(NAO) Ophiolite Suite -- Northern Apennines, Italy

(NAO) Ophiolite Suite -- Northern Apennines, Italy

NAO-01 to NAO-22

The suite consists of samples from an ophiolite suite that outcrops in 3 locations in the Apennine mountain range in northern Italy.  The units are severely imbricated and folded.  The units are Cretaceous-Eocene in age.  The units consist of ultramafic rock, gabbro and peridotite instrusions, and basaltic magmas.

1982

Western Minerals, Inc.

Northern Apennines, Liguria Region, Italy
Samples 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15 are taken from the region around Bargone, Italy
Samples 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 are taken from the region around Sassello, Italy
Sample 22 is taken from outside Genoa, Italy

Triassic - Eocene

Purchased by Western Minerals, Inc.

Start Here:
Lagabrielle, Y., and Cannat, M., 1990, Alpine Jurassic ophiolites resemble the modern central Atlantic basement: Geology, v. 18, p. 319-322
Link: GeoScienceWorld

• This fairly short article gives some insight into the development of the North Apennine Ophiolites with a fairly recent view on the matter.

Additional Resources:
Garuti, G., and Zaccarini, F., 2005, Minerals of Au, Ag and U in Volcanic-Rock-Associated Massive Sulfide Deposits of the Northern Apennine Ophiolite, Italy: The Canadian Mineralogist, v. 43, p. 935-950
DOI: 10.2113/gscanmin.43.3.935

• This article explores the elemental composition of the North Apennine Ophiolite sequence and uses that to determine previous geologic events.

Garuti, G., Zaccarini, F., Scacchetti, M., and Bartoli, O., 2011, The Pb-rich sulfide veins in the Boccassuolo ophiolite: Implications for the geochemical evolution of the hydrothermal activity across the ocean-continent transition in the Ligurian Tethys (Northern-Apennine, Italy): Lithos, v. 124, p. 243-254
DOI: 10.1016/j.lithos.2010.11.006

• This article explores the chemical composition of the ophiolite sequence under a different name and ties it into the formation history.

Garzanti, E., Canclini, S., Foggia, F.M., and Petrella, N., 2002, Unraveling Magmatic and Orogenic Provenance in Modern Sand: The Back-Arc Side of the Apennine Thrust Belt, Italy: Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 72, p. 2-17
DOI: 10.1306/051801720002

• This article goes into great detail on the provenance characteristics for a number of sands. including sands originating from the North Apennine Ophiolite sequence.

Cibin, U., Spadafora, E., Zuffa, G.G., and Castellarin, A., 2001, Continental collision history from arenites of episutural basins in the Northern Apennines, Italy: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 113, p. 4-19
Link: GeoScienceWorld

• This article goes into detail about the deformations experienced by the North Apennine Ophiolites after the Eocene.