Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T17:19:45.189Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Anatomy of a submerged archipelago in the Sicilian Channel (central Mediterranean Sea)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 August 2015

DARIO CIVILE ,
EMANUELE LODOLO ,
MAURO CAFFAU ,
LUCA BARADELLO  and
ZVI BEN-AVRAHAM
DARIO CIVILE
Affiliation:
Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS), Borgo Grotta Gigante 42/C, 34010 Sgonico (Trieste), Italy
EMANUELE LODOLO*
Affiliation:
Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS), Borgo Grotta Gigante 42/C, 34010 Sgonico (Trieste), Italy
MAURO CAFFAU
Affiliation:
Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS), Borgo Grotta Gigante 42/C, 34010 Sgonico (Trieste), Italy
LUCA BARADELLO
Affiliation:
Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS), Borgo Grotta Gigante 42/C, 34010 Sgonico (Trieste), Italy
ZVI BEN-AVRAHAM
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, Tel Aviv University, PO Box 39040, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 3498838, Israel
*
†Author for correspondence: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The Sicilian Channel is a broad and shallow shelf which is geologically part of the African Plate. Its NW sector (the Adventure Plateau), where water depths rarely exceed 100 m, is punctuated by several kilometre-sized morphological highs. These elevations, formed by both sedimentary and volcanic rocks, emerged around middle Holocene time or earlier when they constituted a large archipelago. High-resolution single-channel and multichannel seismic reflection profiles, along with stratigraphic and lithological information derived from exploration wells and rock samplings, are analysed to derive the shallow and deep structural setting of these banks and identify their geological nature. The sedimentary banks (Talbot, Ante-Talbot, Panope, Nereo and Pantelleria Vecchia), presently located at water depths 8–40 m, are composed of Miocene rocks severely deformed by a late Miocene compressional phase which produced the external sector of the Sicilian–Maghrebian thrust belt. Tortonian-aged rock samples from the Pantelleria Vecchia Bank represent patch reefs that have mostly formed on structural highs. Sedimentary analogies suggest that other sedimentary banks of the Adventure Plateau may have the same origin. Galatea, Anfitrite and Tetide represent submarine volcanic edifices emplaced on major extensional faults formed during early Pliocene – Quaternary continental rifting of the Sicilian Channel. The present-day morphology of the banks is the result of repeated phases of subaerial exposure and drowning, especially since the Last Glacial Maximum.

Keywords

Sicilian Channelshallow banksrock samplingsseismic profilesmorpho-structural setting
Type
Original Articles
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 153 , Issue 1 , January 2016 , pp. 160 - 178
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Antonelli, M., Franciosi, R., Pezzi, G., Querci, A., Ronco, G. P. & Vezzani, F. 1988. Paleogeographic evolution and structural setting of the northern side of the Sicily Channel. Memorie Società Geologica Italiana 41, 141–57.Google Scholar
Argnani, A. 1990. The Strait of Sicily rift zone: foreland deformation related to the evolution of a back-arc basin. Journal of Geodynamics 12, 311–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Argnani, A. 1993 a. Neogene tectonics of the Strait of Sicily. In Geological Development of the Sicilian-Tunisian Platform (eds M. D. Max & Colantoni, P.), pp. 55–60. UNESCO Report in Marine Science no. 58.Google Scholar
Argnani, A. 1993 b. Neogene basins in the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean): tectonic settings and geodynamic implications. In Recent Evolution and Seismicity of the Mediterranean Region (eds Boschi, E., Mantovani, E. & Morelli, A.), pp. 173–187. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publication.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Argnani, A. 2009. Evolution of the southern Tyrrhenian slab tear and active tectonics along the western edge of the Tyrrhenian subducted slab. In Collision and Collapse at the Africa–Arabia–Eurasia Subduction Zone (eds Van Hinsbergen, D. J. J., Edwards, M. A. & Govers, R.), pp. 193–212. Geological Society of London, Special Publication no. 311.Google Scholar
Argnani, A., Cornini, S., Torelli, L. & Zitellini, N. 1986. Neogene-Quaternary foredeep system in the Strait of Sicily. Memorie Società Geologica Italiana 36, 123–30.Google Scholar
Argnani, A., Cornini, S., Torelli, L. & Zitellini, N. 1987. Diachronous foredeep-system in the Neogene-Quaternary of the Strait of Sicily. Memorie Società Geologica Italiana 38, 407–17.Google Scholar
