Radiolarian Correlation of Jurassic Siliceous Successions of the Rosso Ammonitico Formation in the Southern Alps and Western Sicily (Italy)
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0012-9402/06/01S021-13 Eclogae geol. Helv. 99 (2006) Supplement 1, S21–S33 DOI 10.1007/s00015-006-0607-0 Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, 2007 Radiolarian correlation of Jurassic siliceous successions of the Rosso Ammonitico Formation in the Southern Alps and Western Sicily (Italy) PAOLA BECCARO Key words: Radiolarians, Ammonites, Biostratigraphy, Unitary Associations Zones, Rosso Ammonitico Medio, Middle-Late Jurassic, Italy Parole chiave: Radiolari, Ammoniti, Biostratigrafia, Zone ad Associazioni Unitarie, Rosso Ammonitico Medio, Giurassico medio-superiore, Italia ABSTRACT RIASSUNTO This paper deals with the radiolarian biostratigraphy of Middle-Upper Jurassic La ricerca riguarda la biostratigrafia a radiolari di successioni pelagiche silicee pelagic siliceous successions of the Southern Alps and Western Sicily (Italy). riferibili al Giurassico Medio-Superiore delle Alpi Meridionali e della Sicilia The crucial complement to this research is the occurrence of ammonites in the occidentale (Italia). L’aspetto più importante è la presenza di ammoniti sia studied successions (Rosso Ammonitico Medio: the intermediate siliceous nelle successioni studiate (Rosso Ammonitico Medio: porzione intermedia si- member of the Rosso Ammonitico Formation), as well as in the under- and licea della Formazione del Rosso Ammonitico) sia in quelle sotto- e sovra- overlying sediments (Rosso Ammonitico Inferiore and Rosso Ammonitico Su- stanti (rispettivamente Rosso Ammonitico Inferiore e Rosso Ammonitico Su- periore, respectively). The abundance of radiolarians in all successions allow periore). L’abbondanza di radiolari in tutte le sezioni studiate ha permesso di to analyse them for a twofold purpose: to date directly most of the successions, analizzarli sia per datare direttamente la maggior parte delle successioni sia and to improve the calibration of radiolarian biozones thanks to the occur- per migliorare la calibrazione delle biozone a radiolari grazie alla presenza rence of ammonites. The biostratigraphic analysis has been carried out using delle ammoniti. L’analisi biostratigrafica è stata effettuata con il metodo delle the Unitary Associations method, and six new radiolarian biozones have been Associazioni Unitarie e sono state definite sei nuove biozone a radiolari: la co- defined: the combined occurrence of radiolarians and ammonites provided a presenza di radiolari ed ammoniti ha così fornito una nuova zonazione a ra- new Bathonian to late Kimmeridgian radiolarian zonation for the Southern diolari per l’intervallo di tempo Batoniano-Kimmeridgiano delle Alpi Meri- Alps and Western Sicily (Italy). The new Unitary Association Zones show a dionali e della Sicilia occidentale (Italia). Le Zone ad Associazioni Unitarie good reproducibility throughout the investigated successions, and make possi- identificate mostrano una buona riproducibilità tra le sezioni stratigrafiche ble a first direct dating and correlation by radiolarians of the Rosso Am- analizzate ed hanno permesso una prima datazione e correlazione diretta a ra- monitico Medio. Furthermore, the radiolarian biozones reveal a significant di- diolari del Rosso Ammonitico Medio. Le biozone a radiolari hanno inoltre ri- achronism for both the lower and the upper limit of the Jurassic pelagic velato un significativo diacronismo sia per il limite inferiore sia per il limite su- siliceous facies in the Alpine and Sicilian sections. In the light of new radiolar- periore delle facies pelagiche silicee nelle sezioni alpine e siciliane. Alla luce ian biozones, the age assignments of the Ceniga (Southern Alps) and the San- dei nuovi dati biostratigrafici forniti dai radiolari sono infine discusse le età t’Anna (Sicily) sections, and the ranges of some taxa are discussed. della facies silicea nelle sezioni di Ceniga (Alpi Meridionali) e di Sant’Anna (Sicilia) e la distribuzione stratigrafica di alcuni taxa. Introduction The Sicilian chain and the Southern Alps represent seg- The study of siliceous successions in the Southern Alps and in ments of the Alpine collisional belt formed during the “Ter- Western Sicily (Italy) benefits from the fact that such successi- tiary” time along the boundary between the European and ons are approximately coeval and may be referred to analo- African plates. The Jurassic paleogeographic settings of Sicily gous paleogeographic settings. These similarities enable to and the Alps result from the breakup of the Triassic carbonate compare radiolarian assemblages of different geographic areas platform and the subsequent extensional movements. The and to correlate different Tethyan paleogeographic regions. platform was divided in several areas with different