Reply to Comments on “the Cenozoic Fold‐and‐Thrust Belt of Eastern Sardinia: Evidences from the Integration of Field Data With Numerically Balanced Geological Cross Section” by Arragoni et al. (2016)

Abstract

The comment by Berra et al. (2017) on the evidence of Alpine tectonics in Eastern Sardinia proposed by Arragoni et al. (2016) is based on the sedimentological interpretations of few local outcrops in a marginal portion of the study area. The Cenozoic Alpine fold‐and‐thrust setting, which characterizes this region, presents flat‐over‐flat shear planes acting along originally stratigraphic contacts, where stratigraphic continuity is obviously maintained. The ramp sectors present steeply dipping bedding attitudes, and there is no need to invoke and to force prograding clinoforms with unrealistic angles to justify them. The balanced geological cross section proposed by Arragoni et al. (2016) is fully supported by robust newly collected structural data and is compatible with the overall tectonic setting, while the interpretation proposed by Berra et al. (2017) lacks a detailed structural investigation. We believe that the partial application of the techniques available to modern geology may lead to incorrect interpretations, thus representing an obstacle for the progress of knowledge in the Earth sciences.

Geostatistical Analysis of Lineament Domains: The Study Case of the Apennine Seismic Province of Italy

“…The collision started during the Oligocene and was associated with the opening of several secondary rotational basins [53][54][55]. Evidence of the Oligocene collision is still present, both in eastern Sardinia [56,57] and along the western side of the Italian Peninsula [58]. This earlier chain was partially dissected and further deformed by the opening of the Tyrrhenian Basin, which started during the Lower Miocene (Langhian) and is still active today, with the development of young oceanic crust in its southern sector (e.g., Mt.…”