The Umbria-Marche Apennines as a Double Orogen
Transcription
The Umbria-Marche Apennines as a Double Orogen
Ital. J. Geosci. (Boll. Soc. Geol. It.), Vol. 131, No. 2 (2012), pp. 258-271, 11 figs. (doi: 10.3301/IJG.2012.17) © Società Geologica Italiana, Roma 2012 The Umbria-Marche Apennines as a Double Orogen: Observations and hypotheses MASSIMILIANO R. BARCHI (*), WALTER ALVAREZ (**) & DAVID H. SHIMABUKURO (***) ABSTRACT The Umbria-Marche Apennines, an arc-shaped fold and thrust belt with eastward convexity and vergence, form the external part of the Northern Apennines. In the middle 1980s, the Umbria-Marche Apennines were interpreted by some as a classical thin-skinned foldthrust belt, with thrust sheets emplaced in an in-sequence, piggyback mode, from the interior to the exterior of the orogen, over a main, basal detachment in the Triassic evaporites. In the mechanics of this kind of edifice, the folds and thrusts would develop within a prism or tapered wedge, bounded at the base by an undeformed basement with a regional monocline dipping toward the hinterland, and at the top by a topographic and structural slope generally dipping toward the foreland. Other authors saw the Umbria-Marche Apennines as a more complex orogen, with basement involvement, possible tectonic inversions, and out-of-sequence thrusts. In the present paper, the geometry, structure, and tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Umbria-Marche Apennines are compared with the classical thin-skinned model. We suggest that this fold-thrust belt can be divided longitudinally into two sectors. The eastern part of the chain, comprising the high Mesozoic carbonate anticlinal ridges of the axial zone together with the Marche external folds, fits the classical model well, but the western part, comprising the Umbrian PreApennines, shows striking differences. The boundary between the eastern and western parts of the Umbria-Marche Apennines is here termed the Scheggia-Foligno Line (SFL). East of this line, the Eastern Umbria-Marche Apennines show an eastward taper between the undeformed basement, dipping gently west, and an upper surface in which both topographic and structural elevation decrease toward the east. West of the Scheggia-Foligno Line, by contrast, seismic reflection profiles and subsurface data show basement involvement in the thrusting at shallow depths, while both the topographic and structural elevations are anomalously low compared to the more easterly parts of the chain. There is also a notable discontinuity in foredeep-basin evolution at the Scheggia-Foligno Line, with welldeveloped foredeep basins in the Umbrian Pre-Apennines and the external Marche belt (the Marnoso-arenacea and Marche Plio-Pleistocene, respectively), whereas only thrust-top basins developed in the axial zone, during the Tortonian-Messinian interval. Various mechanisms, not all mutually exclusive, might be invoked to explain the discontinuity at the Scheggia-Foligno Line. These possible explanations include causes of local character, linked to the sedimentary and tectonic evolution of the region, involving episodic departures from steady-state conditions, interrupting the regular growth of the accretionary wedge. However, it also possible that the Western and Eastern Umbria-Marche Apennines represent completely different orogenic systems, with different causes - possibly with the former related to Corsica-Adria collision and the latter due to slab rollback of Adriatic lithosphere. In either case, this study demonstrates the complexity of evolution of the Northern Apennines, with adjacent zones showing abrupt variations in their history (*) Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Piazza Università 06123 Perugia, Italy. Corresponding Author. Tel.: 075 5867168; fax: 075 5852603; e-mail: [email protected] (**) Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley CA 94720, USA, and Osservatorio Geologico di Coldigioco - 62021 Apiro (MC) Italy. (***) Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley CA 94720. and style of deformation, which are difficult to incorporate in a single, unified geodynamic model. KEY WORDS: Thin-skinned tectonics, Foreland basins, UmbriaMarche Apennines. INTRODUCTION The Umbria-Marche Apennines (UMA) comprise a curving fold-thrust belt with eastward convexity and vergence, representing the outer, eastern part of the Northern Apennines in the Umbria and Marche Regions (fig. 1). The evolution of the UMA has been complicated by late extension, generally interpreted as involving an extensional front, moving eastward, about 100 km behind the compressional front (ELTER et alii, 1975). In a very influential paper, BALLY et alii (1986) interpreted the UMA as a typical thin-skinned fold-thrust belt, based largely on the model of the Canadian Rockies (BALLY et alii, 1966). In this view of the UMA, the thrust sheets were seen as emplaced in a regular in-sequence, piggy-back mode, over an undeformed basement whose upper surface was considered to dip gently southwest towards the hinterland. In this interpretation, the basal décollement, or sole thrust, separating the thrust sheets from the underlying basement, was placed within the 1500 m thickness of alternating anhydrites and dolomites of the Late Triassic Burano Formation (MARTINIS & PIERI, 1964). The Bally synthesis was challenged by other authors who objected, mostly on the basis of shallow structures projected to depth, to a planar basal thrust, lack of basement involvement, and exclusively in-sequence thrusting (e.g. SAGE et alii, 1991; BARCHI, 1991). The question was debated in the literature, most notably in a discussion coauthored by Bally and four critics (GHISETTI et alii, 1993). In the following years both thin-skinned and thickskinned models have been proposed, mainly by integrating surface geology evidence and the interpretation of seismic reflection profiles (e.g. BARCHI et alii, 1998b; SCISCIANI, 2009). These models have generally considered the UMA to be a single, coherent tectonic unit, representing the easternmost portion of the Northern Apennines (e.g. CARMIGNANI et alii, 2001). We now reopen the question on the basis of seismic reflection profiles that image the subsurface character of the thrust belt, together with new evaluations of stratigraphic data that constrain the time-space history of the syntectonic foreland basins, and geomorphic observations that reflect the evolution of the deforming hanging wall of the thrust system. THE UMBRIA-MARCHE APENNINES