subsidence The paleogeographic domains are two pelagic plateaux (Tra- rates, and different paleogeographic domains were formed panese Domain in Western Sicily and Trento Plateau in the (pelagic plateaux, basins and limited areas of platforms) (Figs. Southern Alps) and one basin (Sicanian Domain in Western 1 and 2). During the Middle Jurassic a general deepening took Sicily) (Figs. 1 and 2). The age of the studied successions ran- place and the deposition of sediments in the Rosso Ammoniti- ges from the Bathonian to the Kimmeridgian. co facies occurred on the pelagic plateaux up to Late Jurassic 1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Via Valperga Caluso 35, 10125 Torino, Italy. Email: [email protected] Jurassic radiolarians, Southern Alps, Sicily S21 Fig. 1. An attempt of paleogeographic recon- struction of the Sicilian area at the Late Triassic time (Catalano et al. 1996). Favignana, Balata di Baida and Inici Mt. sections belong to the pelagic plateau of the Trapanese Domain; Sant’Anna sec- tion belongs to the Sicanian Basin. The paleogeo- graphic location of the stratigraphic sections is only indicative. (Winterer & Bosellini 1981; Catalano et al. 1996). The Rosso under- and overlying sediments and, in some instances, also Ammonitico sediments consist of condensed red nodular lime- within the siliceous successions: This fact motivates the analy- stone rich in ammonites, and are subdivided in three members sis of radiolarian assemblages in the selected sections. The whose ages differ between the Southern Alps and Sicily. The abundance of radiolarians enables to study them for a twofold lower part (RAI: Rosso Ammonitico Inferiore) spans the late purpose: to date directly most of the siliceous facies (whose Bajocian-early Callovian in the Alps and the Bathonian-mid age was generally based on the ages of the bracketing forma- Oxfordian in Sicily. The upper part (RAS: Rosso Ammonitico tions) and to improve the calibration of radiolarian zones by Superiore) starts in the mid Oxfordian in the Alps and in the ammonite zones. early Kimmeridgian in Sicily. RAI and RAS are separated by This paper deals with the main results of the author’s PhD the intermediate siliceous member (RAM: Rosso Ammonitico research (Beccaro 2002) where radiolarian assemblages were Medio), assigned to upper Callovian-mid Oxfordian in the studied for the first time in the following sections: Fornazzo Alps and mid Oxfordian-Kimmeridgian in Sicily. The interme- Strada, Fornazzo Cava, Castello Inici, Balata di Baida, Favig- diate siliceous member represents the studied sediments in all nana (North-western Sicily) (Beccaro 2002, 2004a) and Cava the stratigraphic sections except for Sant’Anna (Sicily). Vianini (Southern Alps) (Beccaro 2002). Concerning the San- Very few authors have studied the Jurassic radiolarian as- t’Anna (South-western Sicily) and the Ceniga (Southern Alps) semblages of the Southern Alps and Western Sicily. Kocher sections, new radiolarian data improved the former biochrono- (1981) was the first author who studied radiolarians from the logic assignments. New species of Nassellaria (Fultacapsa Southern Alps but mainly in the Lombardian basin. The Ceni- ozvoldovae, Podobursa andreai, Podobursa vannae, Loopus ga section was first described by Fogelgesang (1975), and then doliolum martae) and Spumellaria (Emiluvia peteri, Triactoma studied for radiolarians by Baumgartner (1984) and Baumgart- enzoi) from the cited sections have been described in Beccaro ner et al. (1995b). The Coston delle Vette section was first de- 2004b. scribed by Dal Piaz (1907), then analysed by Bosellini & Dal Cin (1968) and Della Bruna & Martire (1985), and finally stud- Lithologic description of the stratigraphic sections ied for radiolarians by Beccaro (1998) and Beccaro et al. (2002). The Cava Vianini was only described by Papa (1994) In Western Sicily five stratigraphic sections of the Rosso Am- for sedimentologic purposes. Concerning Western Sicily, sev- monitico Medio (RAM) have been studied in the Trapanese eral authors studied the geology for different aims (Giunta & Domain (pelagic plateau) and one section in the Sicanian Liguori 1972, 1973; Wendt 1964, 1971; Catalano et al. 1989; Basin (Fig. 1). The geographic location of these sections is Cecca et al. 2001; Catalano et al. 2002 among others). Never- shown in Figure 3. theless, the radiolarian papers regarding the Sicanian Basin TRAPANESE DOMAIN (North-western Sicily) – Fornazzo have been mainly focused on the Sant’Anna section (Riedel & sections are located at the Inici Mt. near Castellammare del Sanfilippo 1974; Mascle 1973, 1979; Baumgartner et al. 1980; Golfo. The Fornazzo Strada section crops out along the road Origlia-Devos 1983; Baumgartner 1984; De Wever et al. 1986; to Fornazzo quarry. The RAM is 26 m thick and consists of Aita 1987; De Wever 1995) because of its rich fossil content well-stratified