Four-dimensional tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the Southeastern peri-Tyrrhenian Basins (Margin of Calabria, Italy)

We use seismic reflection profiles of diverse resolutions integrated with high resolution bathymetry and calibrated by deep wells, piston cores and field data to derive a structural and stratigraphic interpretation of the Southeastern peri-Tyrrhenian Basins. The study area is located in the Southeastern Tyrrhenian Sea offshore Calabria. We document a tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the sedimentary basins from the Serravallian to the Present. The basins formation started during the Serravallian and the area was successively affected by E–W normal faulting and approximately N–S transfer faults in the Messinian–Lower Pleistocene time range. During the Lower Pleistocene the tectonic depressions, completely filled with sediments, were affected by folding associated with transcurrent tectonics along a NW-trending left lateral fault. Finally, during the Middle Pleistocene, a change in the slip direction produced minor pull-apart basins that overprinted the folds. The basin analysis revealed the stratigraphic signature of the tectonic events and, the uplifting and subsiding areas and the direction from which sediments arrive into the tectonic depression. The four-dimensional geologic reconstruction of the Margin of Calabria furnished new constrains for the kinematic evolution of the Southeastern peri-Tyrrhenian Basins. We suggest that the superposition of different structural styles reflects a variation of the relative velocity between the Southern Apennine Arc and the Calabria Arc during the formation of the Apennine Thrust Belt.