AS A DOUBLE OROGEN 259 Fig. 1 - Schematic geologic map of the UmbriaMarche Apennines: 1) Quaternary volcanics; 2) Quaternary sediments; 3) Plio-Quaternary of the Adriatic foothills; 4) Thrust-top basins and Laga formation; 5) Marnoso-Arenacea formation; 6) Jurassic-Paleogene Umbria-Marche carbonate sequence; 7) Tuscan sequence; 8) Ligurides; 9) thrust faults; 10) normal faults. The traces of the sections of figs. 5, 7 and 9 are also shown. Our new analysis shows that the UMA need to be considered as two separate, adjacent orogens with different characteristics. The younger, and probably still active, Eastern UMA closely matches the classic model of foldthrust belts, of which the BALLY et alii (1966) study of the Canadian Rockies was an early example. The older, and now partially extended, Western UMA, departs quite notably from the classic model. We define the “ScheggiaFoligno Line” (SFL) as the boundary between the older and the younger parts of the UMA and we consider what its tectonic significance may be. CHARACTER OF THE CLASSIC FOLD-THRUST-BELT MODEL There is, of course, no standard image of a fold-thrust belt, which all such orogens can be expected to follow. Nevertheless, certain features are common to many fold-thrust belts. These features have made their way into textbook descriptions, they provide a reasonable starting point for interpreting a poorly known fold-thrust belt (at least until contradictory evidence is obtained), and they offer a satisfying way of interpreting the deformational structures in terms of inferred driving forces. We suggest that the main features of this classic fold-thrust belt model are as follows (BALLY et alii, 1966; BOYER & ELIOTT, 1982; DAHLSTROM, 1970; DAVIS et alii, 1983; PRICE & MOUNTJOY, 1970): (1) “thin-skinned”deformation, restricted to bedded sedimentary rocks, not affecting the crystalline basement; (2) a roughly planar, basal, master thrust surface that dips gently toward the hinterland (regional monocline); (3) complicated arrays of “ramps,” on which thrust surfaces cut up through strong layers and generate ramp anticlines, and “flats,” where thrust surfaces follow weak layers for substantial distances, with each ramp-flat system rooting in the basal master thrust (staircase trajectories); (4) a history of repeated in-sequence jumping of the active thrust toward the foreland in a way that progressively incorporates more of the undeformed footwall into the deforming hanging wall; (5) evidence for more intense shortening, such as larger, tighter, more closely spaced anticlines, in the older part of the fold-thrust belt, with shortening intensity diminishing toward the foreland. (6) deposition of clastic sediments in a migrating foredeep in front of the active thrust, and their subsequent incorporation in the deforming hanging wall; 260 M.R. BARCHI ET ALII Fig. 2 - Seismic and mechanical stratigraphy of the Umbria-Marche Apennines, showing the main acoustic reflectors. (7) deposition of additional sediments in small thrusttop or “piggy-back” basins in synclines between the ramp anticlines of the deforming hanging wall. In some fold-thrust belts, a “critical taper model” (DAVIS et alii, 1983, DAHLEN et alii, 1984; DAHLEN, 1990) can describe the internal geometry, the kinematics and the mechanics and of thin-skinned thrust-fold belts and accretionary prisms. In this model, fold-thrust belts occupy a wedge shaped region, comprised between the topographic surface, generally sloping towards the foreland, and the oppositely dipping main basal décollement, separating the thrust sheets from the almost undeformed basement. Within the tapered wedge of deforming material, applied and gravitational forces, rock strength, deformation geometry, and surface landscape are at a roughly steady-state balance. In the present analysis, we find that this classic model (i.e. thin-skinned tectonics and tapered-wedge geometry) well describes the Eastern UMA, east of a line passing through Serravalle di Carda, Scheggia, Fossato di Vico, Gualdo Tadino, Nocera Umbra, Foligno, and Spoleto, which we here call the “Scheggia-Foligno Line” (SFL). On the other side of this line, the Western UMA have a quite different structure. UMBRIA-MARCHE APENNINES The UMA fold-thrust belt (fig. 1) is located between the external front of the Tuscan Nappe (COSTA et alii, 1998) and the relatively undeformed Adriatic foreland that separates the east-verging UMA from the west-verging Dinarides. The Jurassic and younger stratigraphy of the UmbriaMarche Apennines is well known because of the many detailed studies that have extracted information about Earth history from the pelagic carbonates in this sequence. Syntheses of the stratigraphy have been published by CANTALAMESSA et alii (1986), CENTAMORE et alii (1986), CRESTA et alii (1989), MONTANARI & KOEBERL (2000), and ALVAREZ (2009, 2010). From a structural point of view, considering the mechanical properties of the components of the Umbria-Marche Apennines, we can recognize the following major units, from top to bottom (fig. 2): (5) Neogene synorogenic deposits, mainly the turbiditic Marnoso-Arenacea Formation, underlain by a marly Oligocene to lower Miocene preflysch; (4) a largely carbonate multilayer of pelagic origin, representing the upper Liassic to the Eocene, with an AptianAlbian marly unit, the Marne a Fucoidi, which provides a prominent seismic reflector; and with about 700 m of massive, shallow-water lower Liassic platform limestone (the Massiccio Formation) at the bottom; (3) an Upper Triassic evaporitic unit (the Burano Formation), exposed in a few outcrops in western Umbria and drilled by many wells beneath the whole UMA; (2) Permian to Middle Triassic clastics and metasedimentary rocks (Verrucano Group), reached by a few wells in the UMA and exposed in Tuscany; (1) Hercynian crystalline basement, neither exposed nor drilled by any well. Three different morpho-structural provinces have been recognised in the UMA (BALLY et alii, 1986; DEIANA & PIALLI, 1994), from west to east: the Umbria pre-Apennines, the Umbria-Marche Ridge and the Outer Marche Foothills. The Umbrian pre-Apennines, from the front of Tuscan Nappe (Falterona unit) to the Monte Serra Maggio (= Monte Vicino) syncline, are characterised by extensive outcrops of Miocene Marnoso-Arenacea turbidites and by relatively low elevation. The underlying JurassicPaleogene carbonates are exposed only in two arc-shaped THE UMBRIA-MARCHE APENNINES AS A DOUBLE OROGEN 261 Fig. 4 - Discontinuity at