3D outcrop modelling of large discordant breccia bodies in basinal carbonates of the Apulian margin, Italy

Large discordant breccia bodies (LDBBs) are important record keepers of the tectonic and gravitational evolution in platform-to-basinal settings, and have important implications for fluid-flow migration and compartmentalization of tight carbonate reservoirs. In the Gargano Promontory of southern Italy, LDBBs occur within a Cretaceous slope and basinal carbonate succession. We use field mapping and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based Structure from Motion (SfM) Photogrammetry to document otherwise inaccessible cliff-side exposures of seismic-to subseismic-scale vertical discordant breccias. LDBBs are up to 50 m in width, more than 80 m in height and display internal chaotic or aligned clast fabrics. The formation which generally contains the LDBBs is characterized by beds of cherty pelagic limestone intercalated with calcarenites, calciturbidites and horizons of mass transport deposits. The mass-transport deposits can be correlated across the chaotic breccia bodies, indicating only slight or no vertical displacement across the adjacent walls. The bases of the breccia bodies are always hidden below current sea level, while the rarely exposed tops are capped by bedded intervals of the host rock formation. Timing and origin of the studied breccias were determined using several lines of evidence, such as stratigraphic provenance of clasts in breccias, mutual relationships of structural and sedimentologic features, and previous studies which establish that the age of dolomitizing cements in the LDBBs formed at different times and by different processes (fault shearing and solution collapse). This work investigates the size, shape and geometry of these breccia bodies whilst also providing cm-scale detail of the textural features in otherwise inaccessible outcrops. We suggest that breccias formed as a result of solution exploiting a pre-existing fracture network characterized by large-scale vertical strike-slip or oblique-slip faults. Initial displacement along these faults created a wide fault damage zone, where fluid migration was later focused to create a zone highly susceptible to solution and subsequent periodic sidewall collapse.

Automated summary

The study focuses on large discordant breccia bodies in the Gargano Promontory of southern Italy and utilizes UAV-based Structure from Motion Photogrammetry to document inaccessible cliff-side exposures. The breccias formed at different times and by different processes, possibly due to solution exploiting pre-existing fracture networks. The findings shed light on the tectonic and gravitational evolution in platform-to-basinal settings and the implications for fluid-flow migration and compartmentalization of tight carbonate reservoirs.