Soil deformation analysis through fluid-dynamic modelling and DInSAR measurements: a focus on groundwater withdrawal in the Ravenna area (Italy)

This study aims at assessing the deformation processes affecting an area NW of the city of Ravenna (northern Italy), caused by groundwater withdrawal activities. In situ data, geologic and structural maps, piezometric measurements, underground water withdrawal volumes, and satellite C-band SAR data were used to jointly exploit two different techniques: 1) fluid-dynamic and geomechanical modelling (by RSE S.p.A), and 2) Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (DInSAR) analysis (by CNR - IREA). The results of the comparative analysis presented in this work brought new evidence about the contribution of groundwater withdrawal to the total subsidence affecting the area during the 2000-2017 time interval. In particular, they show an increase of the subsidence from year 2000 to 2010 and a decrease from year 2010 to 2017. These results are generally in line with groundwater withdrawal data that report a reduction of the extracted water volumes during the considered temporal interval. Meantime, they show a delay effect in the subsidence process, partially recovered during the 2010-2017 thanks to a stabilisation of the extracted groundwater volumes. The presented results shade new light on the groundwater withdrawal contribution to the subsidence of the analysed zone, although further investigations are foreseen to better clarify the ongoing scenario

The Bortoluzzi Mud Volcano (Ionian Sea, Italy) and its potential for tracking the seismic cycle of active faults

The Ionian Sea in southern Italy is at the center of active interaction and convergence between the Eurasian and African-Adriatic plates in the Mediterranean. This area is seismically active with instrumentally and/or historically recorded Mw > 7:0 earthquakes, and it is affected by recently discovered long strike-slip faults across the active Calabrian accretionary wedge. Many mud volcanoes occur on top of the wedge. A recently discovered one (called the Bortoluzzi Mud Volcano or BMV) was surveyed during the Seismofaults 2017 cruise (May 2017). High-resolution bathymetric backscatter surveys, seismic reflection profiles, geochemical and earthquake data, and a gravity core are used here to geologically, geochemically, and geophysically characterize this structure. The BMV is a circular feature ' 22 m high and ' 1100 m in diameter with steep slopes (up to a dip of 22). It sits atop the Calabrian accretionary wedge and a system of flower-like oblique-slip faults that are probably seismically active as demonstrated by earthquake hypocentral and focal data. Geochemistry of water samples from the seawater column on top of the BMV shows a significant contamination of the bottom waters from saline (evaporite-type) CH4-dominated crustal-derived fluids similar to the fluids collected from a mud volcano located on the Calabria mainland over the same accretionary wedge. These results attest to the occurrence of open crustal pathways for fluids through the BMV down to at least the Messinian evaporites at about-3000 m. This evidence is also substantiated by helium isotope ratios and by comparison and contrast with different geochemical data from three seawater columns located over other active faults in the Ionian Sea area. One conclusion is that the BMV may be useful for tracking the seismic cycle of active faults through geochemical monitoring. Due to the widespread diffusion of mud volcanoes in seismically active settings, this study contributes to indicating a future path for the use of mud volcanoes in the monitoring and mitigation of natural hazards

From shallow to very shallow image of the highly active Kefalonia - Zakynthos fault system

4 pages, 2 figuresIn May 2022 and June 2023 two oceanographic cruises were carried out around the Ionian Islands with the aim of defining the real geometry of the strike-slip fault system of Kefalonia and of the reverse faults present south of Zakynthos. The acquired multidisciplinary and multiresolution data will also allow to understand the dynamics of the area offshore the Peoloponnese peninsula, the deformation of the surface sediments at the transition of the two systems, i.e. from reverse fault system to strike-slip fault system, and the relationship between the recorded seismicity and mapped fault activity. To date, the analysis of the processed data has allowed us to define the tectonic and morphological complexity of the fault system affecting the investigated area. [...]Thanks to the CNR for supporting the cruise with time ship, IONIANS 2022 project. Interpretation of seismic profile has been done using the Kindgom IHS Markit. Poseidon project has been supported by Eurofleet+ SEA02_13_POSEIDONPeer reviewe