the Scheggia-Foligno Line, and decreasing deformational intensity toward the foreland in the Eastern UMA: (a) Structural elevation (km) of the top Scaglia at the anticline crests; (b) Spacing (km) between adjacent anticline crests. Both structural elevation and spacing data were measured along the three northernmost cross-sections of BALLY et alii (1986). Straight lines fitted to the data east of the Line are compatible with the classic tapered fold-thrustbelt model, but most of the data west of the Line is incompatible with that model. Fig. 3 - Topography of the Umbria-Marche Apennines (UMA) displayed as a digital elevation model, showing the major topographic discontinuity at what we call the Scheggia-Foligno Line. This map covers the same area as fig. 1. compressional structures, i.e. the Perugia-Amelia-Narni alignment and the Gubbio-Monte Subasio (Assisi)-Monti Martani alignment. East of the SFL, the Umbria-Marche Ridge is a belt of major anticlines, with extensive exposures of CretaceousPaleogene pelagic limestones and local outcrops of Jurassic carbonates, within the broader province of the Umbria-Marche Apennines where the turbiditic Neogene is broadly exposed. This set of high anticlines forms the major mountain range of the region. SCARSELLA (1951) recognised that this range consists of two major ridges or anticlinoria: the Inner Ridge (Ruga Interna, including Monte Nerone, Monte Catria, and Monte Cucco) and the Outer Ridge (Ruga Esterna, including Furlo and Monte San Vicino). The two ridges are separated by an inner synclinorium (the site of Acqualagna and Camerino), characterised by the presence of minor, thrust-top basins filled with Tortonian-Messinian turbidites. The Outer Marche Foothills, from the external front of the Umbria-Marche Ridge to the coastline, represent the outer portion of the fold-thrust belt, characterized by extensive outcrops of recent (Pliocene-Quaternary), shallow marine and continental clastic sediments. These provinces represent the onshore portion of the UMA, whose easternmost structures are submerged beneath the western part of the Adriatic Sea. In this paper, the Eastern UMA is formed by the Outer Marche foothills and the Umbria-Marche Ridge, whilst the Western UMA corresponds to the Umbria preApennines. To support our conclusion that the Eastern and Western UMA, separated by the SFL, are very different and should perhaps be considered two parallel orogens, in the next two sections we review the ways in which the Eastern UMA conform to the “Classic” model for foldthrust belts, and we show how the Western UMA depart from the model. MATCH OF THE EASTERN UMBRIA-MARCHE APENNINES AND THE CLASSIC MODEL TOPOGRAPHIC AND STRUCTURAL ELEVATION East of the SFL, the topographic elevations of the anticlinal mountain ridges decrease eastward (fig. 3) from Monte Nerone (1525 m) to Montiego (975 m) and Furlo (Monte Paganuccio, 976 m) to Monte della Cesana (648 m) to the Serrungarina anticline (555 m), to 479 and 210 m in the modest anticlines near the coast. Only the Acqualagna anticline (556 m), between Montiego and Furlo, is lower than expected (ALVAREZ, 1999, fig. 8). The structural elevation also decreases in the same direction, with Jurassic exposed at Monte Nerone, Montiego (Gorgo a Cerbara), and Furlo, Cretaceous in the Monte della Cesana, Paleogene in the Serrungarina anticline, and Neogene from there to the coast (fig. 4a). Again, only Acqualagna interrupts the sequence of northeastward decreasing structural elevations (ALVAREZ, 1999, fig. 8). The average dip of the structural slope can be defined by interpolating between the anticlinal ridges across the mountain belt. The structural slope is steeper than the topographic slope because erosion in the higher ridges and sedimentation in the foreland continually reduces the topographic gradient, but does not affect the structural profile. 262 M.R. BARCHI ET ALII # $% & %' ! " # Fig. 5 - Seismic line and geological cross-section across the mountains east of Foligno (trace on fig. 1). The intensely folded carbonates at the surface contrast the gently dipping basement reflector at depth: this suggests a basal décollement within the Triassic evaporites. Modified after MIRABELLA et alii (2008). BASEMENT CONFIGURATION In the UMA region, the basement and the basal thrust are nowhere exposed, and available seismic profiles are not simple to interpret. As a consequence, the basement configuration and attitude are matter of much debate. BALLY et alii (1986) considered the “regional monocline” to be located at the base of the Triassic evaporites, where they rest on the Verrucano clastics and phyllites. This level corresponds to a band of reflections that form a good seismic marker, which we call the “acoustic basement”, generated by the velocity contrast between the evaporites (>6 km/s) and the underlying Verrucano Group (about 5 km/s) (fig. 2). In places this reflector shows a gently west-dipping geometry, and the thrusts and folds involving the succession above it (evaporites, carbonates and locally turbidites) appear to be detached here on a main décollement. Beneath the Umbria-Marche Ridge, where the sedimentary cover exposed at the surface is intensely folded and faulted, the underlying acoustic basement is flat or gently dipping towards the hinterland: this implies the existence of a major décollement above the acoustic basement. An example corresponding to this Bally-type view can be seen on a seismic profile across Gualdo Tadino (fig. 5), showing the basement reflectors dipping west from about 3 to 4.5 sec two-way travel time (grossly corresponding to a depth of 8 to 12 km), beneath the Ruga Interna folds and thrusts (MIRABELLA et alii, 2008). A similar geometry is observed in the folds submerged beneath the Marche foothills (e.g. ORI et alii, 1986) or beneath the Po Plain (e.g. PIERI & GROPPI, 1981). A review of the dip of the regional monocline beneath the Northern Apennines is offered by MARIOTTI & DOGLIONI (2000). However, regional seismic profiles across the Apennines show that at a larger scale the basement reflector itself is involved in the major thrusts of the Apennines, generating larger anticlinoria (Ruga Interna, Ruga Esterna, Coastal Anticline of Monte Conero-Gabicce). This conclusion, that at least the upper part of the “acoustic basement” is involved in the major thrust sheets, originally reached by SAGE et alii (1991) and BARCHI (1991), was confirmed by the interpretation fo the CROP03 profile, proposed by BARCHI et alii (1998b) who termed it “multiple detachments”. In the Central Apennines, the CROP11 profile also provided evidence of basement involvement: BILLI et alii (2006) recognized the presence at mid-crustal depth of a large anticline, associated to Late Messinian-Pliocene out-of-sequence thrusting. These observations contrast with Bally’s view of a single, regionally extended basal décollement, located within the Triassic evaporites. Beneath the main ridges of the Apennines, seismic data suggest that the underlying Verrucano Group is involved in the major thrust sheets, and incorporated into the tapered wedge, whose base is located at approximately the same depth and with the same dip as suggested by BALLY et alii (1986). A similar structure has been proposed by PATACCA et alii (2008) for the Central Apennines. In general, we note that a tapered wedge does not need to have a single planar décollement, located at a constant stratigraphic level, e.g. the Triassic evaporites: THE UMBRIA-MARCHE APENNINES AS A DOUBLE OROGEN 263 typically, the décollement of the basal thrust steps downward toward the hinterland, so that progressively deeper/older stratigraphic levels are incorporated into the wedge (e.g. BALLY et alii, 1966; DAHLSTROM, 1970). SHORTENING The classic fold-thrust-belt model predicts the greatest shortening at the hinterland margin of the orogen, with shortening gradually diminishing toward the foreland and reaching zero at the active thrust front. In the absence of the subsurface information necessary to draw a careful balanced cross section, we can note the general character of the folds from west to east. The internal, western anticlines of the Eastern UMA are intensely deformed, with steep to overturned dips on the flanks, and abundant solution cleavage, representing tens of percent shortening (ALVAREZ et alli, 1976, 1978; GEISER, 1988), and adjacent anticlines are driven over each other (e.g., the Monte Catria anticline is driven over the anticline of Monte della Strega). The eastern anticlines (Cesana, Serrungarina) have flanks with gentle dips, and the easternmost anticlines, not yet emerged from the Adriatic Sea, are almost imperceptible. Restoration of the CROP03 profile (PIALLI et alii, 1998), with continuous images of the Marne a Fucoidi reflector, shows that the total shortening of the UMA is about 60 km (about 30%). Most of the shortening (about 30 km) is concentrated in the Umbria-Marche Ridge, whilst the adjacent provinces show a significantly lower value. CROP03 crosses the northern termination of the Umbria-Marche arc (fig. 1) and there is clear geological and geomorphological evidence that shortening increases moving towards the south. Unfortunately, shortening variations across the UMA are not constrained by any other section with a comparable degree of confidence. This is mainly because the shortening value depends strongly on the geometry adopted for the deeper portion of the sections, where seismic interpretation is more ambiguous. An indirect way to analyse the shortening variations is to consider the different spacing of the anticlines and/or the related thrusts. In fact, spacing of the crests of the anticlines is strictly correlated with the amount of shortening, as demonstrated by both field examples and analogue models (e.g. MULUGETA & KOYI, 1987). The spacing (i.e. wavelength) of the UMA anticlines can be easily measured (see also MASSOLI et alii, 2006); in fact in the Umbria Marche Ridge the structures are exposed at the surface, whilst the anticlines beneath the Marche Foothills are clearly imaged by a dense network of seismic reflection profiles (e.g. BALLY et alli, 1986; ORI et alli, 1986; SCARSELLI et alli, 2007). Data collected in the northern portion of UMA (fig. 4b) show that the folds of the Umbria-Marche Ridge are more closely spaced than that of the Umbria-Marche foothills, indicating that the amount of shortening diminishes towards the foreland. Fig. 6 - Diagram showing the age of the foreland basins of the UmbriaMarche Apennines, from the Tiber Valley to the Adriatic foreland. The small arrows indicate the main paleocurrent direction (Vertical arrows: Alpine sources; horizontal arrows: Apennine sources). ward migration of the advancing thrust front across the Italian Peninsula from Oligocene to Recent time, and this includes the UMA. The piggy-back basins (“bacini minori”), whose detailed study began in the mid-1970s (CENTAMORE et alii, 1976, 1977, 1978), tell a similar story of eastward propagation of the deformation at a more local scale. The diagram of fig. 6 summarizes the available data about the ages of the siliciclastic successions that overlie the UMA Jurassic-Paleogene carbonates, along a transect roughly corresponding to the CROP03 profile. There is a clear eastward progression of the critical facies change representing the transition between the forebulge environment (usually marls) and the foredeep environment (usually turbiditic sandstones), which marks a major change in the subsidence history, related to the flexing of the foreland lithosphere (e.g. CASERO, 2004). The diagram shows that the history of eastward propagation is not interrupted at the SFL (ALVAREZ, 1999, fig. 9), where the Line runs northwest-southeast (immediately northeast of the Monte Vicino Sandstone), so this line of evidence, at least, does not provide support for our hypothesis of a major difference between the Western and Eastern UMA. PROPAGATION HISTORY OF THRUSTS AND ANTICLINES The propagation history of the UMA can be tracked both by the age of the large-scale turbidite systems that filled the foredeep basins in front of the advancing fold-thrust belt and by the age of the small-scale turbidite systems that filled piggy-back basins in synclines between ramp anticlines. Since the time of MERLA (1951) it has been known that the ages of the large-scale turbidite systems track a general east- DRAINAGE EVOLUTION The geomorphology of the Eastern UMA is marked by deep canyons (e.g., Furlo, Burano, Frasassi) that cut across the anticlinal ridges, giving a drainage pattern with short, closely-spaced rivers that flow nearly straight northeastward to the Adriatic Sea and do not reflect the northwest-southeast grain of the Apennine folds. MAZZANTI & 264 M.R. BARCHI ET ALII Fig. 7 - Seismic profile and its geological interpretation across the Scheggia-Foligno Line (trace on fig. 1). Note that the structural step down to the west across the Scheggia-Foligno Line, of about 3 km, is much greater than