Upper Miocene to Present fault architecture and fluid pathways in the Val d’Agri basin (Southern Italy)

<p>Structural analysis coupled with geochemical study of syn-tectonic mineralizations unraveled the role of fluids during the polyphase tectonic evolution of the Val D&#8217;Agri, a seismically-active intermontane basin located in the Southern Apennines fold and thrust belt, hosting the largest onshore oil field in western Europe. In this basin, the structural control on present-day fluid circulation is still not well constrained. For this reason, the aim of this work is to reconstruct the Val d&#8217;Agri fault system (VAF) architecture and paleo-fluid circulation during the basin tectonic evolution. The VAF evolution was caused by non-coaxial polyphase stress regimes that can be summarized in: 1) Upper Miocene-Lower Pliocene compressional regime; 2) Upper Pliocene-Lower Pleistocene late orogenic strike-slip regime 3) Early Pleistocene-Present post-orogenic extensional regime. Based on new field work, mapping, and structural analysis, we recognized that the VAF is organized in different oriented faults sets. The main sets are N-S-, NE-SW-, and ESE-WNW-striking faults, where the last one has the higher degree of maturity. U-Pb dating of calcite slickenfibres highlighted the long-term tectonic history of these fault sets, with episodes of activation and reactivation of inherited faults. In particular, we recognize: N-S-striking normal faults that reactivated inherited Upper Miocene-Lower Pliocene thrusts; Upper Pleistocene NE-SW-striking normal-lateral faults; one Miocene ESE-WNW-striking normal-lateral fault, with also evidence of reactivation in more recent time. Clumped isotopes analysis together with optical and cathodoluminescence observations of about 50 syn-tectonic calcite mineralizations allowed us to link specific fluid pathways to the different stress regimes. Indeed, bed-parallel veins and mineralizations sampled along transpressive, transtensive, and normal fault sets show that: 1) during the Upper Miocene-Lower Pliocene compressive tectonic phase, fluid circulation occurred in a closed system, characterized by host-rock buffered fluids; 2) during Upper Pliocene-Lower Pleistocene late orogenic phase, fluid circulation occurred in an open system, characterized by meteoric water with low to moderate residence time; 3) during the Lower Pleistocene-Present extensional phase, fluid circulation occurred in an open system, characterized by the mixing of meteoric water and uprising deep high temperature fluids. We highlight that the reconstruction of paleo to present-day fluid circulation is a valid tool for assessing natural and induced seismic hazard in seismically active areas where hydrocarbons are exploited and fluids are injected into the crust, such as in the Val d'Agri basin.</p>