Assereto, R. & Benelli, F. 1971. Sedimentology of the pre-Cenomanian formations of the Jebel Garian, Libya. In First Symposium on the Geology of Libya (ed. Gray, C.), pp. 37–85. Tripoli: University of Libya.Google Scholar
Beccaluva, L., Colantoni, P., di Girolamo, P. & Savelli, C. 1981. Upper Miocene submarine volcanism in the Strait of Sicily (Banco Senza Nome). Bulletin of Volcanology 44, 573–81.Google Scholar
Boccaletti, M., Cello, G. & Tortorici, L. 1987. Transtensional tectonics in the Sicily Channel. Journal of Structural Geology 9, 869–76.Google Scholar
Borsetti, A. M., Colantoni, P. & Zarudzki, F. K. 1974. Note strutturali e stratigrafiche sul Canale di Sicilia. Memorie Società Geologica Italiana 13, 221–32.Google Scholar
Burollet, P. F., Mugniot, J. M. & Sweeney, P. 1978. The geology of the Pelagian block: the margins and basins of southern Tunisia and Tripolitania. In The Ocean Basins and Margins: The Western Mediterranean (eds Nairn, A. E. M., Kanes, W. H. & Stelhi, F. G.), pp. 331–59. Vol. 4b. New York: Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calanchi, N., Colantoni, P., Rossi, P. L., Saitta, M. & Serri, G. 1989. The Strait of Sicily continental rift systems: physiography and petrochemistry of the submarine volcanic centres. Marine Geology 87, 55–83.Google Scholar
Carapezza, M., Ferla, P., Nuccio, P. M. & Valenza, M. 1979. Caratteri petrografici e geochimica delle vulcaniti dell’isola “Ferdinandea”. Rendiconti Società Italiana di Mineralogia e Petrografia 35, 377–88.Google Scholar
Casero, P. & Roure, F. 1994. Neogene deformation at the Sicilian-North African plate boundary. In PeryTethyan Platforms (ed. Roure, F.), pp. 27–50. Paris: Editions Technip.Google Scholar
Catalano, R., Franchino, A., Merlini, S. & Sulli, A. 2000. A crustal section from the Eastern Algerina basin to the Ionian ocean (Central Mediterranean). Memorie Società Geologica Italiana 55, 71–85.Google Scholar
Catalano, R., Infuso, S. & Sulli, A. 1995. Tectonic history of the submerged Maghrebian Chain from Southern Tyrrhenian Sea to the Pelagian Foreland. Terra Nova 7, 179–88.Google Scholar
Catalano, R. & Milia, A. 1990. Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene structural inversion in offshore Western Sicily. In The Potential of Deep Seismic Profiling for Hydrocarbon Exploration (eds Pinet, B. & Bois, C.), pp. 445–9. Paris: Editions Technip.Google Scholar
Catalano, S., Torrisi, S., Tortorici, G. & Romagnoli, G. 2011. Active folding along a rift-flank: the Catania region case history (SE Sicily). Journal of Geodynamics 51, 53–63.Google Scholar
Cello, G. 1987. Structure and deformation processes in the Strait of Sicily “rift zone”. Tectonophysics 141, 237–47.Google Scholar
Civile, D., Lodolo, E., Accettella, D., Geletti, R., Ben-Avraham, Z., Deponte, M., Facchin, L., Ramella, R. & Romeo, R. 2010. The Pantelleria graben (Sicily Channel, Central Mediterranean): an example of intraplate ‘passive’ rift. Tectonophysics 490, 173–83.Google Scholar
Civile, D., Lodolo, E., Alp, H., Ben-Avraham, Z., Cova, A., Baradello, L., Accettella, D., Burca, M. & Centonze, J. 2014. Seismic stratigraphy and structural setting of the Adventure Plateau (Sicily Channel). Marine Geophysical Researches 35, 37–53.Google Scholar
Civile, D., Lodolo, E., Zecchin, M., Ben-Avraham, Z., Baradello, L., Accettella, D., Cova, A. & Caffau, M. 2015. The lost Adventure Archipelago (Sicilian Channel, Mediterranean Sea): morpho-bathymetry and Late Quaternary palaeogeographic evolution. Global and Planetary Change 125, 36–47.Google Scholar
Colantoni, P. 1975. Note di geologia marina sul Canale di Sicilia. Giornale di Geologia 2, 181–207.Google Scholar
Colantoni, P., Cremona, G., Ligi, M., Borsetti, A. M. & Cati, F. 1985. The Adventure Bank (off south-western Sicily): a present day example of carbonate shelf sedimentation. Giornale di Geologia 47, 165–80.Google Scholar
Colantoni, P., Del Monte, M., Gallignani, P. & Zarudzki, E. F. K. 1975. Il Banco Graham: un vulcano recente del Canale di Sicilia. Giornale di Geologia 2, 141–62.Google Scholar
Dart, C. J., Bosence, W. J. & McClay, K. R. 1993. Stratigraphy and structure of the Maltese graben system. Journal of the Geological Society London 150, 1153–66.Google Scholar
Flügel, E. 2010. Microfacies of Carbonate Rocks. Analysis, Interpretation and Application. 2nd edn. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Grasso, M. 2001. The Apenninic-Maghrebian orogen in southern Italy, Sicily and adjacent areas. In Anatomy of an Orogen: the Apennines and Adjacent Mediterranean Basins (eds Vai, G. B. & Martini, I. P.), pp. 255–86. Norwell, Massachusetts: Kluwer Academic Publishers.Google Scholar