the roughly 1 km topographic offset. TREVISAN (1978) and ALVAREZ (1999) have interpreted this drainage as the result of gradual emergence of the folds from the sea in a smooth progression from southwest to northeast, just as predicted by the classic model of the monotonically-advancing fold-thrust belt, although this interpretation needs to be modified to take account of the effects of the Messinian sea-level fall (SCARSELLI et alii, 2007). We will show below that this generally simple situation is not the case in the Western UMA. DEPARTURE OF THE WESTERN UMBRIA-MARCHE APENNINES FROM THE CLASSIC MODEL TOPOGRAPHIC AND STRUCTURAL ELEVATION If there is one single, overwhelming line of evidence for a major difference between the Western and Eastern UMA, it is the discontinuity in topographic and structural elevation across the SFL (fig. 3). The topographic discontinuity is unmistakable, with the anticlinorial complex of Monte Nerone (1525 m)-Monte Catria (1701 m)-Monte Cucco (1566 m)-Monte Penna (1432 m)-Monte Pennino (1571 m) looking down on the foothills at around 500-800 m elevation just to the west. Furthermore, this step-down to the west is not merely a topographic difference; the structural dislocation is much greater (fig. 7). The top Majolica, a convenient datum horizon that in places forms the crest of the anticlinal mountains (e.g., at Monte Petrano, 1100 m, between the Bosso and Burano Gorges), is deeply buried beneath Miocene turbidites immediately west of the SFL, to a depth that may reach 3 km below sea level (MENICHETTI & P IALLI , 1986, fig. 2). The thickness of the turbidite cover beneath Western UMA is also constrained by a network of good quality seismic reflection profiles (e.g. BARCHI et alii, 1999; PAUSELLI et alii, 2002; MIRABELLA et alii, 2004). Thus the vertical structural displacement across the Line is around 4 km, which is substantially greater than the topographic difference of around 1 km. Of course many mountain ranges have dramatic steps in their topographic and structural profiles. Usually, however, in fold-thrust belts such a step does not come at the rear of the orogenic wedge, as it does in the UMA. A wedge shaped fold-thrust belt is usually thought to result from the advance of a massive driver block at the rear. In the Eastern UMA there is a wedge, but there is no driver behind it. We are not aware that anyone has pointed out the absence of a driver block west of the large ramp anticlines of the UMA. Ever since the influential paper of ELTER et alii (1975), it has made sense to think of the westward step-down across the SFL as marking an advancing extensional front, moving eastward across the Italian Peninsula about 100 km behind the compressional front now in the Adriatic Sea. This interpretation of the SFL as a post-thrusting normal fault is shown on the Structural Map of the Northern Apennines at 1:250,000 (BOCCALETTI & COLI, 1982, Sheet 2), and was accepted by one of us (A LVAREZ , 1999), but we have subsequently realized that this cannot be the correct explanation for the difference in structural elevation across the Line. Three observations preclude attributing this structural and topographic offset to late extensional faulting (fig. 8). First, if the area west of the SFL had formerly been a block that was higher than the current UmbriaMarche Ridge so that its eastward motion could have driven the thrusting farther east, its upper stratigraphy should have been eroded away while it was high. This is the case along the crest of the current Ridge, where rarely is any rock younger than the Lower Cretaceous Majolica preserved. In contrast, west of the SFL there appears to be complete preservation of the CretaceousOligocene pelagic sequence, which is exposed in the Gubbio half anticline and along the west flank of the Umbria-Marche Ridge anticlinorium. We conclude that the area west of the SFL was never high enough to have been stripped by erosion, so it cannot be low today simply because of late normal faulting along the Line. THE UMBRIA-MARCHE APENNINES AS A DOUBLE OROGEN 265 Fig. 8 - Observations (in boxes) incompatible with the Scheggia-Foligno line being the extensional front inferred by ELTER et alii (1975). This conclusion is supported by the second observation, which concerns the structural deformation along the SFL. If the topographic and structural offset across the Line were due to normal faulting, one would expect to see top-down-to-the west extensional structures there, but these are not found. On the contrary, there is abundant evidence for top-up-to-the-east shortening, including parasitic folds and solution cleavage (FAZZINI, 1973; ALVAREZ et alii, 1976, 1978; TAVARNELLI & ALVAREZ, 2002). CORSI & DEFEYTER (1991) have shown that this situation is due to out-of-sequence thrusting. It is not the result of extensional faulting, yet the problem remains that there is no high driver block to the west. A third line of evidence against the structural offset being due to extensional faulting comes from the tectonics of the area west of the SFL (ALVAREZ, 2001; SHIMABUKURO et alii, 2002). In an area that extends about 50 km west from the SFL, there is a continuous cover of Miocene turbidites (Cervarola and Marnoso-arenacea Formations) which demonstrates that there can have been no major anticlines in this area, which would have led to erosion of the Miocene, as is the case along the Umbria-Marche Ridge. The absence of major anticlines is also supported by abundant, good-quality seismic data (BARCHI et alii, 1999; PAUSELLI et alii, 2002), showing that in the subsurface of the Umbria pre-Apennines the top of the carbonates is almost flat, with no evidence of the tight, closely spaced anticlines that characterize the Umbria-Marche ridge. Only isolated anticlines (Gubbio and Monte Suba- sio) expose the Mesozoic in this hilly landscape, mostly made of Miocene sandstone and marls (fig. 1). BASEMENT CONFIGURATION Basement never crops out in this region. What we know about the deep structure mainly derives from seismic reflection profiles, where the boundary between the Triassic evaporites of the Burano Fm. and the underlying Verrucano Group generates a major reflection that can be traced on most profiles across the region (acoustic basement). The seismic profiles show that there is a major step in the depth of the acoustic basement across the SFL. West of the SFL, a dense network of seismic reflection profiles constrain a detailed isobath maps of the top basement, located at a