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Rare-earth elements in Oligo-Miocenic pelitic sediments from Lagonegro Basin, southern Apennines, Italy: implications for provenance and source area weathering

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Abstract

The Lagonegro Units are a part of the southern Apennines orogenic wedge. The age of the Lagonegro successions ranges from lower–middle Triassic to Oligo-Miocene. During late Cretaceous and Oligocene the deposition of calcareous-clastic sediments occurred interbedded with shales (Flysch Rosso Fm). During Oligocene and early Miocene, in the Mediterranean area, an important variation of the tectonic regime occurred, and siliciclastic sediments of the Numidian Basin unconformably lay on the Meso-Cenozoic units of the Lagonegro Basin. In the Lucanian Apennine, the Aquitanian–Langhian Numidian Flysch Fm overlies the Flysch rosso Fm. The shales of the Flysch rosso Fm have a peculiar geochemical fingerprint relative to typical shales of post-Archean age. The abundance of Ni and Cr is significantly higher and the HREE chondrite-normalized patterns are steep with a (Gd/Yb)ch>2. A supply of material from the African Archean terranes could be the cause. The palaeo-weathering indices record changes at the source, reflecting variations in the tectonic regime. The oldest samples are derived from an environment in which steady-state weathering conditions prevailed, whereas the youngest samples are related to non-steady-state weathering conditions. This difference could record deformational events that affected the Mediterranean area during the Oligocene and early Miocene. The sample at the top of the studied log has very high silica content and an abundant coarse grain-sized fraction. This suggests that this sample belongs to the Numidian Flysch Fm. The geochemical proxies of this sample are different from those associated with samples from the Flysch rosso Fm, indicating that the source-area of the Numidian Flysch Fm did not include the Archean terranes.

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Acknowledgement

Comments by H. Bahlburg and B. Bock greatly improved the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Geological Sciences, Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Macchia Romana campus, 85100, Potenza, Italy

    Giovanni Mongelli

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  1. Giovanni Mongelli
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Correspondence to Giovanni Mongelli.

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Mongelli, G. Rare-earth elements in Oligo-Miocenic pelitic sediments from Lagonegro Basin, southern Apennines, Italy: implications for provenance and source area weathering. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 93, 612–620 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-004-0401-z

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