Miocene provenance and drainage evolution of the northern Calabrian forearc basins, Southern Italy

Abstract Northern Calabria forms part of the Calabrian Arc, a geologically complex region in southern Italy shaped by the convergence between the Eurasian and African plates. This convergence drove the closure of the Tethys Ocean and produced the subsequent phases of collisional and extensional tectonics. Thrusting during the Alpine orogeny produced extensive nappe stacking, followed by structural reorganization and exhumation during the Oligocene-Miocene. Tectonostratigraphically, the Apennine carbonate platform forms the lowest structural unit, overlain successively by the Liguride Oceanic Complex and the Calabride Complex, which includes the Sila nappe stack. Along Calabria’s eastern Ionian margin, forearc basins developed in response to the retreating subduction zone. To better constrain sediment routing pathways and regional uplift in northern Calabria from early to late Miocene, a multi-proxy provenance study was applied to four forearc basins: Rossano, Cirò, Crotone and Catanzaro. Quantitative heavy-mineral analysis, single-grain garnet and apatite chemistry, and apatite U–Pb chronology reveal spatial and temporal variations in sediment sources. Siliciclastic samples, spanning Aquitanian to Messinian in age, record changing contributions from a combination of low- to high-grade metamorphic and plutonic sources, including mafic Liguride units. Up-section shifts in sediment sourcing patterns indicate that Calabrian Arc exhumation and uplift, characterized by a rapid increase in the middle Miocene followed by a slow reduction in relief, played a pivotal role in controlling the timing and direction of sediment transport. This study demonstrates the benefits of multi-method provenance approaches to achieve valuable insights into relief build-up and demise, associated divide migration and sedimentary responses within a young and complex, zircon-poor orogenic arc system.