depth of 4-6 km (MIRABELLA, 2002). East of the SFL, a deeper basement (8-10 km) is imaged by seismic data beneath the Ruga Interna folds (Mirabella et alii., 2008). Seismic refraction data confirm the presence of a basement step, located beneath the SFL (PONZIANI et alii, 1995, 1998). The basement step-down to the east across the SFL corresponds to a major SW-dipping thrust, involving the acoustic basement reflector (fig. 9). Summarizing, across the SFL shallow and deep structures show opposite features: at shallow levels, the western block is structurally lowered, whilst at deeper levels the western block is uplifted. These features both differ from the classic tapered wedge geometry, indicating that the Eastern UMA tapered wedge is interrupted at the SFL. 266 M.R. BARCHI ET ALII # , %- . "& ! " * # ! % + $ # ) & % & % ' " & ( ) Fig. 9 - Seismic profile and geological interpretation of the Ruga Interna structures at Gualdo Tadino (trace on fig. 1). The profile gives seismic evidence for an offset in basement across the Scheggia-Foligno Line, with the basement shallower on the west. Modified after MIRABELLA et alii (2008). SYNTECTONIC CLASTIC DEPOSITION AND PROPAGATION HISTORY OF THRUST AND ANTICLINES As we have seen in § 4.4, the age of the foreland basins tracks the general eastward migration of the contractional deformation from Late Burdigalian (Tiber Valley) to the present time (Adriatic offshore), showing a regular displacement of depositional environments, evolving from forebulge basins to foredeeps to restricted thrust top basins (e.g. DECELLES & GILES, 1996). However, the migration is not completely regular. The Marnoso-Arenacea and the Marche-Adriatic basins are regionally developed foredeeps, related to the main imbrication events of the Tuscan Units (Late Burdigalian-Serravallian) and of the Umbria-Marche Units (Late MessinianPliocene), respectively. In the intervening time period (Tortonian-Early Messinian) no proper foredeep was present, but only minor basins, trapped between the growing UmbriaMarche folds. In other words, whilst the thrust-top basins of the Marche foothills cover a previous, thick turbidite succession, deposited during a large-scale regional subsidence phase, the inner Marche thrust-top basins directly cover forebulge marls or, in some cases, the carbonates. The boundary between the Marnoso-Arenacea foredeep and the Inner Marche thrust-top basins is located at the SFL, the same place where the topographic and structural anomalies described in the previous paragraphs occur. When the Umbria Marche ridge started to rise (Tortonian) it was higher than would be expected according to the wedge-shaped geometry of a classic thrustfold belt. During the progressive flexing of the Adriatic lithosphere, the substratum of the Umbria-Marche ridge remained higher than the adjacent regions. DRAINAGE EVOLUTION As noted in section 4.5, the drainage evolution in the Eastern UMA is compatible with the Classic Model. However, the Western UMA has a completely different drainage style, showing a trellis pattern with northwestsoutheast river tracts following late extensional valleys (Valle Umbra, Valle di Gubbio), and northeast-to-southwest tracts, like those of the Upper Tiber, that cut across from one valley to the next. MAZZANTI & TREVISAN (1978) and ALVAREZ (1999) attributed the trellis drainage of the Western UMA to rearrangement of the drainage during passage of the extensional front (ELTER et alii, 1975) that has now reached approximately the position of the SFL. Reconsidering that interpretation, we now point out that passage of the extensional front cannot be the only reason for the difference between the Western and Eastern UMA and their strikingly different drainage patterns. As we previously noted in section 5.1, the Western UMA cannot be simply an extensionally-collapsed equivalent of the Eastern UMA, as thick and extensive Miocene turbidites (Marnoso-Arenacea Fm) are present, and the Gubbio anticline preserves the complete Cretaceous sequence (fig. 7). Thus, the Western UMA was never the topographically high driver of the Eastern UMA. There is an additional reason for rejecting the idea that the different drainage patterns of Western and Eastern UMA are the result of an extensional front advancing toward the east, as proposed in the ELTER et alii (1975) model. As shown in MAZZANTI & TREVISAN (1978, fig. 5), this model implies that the abandoned canyons of rivers that formerly flowed northeast to the Adriatic should be recognized as notches in horst ridges west of the extensional front (fig. 10). A place where these notches should be recognizable is the ridge that forms the Apennine drainage divide, extending about 50 km northwest from a point just east of Gubbio. In the hypothesis of an advancing extensional front, this ridge would have been at the western edge of the tapered wedge when the Gubbio normal fault marked the extensional front. The drainage-divide ridge would have been cut through by canyons of rivers flowing to the Adriatic, like the Burano and Bosso Gorges just to the THE UMBRIA-MARCHE APENNINES AS A DOUBLE OROGEN 267 east. The drainage-divide ridge would now be left behind, as the extensional front has migrated to the SFL, but the canyons would still be visible. Fig. 11 shows that there is no hint of such abandoned canyons on the very level summit of this part of the Apennine drainage divide. This geomorphological argument strongly supports our hypothesis that the Eastern and Western UMA are fundamentally different; they are not simply two parts of a single fold-thrust belt with its western part broken up by late extension. The Eastern UMA fit the classic model of a wedge-shaped fold-thrust belt; the Western UMA do not. SUMMARY OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EASTERN AND WESTERN UMA To summarize, the departures of the UMA fold-thrust belt from the classic model are due to the presence of a major discontinuity in (1) the gradient of both topographic and structural elevations across the fold-thrust belt, (2) the depth to basement, (3) the migration history of the foredeep, and (4) the drainage pattern. All these discontinuities occur at the SFL, and they seem to reflect the same event, i.e. the rise of the anticlinorial ridge of M. Nerone-M. CatriaM. Cucco (“Ruga interna”, SCARSELLA, 1951) that is higher than might have been expected on the basis of the deformation that had previously occurred in the Western UMA. We have compared the regional-scale features