Miocene sediment provenance and drainage pathways in Northern Calabria, Italy

The Calabrian arc represents a segment of the western Mediterranean Alpine orogenic belt characterised by a nappe stack composed of Apennine carbonates, the oceanic Liguride complex, and a Variscan lower to upper crustal section. The nappe stack was piled in the Eocene-Oligocene and became exhumed during the late Oligocene-Miocene. Strong tectonic activity still persists with renewed uplift during the Quaternary. On both sides of the Calabrian arc, Miocene to recent basins exist, with more pronounced extension at the eastern side (forearc) controlled by the retreating subduction zone. We have analysed Aquitanian to Messinian sandstones fringing the central crystalline massifs of Northern Calabria (Sila Massif, Catena Costiera), complemented by pebble populations and modern sand samples. Methods applied comprise Raman-based heavy mineral analysis, detrital mineral chemistry, as well as apatite U-Pb and zircon U-Pb-He geochronology.

Results indicate some striking similarities between Aquitanian-Langhian and Messinian deposits on the eastern forearc side, while the Serravalian-Tortonian deposits suggest a distinct source-to-sink system. This is exemplified by the Crotone sub-basin, where heavy mineral assemblages and chemistry, in addition to apatite U-Pb ages, constrain nearby sources from the Sila granitoids; meanwhile further north, low- to medium-grade metamorphic rocks along with Liguride-derived materials prevail. The present-day steep western coast (Catena Costiera) reflects a region of pronounced exhumation and uplift since at least Serravalian time. All available data are compiled and will be used to derive a model of Miocene sediment provenance and drainage pattern of Northern Calabria through space and time.