Petro-structural geology of the Eastern Aspromonte Massif crystalline basement (southern Italy-Calabria): an example of interoperable geo-data management from thin section – to field scale

Abstract

The presented maps provide an example of the synoptic display of multi-scale geological features characterizing the tectono-metamorphic evolution of the crystalline basement terranes in a poly-orogenic-multistadial evolutionary scenario. The petro-structural map of the eastern Aspromonte Massif (southern Calabrian Peloritani Orogen) is characterized by a nappe-like edifice composed by the superimposition of three crystalline basement tectonic units which, sharing the same Alpine-Apennine reworking, underwent a different metamorphic evolution, mostly derived from the Hercynian orogenic cycle. This geological framework is completed by the suture deposition of a Oligocene-Miocene syn-orogenic clastic formation, partly roofed by the back-thrusting of a clay-rich mélange. In order to understand the potential relationships within the complex dataset deriving from the geological investigations of this crystalline basement area, a geo-database, capable of handling multi-scale information from field-derived structural data (i.e. foliation, lineation, fold- and fault-related structures) to micro-scale derived ones (i.e. thin-section analysis, electron microscope and microprobe investigations, thermodynamic modeling outputs) has been constructed, according to the international standards using the Geo-Scientific Markup Language developed by the Commission for the Management and Application of Geo-science Information. Proposed outputs will show the relationships between field-related geological features, showing collected samples and the subsequent laboratory investigations. These are fundamental to achieving reliable results in geological contexts, such as those for reconstructing the tectono-metamorphic evolution of crystalline basement terrains.

Keywords:

• GIS geological mapping
• structural data
• Calabria
• GeoSciMl
• Spline

Acknowledgements

Gianluca Vignaroli, Salvatore Critelli and Heike Apps are acknowledged for their detailed and helpful reviews, which significantly contributed to improve the work. Mario Pagano and Roberto Visalli are also acknowledged for assistance during data entry.

Notes

1. It is a diagrammatic graph-based semi-formal language for specifying, visualizing, constructing, and documenting the artifacts of an information system, allows to model any domain of application also in multi-disciplinary contexts.