Tectonic controls on large-scale fluid circulation in the Apennines (Italy)

A SW-NE crustal cross-section across the central Apennines shows that the e astward advancement of extensional down-faulting superposed onto the contra ctional edifice since the late Miocene has spatially juxtaposed tectonic do mains distinguished by crustal structure, contemporary deformation styles, and fluid circulation. Structural data coupled with the geochemistry of roc k-fluid interaction allow the distinction, from NE to SW, of three major do mains that show the transition from an entirely closed system in the forede ep basin, still undergoing active compression and thrusting, to a crust-lit hosphere open hydrologic system in the strongly extended Tyrrhenian region. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.