and the time-space evolution of the UMA fold-thrust belt with the classic model of thin-skinned tectonics, which describes the steady-state growth of a wedge-shaped fold-thrust belt advancing over an undeformed basement. Considering both geological and geomorphological features, we find that the UMA can be divided into two major regions, here named the Eastern UMA and Western UMA, with a boundary at the SFL. Our analysis shows that the Eastern UMA, comprising the main Apennine ridge and the outer (eastern) ridges and foothills near the Adriatic Sea, generally fits the classical wedge model. This is shown by the fact that, moving from the foreland in the northeast towards the hinterland in the southwest, both the structural and topographic elevations increase, while the top of the acoustic basement deepens from about 5 to about 12 km. In contrast, the Western UMA is a topographically and structurally low region, where Neogene turbidites extensively crop out and the basement is much shallower than below the mountain ridge just to the east. We have also collected and analyzed stratigraphic and sedimentological data from the syntectonic clastic wedges of the UMA. These data show a major discontinuity in the evolution and eastward migration of the foreland basins, with a jump in the position of the foredeep, from the Western UMA (Miocene Marnoso-Arenacea Formation) across the high ridges to the Marche Foothills of the Eastern UMA (Pliocene-Recent sediments). This discontinuity is related to the rise of the high Apennine ridge that occurred during the Tortonian-Messinian time interval. HYPOTHESES TO EXPLAIN THE DEPARTURE FROM THE CLASSIC MODEL In order to explain the departures of the Western UMA from the Classic Model, various possible causal mechanisms might be invoked, some of which may Fig. 10 - This figure (modified after MAZZANTI & TREVISAN, 1978) shows the notches (circled) that should be present in drainage divides west of the Scheggia-Foligno Line if that area were a subsided region that formerly had the structure of the Umbria-Marche Ridge. Fig. 11 shows that no such ridges are present along the modern Apennine watershed just east of Gubbio, which argues that the Scheggia-Foligno Line is not an extensional front. have acted together. These mechanisms range from local, internal causes related to the stratigraphy and evolution of the thrust belt, to regional, or external, causes, due to the geodynamic framework in which the thrust belt formed. These considerations raise the possibility that the UMA should be interpreted as a double orogen, rather than a single orogen showing local differences. LOCAL CAUSES Local causes for the differences might include: (1) the effects of surface transport processes (syntectonic sedimentation and erosion) disturbing the regular (insequence) emplacement of thrust sheets from the hinterland to the foreland (e.g. SCARSELLI et alii, 2007); (2) the presence of multiple décollements (BARCHI et alii 1998b) generating multiple fold sets, producing irregularities in the forward dipping structural slope; or (3) the effects of tectonic inheritance (fault reactivation and/or inversion), affecting the localization and/or amplification of the single thrusts (e.g. BUTLER et alii 2006). (1) Surface transport processes: It is well known that surface transport processes can influence the evolution of a thrust belt, modifying its regular migration from the hinterland to the foreland (e.g. MUGNIER et alii, 1997; LETURMY et alii, 2000; SIMPSON, 2006). When erosion prevails, the frontal thrust moves back, producing out-of sequence thrusts, while an excess of sedimentation can force the frontal thrust to jump to a more 268 M.R. BARCHI ET ALII Fig. 11 - The abandoned river canyons west of the Scheggia-Foligno Line, predicted in fig. 10, are not present along the Apennine watershed just east of Gubbio, which argues against the Scheggia-Foligno Line being an extensional front. external position. For example, during the Messinian salinity crisis (about 5.6 Ma) the Mediterranean sea level experienced a drop of about 1500 m, followed by a rapid early Pliocene marine ingression. These perturbations affected the rate of migration of the compressional front (and the magnitude of shortening as well) in the Marche-Adriatic region (SCARSELLI et alii, 2007). Similar effects have been documented in the Po Plain area (CASTELLARIN et alii, 1985). Subcritical conditions of the tapered wedge, possibly related to the Messinian salinity crisis, may have also induced out-of sequence thrusting in the rear of the Central Apennines wedge (BILLI et alii, 2006). Quaternary glaciations may also have had significant effects on the late evolution of the thrust belt and of the related basins. (2) Multiple décollements: The style of deformation of the UMA is characterized by a system of multiple décollements, where different sets of structures are generated at different structural levels, linked to each other and developed in a hierarchical mode. The wavelength and amplitude of the structures depends on the depth of the décollement to which they sole, so that the deeper the décollement, the larger the structure (BARCHI et alii, 1998b; BARCHI, 2010). The interference between these different fold sets has produced irregularities in the structural slope (the upper surface of the tapered wedge), dipping towards the foreland. The major ridges of the Umbria-Marche belt (Ruga Interna and Ruga Esterna) and the easternmost coastal anticline (BALLY et alii, 1986), culminating at M. Conero, represent the morphological and structural expression of the major thrusts, detached at deeper levels. A low region (major syncline) is developed at the back of the major “basement” thrusts. This might explain why the region west of the SFL is structurally and topographically low, but not why the basement is shallow. (3) Tectonic inheritance: The presence of pre-existing faults can affect the localization of the major thrust ramps, which can be nucleated in positions that are different than those favored by the mechanical evolution of the wedge. For example, major ridges can be located in correspondence to previous, pre-orogenic structurally lowered basins (inversion tectonics). Since in the Umbria-Marche region the Jurassic synsedimentary tectonics is characterised by small fault blocks (ALVAREZ, 1989a, b; DE PAOLA et alii, 2007; SANTANTONIO & CARMINATI, 2011), we would expect that this kind of process did not produce relevant effects at the regional