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Aiming to contribute to the energy transition, this study provides an integrated picture of the geothermal system hosted in the West Netherlands Basin and shows how the reconstruction of the basin's geological history can contribute to the correct exploration and exploitation of its geothermal resources. In the West Netherlands Basin, the main geothermal targets are found in the Cretaceous and Jurassic strata that were deposited during the rifting and post-rifting stages and were deformed during the subsequent basin inversion. Despite multiple studies on the tectonic setting, the timing and tectono-stratigraphic architecture of the rift system and its overall control on the development and evolution of geothermal systems are still to be fully deciphered. In this study, a detailed seismo-stratigraphic interpretation of the syn- and post-rift intervals in the West Netherlands Basin will be given within the framework of geothermal exploration. A recently released and reprocessed 3D seismic cube is used, covering a large portion of the onshore section of the basin. We identified two major Jurassic rifting episodes and a Late Cretaceous inversion event. During the Jurassic rifting phases, the compartmentalization of the basin and the creation of accommodation space led to the deposition of the Late Jurassic Nieuwerkerk Formation, which is the main regional geothermal producing target. Within this formation, we individuate growth synclines located in the central portions of the Jurassic half-grabens as sites that show good potential for geothermal exploration., Applied Geology

Structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry has become an important tool for the digitalisation of outcrops as digital outcrop models (DOMs). DOMs facilitate the mapping of stratigraphy and discontinuous structures like folds, faults, and fractures from the centimetre to kilometre scale. With pristine, treeless exposures, the outcropping strata in Svalbard, Arctic Norway, hold exceptional potential for analogue studies and are ideally suited for the acquisition of high-resolution DOMs. Here, we present the acquisition, processing, and integration of the Konusdalen West digital model data set, comprising both DOM and derived digital terrain model (DTM) data. Drone-based image acquisition took place over 2 weeks in July and August 2020. The Konusdalen West DOM and DTM cover a 0.12km2 area and span a 170m elevation difference. The DOM covers the upper two-thirds of the mudstone-dominated Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Agardhfjellet Formation. The Agardhfjellet Formation and its time equivalents are regional cap rocks for CO2 sequestration and petroleum accumulations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. A total of 15 differential GNSS control points were used to georeference and quality assure the digital data assets, 5 of which function as reference checkpoints. SfM processing of 5512 acquired images resulted in high-confidence, centimetre-scale resolution point clouds, textured mesh (DOM), tiled model, orthomosaics, and a DTM. The confidence-filtered dense cloud features an average inter-point distance of 1.57cm and has an average point density of 3824.9 points per metre. The five checkpoints feature root mean square errors of 2.0cm in X, 1.3cm in Y, 5.2cm in Z, and 5.7cm in XYZ. Increased confidences and densities are present along the western flank of the Konusdalen West outcrop, where a fault fracture network in mudstone-dominated strata is best exposed and photographed most extensively. Top and side view orthomosaics feature maximum resolutions of 8mm per pixel

Recycling of Earth's crustal components through subduction contributes to the observed geochemical heterogeneity in worldwide lavas, yet quantifying the in- and output fluxes is difficult because of the unknown compositions of subducted components and sediment transfer processes in subduction zones. Italian post-collisional magmatism is often mafic but potassiumrich, suggesting a significant contribution of subducted sediments in this complex geodynamic setting. Isotopic and elemental variability in the volcanic products across Italy likely reflects sediment recycling with variable composition and quantity from north to south. Here we report the geochemical compositions of sediments that accreted to the Apennine accretionary prism whose lateral counterparts have potentially subducted and contributed to the Italian melt source. The aim is to use the major-, trace- and Sr- Nd-Pb isotope compositions of the sediments and Italy's volcanic products to quantify subduction recycling through melt modelling. Sediments were collected from the northern-, central- and southern Apennines (Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, Umbria and Calabria) with a focus on exhumed units from below the various decollement levels. These included Triassic to Jurassic deep sea sediments in ophiolitic sequences deposited in the Ligurian- Piemonte Oceanic Basin, and Triassic to Neogene distal units of the Adria continental margin. End-member compositions are defined by deep sea clays and metapelites rich in K2O, SiO2, LILE, HFSE, REE with high 87Sr/86Sr (0.7458) and 206Pb/204Pb (19.4), and marls poor in K2O, SiO2, LILE, HFSE, REE, but rich in CaO and Sr, with low 87Sr/86Sr (0.7083) and 206Pb/204Pb (18.7). The geochemical compositions of the most primitive volcanics and olivine-hosted melt inclusions will be used to reconstruct subduction recycling processes by melt modelling of a sediment metasomatized mantle wedge. Sediment transport mechanisms, sediment/vein mineralogy, meltin

Despite that many field studies on joint attribute statistics are available in the literature, there is still an ongoing debate on the most effective statistical treatment to properly describe the distribution of a fundamental parameter like joint spacing. This may also relate to the objective difficulty of collecting very large datasets from single linear scanlines directly in the field, because of limited exposures. To overcome such a limitation, we selected a spectacular outcrop of the Miocene Marnoso-Arenacea Formation turbidite sandstones located near the Coniale village, in the Northern Apennines (Italy), where a vertical cliff provides a 100% continuous outcrop about 90 m high and 280 m long, with well-accessible exposures at its base, along the Santerno River. This setting allows combining data acquisition on a photogrammetric DOM (digital outcrop model) covering a representative sector of the outcrop, with ground truthing by direct measurements in the field. More than 2000 joints were identified in 9 linear scanlines traced in the DOM along mechanical layers with different thickness. Comparison with field data indicates that both joint orientation and spacing data from the DOM are very reliable. The scanlines include between 549 and 37 joints, depending on layer thickness, allowing to perform robust statistical analysis. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K–S), Cramer-von Mises (CvM) and Anderson-Darling (A-D) nonparametric tests were used to identify the probability density function(s) that best fit spacing data among exponential, Gamma, log-normal and normal distributions. The Gamma distribution turned out as the most probable in most cases. In some specific sectors along all scanlines, joint density is significantly greater than the average for the presence of joint clusters. In some cases, joint clusters are vertically aligned with those in underlying and/or overlying scanlines, thus resulting in thoroughgoing joint corridors. Comparison of spacing statistics insi