MicroMotility: State of the art, recent accomplishments and perspectives on the mathematical modeling of bio-motility at microscopic scales

Mathematical modeling and quantitative study of biological motility (in particular, of motility at microscopic scales) is producing new biophysical insight and is offering opportunities for new discoveries at the level of both fundamental science and technology. These range from the explanation of how complex behavior at the level of a single organism emerges from body architecture, to the understanding of collective phenomena in groups of organisms and tissues, and of how these forms of swarm intelligence can be controlled and harnessed in engineering applications, to the elucidation of processes of fundamental biological relevance at the cellular and sub-cellular level. In this paper, some of the most exciting new developments in the fields of locomotion of unicellular organisms, of soft adhesive locomotion across scales, of the study of pore translocation properties of knotted DNA, of the development of synthetic active solid sheets, of the mechanics of the unjamming transition in dense cell collectives, of the mechanics of cell sheet folding in volvocalean algae, and of the self-propulsion of topological defects in active matter are discussed. For each of these topics, we provide a brief state of the art, an example of recent achievements, and some directions for future research

Basin modeling constrains source rock position and dimension in the Burano-Bolognano petroleum system (Central Italy)

A two-dimensional basin and petroleum system modeling approach was applied to the Burano-Bolognano petroleum system (Central Italy) to constrain some factors (position, lateral extension and maturity of the source rock, the role of fractures and faults in hydrocarbon migration) which influenced its structural evolution and the related migration pathways. The petroleum system extends from the Majella Mountain to the northern Cigno, Vallecupa, Bonanno oil fields, intensively explored during the past century. Some features, such as the location and extension of the source rock and its maturity, and hydrocarbon pathways, are still undefined. Thus, we developed a 3D geological static model of the Cenozoic carbonate succession and then, we performed basin modeling along a 2D geological section, integrating the petrophysical properties of rocks measured in laboratory. Our results prove that the Burano source rock reached a low-middle maturity, and the best representation of the actual hydrocarbon occurrences is reached when the source rock is at north of the Majella Mountain with a minimum extension of 3 km. For the BBPS a strong lateral migration and a gradual oil biodegradation towards the Majella area must be considered. Moreover, modeling results highlight a minor control of the faults on the migration in this area. This basin modeling is relevance for investigations in similar settings since carbonate-ramp reservoir studies are usually very challenging to be correctly modeled due to their high heterogeneities

The submarine dune field of the Bolognano Fm. Depositional processes and the carbonate reservoir potential (Chattian to Burdigalian, Majella Carbonate Platform)

This two-days field trip is focused on the Bolognano Formation, the homoclinal carbonate ramp developed on the Majella Mountain (Central Apennines) from the late Rupelian to the Messinian. The northern sectors of the Majella Mountain show excellent and continuous exposures of this carbonate ramp. In the late Oligoceneearly Miocene, the paleoceanography of the Mediterranean was controlled by different seaways, one of the largest being the proto-Adriatic basin, bounded by the Apulian carbonate platform and by the Dinaride coast. In this context, a strong northward current led to the development of submarine dunes during the Chattian and the Burdigalian. In this fieldtrip, we discuss the relationships among sedimentary structures and depositional processes, stratigraphic architecture and syn/post-depositional tectonics. Furthermore, the lower Miocene cross-bedded calcarenites of the Bolognano Fm identify an important reservoir rock. In the last two stops, the bitumen shows are analysed and the possible controlling factors of migration and trapping are discussed. The comparison between bitumen-filled fractured and unfractured rocks allows detecting the controlling factors on the migration of the hydrocarbons and its relationship with tectonics. The high primary porosity and the lateral continuity of the calcarenites are identified as the main controlling factor on the hydrocarbon migration

The Outer Albanides: Geodynamic setting, structural architecture, and petroleum potential.

Conferenza organizzata da: Petroleum Group Tectonic Studies Group (TSG