The role of pleistocene strike-slip tectonics in the neogene-quaternary evolution of the Southern Apennine orogenic belt: Implications for oil trap development

The Southern Apennine orogenic belt is composed of allochthonous continenta l units derived from the African and European palaeo-margins of NeoTethys ( the Adria and Corsica-Sardinia Blocks, respectively), together with oceanic units derived from the intervening Neo Tethyan domain. The frontal part of the belt has been thrust over a foredeep-foreland system consisting of the Bradano Trough and Apulian Platform. The belt can be divided into two stru ctural levels which are separated by a major detachment surface. The upper level consists of a multilayer complex made tip of allochthonous NeoTethyan nappes; these were deformed during oceanic subduction, and are now emplace d on the Adria Block as a consequence of continent-continent collision. The lower structural level is characterised by, large-scale duplexes involving the Mesozoic-Cenozoic sedimentary cover of the Adria Block which in recent years has formed an important target for oil exploration. On top of these allochthonous terranes, a series of small Plio-Pleistocene basins developed during the final phases of the migration of the thrust belt into the forel and. During the last stages of orogenesis, thrust migration became locked a s a result of collisional thickening of the continental crust, and deformat ion in the southern Apennines was taken tip by strike-slip faults which now cut across the fold and thrust belt. In this paper, we describe the major Pleistocene strike-slip structures in the southern Apennines between the Pollino Mountains in the south and the P otenza region in the north, and investigate the role of wrench tectonics in the belt Neogene-Quaternary evolution. The study, combines field mapping w ith analyses of satellite images and aerial photographs. Sinistral WNW-ESE trending strike-slip faults are accommodated by thrusts and folds which cro ss-cut the pre-existing tectonic layering, giving rise to an interference p attern in which culminations may, act as structural traps suitable for oil and gas exploration.