Geochemical study of travertines along middle-lower Tiber valley (central Italy): genesis, palaeo-environmental and tectonic implications

Volcano-tectonic deformation in the Monti Sabatini Volcanic District at the gates of Rome (central Italy): evidence from new geochronologic constraints on the Tiber River MIS 5 terraces

“…A series of gas vents and sinkholes characterizes this stream valley 34 , which corresponds to a strike-slip tectonic lineament, part of the regional right-lateral, en-echelon Sabina Fault Zone 28 . Remarkably 33 , have highlighted the close relationships among the occurrence of thermogenic travertine deposits in the Tiber Valley, the major strike-slip tectonic lineaments, and phases of volcanic activity, particularly during MIS 5.…”

“…Considering that the geologic substrate in the two sectors is the same (i.e., Plio-Pleistocene marine clay sediments), this geomorphological setting can be explained by a recent differential uplift affecting the western bank with respect to the eastern one, causing the marked difference in elevation of the MIS 5.5 and MIS 5.3 terraces in the two sectors. Notably, an extensive cover of thermogenic travertine 33 exposed along the steeper western bank of the Tiber Valley suggests that rising hydrothermal fluids migrated through the preferential pathways represented by the faults and fractures bordering the uplifted sector, resulting in terraced steps declining towards the present alluvial plain.…”

Uranium Geochemistry of Italian Travertines and Calcareous Tufas: Exploring the Relationship between Carbonate Deposition, Groundwater Circulation and Subsurface Geology

“…The fossil travertine system of Prima Porta is located at the border of the Paleo-Tiber Graben, a tectonic depression filled by an aquifer, comprising a thin layer of volcanic rocks, overlying sandy, gravelly terrains and a thin and discontinuous sandy, gravelly layer at its base [41]. The chemistry of present-day groundwater suggests the circulation in a volcanic aquifer, and probably mixing with the alluvial plain aquifer [59,60] U)i ratio < 1.5. In the Sarteano area, mixing between deep and shallow fluids, initially of meteoric origin, occurs.…”

“…At sites 3, 5, 7, 9 and 12, the travertine/tufa precipitated from cold waters (T < 15 • C) and Ca-HCO 3 and Na-HCO 3 chemical composition, typical of cold karstic springs [49,53,55,57,63]. In the other cases, the travertine precipitated from thermal (T > 20 • C) or intermediate (15 < T < 20 • C) waters, whose chemical compositions include Ca-HCO 3 (sites 4, 10, 11 [51,59,61]) and are sometimes enriched in Mg (site 2 [48]) or Na (site 7 [55]), Ca-Cl (sites 14 and 15 [66,67]), Ca-SO 4 (site 13 [64,65]), Ca-SO 4 and Na-Cl (sites 1, 6 and 8 [47,54,56]) hydrochemical facies. Their chemistry and temperature are due to the hydrothermal origins of the groundwaters.…”

Record of Neotectonics and Deep Crustal Fluid Circulation Along the Santa Fe Fault Zone in Travertine Deposits of the Lucero Uplift, New Mexico, USA

“…Previous studies have proposed correlations between travertine formation and climate cycles (Kampman et al., 2012; Pigati et al., 2011; Ricketts et al., 2019). Others studies attribute travertine formation to tectonic activity due to the formation of travertine deposits through multiple glacial/interglacial cycles (e.g., Brogi et al., 2016; Giustini et al., 2018; Miocic et al., 2019; Ozkul et al., 2013). Multiple studies attribute travertine formation to both tectonic, climatic, and in some cases magmatic origins (Brogi et al., 2010; De Filippis et al., 2013; Faccenna et al., 2008; Priewisch et al., 2014).…”