Geological Field Trip 2 – Structural Geology, stratigraphic architecture and trap styles of Sicily FTB

A Multidisciplinary approach on the field

Description
This 5 days field trip offers an intensive and robust multidisciplinary approach on techniques and analysis on the field (regional geology, geodynamics, structural geology, stratigraphy, facies analysis and petroleum geology). Set in the famous Sicily Island, one of the most interesting and complex fold & thrust belt worldwide, the course is designed to show to the participants typical geological control factors in different geodynamic and paleo environmental scenarios. The field trip is structured every day in the integrated analysis of stratigraphic and structural settings of one paleo domain, using existing dataset and comparing subsurface data and outcrops. 5 days for 5 different geological scenarios (carbonate platform, slope-to-basin, basin, terrigenous/evaporitic basin, foreland basin systems) in different tectonic stages (passive margin, failed rift, flexure, compression, thrust-top/satellite basin), every day the task is: to analyze the geosettings, to reconstruct the relationship and to predict the geometry of subsurface structures. Landscape and seismic-scale outcrops will help the participant in the correlation with tectonic model, geophysical data and analysis of structural styles. Once you arrived in Sicily, after a geology review and introduction on the regional settings, the field trip starts with the visit of various paleo domain, starting from the higher structural units towards the less deformed. Different pieces of information collected every day will allow you to put them together to draw a coherent geological picture, to produce a palinspastic restoration and to analyze the geodynamic scenario. We conclude with the prospect assessment and play analysis of some oilfields in Sicily, actually in production. Food, wine, monuments, impressive landscape and coastline of Sicily will accompany you along this trip.

Course Level: Intermediate to advanced

Dates: May or October

Meeting point:

Palermo International Airport

Duration: 5 days

Instructor: Gabriele Lena

Designed for you, if you are…

This Course is suitable for geologists, geophysicists, explorationists and geoscientists in general that want to broaden and deepen their knowledge on the field about the kinematic evolution of a FTB-foreland system, using a very multi-disciplinary approach. Continuous and well-exposed “seismic scale” outcrops will help you to understand the geometries of the geological bodies, using commercial and crustal seismic profiles, well and geophysical dataset.

How we build your confidence

New insights in recognition and prediction of geometry of shallow-seated and deep-seated structures, ramp dominated units vs thrust sheet dominated unit.

Facies analysis and correlation between different paleo environmental scenarios, from meso-scale to seismic scale units.

Cross-correlations between outcropping and buried structures, using seismic profile and well-data applied to very impressive landscape.
Explanation of new data deriving from commercial and crustal profile providing new insights and prediction criteria on the relationships between a) an imbricated carbonate thrust system of the Northern chain, b) the huge Caltanissetta terrigenous trough consisting of embricated thrusts system, and c) the flexure of the Iblean foreland crust below the FTB.
Different type of petroleum system and plays will be shown during this 5-days field trip Exercises, line drawing, stratigraphic log, structural data plot and map and will be performed during the survey

The benefits from attending

By the end of the course you will feel more confident in your understanding of:

• The geological setting of the Sicilian-Maghreb FTB: the Mesozoic paleo domains of the ancient African continental margin (basins and carbonate platforms) and their structural evolution;
• The relation between shallow-seated and deep-seated deformations in the Tertiary evolution of the thrust belt; the effects of the late transpressional tectonics;
• Large-scale inverted and transpressional structures and their potential for petroleum exploration
• Synorogenic Tertiary deposits: sedimentology and facies associations;
• Lateral facies changes, architecture and structural control of the sin-compressional Miocene basins in Northern Sicily;
• The Messinian evaporitic deposits: lithostratigraphy, sedimentation vs tectonic process and new insights;
• The potential geo-resources of the Caltanissetta Basin (late Messinian): bituminous euxinic shale, salt dome and methane mud volcanoes;
• The Pliocene foreland basins of the Gela plain and the oilfields in subsurface;
• The present-day structural setting of the Sicilian foreland, seismic data from the Sicilian offshore
• Reliable note, draw, plot and map during a field survey, and the importance of field techniques and analysis to decrease uncertainties;
• Unique opportunity to approach to different geological scenario in a single field trip.

Topics

The course will cover the following areas of modern applications and perspectives of stratigraphy.

Day 1 – Introduction on the geological setting of the Sicily; the Mesozoic carbonate succession of the Panormide platform and facies relationships; interference between tectonic structures

Day 2 – Meso-Cenozoic slope-to-basin Imerese succession and its relationships with the overlaying Oligo-Miocene Numidian Flysch foredeep

Day 3 – Mesozoic extensional tectonics, volcanism and sedimentation at the Triassic Jurassic boundary the Sicanian deep-water domain; comparison of outcrop and seismic profile; Neogene imbricate thrust system deposits.

Day 4 – Georesources in the Messinian Evaporites; Miocene-Quaternary mixed ramp

Day 5 – The frontal part of the chain and the present foredeep: comparison with the subsurface setting will be imaged by seismic reflection profiles; the oil fields of Southern Sicily; the Iblean foreland and the forebulge with surface and sub-surface comparisons.