Ophiolite-bearing Vermoshi Flysch (Albanian Alps, Northern Albania): elements for its correlation in the frame of Dinaric-Hellenic Belt

The tectonic setting of the Albanian Alps, Northern Albania, is characterized by a thick pile of tectonic units whose uppermost structural level is represented by the Vermoshi Unit, cropping out just few km north of the Shkoder-Péc Line. This unit includes a single formation, the Vermoshi Flysch, characterized by turbidite deposits consisting of arenites, shales and marls. The Vermoshi Flysch has been sampled for paleontological datings and petrographical analyses of the arenite beds along five selected and well exposed sections in the Vermoshi Valley. The nannoplancton and forams associations detected in the analyzed samples point out to a Barremian age, whereas the petrographical modal analysis of arenites indicates that all the samples have a mixed/hybrid silicilastic-carbonate composition, ranging from quartz-rich sublitharenites to quartz-poor litharenites. However, the main feature ot these arenites is the occurrence of fragments derived from an ophiolite sequence. The petrographical data suggest that these deposits can be regarded as supplied by two different source areas, represented by the margins of the basin where the Vermoshi Flysch was deposited. Whereas one of the border was represented by the Adria continental margin, the opposite one was characterized by an advancing nappe, constituted by ophiolites and their sedimentary cover. In this frame, the Vermoshi Flysch can be regarded as the southernmost part of the Vranduk Flysch, cropping out in Serbia and Croatia. This type of deposits, widespread in the Dinaric-Hellenic belt, can be considered as the sedimentary marker of the Late Jurassic - Early Cretaceous tectonic phases related to the closure of the oceanic area present between the Adria and the Eurasia plate

Geological cartography history in Albania

222-229 p. Supported by CNRConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR). Biblioteca Centrale / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal

Investigating Sedimentological Architecture Using Electrical Resistivity Tomography: A Case Study from the Archaeological Open-Air Site Shen Mitri, Southern Albania

Large-scale and small-scale high-resolution electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) measurements were carried out to investigate the sedimentological architecture of the Shen Mitri hill and its close surroundings near the Butrint archaeological site in Albania. The ERT measurements were conducted in combination with archaeological excavations of an Upper Paleolithic/Mesolithic open-air site with the aim to better understand the early modern human migration history. The resulting inversion models are meaningful and span a wide range of subsurface resistivities. The Shen Mitri hill is mainly composed of low-resistive Pliocene clayey sediments less than 5m and is covered by resistive sandstone towards the hill-top reaching values more than 100m. The Vrina plain surrounding the hill consists of sediments of Quaternary origin with rather low resistivities. High-resistive features in the Vrina plain correspond to Pliocene units of sandstone and outcrops of evaporates with several hundredm of resistivity. The results revealed that the neighboring hill Xarre is likely to beof older age than the hill Shen Mitri as it is composed of sediments from an older Pliocene unit with higher resistivities. The results improve the knowledge of the actual geological understanding of the hills and give detailed insight to their architecture, such as thickness and distribution of the occurring formations. Thus, not the main focus of the article, small-scale ERT results reveal zones with a high-resistive surface layer which is identified as a archaeological layer-containing stone artifacts and ceramic sherds. However, undisturbed archaeological layers were not identified yet and ERT measurements can help to clarify the taphonomic history of the Shen Mitri site. Prior to the inversion, an elaborate estimation of ERT data errors including geometrical errors and the data variation coefficient is presented. The estimated error model is meaningful and included in the two-dimensional error-weighted inversion scheme. Subsequently, the effect of surface topography on ERT data is estimated by a modeling study and, as a consequence, included in all the inversion models

Geochemistry of European Bottled Waters.

Vengono riportate le concentrazioni di elementi in traccia delle acque minerali dell'Europa acquistate nei punti di vendit

Geochemistry of european bottled water

In Europe, ca. 1900 "mineral water" brands are officially registered and bottled for drinking. Bottled water is groundwater and is rapidly developing into the main supply of drinking water for the general population of large parts of Europe. This book is the first state of the art overview of the chemistry of groundwaters from 40 European countries from Portugal to Russia, measured on 1785 bottled water samples from 1247 wells representing 884 locations plus additional 500 tap water samples acquired in 2008 by the network of EuroGeoSurveys experts all across Europe. In contrast to previously available data sets, all chemical data were measured in a single laboratory, under strict quality control with high internal and external reproducibility, affording a single high quality, internally consistent dataset. More than 70 parameters were determined on every sample using state of the art analytical techniques with ultra low detection limits (ICPMS, ICPOES, IC) at a single hydrochemical lab facility. Because of the wide geographical distribution of the water sources, the bottled mineral, drinking and tap waters characterized herein may be used for obtaining a first estimate of "groundwater geochemistry" at the scale of the European Continent, a dataset previously unavailable in this completeness, quality and coverage. This new data set allows, for the first time, to present a comprehensive internally consistent, overview of the natural distribution and variation of the determined chemical elements and additional state parameters of groundwater at the European scale. Most elements show a very wide range \u2013 usually 3 to 4 but up to 7 orders of magnitude \u2013 of natural variation of their concentration. Data are interpreted in terms of their origin, considering hydrochemical parameters, such as the influence of soil, vegetation cover and mixing with deep waters, as well as other factors (bottling effects, leaching from bottles). Chapters are devoted to comparing the bottled water data with those of European tap water and previously published datasets and discussing the implications of water chemistry for health. The authors also provide an overview of the legal framework, that any bottled water sold in the European Union must comply with. It includes a comprehensive compilation of current drinking water action levels in European countries, limiting values of the European Drinking/Mineral/Natural Mineral Water directives (1998/83/EC, 2003/40/EC, 2009/54/EC) and legislation in effect in 26 individual European Countries, and for comparison those of the FAO and in effect in the US (EPA, maximum contaminant level)