The Lower Miocene volcaniclastic sedimentation in the Sicilian sector of the Maghrebian Flysch Basin: geodynamic implications

New data about the Piedimonte Formation (Monte Soro Unit): insights and constraints to the geodynamic evolution of the Sicilian Maghrebids

“…The formation is characterised by some distinctive lithofacies: (a) polygenic conglomerates forming wide and thick bodies with depositional structures indicating mass flow or debris flow processes and a distribution related to submarine canyons; (b) thin-bedded sandstones, resulting from diluted turbidity flows, alternating with thick sandstone beds and subordinate thin conglomerate beds, deposited by high density turdidity currents; (c) marly levels, occurring in the whole succession except in the conglomeratic intervals. Finally, in the fining-upward upper portion of the succession thin silexite beds, similar to those characterising the Burdigalian marker-bed recognised in many Western Mediterranean basin and related with a volcanic activity, are also present [11,9].…”

“…The nappes of the geometrically lowest complex (Panormide, Imerese, Trapanese and Sicane Units) originated from the deformation of the External Domain and they [10,11,12,5] allowed to define in detail the timing of deformation of the above mentioned domains and of the building of the Maghrebian orogen. The deformation age was found to be comprised between the late Aquitanian and the early Burdigalian for the Internal Domain [8,9], between the Burdigalian and the Langhian for the MFD and, probably, between the Serravallian and the early Pliocene for the External Domain.…”

“…In literature the PF is considered to represent a pre-tectonic or a post-tectonic sedimentation, the latter sealing the nappes originated from both the Internal Domain and the MFD, so excluding a possible meaning of a syn-tectonic sedimentation. In fact, in the entire Maghrebian Chain, the age of the youngest foredeep syn-orogenic deposits involved in the nappe stack resulted to be Aquitanian in the Internal Domain, or Burdigalian in the MFD, whereas the oldest deposits sealing the Internal Domain and the MFD Units have been dated Burdigalian or Langhian, respectively [8,10,11,12,5].…”

“…In order to clarify the above reported strong discrepancies, we carried out new field and stratigraphic studies to obtain useful data to insert the PF in a regional geodynamic context reconstructed also considering the recent data about the evolution of the units derived from the Internal Domain and the MFD [4,5,8,9,10,11,12,14,15].…”

La Galite Archipelago (Tunisia, North Africa): Stratigraphic and petrographic revision and insights for geodynamic evolution of the Maghrebian Chain

“…On the basis of this preliminary petrographic study, Petrofacies 1 and 2 can be considered as belonging to the well-known immature turbiditic arenite family, which is very common in the Mauritanian Domain of the Maghrebian Flysch Basin (e.g., Chiocchini et al, 1980;Guerrera, 1981/82;Guerrera et al, 1989;de Capoa et al, 2000de Capoa et al, , 2002Zaghloul et al, 2002). In this context the immature arenites of the La Galite Flysch can be related to the syn-orogenic flysch sedimentation of the internal Maghrebian Flysch Basin (sensu Guerrera et al, 1993Guerrera et al, , 2005.…”