Structural and Thermal Constraints to the Tectonic Evolution of Foredeep Successions in the Northern Apennines, Italy

A multi-method investigation (structural analysis, organic matter thermal maturity and clay mineralogy) was carried out on highly deformed foredeep successions in the Northern Apennine with special regard to shear zones in the Lago Trasimeno area (Rentella Unit) to unravel the main structural mechanisms and the thermal condition of the Miocene accretionary processes of the Northern Apennines belt. The Rentella Unit consists of a foredeep succession deposited in a paleogeographic domain between the Tuscan and the Umbria-Marche Domains. Meso- and microstructural data indicate shear planes compatible with C-planes (N160°, 45°SW). C-planes veins show dilational jogs and a staircase shape coherent to a top-to-the-NE sense of shear. Type II calcite twins in the shear zone associated veins suggest temperatures of 150-200°C. Temperature-dependent clay minerals and vitrinite reflectance indicate lower maximum paleo-temperatures (<100-110°C) in the early diagenesis and in the immature to early-mature stages of hydrocarbon generation. Thermal parameters suggest the development of the shear zone in the foredeep deposits at shallow depths (<3 km). Hot fluids coming from deeper structural levels within the collisional prism caused higher temperatures recorded in calcite twins of the shear zone veins.