Migration and Emission of Fluids (Hydrocarbons and Formation Waters)
Research focuses on the migration and expulsion of fluids—such as hydrocarbons and formation waters—in relation to fluid geochemistry, stratigraphy of sedimentary successions, and recent or ongoing tectonic deformation in the Northern Apennines, the Adriatic Sea, the Calabrian Arc, the Adriatic-Ionian Basin, and Western Turkmenistan.
Carbonate Conduits and Hydrocarbon-Rich Fluid Expulsion
Studies examine carbonate conduits linked to the expulsion of hydrocarbon-rich fluids as surface indicators of underlying, variably deep reservoirs. These structures are evaluated for their potential as exploration tools in petroleum geology.
Sapropel-Rich Intervals in Neogene and Quaternary Successions
Research includes the characterization of sapropelitic intervals interbedded within Neogene and Quaternary sedimentary sequences. These are studied in terms of depositional environments, sedimentation rates, the record of paleoceanographic events, and their interpretation within sequence stratigraphy frameworks.
Integrated Surface and Subsurface Analyses
The study of fluid emissions—including brines and hydrocarbons—is conducted through chemical and isotopic analyses of fluids and fluid-solid interactions, integrated with surface geological and stratigraphic analyses and subsurface data. Case studies include the Northern Apennines, offshore Adriatic areas (also featuring authigenic carbonates), the accretionary prism of the Calabrian Arc (where fluid migration is linked to gravitational processes), and western Turkmenistan, which hosts large-scale surface fluid emission structures.
Methane-Derived Carbonates (MDCs)
Methane-derived carbonates (MDCs) display a variety of morphologies depending on fluid source, expulsion mechanisms, microbial environments, and geo-sedimentological context. The authigenic precipitation of calcium carbonate forms carbonate chimneys ranging from millimeter to multi-meter scales. Fluid migration pathways within reservoirs are interpreted over time and compared with modern emission systems and mud volcanoes, including marine settings.
Organic-Carbon-Rich Sapropels in the Mediterranean Region
Sapropel-rich intervals of Pliocene to recent age, correlatable along the Po-Adriatic foredeep and in other Mediterranean areas, are analyzed in terms of stratigraphic, sedimentological, and geochemical characteristics, organic carbon content, and fossil assemblages. These have also been studied in relation to their associations with interbedded sediments characterized by low organic carbon content, in order to identify the main forcing factors such as paleoproductivity and sea-level fluctuations, by determining their position within stratigraphic sequences and within climatic cycles driven by obliquity and precession.
