The dismantling of the Apulian carbonate platform during the late Campanian – early Maastrichtian in Albania

J. Le Goff*, J. J.G. Reijmer, A. Cerepi, C. Loisy, R. Swennen, G. Heba, T. Cavailhes, S. De Graaf

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

The Apulian carbonate margin is widely preserved across the Adriatic domain and has been extensively studied in the south of Italy. In Albania, Oligocene–Pliocene fold-and-thrust tectonics led to widespread exposure of the Apulian Platform and associated Ionian Basin carbonates. However, the portion linking the platform to the basin is missing, preventing a direct reconstruction of the platform margin. Syn-sedimentary folding and faulting are recognized in the uppermost part of both the platform and basinal/slope series. Mass transport deposits (MTDs) occur within the platform succession incorporated into well-bedded intertidal (stromatolites) to shallow-subtidal (rudist packstones) sedimentary sequences. They display significant lateral variability which is accompanied by both rigid and soft deformation structures. Spectacular slumps made up of sediment density flow deposits are recognized in the adjacent Ionian Basin. The lateral extent of basal shear surfaces, syn-sedimentary faults and folds evidenced in the Ionian Basin points toward multiple regional tectonic triggering events affecting the Apulian Platform margin at that time. Bio- and chrono-stratigraphic analyses suggest that the triggers occurred during the late Campanian – early Maastrichtian. Beyond the obvious interest from a stratigraphic point of view, the study of these events recording the dismantling of the Apulian carbonate platform allows for a better understanding of the triggering mechanisms and the sedimentary characteristics of MTDs and slumps at a basinal scale.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)83-106
Number of pages24
JournalCretaceous Research
Volume96
Early online date22 Nov 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2019

Funding

We thank Prof. R. Ellam and Dr. Hamdy El Desouky for carrying out the Sr-isotope analysis respectively at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (Glasgow, Scotland), and the Department of Analytical Chemistry, Ghent University (Belgium). We thank Bernard Martin (Université de Bordeaux - EPOC) for the thin section preparation. We thank the EA 4592 ‘ Géoressources et Environnement ’ (ENSEGID Bordeaux-INP), France, and KU Leuven, Belgium, who funded the PhD studies and sedimentological investigations, and to the College of Petroleum Engineering & Geosciences of the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (CPG-KFUPM), Saudi Arabia, for their partial Post-doc support and funding the fieldwork related to the structural geology analysis. The authors thank Kristaq Muska and the Geological Department of the Polytechnic University of Tirana, Albania, for their providing biostratigraphic data of the area and various numerical topographic and geological maps. Journal reviewers P. Harries, J. Borgomano, J.P. Masse and an anonymous reviewer are gratefully thanked for their insightful reviews and suggestions that significantly improved the quality of the manuscript.

Keywords

  • Albania
  • Apulia
  • Carbonates
  • Mass transport deposits
  • Upper Cretaceous

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