Grasso, M. & Pedley, H. M. 1985. The Pelagian Island: a new geological interpretation from sedimentological and tectonic studies and its bearing on the evolution of the Central Mediterranean Sea (Pelagian Block). Geologica Romana 24, 13–34.Google Scholar
Hammuda, O. S., Sbeta, A. M., Mouzughi, A. J. & Eliagoubi, B. A. 1985. Stratigraphic Nomenclature of the North-Western Offshore of Libya. Tarabulus: Earth Science Society of Libya, 166 pp.Google Scholar
Jongsma, D., Van Hinte, J. E. & Woodside, J. M. 1985. Geologic structure and neotectonics of the North African continental margin south of Sicily. Marine and Petroleum Geology 2, 156–79.Google Scholar
Keeley, M. L., Dungworth, G., Floyd, C. S., Forbes, G. A., Kin, C., McGarva, R. M. & Shaw, D. 1990. The Jurassic system in northern Egypt. Regional stratigraphy and implication for hydrocarbon prospectivity. Journal of Mineralogy, Petrology and Economic Geology 13, 397–420.Google Scholar
Keeley, M. L. & Massoud, M. S. 1998. Tectonic control on the petroleum geology of NE Africa. In Petroleum Geology of North Africa (eds MacGregor, D. S., Moody, R. T. J. & Clark-Lowes, D. D.), pp. 265–81. Geological Society of London, Special Publication no. 132.Google Scholar
Lentini, F., Carbone, S. & Catalano, S. 1994. Main structural domains of the central Mediterranean region and their tectonic evolution. Bollettino di Geofisica Teorica e Applicata 35, 103–25.Google Scholar
Lentini, F., Carbone, S. & Catalano, S. 1996. The external thrust system in southern Italy: a target for petroleum exploration. Petroleum Geoscience 2, 333–42.Google Scholar
Lentini, F., Carbone, S., Catalano, S., Grasso, M. & Monaco, C. 1990. Principali elementi strutturali del thrust belt Appenninico-Maghrebide in Sicilia centro-orientale. Memorie Società Geologica Italiana 45, 495–502.Google Scholar
Lentini, F., Carbone, S. & Guarnieri, P. 2006. Collisional and post-collisional tectonics of the Apenninic-Maghrebian Orogen (Southern Italy). In Post-Collisional Tectonics and Magmatism in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (eds Dilek, Y. & Pavlides, S.), pp. 57–81. Geological Society of America, Special Paper 409.Google Scholar
Lickorish, W. H., Grasso, M., Butler, R. W. H., Argnani, A. & Maniscalco, R. 1999. Structural styles and regional tectonic setting of the “Gela Nappe” and frontal part of the Maghrebian thrust belt in Sicily. Tectonics 18, 655–68.Google Scholar
Lodolo, E. 2012. When the Sicily Channel was an archipelago. Rendiconti Online Società Geologica Italiana 21 (2), 1174–5.Google Scholar
Lodolo, E., Civile, D., Zanolla, C. & Geletti, R. 2012. Magnetic signature of the Sicily Channel volcanism. Marine Geophysical Researches 33, 33–44.Google Scholar
Loeblich, A. & Tappan, H. 1988. Foraminifera Genera and their Classification. New York: Van Noslrand Reinhold.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moisette, P., Cornée, J. J., Mannaï-Tayech, B., Rabhi, M., André, J. P., Koskeridou, E. & Méon, H. 2010. The western edge of the Mediterranean Pelagian Platform: a Messinian mixed siliciclastic-carbonate ramp in northern Tunisia. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 285, 85–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murray, J. W. 2006. Ecology and Applications of Benthic Foraminifera. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 426 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pedley, H. M. 1978. A new lithostratigraphical and palaeoenvironmental interpretation for the coralline limestone formations (Miocene) of the Maltese Island. Overseas Geological and Mineralogical Resources 54, 1–18.Google Scholar
Reuther, C. D. & Eisbacher, G. H. 1985. Pantelleria rift-crustal extension in a convergent intraplate setting. Geologische Rundschau 74, 585–97.Google Scholar
Rotolo, S. G., Castorina, F., Cellula, D. & Pompilio, M. 2006. Petrology and geochemistry of submarine volcanism in the Sicily Channel. Journal of Geology 114, 355–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roure, F., Casero, P. & Addoum, B. 2012. Alpine inversion of the North African margin and delamination of its continental lithosphere. Tectonics 31, 1–28.Google Scholar
Vai, G. B. & Cantelli, L. 2004. Litho-palaeoenvironmental maps of Italy during the last two climatic extremes. Scale maps 1:1.000.000. 32° IGC Publications.Google Scholar
Van der Zwaan, G. J. 1982. Paleoecology of the Miocene Mediterranean foraminifera. Utrech Micropaleontological Bulletin 25, 1–200.Google Scholar
Washington, H. S. 1909. The submarine eruption of 1831 and 1891 near Pantelleria. American Journal of Science 27, 131–150.Google Scholar