scale. It seems unlikely that such a large feature as the 4-km eastward step-up of the structural elevation across the SFL (section 5.1), which extends longitudinally for more than 100 km (fig. 1), would result from any local irregularity within the fold-thrust belt. We think a regional cause is more likely. REGIONAL CAUSES THE UMBRIA-MARCHE APENNINES AS A DOUBLE OROGEN Three regional causes are worth consideration: (1) The effects of late extensional tectonics, superimposed on the earlier compressional structures (ELTER et alii, 1975), could explain the low topography at the back of the main ridge, but not the shallow basement with its complete Jurassic-Miocene cover. (2) LAVECCHIA et alii (2003) proposed the presence at depth of major thrusts affecting the whole crust; in such thick-skinned model, thin-skinned thrusts would only be local, shallow structures, and the SFL could reflect a crustal-scale thrust at depth. (3) In a model with discontinuous retreat of the Adriatic slab, as described by FACCENNA et alii (2001), the main foredeeps of the Marnoso-Arenacea and Outer Marche could correspond to major pulses of tectonic activity, separated by relatively quiet time intervals. (1) Effects of late extension: In the inner part of the Northern Apennines, late extensional tectonics severely displace the previous compressional structures (ELTER et alii, 1975; COLLETTINI et alii, 2006), disrupting the original wedge geometry. A simple hypothesis is that the SFL is the boundary between the extended Western UMA and the not-(yet)-extended Eastern UMA, where the taper geometry is still preserved. However, as we have previously discussed (see § 6.1) the SFL is a compressional feature. On the contrary, robust geological, geophysical and seismological evidences indicate that the extensional front (i.e. the position of the easternmost extensional structures) is a NNW-SSE alignment of still active normal faults (from Sansepolcro to Gubbio, Colfiorito and Norcia), obliquely crossing the arc-shaped SFL (fig. 1). The position of this active extensional system is also marked by the distribution of the historical and instrumental seismicity of the region (e.g. CHIARALUCE et alii, 2005; CIACCIO et alii, 2006; PONDRELLI et alii, 2006). (2) Thick skinned tectonics: Thin-skinned models are strictly related to subduction scenarios, where the portion of the continental crust not involved in the thrust belt is sinking in the mantle. In a non-subduction scenario, LAVECCHIA et alii (2003) propose a thick-skinned model, where each major thrust affects the entire crust and possibly the lithosphere, whilst the thin-skinned thrusts, observed at the surface and/or imaged by the seismic profiles, are only local, shallow features. Such a structural setting would not require the existence of a regionally extended wedge-shaped thrust-fold belt: the SFL would be simply a boundary between two different lithospheric thrust sheets. However, this model does not explain why a large region (Eastern UMA) strictly follows the geometrical features expected for a thin-skinned belt. Moreover, no geophysical evidence of thrusting, displacing the Adriatic Moho, is available at the moment (e.g. PAUSELLI et alii, 2006). (3) Pulsating subduction: The evolution of the Apennines compressional belt is strictly related to the contemporaneous opening of the Tyrrhenian Sea (SCANDONE, 1979; MALINVERNO & RYAN, 1986). Considering the time evolution of the Tyrrhenian-Apennines system, some Authors (e.g. FACCENNA et alii, 2001; NICOLOSI et alii, 2006) noted remarkable irregularities in the opening of the Tyrrhenian Sea: these intermittent pulses of back-arc extension might be related to irregularities in the sinking and retreating of the Adriatic lithosphere, not to be considered as a continuous, almost steady- 269 state process, but a discontinuous one. In this view, the SFL could mark a prominent pause in the construction of the thrust belt. ARE THE UMBRIA-MARCHE APENNINES A DOUBLE OROGEN? Finally, DOGLIONI et alii (1998) and BARCHI et alii (1998a) have hypothesized that the Northern Apennines consist of two adjacent thrust belts, generated by different driving mechanisms. The earlier thrust belt in the west (Etruscan belt), would have been generated, concurrently with the rotation of the Corsica block, as a response to Oligocene-Early Miocene collision between Corsica and the Adriatic lithosphere. The younger thrust belt in the east (Umbria-Marche belt) would be related to the subsequent roll-back and retreat of the Adriatic lithosphere. We propose that in this scenario, the SFL would represent the border between these two different mountain belts of different origins. If correct, this double-orogen model would radically change how the Umbria-Marche Apennines are understood. In a recent paper, Thompson et alii (2010) discussed the wedge kinematics and the exhumation history of the northernmost part of the Northern Apennines (i.e. at the boundary between Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna regions), mainly using thermo-chronological data. Their study supports the existence of a transversal discontinuity (the “Sillaro Line”) separating two segments of the Northern Apennines, which would have experienced a quite different recent (i.e post-Late Miocene) tectonic history. In the region of our study, no comparably dense set of thermochronological data is presently available (ZATTIN et alii, 2002) to constrain the recent kinematics and exhumation history. However, using a different approach and different datasets, our study concludes that also in the southern part of the Northern Apennines two adjacent segments of the orogen (Western and Eastern UMA) experienced a markedly different tectonic history: in our case, the discontinuity (i.e. the Scheggia-Foligno Line) is parallel to the orogen. Both studies suggest that the Northern Apennines are a complex orogen, characterized by a large variability, both along and across the mountain belt, where different geodynamic processes may have acted at different times in different segments of the orogen, and where no single model is likely to explain the long-term wedge kinematics. ACKOWLEDGMENTS The central idea of this paper started in our discussions more than a decade ago with Giampaolo Pialli about the differences between what he called the Etruscan Belt and the Umbrian Belt. We thank ENI E&P for the permission of reproducing the seismic lines in figs. 5, 7 and 9. 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