spurred globalization and the emerging norm of the Responsibility to Protect, have cast the notion of sovereignty into an unclear light. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the current debate regarding sovereignty by exploring two schools of thought on the matter: first, three Catholic scholars from the past century—Luigi Sturzo, Jacques Maritain, and John Courtney Murray, S.J.—taken as representative of Catholic tradition; second, a number of contemporary political theorists of cosmopolitan democracy. The paper argues that there is a confluence between the Catholic thinkers and the cosmopolitan democrats regarding their understanding of state sovereignty and that, taken together, the two schools have much to contribute not only to our current understanding of sovereignty, but also to the future of global governance.


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