Research Area: Chemistry and Physics of the Earth System
Coordinators: Silvio Seno, Matteo Maino, Giovanni Toscani, Stefania Corvò, Ada De Matteo, Francesca Stendardi, Ludovico Manna, Michele Perozzo, Matteo Foletti, Simone Lombardi, Leonardo Stefanelli, Adriano Menga, Samuele Pezzoli
ERC sectors: PE10_5 Geology, tectonics, volcanology; PE10_7 Physics of earth’s interior, seismology, geodynamics; PE10_14 Earth observations from space/remote sensing
1. Deformation Mechanisms under Varying Conditions
Relate the complexity of deformation expressions in rocks to primary factors that control the transition between mechanisms. Study how changes in one or more conditions (e.g., temperature, pressure, composition, presence of multiple phases) influence the development of deformation.
2. Influence of Deformation on the Metamorphic Record
Metasomatic reactions are strongly influenced by stress and/or strain concentrations in given portions of the rock volume. The challenge is to identify and quantify how even transient processes can permanently change the metamorphic record.
3. Microscopic Mechanisms of Friction in Faulted Rocks
How friction evolves in faulted rocks is one of the major issues in rock physics. A good theory explaining the rate variations typical of deformation processes is not yet available. Research is aimed at developing theoretical models to describe the dependence of velocity on the distribution of rock structure.
4. Geological Cartography and Alpine Geology
Geological surveying in Alpine areas (Central and Western Alps) for the preparation of geological maps at various scales, including for CARG purposes. The survey is also preparatory to the development of all the other topics described.
5. Three-Dimensional Geological Reconstructions
The fundamental challenge of geology is to reconstruct the deep structure of geological bodies. Using 3D modeling software, validatable models of the subsurface are reconstructed and used for hydrogeological, mineral, and hydrocarbon exploration.
CNR; INGV; SUPSI; ISPRA (Progetto CARG), Italferr; Polish Geological Institute-NRI (Poland); Università di Genova; Università di Sassari; University of Leeds (UK); Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)
Corvò, S., Maino, M., Langone, A., Schenker, F. L., Tagliaferri, A., Perozzo, M., Casini, L., Seno, S. (2024). Monazite and zircon U–(Th–) Pb dating reveals multiple episodes of HT metamorphism in the Cima Lunga unit (Central Alps): implications for the exhumation of high-pressure rocks. International Journal of Earth Sciences, 1-28.
Manna, L., Perozzo, M., Menegoni, N., Tamburelli, S., Crispini, L., Federico, L., Seno, S., & Maino, M. (2023). Anatomy of a km-scale fault zone controlling the Oligo-Miocene bending of the Ligurian Alps (NW Italy): integration of field and 3D high-resolution digital outcrop model data. Swiss Journal of Geosciences, 116(1), 1-29.
Corvò, S., Maino, M., Piazolo, S., Kylander-Clark, A., Orlando, A., Seno, S., & Langone, A. (2023). Crystal plasticity and fluid availability govern the ability of titanite to record the age of deformation. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 620, 118349.
Mueller, P., Tamburelli, S., Menegoni, N., Perozzo, M., Amadori, C., Crispini, L., Federico, L., Seno, S., Maino, M. (2023). Concurrence of load-and-flame structures, balls-and-pillows, clastic injectites and shear deformation bands as indicator of seismicity in mixed siliciclastic-carbonate successions (Finale Ligure Basin, Italy). Marine and Petroleum Geology, 106345.
Tagliaferri, A., Schenker, F. L., Ulianov, A., Maino, M., & Schmalholz, S. M. (2023). Implications of New Geological Mapping and U‐Pb Zircon Dating for the Barrovian Tectono‐Metamorphic Evolution of the Lepontine Dome (Central European Alps). Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 24(3), e2022GC010772.
Maesano, F. E., Buttinelli, M., Maffucci, R., Toscani, G., Basili, R., Bonini, L., ... & Vannoli, P. (2023). Buried alive: Imaging the 9 November 2022, Mw 5.5 earthquake source on the offshore Adriatic blind thrust front of the Northern Apennines (Italy). Geophysical Research Letters, 50(11), e2022GL102299.
Corvò S., Maino M., Piazolo S., Seno S., Langone A. (2022). Role of inherited compositional and structural heterogeneity in shear zone development at mid-low levels of the continental crust (the Anzola shear zone; Ivrea-Verbano Zone, Southern Alps). Lithos, 106745.
Panara, Y., Maesano, F. E., Amadori, C., Fedorik, J., Toscani, G., & Basili, R. (2021). Probabilistic Assessment of Slip Rates and Their Variability Over Time of Offshore Buried Thrusts: A Case Study in the Northern Adriatic Sea. Frontiers in Earth Science, 9, 664288.
Casini, L., Maino, M., Sanfilippo, A., Ildefonse, B., & Dick, H. J. (2021). High‐Temperature Strain Localization and the Nucleation of Oceanic Core Complexes (16.5° N, Mid‐Atlantic Ridge). Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 126(9), e2021JB022215.
Corvò, S., Maino, M., Langone, A., Schenker, F. L., Piazolo, S., Casini, L., & Seno, S. (2021). Local variations of metamorphic record from compositionally heterogeneous rocks (Cima di Gagnone, Central Alps): Inferences on exhumation processes of (U) HP–HT rocks. Lithos, 390, 106126.
Maino, M., Adamuszek, M., Schenker, F. L., Seno, S., & Dabrowski, M. (2021). Sheath fold development around deformable inclusions: Integration of field-analysis (Cima Lunga unit, Central Alps) and 3D numerical models. Journal of Structural Geology, 144, 104255.
Amadori, C., Ghielmi, M., Mancin, N., & Toscani, G. (2020). The evolution of a coastal wedge in response to Plio-Pleistocene climate change: the Northern Adriatic case. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 122, 104675.
Federico, L., Maino, M., Capponi, G., & Crispini, L. (2020). Paleo-depth of fossil faults estimated from paleostress state: Applications from the Alps and the Apennines (Italy). Journal of Structural Geology, 140, 104152.
Maino, M., Casini, L., Boschi, C., Di Giulio, A., Setti, M., & Seno, S. (2020). Time‐Dependent Heat Budget of a Thrust from Geological Records and Numerical Experiments. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 125(3), e2019JB018940.
Mueller, P., Maino, M., & Seno, S. (2020). Progressive deformation patterns from an accretionary prism (Helminthoid Flysch, Ligurian Alps, Italy). Geosciences, 10(1), 26.
Amadori, C., Toscani, G., Di Giulio, A., Maesano, F.E., D’Ambrogi, C., Ghielmi, M., Fantoni, R. (2019). From cylindrical to non-cylindrical foreland basin: Pliocene–Pleistocene evolution of the Po Plain–Northern Adriatic basin (Italy). Basin Research, 31 (5), pp. 991-1015.
Panara, Y., Toscani, G., Cooke, M.L., Seno, S., Perotti, C. (2019). Coseismic ground deformation reproduced through numerical modeling: A parameter sensitivity analysis. Geosciences (Switzerland), 9 (9), art. no. 370.