GeoResources - Triassic Basin Fill and Development, Southern Alps

Content
Hydrocarbon E&P
Geothermal Energy
Metallic Ore Resources
Fundamental Research
Industry Sponsorship
Virtual Geology
Contact
Project Login
Projects / Fundamental Research / Regional Studies / Triassic Basin, Southern Alps, Introduction
 
 

Triassic Basin Fill and Development of the Southern Alps (Italy, Switzerland)

  
  Introduction & Detailed Description
  
     
     

   
     
     
  Scientists
Rainer Zühlke, GeoResources and University of Heidelberg
  
     
  Introduction
The Southern Alps cover an area of 600 km (east to west) by 50-150 km (north to south). They are bounded by the Insubric or Periadriatic Lineament (to the north and west) and by a south-vergent thrust system against the Tertiary Po and Venetian basins to the south. To the east, the Southern Alps continue into the Dinarides. Based on stratigraphic/structural features the Southern Alps can be subdivided into three parts: (1) the western Southern Alps (Ticino, Lombardian Alps, Lago Maggiore to Giudicaria Lineament); (2) the central Southern Alps (Etsch/Adige Valley and Dolomites, Giudicaria Lineament to River Piave); and (3) the eastern Southern Alps (Carnian and Julian Alps, east of the River Piave).

Marked facies variations in time and space, as well as differential subsidence/uplift characterize the development of the Triassic basin in the area. As a result of these variations, the basin fill includes a large number of lithostratigraphic units of regional extent, albeit with inconsistent naming. While many units have been widely described in the literature, not all of them are formally defined. In the trilingual region of South Tyrol (central Southern Alps) Italian and German names have been used for type localities and lithostratigraphic units. Therefore, this overview will provide names in both languages, e.g. Livinallongo/Buchenstein Formation (Italian/German).

In Triassic times, the Southern Alps were situated on the passive continental margin of Gondwana bordering the western Tethys (Gaetani 2000). However, during the Mid-and early Late Triassic, in particular, the region was affected by transtensive-transpressive tectonics and volcanism. Post-Variscan deposition in the Southern Alps commenced in the Permian. At the Permian-Triassic boundary, marine depositional environments prevailed except in the westernmost parts of the Southern Alps. Although the main structural subdivision of the Southern Alpine basin occurred in the Early Jurassic, with the opening of the Ligurian Ocean (Thierry 2000), structural compartmentalization began in the early Mid-Triassic. Varying thickness trends and depositional environments defined the initial Lombardian Basin (western Southern Alps), Trento Platform (central Southern Alps) and the Belluno Trough (SW part of the eastern Southern Alps).

Both the western and central Southern Alps have been studied in detail. Indeed, two Triassic stages - the Ladinian and the Carnian - have their type areas in the Southern Alps. From the nineteenth century, basic concepts in geology were developed in the region, for example the concept of ”reefs” (carbonate platforms) with clinoforms, interfingering with time-equivalent basins (Mojsisovics 1879). In more recent times, stratigraphic information from the central Southern Alps has been used for the Triassic segments in eustatic sea-level charts (Haq et al. 1988; Hardenbol et al. 1998). Standard models on the controls of carbonate deposition have been based on case studies of Middle Triassic carbonate platforms in the central Southern Alps (Goldhammer et al. 1993; Preto et al. 2004; Zühlke 2004). Additionally, a number of basin fill studies have focused on the Triassic (Gaetani et al. 1998; Gianolla et al. 1998; Neri & Stefani 1998; Rüffer & Zühlke 1995; Zühlke 2000; Emmerich et al. 2005a).
  


 
  Detailed Description ...
Virtual Field Trip
  
     
Drucken Kontakt